Qualification Period Research Articles

Performance Analysis During the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualification

This article analyzes the performance of the national football teams during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. The sample consists of 31 qualified national teams to the final tournament in Brazil. The analysis uses Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology and is carried out for the whole qualification period between June 2011 and November 2013. Each national team is evaluated according to a number of played matches, used players, qualification group quality, obtained points, and score. The results show that only 12.9% teams reached the performance of 100%. The reasons of low performances mainly depend on teams´ qualities either in each qualification zone or in each qualification group. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is used to confirm the adequate structure of the DEA model.

The Oral Surgery trainee perspective

AbstractAimThis study aims to gather information about Oral Surgery training programmes by carrying out a survey of the trainees currently in post.Materials and methodsA web‐based questionnaire was sent to current Oral Surgery trainees. Questions about training environment, clinical exposure, examinations and future career aspirations were included.ResultsThirty of the 40 trainees contacted responded by part or fully completing the questionnaire. The mean time period of qualification from dental school to Oral Surgery training was 5.1 years. The majority, 80%, of trainees were on a 3‐year full‐time programme that entitled them to sit the Membership in Oral Surgery Examination (M Oral Surg) only. Four trainees who responded were eligible to sit both M Oral Surg and the Intercollegiate Specialty Fellowship Exam.ConclusionsThe questionnaire highlighted areas Oral Surgery trainees perceived to be important for their training and development. Identification of these issues will allow attention to be focused in addressing them.

Employees’ Discernment of Workforce Diversity and Its Effect on Job Satisfaction in a Public Service Department

In South Africa, much has been said and legislated in terms of enhancing workforce diversity of organizations. Workforce diversity issues are now considered important and are projected to become even more important in the future due to increasing differences in terms of age, gender, race or origin in the organization. Organizations need to focus on diversity and look at ways to become totally inclusive organizations because diversity has the potential of yielding greater job satisfaction and competitive advantages. The need to understand diversity is also driven by women and younger workers in the workplace. The current study focuses on the employees’ discernment of workforce diversity and its effect on job satisfaction. A sample of 90 employees was used in the study. The data was collected by means of a questionnaire which consisted of closed ended questions on a Likert-Scale. Statistical analysis was applied to the quantitative data obtained. Seven factors (age, marital status, ethnicity, income levels, period of service, professional qualification and job title) were investigated. The results indicated that five of the factors could have predictive effect on employee commitment to work. However, employee commitment was not significantly affected by the factor of gender. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n15p37

Community-based incentives for environmental protection: the case of green electricity

This paper examines the effectiveness of using community-level rewards to subsidize environmental protection. Specifically, we study the Connecticut Clean Energy Communities (CCEC) program that provides mostly symbolic rewards in the form of municipal photovoltaic installations in proportion to the number of households that voluntarily purchase green electricity. We find that the program causes a 22 % increase in the number of households purchasing green electricity in CCEC municipalities. The pattern of results suggests that the CCEC leads to the mobilization of community-based recruitment campaigns that increase signup rates by up to 700 % around the period of initial qualification. We also find that a change in the marginal incentive created by the program has little consequence on signup behavior. The implication for policy is that community-based incentives can be effective, but the size of the subsidy itself appears less important. Finally, simple calculations based on CCEC up-front costs reveal upper-bound, cost-effectiveness measures of $570 per household signup, 6.7\(\not {c} \) per kilowatt-hour of annual green-electricity demand, and $113 per ton of annual carbon-dioxide emission reductions.

Free Agency and the Australian Football League

The Australian Football League (AFL) has operated a twin labour market control system of salary cap and draft since the mid-1980s. While the AFL can point to facts such as an increase in the number of clubs winning premierships since this time to justify their use, the players were still restricted in regard to playing for the club of their choice. This therefore led to a push from the players for free agency, which was introduced at the end of the 2012 season. Its main features are a two tiered system of restricted and unrestricted free agents, an eight year qualification period and compensation in the form of draft selections being granted by the AFL rather than coming from the club receiving the services of the free agent. It is suggested that the AFL had no choice but to introduce some form of free agency, though only time will tell whether the model adopted represents a balanced policy that serves the League, clubs and players fairly.

Unfair Dismissal Reform: Political Ping-Pong with Equality?

The government proposal to re-raise the fair dismissal qualification period by Ministerial Order to two years is vulnerable to judicial review, because it will have a discriminatory impact on people protected by the Equality Act 2010 and the EU Equality Directives. The House of Lords addressed the same issue in R (Seymour-Smith) v Secretary of State for Employment after the last time the qualifying period was raised. A better alternative to halt growth in unemployment is probably not allow employers to make it easier to make workers unemployed, but to pay regard to the workforce’s views when determining the fairness of dismissals. In any event, it appears relatively clear that the courts would not let UK governments continue to play political ping pong where equal rights are at stake.

Factors affecting myofascial pain pattern recognition in musculoskeletal therapists: an exploratory study

Aims: To evaluate the ability of experienced musculoskeletal physiotherapists to recall and identify myofascial trigger point (MTrP) pain referral patterns associated with the cervical spine, and to determine the factors affecting myofascial pain pattern recognition in experienced musculoskeletal physiotherapists. Methodology: A questionnaire-based descriptive survey using mixed methods was employed. A specially constructed questionnaire was used in the study. Responses were subjected to descriptive, statistical, and thematic analysis. Results: Twenty-five experienced musculoskeletal (MSK) physiotherapists (mean qualification period=10.3 years, mean specialist MSK experience=7.52 years) took part in the study. 100% completed the questionnaire. The MTrP pattern recognition rate was 23.33%. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed a number of factors that may help to explain this low rate within the study sample. Conclusions: This exploratory study highlights deficiencies in the ability of experienced musculoskeletal physiotherapists to recall and identify MTrP pain referral patterns associated with the cervical spine. Several factors were identified that may have contributed to the observed deficiencies in this area including: lack of education, knowledge and experience, difficulty with clinical recall, and notions surrounding clinical relevance.

Cognitive and Graded Activity Training Can Alleviate Persistent Fatigue After Stroke

Fatigue is a common, persistent consequence of stroke, and no evidence-based treatments are currently available to alleviate fatigue. A new treatment combining cognitive therapy (CO) with graded activity training (GRAT), called COGRAT, was developed to alleviate fatigue and fatigue-related symptoms. This study compared the effectiveness of the COGRAT intervention with a CO-only intervention after a 3-month qualification period without intervention. This randomized, controlled, assessor-blind clinical trial was conducted in 8 rehabilitation centers. Eighty-three stroke patients (>4 months after stroke) were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of CO or COGRAT after qualification. Seventy-three patients completed treatment and 68 were available at follow-up. Primary outcomes (Checklist Individual Strength-subscale Fatigue (CIS-f); self-observation list-fatigue (SOL-f)) and secondary outcomes (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Stroke-Adapted Sickness Impact Profile, SOL-pain, SOL-sleep-D, 6-minute walk test) were collected at baseline (before and after qualification period) and after treatment (immediate and 6-month follow-up). The qualification period showed stable outcome measures. Both treatments showed significant beneficial effects on fatigue (CIS-f: η(p)(2)=0.48, P<0.001) and other outcomes (except pain and anxiety) with intention-to-treat analyses. Gains for the COGRAT group exceeded those in the CO group on number of individuals showing clinical improvement on the CIS-f (≥8 points: 58% versus 24%) and on physical endurance (η(p)(2)=0.20, P<0.001). A 12-week cognitive therapy program can alleviate persistent fatigue after stroke. The best results are obtained when cognitive therapy is augmented with graded activity training. Clinical Trial Registration- URL: http://www.trialregister.nl. Unique identifier: NTR2704.

HR Update: Get ready for changes to unfair dismissal

Nursery WorldVol. 2011, No. 10 FeatureHR Update: Get ready for changes to unfair dismissalPublished Online:4 Mar 2014https://doi.org/10.12968/nuwa.2011.31.10.1096651AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextView EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail View articleAbstractThe current qualification period for employees to bring an unfair dismissal claim to an employment tribunal is one year. From 6 April 2012 employees will require two years’ service to do so. However, employers need to understand the power of other staff rights which might result in a successful early claim, says Jacqui Mann, managing director of HR4Nurseries (www.hr4nurseries.co.uk) FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails 1 October 2011Volume 2011Issue 10ISSN (print): 0029-6422ISSN (online): 2059-9358 Metrics History Published online 4 March 2014 Published in print 1 October 2011 Information© MA Education Ltd

The Maastricht Ultrasound Shoulder pain trial (MUST): Ultrasound imaging as a diagnostic triage tool to improve management of patients with non-chronic shoulder pain in primary care

BackgroundSubacromial disorders are considered to be one of the most common pathologies affecting the shoulder. Optimal therapy for shoulder pain (SP) in primary care is yet unknown, since clinical history and physical examination do not provide decisive evidence as to the patho-anatomical origin of the symptoms. Optimal decision strategies can be furthered by applying ultrasound imaging (US), an accurate method in diagnosing SP, demonstrating a clear relationship between diagnosis and available therapies. Yet, the clinical cost-effectiveness of applying US in the management of SP in primary care has not been studied. The aim of this paper is to describe the design and methods of a trial assessing the cost-effectiveness of ultrasound imaging as a diagnostic triage tool to improve management of primary care patients with non-chronic shoulder pain.Methods/DesignThis randomised controlled trial (RCT) will involve 226 adult patients with suspected subacromial disorders recruited by general practitioners. During a Qualification period of two weeks, patients receive care as usual as advised by the Dutch College of General Practitioners, and patients are referred for US. Patients with insufficient improvement qualify for the RCT. These patients are then randomly assigned to the intervention or the control group. The therapies used in both groups are the same (corticosteroid injections, referral to a physiotherapist or orthopedic surgeon) except that therapies used in the intervention group will be tailored based on the US results. Ultrasound diagnosed disorders include tendinopathy, calcific tendinitis, partial and full thickness tears, and subacromial bursitis. The primary outcome is patient-perceived recovery at 52 weeks, using the Global Perceived Effect questionnaire. Secondary outcomes are disease specific and generic quality of life, cost-effectiveness, and the adherence to the initial applied treatment. Outcome measures will be assessed at baseline, 13, 26, 39 and 52 weeks after inclusion. An economic evaluation will be performed from both a health care and societal perspective with a time horizon of 52 weeks.DiscussionThe results of this trial will give unique evidence regarding the cost-effectiveness of US as a diagnostic triage tool in the management of SP in primary care.

A study of the effects of acarbose on glucose metabolism in patients predisposed to developing diabetes: the Dutch acarbose intervention study in persons with impaired glucose tolerance (DAISI)

We hypothesized that acarbose would delay conversion from impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) to type 2 diabetes by alleviating postprandial hyperglycaemia. Our study's main objective was to investigate the effect of acarbose in IGT-persons on their 2-h plasma glucose level and beta-cell function. The study included a random sample of 45-70-year-old residents of Hoorn, Netherlands, with mean fasting plasma glucose < 7.8 mmol/L and mean 2-h plasma glucose of 8.6-11.1 mmol/L (measured by two successive oral glucose tolerance tests). After a qualification period, participants were randomized to acarbose treatment or placebo. Insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity were measured by hyperglycaemic clamp. After a 3-year treatment, analyses were performed of both the intention-to-treat and the per-protocol groups. Of the 12 093 residents who received postal invitations, 118 participants were randomized. The mean difference of the post-load plasma glucose after 3 years, was - 1.16 mmol/L (95% CI: - 2.03; - 0.17). The absolute risk reduction for diabetes was 6% (95% CI: - 9; 21). No effect was seen on insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity. In patients with IGT, treatment with acarbose was associated with beneficial effects on 2-h plasma glucose levels but not with improvement of beta-cell function.

Lernen am späteren Arbeitsplatz: Eine Analyse studentischer Erwartungen und Erfahrungen im „Praktischen Jahr“

The amended German license to practice medicine (AAppO) focuses on practically oriented, patient-centred medical education. After the cancellation of the former medical doctor traineeship "Arzt im Praktikum" (AiP) qualification period in October 2004, the final year of medical education, the so-called "practical year" (PJ), has become a key teaching module in realising the demands of the AAppO. So far no studies have been carried out in the German-speaking area to qualitatively assess the specific needs and central problems that PJ students are facing. The aim of this investigation was to representatively evaluate the expectancies and experiences of final-year medical students in a workplace learning environment. 65 students (30 male, 35 female, age 25.4 +/- 2 years) of two German university hospitals participated in focus groups both prior and subsequent (n = 60; drop-out rate 7.7%) to a 4-month period of internal medicine traineeship during their final year. Focus group protocols were transcribed and subjected to content analysis. 1137 individual statements on relevant topics were identified from the transcriptions. Students widely reported lack of time on the part of supervising doctors and exorbitant assignment to routine jobs. This results in insufficient training of independent patient management, followed by feelings of uncertainty and the fear of making medical errors. Specific educational strategies and motivation of medical teachers are important factors to the workplace learning environment. A structured curriculum including cognitive, procedural and communicative learning objectives and the introduction of defined time slots for bedside teaching is considered a good first step in this process.

Inflationsdifferenzen im Euroraum — Zur Rolle des Balassa- Samuelson-Effekts

Die wahrend der Qualifizierungsphase zur 3. Stufe der Wirtschafts- und Wahrungsunion erreichte Konvergenz der Inflationsraten scheint nach Einfuhrung des gemeinsamen Wahrungsraumes nicht weiter voranzuschreiten bzw. sich sogar umzukehren. Die Inflationsraten einzelner Volkswirtschaften des Euroraumes weichen deutlich vom definierten Referenzwert der EZB ab, es treten folglich nicht unerhebliche Inflationsdifferenzen im gemeinsamen Wahrungsraum zutage. Der vorliegende Beitrag analysiert diese Divergenz vornehmlich unter Berucksichtigung des Balassa-Samuelson-Theorems. Dieser Ansatz erklart Inflationsunterschiede zwischen mehreren Volkswirtschaften mittels abweichender Preisniveauentwicklungen im Sektor der handelbaren Guter sowie durch Unterschiede im intersektoralen Produktivitatswachstumsgefalle. Ziel der Untersuchung ist es, die empirische Gultigkeit dieses Erklarungsansatzes fur den Eurowahrungsraum zu beurteilen.

Cost-Effectiveness of Targeted Reemployment Bonuses

Targeting reemployment bonus offers to unemployment insurance (UI) claimants identified as most likely to exhaust benefits is estimated to reduce benefit payments. While earlier research indicated that non-targeted reemployment bonus offers would not be good public policy, in this paper we show that targeting bonus offers with profiling models similar to those in state Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services (WPRS) systems can improve their cost effectiveness. Since estimated average benefit payments do not steadily decline as the eligibility screen is gradually tightened, we find that narrow targeting is not optimal. The best candidate to emerge for a targeted reemployment bonus is a low bonus amount with a long qualification period, targeted to the half of profiled claimants most likely to exhaust their UI benefit entitlement.

Professional Careers of the German Olympic Athletes

Successful careers in top-performance sports demand large amounts of time and personal resources and normally they take a course parallel to the period of educational and professional qualification. Regarding careers of former top-performance athletes, the question arises as to how far the engagement in top-performance sports has an influence on the professional career path. This article aims to categorize the professional careers of top-performance athletes and to connect them with the subjective ratings of the respondents. This will be carried out by means of objective life-course data of former Olympic athletes. The theoretical approach is based on recent conceptions of life-course research and of professional socialization research. In a postal inquiry of 616 successful German Olympic athletes (male and female) the sports and professional careers were recorded retrospectively. The results show that former top-performance athletes generally have higher educational qualifications and professional positions than the German population. But as there are big differences with regard to the individual career patterns, a typology of professional careers seems to be practical. For that purpose, a classification typology of professional careers was developed using cluster analysis. The engagement in sports rather favours the professional career in its course.

Prospective testing for drug-dependent antibodies reduces the incidence of thrombocytopenia observed with the small molecule glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonist roxifiban: implications for the etiology of thrombocytopenia

AbstractThrombocytopenia is a relatively common side effect observed during glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa antagonist therapy. With the oral antagonist roxifiban, we observed thrombocytopenia, defined as 50% reduction of platelets over predose values or below 90 000/μL (9 × 1010/L), with a frequency of 2% (8 of 386). Thrombocytopenia occurred either early (days 2 to 4) or delayed (days 11 to 16). No additional cases were observed with up to 6 months of treatment. Retrospective analysis provided evidence for drug-dependent antibodies (DDABs) to GP IIb/IIIa in 5 of 6 subjects, suggestive of an immune etiology of thrombocytopenia. The hypothesis that excluding patients based on positive DDAB reaction would reduce the frequency of thrombocytopenia was tested. Patients were screened for DDABs during the study qualification period and, overall, 3.9% of the patients were excluded based on pre-existing DDAB concentrations above a statistically defined medical decision limit. An additional 2.6% were excluded based on therapy-related antibody production during the first 2 weeks. With antibody testing, 0.2% of patients (2 of 1044) developed immune-mediated thrombocytopenia. One case developed a rapidly increasing antibody concentration and presented with thrombocytopenia despite discontinuation of roxifiban therapy. The second case was related to a false-negative test result. The frequency of thrombocytopenia was statistically significantly reduced from 2% to 0.2% (P= .0007) comparing nonscreened and screened patients. Testing for DDABs can reduce the frequency of thrombocytopenia in patients treated with roxifiban and, by analogy, other GP IIb/IIIa antagonists. Thus, DDAB testing may be employed to increase the safety of GP IIb/IIIa antagonists.

Smallest real difference, a link between reproducibility and responsiveness.

The aim of this study is to show the relationship between test-retest reproducibility and responsiveness and to introduce the smallest real difference (SRD) approach, using the sickness impact profile (SIP) in chronic stroke patients as an example. Forty chronic stroke patients were interviewed twice by the same examiner, with a 1-week interval. All patients were interviewed during the qualification period preceding a randomized clinical trial. Test-retest reproducibility has been quantified by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). the standard error of measurement (SEM) and the related smallest real difference (SRD). Responsiveness was defined as the ratio of the clinically relevant change to the SD of the within-stable-subject test-retest differences. The ICC for the total SIP was 0.92, whereas the ICCs for the specified SIP categories varied from 0.63 for the category 'recreation and pastime' to 0.88 for the category 'work'. However, both the SEM and the SRD far more capture the essence of the reproducibility of a measurement instrument. For instance, a total SIP score of an individual patient of 28.3% (which is taken as an example, being the mean score in the study population) should decrease by at least 9.26% or approximately 13 items, before any improvement beyond reproducibility noise can be detected. The responsiveness to change of a health status measurement instrument is closely related to its test-retest reproducibility. This relationship becomes more evident when the SEM and the SRD are used to quantify reproducibility, than when ICC or other correlation coefficients are used.

A randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter study of the safety and efficacy of a new polyethylene glycol laxative

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to determine the efficacy and safety of a new laxative, Braintree polyethylene glycol (PEG) laxative (Miralax, Braintree Laboratories, Braintree, MA). METHODS: This investigation was designed as a placebo-controlled, blinded, randomized, multicenter parallel trial. Study subjects were constipated but otherwise healthy outpatients who had ≤2 stools during a 7-day qualification period. Braintree PEG laxative 17 g or dextrose placebo p.o. in 8 oz of water for a 14-day treatment period. A diary recorded each bowel movement and subjective symptoms of stool consistency, ease of passage, cramps, and flatus. CBC, blood chemistries and urinalysis were performed before and after the treatment period. RESULTS: There were 151 randomized subjects, 131 female and 20 male. An increase in bowel movement frequency was observed with the PEG laxative as compared to placebo ( p < 0.001), with the greatest difference in efficacy in wk 2 of treatment ( p < 0.001). By wk 2 of treatment, on average, placebo subjects had 2.7 bowel movements/wk and PEG-treated study subjects had 4.5 movements/wk ( p < 0.01), or more than one bowel movement every 2 days. Investigator ( p < 0.005) and patient ( p < 0.001) subjective assessment of perception of treatment effectiveness, and patient evaluations of stool consistency and passage showed significant improvement in the active treatment group ( p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in laboratory changes or adverse experiences recorded between groups. CONCLUSION: Braintree PEG laxative is safe and effective in the short term for the treatment of constipation.

Efficacy and tolerability of tasosartan, a novel angiotensin II receptor blocker: Results from a 10-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-titration study

Background Angiotensin II receptor antagonists are selective blockers of the renin-angiotensin system and represent an alternative to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in the treatment of hypertension. Tasosartan is a newly developed nonpeptide AT 1 receptor blocker. Methods and Results In this double-blind, randomized, dose-titration, multicenter trial, tasosartan and placebo were compared in patients with stage I and stage II hypertension. A prequalification washout period (antihypertensive medications withdrawn) and a 2-week qualification period (patients received single-blind placebo) preceded a 10-week, double-blind treatment period. The patients received either 50 mg tasosartan ( n = 132) or placebo ( n = 130) once per day and were evaluated once per week. The dose of tasosartan was increased at 3-week intervals to 100 mg and then to 200 mg if the mean sitting diastolic blood pressure (SiDBP) exceeded 90 mm Hg. Compared with placebo, tasosartan produced significantly ( P < .05) greater reductions in both SiDBP (–9.4 ± 0.7 vs –2.0 ± 0.7 mm Hg) and sitting systolic blood pressure (SBP) (–12.2 ± 1.2 vs +0.4 ± 1.2 mm Hg). The rate of response (SiDBP ≤90 mm Hg or a decrease from baseline of ≥10 mm Hg) was significantly ( P < .05) greater in the tasosartan group than in the placebo group (55% vs 19%). The mean 24-hour blood pressure reduction with tasosartan was –12.6 ± 0.9/–8.1 ± 0.6, significantly greater ( P < .05) than the reduction with placebo (+0.6 ± 0.9/+0.5 ± 0.6 mm Hg). The trough-to-peak ratio (determined from the ambulatory data) was 0.66 for DBP and 0.72 for SBP for the tasosartan treatment group, demonstrating 24-hour efficacy with once-a-day administration. The safety profile of tasosartan was similar to placebo. Conclusions These results demonstrate that tasosartan at 50 to 200 mg given once a day over a titration period of 10 weeks was effective and safe in the treatment of essential hypertension. (Am Heart J 1999;137:118-25.)

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Group, Multicenter Trial of Four Doses of Tasosartan in Patients With Essential Hypertension

Tasosartan, a new, long-act ing, nonpeptide angiotensin II receptor antagonist was evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial at 21 sites in the United States and Canada. After a 2-week, placebo washout qualification period, 278 patients (187 men/91 women) with a mean age of 53.4 ± 9.5 years (range, 30 to 70 years) and a baseline sitting diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 95 to 114 mm Hg were randomly assigned to receive placebo (n = 56), or 10 mg (n = 57), 30 mg (n = 55), 100 mg (n = 55), or 300 mg (n = 55) tasosartan for 4 weeks. The treatment period was followed by a 2-week washout period. Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring was performed at the end of the placebo washout period and after at least 4 weeks of double-blind treatment. Clinically significant placebo-adjusted differences in baseline sitting systolic blood pressure (SBP)/DBP were observed in the 10 mg (5/3 mm Hg), 30 mg (5/4 mm Hg), 100 mg (10/7 mm Hg) and 300 mg (10/7 mm Hg) dose groups ( P < .05). A dose-response relationship ( P < .001) was observed within 1 to 2 weeks of treatment initiation and was maintained throughout the double-blind period. Discontinuation of tasosartan therapy was not associated with rebound hypertension. Moreover, significant ( P < .05) placebo-adjusted differences in ambulatory SBP/DBP and a significant dose-response relationship ( P < .001) were observed with all tasosartan dosages during the 24-h, daytime, and nighttime periods. Placebo-adjusted trough-to-peak ratios ranged from 87% to 100% for ambulatory SBP and 64% to 81% for DBP. In general, no significant differences were observed between the tasosartan treatment groups and the placebo group in the incidence of adverse events. Headache incidence was significantly lower in the 300 mg dose group than the placebo group. In conclusion, tasosartan at dosages of 10, 30, 100, or 300 mg given once daily produced a significant and dose-related reduction in both clinic and ambulatory BP that was maintained over the 24-h period. Tasosartan was generally well tolerated.