Retailers and apparel imports: variables associated with relative proportions of imports carried
Purposes of this exploratory study were: (i) to determine retailers' views toward imported apparel, (ii) to gain insight into retailers' reasons for carrying imported apparel, and (iii) to examine variables associated with relative proportions of imported apparel carried in stock. Interviewers surveyed 191 retailers in the eastern U.S.A., using a structured telephone interview. Data analysis included chi-square tests of association and frequency distributions. The proportion of stock retailers reported to be imported was cross-tabulated with a number of variables. Results gave insight into retailers' reasons for carrying imported apparel, although a majority appeared to favour domestic apparel; results also indicated some of the problems associated with carrying foreign-made goods. Results can be useful to manufacturers in their efforts to counter retailers' trend to carry increasing quantities of imported apparel and to educators preparing graduates for employment in this sensitive sector.
Demand for Apparel Imports in the United States
A single-equation import demand model was developed to estimate U.S. demand for apparel imports from developed and developing countries. Separate analyses were done for each region usingannualdatafrom 1974 to 1988. The independent variables were U.S. apparel expenditures, prices of apparel imports relative to domestic prices, and trend. They had a significant impact on apparel imports in most instances. The own-price elasticities of demandfor imports varied by import source. They rangedfrom −0.61 to −0.81for the developing countries andfrom −2.35 to −2.57for the developed countries. In contrast, expenditure elasticities were greater than unity for both regions. The sign of the coefficient of the trend variable was positive for developed countries, whereas it was negative for developing countries, which is consistent with the implementation of the Multifiber Arrangement.
The bradykinin B1 receptor and the central regulation of blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats
We evaluated if the brain bradykinin (BK) B1 receptor is involved in the regulation of blood pressure (BP) in conscious rats. Basal mean BP and HR were 115±2 and 165±3 mmHg and 345±10 and 410±14 beats min−1 in Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), respectively. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of 1 nmol B1 receptor agonist Lys‐desArg9‐BK significantly increased the BP of WKY and SHR by 7±1 and 19±2 mmHg, respectively. One nmol Sar[D‐Phe8]‐desArg9‐BK, a kininase‐resistant B1 agonist, increased the BP of WKY and SHR by 19±2 and 17±2 mmHg, respectively and reduced HR in both strains. I.c.v. injection of 0.01 nmol B1 antagonists, LysLeu8‐desArg9‐BK or AcLys[D‐βNal7,Ile8]‐desArg9‐BK (R715), significantly decreased mean BP in SHR (by 9±2 mmHg the former and 14±3 mmHg the latter compound), but not in WKY. In SHR, the BP response to R715 was associated to tachycardia. I.c.v. Captopril, a kininase inhibitor, increased the BP of SHR, this response being partially prevented by i.c.v. R715 and reversed into a vasodepressor effect by R715 in combination with the B2 antagonist Icatibant. I.c.v. antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) targeted to the B1 receptor mRNA decreased BP in SHR, but not in WKY. HR was not altered in either strain. Distribution of fluorescein‐conjugated ODNs was detected in brain areas surrounding cerebral ventricles. Our results indicate that the brain B1 receptor participates in the regulation of BP. Activation of the B1 receptor by kinin metabolites could participate in the pathogenesis of hypertension in SHR.