Virginia Commonwealth University

About: Virginia Commonwealth University is a education organization based out in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 23822 authors who have published 49587 publications receiving 1787046 citations. The organization is also known as: VCU.

An Empirical Investigation of the Performance Consequences of Nonfinancial Measures

Abstract: Firms are increasingly implementing new performance measurement systems to track nonfinancial metrics such as customer and employee satisfaction, quality, market share, productivity, and innovation. This study examines the implications of nonfinancial performance measures included in compensation contracts on current and future performance. Contextual factors, environmental factors, and strategic plans vary across firms and, in turn, adopting appropriate nonfinancial measures determines the performance consequences of such measures. Our findings support the contention that firms that employ a combination of financial and nonfinancial performance measures have significantly higher mean levels of returns on assets and higher levels of market returns. Although we find evidence that the adoption of nonfinancial measures improves firms' current and future stock market performance, we find only partial support for accounting performance improvements. Overall, the results indicate that the association between th...

Formation of plexiform lesions in experimental severe pulmonary arterial hypertension

Abstract: Background— The plexiform lesion is the hallmark of severe pulmonary arterial hypertension. However, its genesis and hemodynamic effects are largely unknown because of the limited availability of lung tissue samples from patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and the lack of appropriate animal models. This study investigated whether rats with severe progressive pulmonary hypertension developed plexiform lesions. Methods and Results— After a single subcutaneous injection of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor blocker Sugen 5416, rats were exposed to hypoxia for 3 weeks. They were then returned to normoxia for an additional 10 to 11 weeks. Hemodynamic and histological examinations were performed at 13 to 14 weeks after the Sugen 5416 injection. All rats developed pulmonary hypertension (right ventricular systolic pressure ≈100 mm Hg) and severe pulmonary arteriopathy, including concentric neointimal and complex plexiform-like lesions. There were 2 patterns of complex lesion formation: a l...