Cancer patients requiring interruption of long-term warfarin because of surgery or chemotherapy induced thrombocytopenia: the use of fixed sub-therapeutic doses of low-molecular weight heparin.

No data are available regarding the management of cancer patients requiring interruption of long-term vitamin-K antagonist (VKA) therapy. For this purpose, we tested the efficacy and safety of fixed doses of low-molecular weight heparin (LMWH) in substitution of VKA because of invasive procedures or chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia. In cancer patients on VKA, therapy was discontinued 5 ± 1 days before surgery or chemotherapy. Heparin was given at prophylactic dosage in patients at low risk and at fixed subtherapeutic doses (3,800 or 4,000 UI anti-FXa, b.i.d.) in those at high-risk for thrombosis. LMWH was reinitiated 12 hr after surgery and VKA the day after. In patients receiving chemotherapy, LMWH was reinitiated 12/24 hr after obtaining a stable platelet count ≥ 30,000 mmc(3) and VKA after a stable platelet count ≥ 50,000 mmc(3) . Thromboembolism and major bleeding events were recorded from the time of VKA suspension to 30 ± 2 days postprocedure or until the next chemotherapy. Overall, 156 patients (56.4% at low risk and 43.5% at high risk for thrombosis) were enrolled; 34.6% underwent major surgery, 40.4% nonmajor surgery, and 25% chemotherapy. Thrombotic events occurred in five patients [3.2%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.41-7.27], four belonging to the high-risk and one to the low-risk group. Major bleeding occurred in five patients (3.2%, 95 CI: 1.41-7.27), all belonging to the high-risk group (three during major surgery and two during chemotherapy). In conclusion, LMWH given at fixed subtherapeutic is a feasible and relatively safe approach for bridging therapy in cancer patients on long-term VK

Do Stock Markets Value Innovation? A Meta-analysis

We analyze whether stock markets value innovation by performing a meta-analysis of the empirical literature linking R&D investments and firms' market value. While there is an increasing interest in the attention paid by financial markets to firm level innovation activities, the theoretical debate and the empirical results presented by a growing number of studies performed within different disciplinary domains still oscillate between markets myopia and markets efficiency. We contribute to resolve this indecision applying Hunter and Schmidt (1990) correction procedures on existing studies estimating the impact of different corporate assets on the market value of the firm. After correcting for random sources of variations and possible problems with the reliability of the independent and the dependent variables, we show that the R&D-market value relationship is consistently positive and that the market values one currency unit invested in R&D activities as much or more than one currency unity invested in tangible assets. Moreover, we use a fully factorial regression model to assess the magnitude of the reported coefficients against a set of sample specific and design specific variables. Our results show that, when other intangible assets are considered, the market valuation of firms' R&D investments generally lowers. Moreover, whereas adding industry-level controls seems to better specify the relationship between R&D investment and market value, firm-level variables do not substantially affect the results. Implications for research and practice are presented and discussed.We analyze whether stock markets value innovation by performing a meta-analysis of the empirical literature linking R&D investments and firms' market value. While there is an increasing interest in the attention paid by financial markets to firm level innovation activities, the theoretical debate and the empirical results presented by a growing number of studies performed within different disciplinary domains still oscillate between markets myopia and markets efficiency. We contribute to resolve this indecision applying Hunter and Schmidt (1990) correction procedures on existing studies estimating the impact of different corporate assets on the market value of the firm. After correcting for random sources of variations and possible problems with the reliability of the independent and the dependent variables, we show that the R&D-market value relationship is consistently positive and that the market values one currency unit invested in R&D activities as much or more than one currency unity invested in tangible assets. Moreover, we use a fully factorial regression model to assess the magnitude of the reported coefficients against a set of sample specific and design specific variables. Our results show that, when other intangible assets are considered, the market valuation of firms' R&D investments generally lowers. Moreover, whereas adding industry-level controls seems to better specify the relationship between R&D investment and market value, firm-level variables do not substantially affect the results. Implications for research and practice are presented and discussed.Uninvited Submission

Tecnologie self-service e scelte del consumatore

Il volume coniuga due fenomeni molto diffusi e studiati dalla letteratura di marketing nell\u2019ambito della grande distribuzione: la partecipazione del cliente al servizio e l\u2019utilizzo di tecnologie self-service (le cosiddette self-service technologies, SST). La grande diffusione di SST rende necessario uno sforzo di sistematizzazione dei contributi accademici che dapprima hanno indagato le determinanti dell\u2019adozione, e successivamente si sono focalizzati sulla valutazione delle SST per comprendere la probabilit\ue0 di un utilizzo continuativo. In questo volume vengono presentate le principali teorie alla base dell\u2019utilizzo di SST, concentrandosi su aspetti quali gli antecedenti, i fattori situazionali, le caratteristiche personali e le valutazioni post-utilizzo. La trattazione \ue8 arricchita da tre studi empirici che contribuiscono ad avanzare la conoscenza sul tema

It is Not Me! So I Customize It!

While investing in customization companies are enabling their customers to shape products as a way to express their preferences and identities. Customization however, can involve numerous attribute choices or just a few. Our work focuses on the second case where a product choice is followed by a customization task on few attributes. We propose that when the product choice task saturates a consumer\u2019s self-expression, the appeal of the customization task is reduced leading to lower satisfaction with choice and product evaluation for the customized product. We test our predictions in two experiments