Optimization of blood pressure control, organ protection and metabolic disorders using a fixed-dose combination of lisinopril+amlodipine+rosuvastatin in hypertensive patients after COVID-19

Aim. To evaluate the potential of a fixed-dose combination of lisinopril+amlodipine+rosuvastatin (Equamer®) in achieving additional vascular protection in patients with hypertension and high pulse wave velocity (PWV) after severe and very severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), complicated by bilateral multisegmental viral pneumonia, with the use of biological therapy, who had not previously received combination antihypertensive therapy.Material and methods. This 12-week open-label observational study included 30 patients with or without antihypertensive therapy. The patients underwent 24-hour blood pressure monitoring, applanation tonometry (determination of the augmentation index (AI) and central blood pressure (CBP)), PWV measurement, blood laboratory tests (lipid profile, fasting glucose, C-reactive protein, complete blood count, ferritin, fibrinogen, D-dimer, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatinine, uric acid) before and after switch to a fixed-dose combination of lisinopril+amlodipine+rosuvastatin.Results. At baseline, the patients had an increase in office blood pressure (BP) up to 152,6/89,1 mm Hg. After prescribing a fixed-dose combination of lisinopril+amlodipine+rosuvastatin, there was a decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) by 15,8% and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) by 12,2%. According to 24-hour blood pressure monitoring, the decrease in SBP was 15%, DBP — by 9%, PWV — by 23,8%, AI — by 9%, CBP — by 12,4% (p<0,05 for all compared to baseline values). Vascular age (VA) was initially increased to 41,9 years with a chronological age of 35,03 years. After the end of therapy, there was a significant decrease in VA to 36,5 years, low-density lipoproteins by 46,8%, triglycerides by 16,8% and an increase in high-density lipoproteins by 10,7% (p<0,05 for all compared to baseline values). In addition, the levels of C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, D-dimer, glucose, and uric acid significantly decreased.Conclusion. The fixed-dosed combination of lisinopril+amlodipine+rosuvastatin provides better blood pressure control, improved vascular elasticity parameters (AI, PWV, CBP, decrease in VA), and also improves lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, reduces inflammation in patients with hypertension and hyperlipidemia after severe COVID-19

Special Economic Zones 20 Years Later

In this paper the authors undertake an ex-post evaluation of whether the special economic zones (SEZs) introduced in Poland in 1994 have been successful in meeting regional development objectives. They evaluate the policy of as many of its objectives as possible: employment creation, business creation (which includes attracting foreign direct investment), income or wage effects, and environmental sustainability. They use different panel data methods to investigate this question at the powiat and gmina levels in Poland during the 1995-2011 period. It is also possible to include numerous controls to reduce the problem of the omitted variables bias such as education level, dependency rates, state ownership, general subsidies and whether the area is urban or rural. The results indicate that SEZs in Poland have been successful in a number of their objectives such as private business creation. The positive effect of the policy however mainly comes through foreign direct investment (FDI), whereas the effects on e.g. investment and employment are small or insignificant. In other areas, such as securing higher income levels and locking firms into the sustainability agenda through the adoption of green technologies and reduced air pollution, the authors find only a small positively moderating effect of the policy on what are traditionally economically disadvantaged areas in Poland that used to be dependent on the socialist production model. Hence, despite high levels of FDI, the zones policy has not managed to overcome the legacy of backwardness or lagging regions. The main policy implication of the paper is that SEZs may be successful in stimulating activity in the short run but the policy must be seen as one of necessary temporality and can therefore not stand alone. Before launching SEZs, policymakers must have plans in place for follow up measures to ensure the longer term competitiveness and sustainability implications of such an initiative. There is a need to understand the connection between the specific incentive schemes used (in this particular case tax incentives were used) and the kinds of firms and activities they attract, including the behavioral models that those incentives promote

Natural-Resource or Market-Seeking FDI in Russia? An Empirical Study of Locational Factors Affecting the Regional Distribution of FDI Entries

This paper conducts an empirical study of the factors that affect the spatial distribution of foreign direct investment (FDI) across regions in Russia; in particular, this paper is concerned with those regions that are endowed with natural resources and marketrelated benefits. Our analysis employs data on Russian firms with a foreign investor during the 2000-2009 period and linked regional statistics in the conditional logit model. The main findings are threefold. First, we conclude that one theory alone is not able to explain the geographical pattern of foreign investments in Russia. A combination of determinants is at work; market-related factors and the availability of natural resources are important factors in attracting FDI. The relative importance of natural resources seems to grow over time, despite shocks associated with events such as the Yukos trial. Second, existing agglomeration economies encourage foreign investors by means of forces generated simultaneously by sector-specific and inter-sectoral externalities. Third, the findings imply that service-oriented FDI co-locates with extraction industries in resource-endowed regions. The results are robust when Moscow is excluded and for subsamples including only Greenfield investments or both Greenfield investments and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).Dieses Arbeitspapier ist eine empirische Studie der Faktoren, die auf den räumlichen Verteilungsprozess von Auslandsdirektinvestitionen (FDI) in den russischen Regionen wirken. Insbesondere befasst sich die Studie dabei mit den Regionen, die mit natürlichen Ressourcen und umfassenden Märkten ausgestattet sind. In unserer Analyse kombinieren wir umfangreiche Regionaldaten mit Firmendaten russischer Unternehmen, in die mindestens ein ausländischer Investor im Zeitraum zwischen 2000 und 2009 investiert hat. Die Analyse nach den Standortfaktoren wird in einem Conditional Logit Modell untersucht. Die grundlegenden Ergebnisse der Studie sind dreifach zu differenzieren. Erstens kann festgestellt werden, dass eine Theorie alleine nicht ausreicht, um das geographische Muster von FDI in Russland zu erklären. Vielmehr kann eine Kombination der Determinanten festgestellt werden; marktbedingte Faktoren und die Zugänglichkeit von natürlichen Ressourcen stellen sich als wichtige Komponenten für die Ansiedlung ausländischer Investoren dar. Der Einfluss natürlicher Ressourcen ist dabei stetig über die Zeit gewachsen, ungeachtet von exogenen Schocks wie beispielsweise dem Yukos-Prozess. Zweitens wirken Agglomerationseffekte auf die Standwortwahl ausländischer Investoren sowohl durch sektorspezifische als auch durch intersektorale Externalitäten. Drittens zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass der Zugang zu natürlichen Ressourcen FDI in Dienstleistungssektoren nach sich zieht. Auch wenn Investitionen in Moskau ausgegrenzt bzw. M&A (Mergers & Acquistions) Investitionen hinzugenommen werden, bleiben die Regressionsergebnisse stabil

FDI and Long-Term Economic Growth in Russia

In this paper we consider relationship between foreign direct investment (as one of the mechanisms of technological development) and long-term economic growth. In the beginning we discuss the role of FDI in the increase of total factor productivity from the viewpoint of endogenous growth theory. We then turn to the comparative analysis of FDI inflow to Russia and other countries broken down by economic industries. We find that Russian industries capable of increasing TFP and positively impacting the long-term economic growth are significantly underinvested relative to other countries. Since, in our opinion, pre-existing sources of Russia’s economic growth are almost completely exhausted, we suggest several economic policy measures aimed at attracting FDI in Russia and improve the absorptive capacity of the country

Tax haven

This data set is created for the paper: Capital round-tripping: Determinants of emerging market firm investments into offshore financial centers and their ethical implicationsThe replication data contains stata files and replication codes to run estimations reported in Tables 2-7 in this paper.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Determinants of investment distribution across Russian regions: a Bayesian averaging of classical estimates (BACE) method application [Электронный ресурс]

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Tax haven

This data set is created for the paper: Capital round-tripping: Determinants of emerging market firms` investments into offshore financial centersThe replication data contains stata files and replication codes to run estimations reported in Tables 1-6 in this paper.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV