High resolution computed tomography quantitation of emphysema is correlated with selected lung function values in stable COPD.

BACKGROUND: The literature shows conflicting results when high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scores of emphysema were correlated with different indices of airflow obstruction. OBJECTIVES: We correlated HRCT scores of emphysema with different indices of airflow obstruction. METHODS: We performed HRCT of the chest in 59 patients, all smokers or ex-smokers, with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease of different severity [GOLD stages I-IV; mean age \ub1 SD 67.8 \ub1 7.3 years; pack/years 51.0 \ub1 34.6; percent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)% predicted) 52.3 \ub1 17.6; post-bronchodilator FEV(1)% predicted 56.5 \ub1 19.1; FEV(1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio 50.8 \ub1 10.2; post-bronchodilator FEV(1)/FVC ratio 51.6 \ub1 11.0; percent diffusion lung capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO%) 59.2 \ub1 21.1; DLCO/percent alveolar volume (VA%) 54.5 \ub1 18.2; percent residual volume 163.0 \ub1 35.6; percent total lung capacity (TLC%) 113.2 \ub1 15; residual volume/TLC 1.44 \ub1 0.2]. All patients were in stable phase. RESULTS: The mean \ub1 SD visual emphysema score in all patients was 25.6 \ub1 25.4%. There was a weak but significant correlation between the percentage of pulmonary emphysema and numbers of pack/years (R = +0.31, p = 0.024). The percentage of emphysema was inversely correlated with the FEV(1)/FVC ratio before and after bronchodilator use (R = -0.44, p = 0.002, and R = -0.39, p = 0.005), DLCO% (R = -0.64, p = 0.0003) and DLCO/VA% (R = -0.68, p < 0.0001). A weak positive correlation was also found with TLC% (R = +0.28, p = 0.048). When patients with documented emphysema were considered separately, the best significant correlation observed was between DLCO/VA% and HRCT scan score (p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease of varying severity, the presence of pulmonary emphysema is best represented by the impaired gas exchange capability of the respiratory system

Book review of Fault Lines by Raghuram G. Rajan

Most people believe that the recent financial crisis had its roots in a boom in housing lending in the United States. After the dot-com bubble, the argument goes, the Federal Reserve Bank lowered the interest rates to stimulate corporate investment and recover from the downturn. As a side effect of low interest rates, mortgages became cheaper and Americans became attracted to the housing market. Credit for housing was provided by the sophisticated financial system of the United States, which allowed investors to purchase packages of mortgages from diversified geographical locations, and from individuals with different probabilities of default, according to their desired level of risk. As it turned out, these products caught the attention of investors from all over the world, who were attracted by their profitable returns and the implicit guarantees provided by the U.S. government to the issuing agencies and financial intermediaries. Therefore, housing credit was plentiful and, as a consequence, house prices in the United States rose. This in turn allowed mortgage borrowers to refinance their debts and avoid default. The party came to an end when interest rates increased and house prices fell, triggering a series of defaults in mortgages and driving values of the financial products near to zero, resulting in consequences with which we all are too familiar

Firms as liquidity providers: Evidence from the 2007–2008 financial crisis

Using a supplier–client matched sample, we study the effect of the 2007–2008 financial crisis on between-firm liquidity provision. Consistent with a causal effect of a negative shock to bank credit, we find that firms with high precrisis liquidity levels increased the trade credit extended to other corporations and subsequently experienced better performance as compared with ex ante cash-poor firms. Trade credit taken by constrained firms increased during this period. These findings are consistent with firms providing liquidity insurance to their clients when bank credit is scarce and offer an important precautionary savings motive for accumulating cash reserves

The incorporation of plant materials in “Serra da Estrela” cheese improves antioxidant activity without changing the fatty acid profile and visual appearance

“Serra da Estrela” cheese is a Portuguese delicacy, which has been produced for centuries from the milk of cattle pasturing in the protected Serra da Estrela natural park. Transforming this cheese into a functional food would be a huge benefit for the market and the consumer. Decocted extracts and dried chestnut flowers and lemon balm plants were incorporated into the cheese to functionalize it, granting antioxidant activity to this foodstuff. The functionalized cheeses showed higher antioxidant activity, especially lipid peroxidation inhibition. The incorporation of dried plants appeared to be more effective than using decoctions, but the influence of the plant species was less observable. Furthermore, the fatty acids profile of the cheeses was also determined through gas chromatography. C18:1 and C16:0 were the most abundant fatty acids; saturated fatty acids prevailed over the unsaturated ones. Between the control and the incorporated samples no significant differences were found. In addition, the external color was measured through a spectrophotometer for lightness, yellowness and redness. There were some differences recorded for each samples’ color. In general, the results indicated that the functionalization of this exquisite dairy product with natural plant extracts provided beneficial characteristics, both for consumers (healthier product) and producers (added-value products).The authors are grateful to the companies Queijos Casa Matias, Lda and Mais Ervas, Lda. for providing the cheese and M. officinalis samples, respectively. The authors also acknowledge PRODER project No. 46577-Plant Lact., and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FTC, Portugal) for financial support to the research center CIMO (Pest-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011)

Managers' cultural origin and corporate response to an economic shock

We exploit the exogenous Covid-19 shock in a bicultural area of Italy to identify cultural differences in the way companies respond to economic shocks. Firms with managers of diverse cultural backgrounds resort to different forms of government aid, diverge in their investment decisions, and have different growth rates. These findings are consistent with cultural differences in time preferences and debt aversion. Specifically, we find that the response of managers belonging to a more long-term oriented culture is characterized by a lower recourse to debt, more investments and higher growth rates. Overall, our results show that the cultural origin of managers significantly affects firms' reaction to economic shocks and real economic outcomes

Banking on deposit relationships: implications for hold-up problems in the loan market

Theory suggests that by lending to a firm, inside banks gain an informational advantage over non-lender outside banks. This informational gap hinders borrowers from switching lenders due to a winner’s curse faced by competing outside banks, leading to hold-up problems. In this paper, we show that firms can reduce this informational gap by forming deposit relationships with outside banks, thereby attenuating hold-up. Using unique data on the deposit and lending relationships of all firm-bank pairs in Norway, we find that having a deposit relationship with non-lender outside banks significantly increases a firm’s likelihood of switching lenders. Furthermore, firms that have a prior deposit relationship with new lenders obtain significantly better loan conditions upon switching. In line with informational hold-up theory, these effects are driven by reduced information asymmetries, not cross-selling. Our findings have important implications for open banking and hold-up problems in the loan market.publishedVersio

Managers' cultural origin and corporate response to an economic shock

We exploit the exogenous Covid-19 shock in a bicultural area of Italy to identify cultural differences in the way companies respond to economic shocks. Firms with managers of diverse cultural backgrounds resort to different forms of government aid, diverge in their investment decisions, and have different growth rates. These findings are consistent with cultural differences in time preferences and debt aversion. Specifically, we find that the response of managers belonging to a more long-term oriented culture is characterized by a lower recourse to debt, more investments and higher growth rates. Overall, our results show that the cultural origin of managers significantly affects firms’ reaction to economic shocks and real economic outcome