Hepatitis C virus related cirrhosis decreased as indication to liver transplantation since the introduction of direct-acting antivirals: A single-center study

AIM: To evaluate waiting list (WL) registration and liver transplantation (LT) rates in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis since the introduction of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). METHODS: All adult patients with cirrhosis listed for LT at Padua University Hospital between 2006-2017 were retrospectively collected using a prospectively-updated database; patients with HCV-related cirrhosis were divided by indication for LT [dec-HCV vs HCV/ hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)] and into two interval times (2006-2013 and 2014-2017) according to the introduction of DAAs. For each patient, indications to LT, severity of liver dysfunction and the outcome in the WL were assessed and compared between the two different time periods. For patients receiving DAA-based regimens, the achievement of viral eradication and the outcome were also evaluated. RESULTS: One thousand one hundred and ninty-four [male (M)/female (F): 925/269] patients were included. Considering the whole cohort, HCV-related cirrhosis was the main etiology at the time of WL registration (490/1194 patients, 41%). HCV-related cirrhosis significantly decreased as indication to WL registration after DAA introduction (from 43.3% in 2006-2013 to 37.2% in 2014-2017, P = 0.05), especially amongst dec-HCV (from 24.2% in 2006-2013 to 15.9% in 2014-2017, P = 0.007). Even HCV remained the most common indication to LT over time (289/666, 43.4%), there was a trend towards a decrease after DAAs introduction (from 46.3% in 2006-2013 to 39% in 2014-2017, P = 0.06). HCV patients (M/F: 43/11, mean age: 57.7 \ub1 8 years) who achieved viral eradication in the WL had better transplant-free survival (log-rank test P = 0.02) and delisting rate (P = 0.002) than untreated HCV patients. CONCLUSION: Introduction of DAAs significantly reduced WL registrations for HCV related cirrhosis, especially in the setting of decompensated cirrhosis

The <i>British Accounting Review</i> review process: evidence from 1997 to 2006

This is the first part of a two-part analysis of submissions to The British Accounting Review (BAR) over the decade spanning 1997 to 2006. In this part, we outline the journal review process, report on selected characteristics (country of origin, number of authors) of 657 submitted papers and report on the review process outcomes of these papers (including turnaround times). In part two of this analysis, we will investigate the characteristics of these papers that give insights into the way in which accounting and finance knowledge has developed over the decade (in particular, the topic area and methods of analysis used)

Large firms and catch-up in a transitional economy: the case of Shougang Group in China

This study examines the possibility of catch-up of the Chinese steel industry, in particular the Shougang Group, with the leading global steel giants. Shougang is one of the four steel companies that have been selected by the Chinese government to constitute the core of the future Chinese steel industry. The contract system at Shougang, which operated from 1979 to 1995, unleashed an extraordinary entrepreneurial energy in the formerly traditional state-run steel plant. In the post-contract system, Shougang's range of decision-making independence in respect to the purchase of inputs, its production structure and product marketing has increased substantially compared to the contract system, when the government still controlled many of the key decisions. As a result of institutional constraint, the low value-added steel products dominate Shougang's portfolio. To challenge the established giants in the steel industry, Shougang has to divest the loss-making non-core businesses, slowly downsize employment in the core business, raise capital on the stock market and generates the resources for continued upgrading of its steel technology and diversifying its product portfolio

The British Accounting Review - characteristics of papers submitted and accepted, 1997 to 2006

Abstract not available

The Provisions on Geographical Indications in the TRIPS Agreement

This article provides an overview of the provisions on geographical indications contained in the TRIPS Agreement and how they came about in the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, which took place from 1986 to 1994 and resulted in the establishment of the World Trade Organization. The article underscores the difficulties involved in arriving at international standards in this area of intellectual property by putting the TRIPS provisions on geographical indications in their historical perspective of more than 120 years of international negotiations and by explaining their compromise character in the context of the single undertaking of the Uruguay Round and the continuing discussions at the international level, notably under the Doha Development Agenda.agriculture, geographical indications, intellectual property, WIPO, WTO, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Relations/Trade,

‘I am sorry it is not more, but it is all I could earn’: Presbyterian Children, Christmas and Charity in Colonial New Zealand, c.1909-1945

In February 1884 the Presbyterian mission ship&nbsp;The Dayspring&nbsp;departed the southern New&nbsp;Zealand city of Dunedin, en route back to the New Hebrides [Vanuatu] via Sydney, after&nbsp;completing a tour of the colony’s main centres.&nbsp;The&nbsp;Otago Daily Times&nbsp;reporter&nbsp;observed that&nbsp;in Dunedin&nbsp;the ship was visited by ‘close on 14,000 persons&nbsp;–&nbsp;children and adults’, with&nbsp;another ‘600 children’&nbsp;as&nbsp;visitors&nbsp;prior to its departure from&nbsp;nearby&nbsp;Port Chalmers.&nbsp;The&nbsp;children inspected&nbsp;‘various curios’&nbsp;in the cabins&nbsp;and at least saw, if not interacted with, five ‘natives’&nbsp;on board.&nbsp;These four&nbsp;men and one woman,&nbsp;from the New Hebrides,&nbsp;had ‘shown&nbsp;themselves to be possessed of much intelligence and observation’ who, through ‘missionary&nbsp;labour and Christian instruction’, had been ‘transformed from savage cannibals into peaceful,&nbsp;gentle Christians’&nbsp;(‘The Dayspring’&nbsp;1884, p. 2)

Knowledge and Beliefs about Cancer in African American Population

Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the United States, taking the lives of one in four Americans each year (American Cancer Society [ACS], 2015). A total of 1,658,370 new cancer cases and 589,430 deaths from cancer were projected to occur in the United States in 2015 (ACS, 2015). In 2013, approximately 176,630 new cancer cases and 64,880 deaths from cancer were projected to occur in African American communities. The majority of diagnoses were cancers of the prostate, lung, colon, rectum, breast, and colorectal region (ACS, 2013). For most cancers, African Americans have the highest death rate, and shortest survival rate, of any racial or ethnic sub-groups (ACS, 2013). Individual perception, knowledge, beliefs, and awareness systems can influence the cancer evaluation process and the ability to fight the disease. The health belief model (HBM) is a conceptual framework used to explain an individual’s behavior based on the individual’s belief or perception. This paper reports on an analysis of a sample of self-identified African American respondents to the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) data HINT4 cycle3, to explore an association of African Americans’ knowledge, beliefs and the processes of cancer information-seeking behavior based on the HBM and demographic information. The results showed that African Americans with a higher level of education were significantly more likely to access common sources of cancer information. Perceived benefits and cues-to-action were significantly associated with the common sources of cancer information sought whereas perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived barrier, and self-efficacy were not. African Americans’ perceptions and beliefs of cancer may be enhanced through health education, mass media campaigns, and a wider availability of health information online

Scholarly communication in education journals

The rise of disciplines is connected with the formation of groups or networks of specialists. It is connected with the emergence of "scientific communities," theorized about since Thomas Kuhn and Robert Merton. But how is such a community of specialists brought together; how are common orientations among members of a scientific community upheld? In this article it is argued that scholarly journals play a key role in the modern scientific disciplines. Journals both secure the shared values of a scientific community and endorse what that community takes to be certified knowledge. Publications in scholarly journals have become the basic units of scientific communication in a discipline. Against this theoretical background, I analyze in this article the evolution of the leading scholarly journal in the field of education in the Dutch-language community, Paedagogische Studien (Studies in Education). The analyses illuminate a number of historical evolutions in this journal in the period 1920-75: the increase in coauthorship and the concomitant standardization of publication formats; the changing role of the editorial board, especially in its function of gatekeeper of scientific communication; and the increase and the shifting "global" nature of cited work in the journal. Because of the close relationship between journal and discipline, this analysis highlights basic characteristics of the patterns of communication and the constitution of disciplinary identity in Dutch-language educational science

Is voice therapy an effective treatment for dysphonia? A randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVES: To assess the overall efficacy of voice therapy for dysphonia. DESIGN: Single blind randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Outpatient clinic in a teaching hospital. Participants: 204 outpatients aged 17-87 with a primary symptom of persistent hoarseness for at least two months. INTERVENTIONS: After baseline assessments, patients were randomised to six weeks of either voice therapy or no treatment. Assessments were repeated at six weeks on the 145 (71%) patients who continued to this stage and at 12-14 weeks on the 133 (65%) patients who completed the study. The assessments at the three time points for the 70 patients who completed treatment and the 63 patients in the group given no treatment were compared. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ratings of laryngeal features, Buffalo voice profile, amplitude and pitch perturbation, voice profile questionnaire, hospital anxiety and depression scale, clinical interview schedule, SF-36. RESULTS: Voice therapy improved voice quality as assessed by rating by patients (P=0.001) and rating by observer (P&#60;0.001). The treatment effects for these two outcomes were 4.1 (95% confidence interval 1.7 to 6.6) points and 0.82 (0.50 to 1.13) points. Amplitude perturbation showed improvement at six weeks (P=0.005) but not on completion of the study. Patients with dysphonia had appreciable psychological distress and lower quality of life than controls, but voice therapy had no significant impact on either of these variables. CONCLUSION: Voice therapy is effective in improving voice quality as assessed by self rated and observer rated methods