Retrospective analysis of total direct medical costs associated with hepatitis B patients with oral antiviral versus pegylated interferon therapy in Turkey

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108669/1/jvh12206.pd

The Behavior of Soluble Salt in Sharkey Clay

Soluble salt problems do exist and are significant in Arkansas. Studies have been conducted on Crowley silt loam (Typic Albaqualfs) which have established the behavior of soluble salt in that soil. The major objective of this study was to quantify the behavior of soluble salt in a second important Mississippi River Delta soil - the Sharkey (Vertic Haplaquepts). To this end, estimation of the downward redistribution of salt and the estimation of various components of the water balance for this soil served as specific objectives. Field studies were designed to monitor the movement of salt in the Sharkey soil and to characterize selected components of the water balance. In total, three tentative conclusions may be drawn from the data. First, the infiltration for the Sharkey soil was approximately three times that of the Crowley silt loam. The average value was 29 cm for the rice season. Second, levee seepage, while significant for small plots, was shown to be small for production-sized fields. Levee seepage remained relatively constant throughout the season and averaged 0.025 nvfym/d. And third, downward redistribution of salt was large and appeared to follow a pattern where a peak occurred at the surface and, possibly, at the lower soil depths

Economic impact and complications of treated and untreated hepatitis C virus patients in Turkey

Onur Başer (MEF Author)Background: According to the Turkish Ministry of Health’s guidelines,standard double therapy, a combination of pegylated interferon-alphaand ribavirin, was the only treatment option for patients withhepatitis C virus (HCV) infection until the end of 2011. Objective: Theprimary objective was to compare risk-adjusted clinical and economicoutcomes between treated and untreated patients with HCV infection.Methods: Patients with HCV infection were identified from theTurkish National Health Insurance Database (2009–2011) using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification codes.The first prescription date was designated as the index date. Mortalityand hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) rates and health care costs oftreated and untreated patients were compared using propensity scorematching. Baseline demographic and clinical factors were controlledin the models. Subgroup analysis was conducted for patient groupswith and without a cirrhosis diagnosis. Results: Out of 12,990 patientsincluded in the study, 1,583 were treated for HCV infection. Out of2,467 patients who had a cirrhosis diagnosis, 231 were treated,whereas out of 10,523 patients without cirrhosis, 1,352 patients weretreated. Treated patients were younger, less likely to be diagnosedwith comorbid conditions, and less likely to reside in Central orEastern Anatolia. After adjusting for baseline demographic andclinical factors, mortality (2.27% vs. 5.31%; P o 0.001) and HCC rates(0.69% vs. 1.96%; P o 0.001) were found to be lower for treatedpatients. Differences were more significant among patients diagnosedwith cirrhosis. Treated patients incurred higher risk-adjusted annualcosts (€6172 vs. €1680; P o 0.001), mainly because of pharmaceuticalcosts (€4918 vs. €583; P o 0.001). Conclusions: HCV infection treatment, although costly, significantly reduces mortality and HCC ratesin Turkey.Scopus - Affiliation ID: 60105072PMID: 2969815

Assessment of fetal adrenal gland enlargement in term and preterm labor cases

Background: The objective of this study was to compare the Fetal Zone Depth (FZD) of fetal adrenal gland in term and preterm labor cases.  Methods: Twenty nine preterm pregnant women at 29-36 weeks of gestation with single pregnancy admitted with the clinical diagnosis of preterm labor and the comparison group of 33 pregnant women at 37-40 weeks with term pregnancy were included in this study. FZD and Total Gland Depth (TGD) of fetal adrenal gland of the entire fetuses in sagittal plane were ultrasonographically measured and FZD/TGD ratios were calculated. Demographic and clinical features, laboratory findings and fetal adrenal gland FZD/TGD ratios were compared between the two groups.Results: No difference was found between the two groups in respect of age, number of pregnancies and delivery method (P >0.05); yet preterm birth history and duration of hospital stay were higher in preterm group (P <0.05). Fetal adrenal gland FZD/TGD ratio was statistically significantly higher in preterm group compared to the term group (55.4% ± 4.9 vs. 47.7% ± 5.6; P <0.001).Conclusion: The growth in FZ as a fetal adaptation mechanism in increased fetal stress in preterm labor cases was at a significant level. Once supported by more comprehensive studies, we think that this result would be beneficial in the prediction of preterm labor in clinical practice.

A Survey of Soils Irrigated with Arkansas River Water

Interest in the use of Arkansas River water for irrigation has increased recently as land adjacent to the river is converted to crop production and river water is considered as an alternative to depleted underground supplies. Since the Arkansas River can contain elevated concentrations of sodium chloride, this study was designed to determine if soil conditions adverse to crop growth were developing where river water has been used. The impact of river water on sites where river water was used as either the sole source for up to 3 years or as a supplement to another surface source for up to 20 years was evaluated. The mean surface and profile ESPs were both 3.7%, while parallel ECs for 1:2 soil:, water extract were 183 and 163 umhos/cm, respectively. Mean surface and profile chloride concentrations were 32 and 50 ug/g, respectively. Mean saturated hydraulic conductivities were 0.015 cm/hr for the surface soil. No data were obtained which suggested that the use of the Arkansas River under the conditions described above was detrimental to soil physical or chemical properties. Periodic reevaluation of this conclusion is suggested at sites where direct use of Arkansas River water continues for an extended period of time

The Behavior of Soluble Salt in Sharkey Clay- II

Soluble salts have been shown to accumulate in Arkansas soils in sufficient quantities to impair crop plant growth. The major objective of this study was to describe the behavior of soluble chloride salt over long time periods in Sharkey clay - a major Mississippi Delta soil. Prior to flooding rice, leaching of chloride in response to rainfall was observed. The inclusion of a sandy subsoil layer reduced this effect presumably by limiting downward movement of water under unsaturated conditions. No lateral movement of the chloride salt was found during the period prior to flooding. Removal of soluble chloride salts from the top 100 cm of Sharkey soil was complete in a 1-2 year period depending on weather conditions. In a year where the rice cropping season was followed by a wet winter, losses were smaller than in a year where the rice cropping season was followed by a drier winter. These results suggested that removal of soluble salts via leaching in this soil was more efficient under less saturated soil conditions

Painlev\'e Transcendent Describes Quantum Correlation Function of the XXZ Antiferromagnet away from the free-fermion point

We consider quantum correlation functions of the antiferromagnetic spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ Heisenberg XXZ spin chain in a magnetic field. We show that for a magnetic field close to the critical field $h_c$ (for the critical magnetic field the ground state is ferromagnetic) certain correlation functions can be expressed in terms of the solution of the Painlev\'e V transcendent. This establishes a relation between solutions of Painlev\'e differential equations and quantum correlation functions in models of {\sl interacting} fermions. Painlev\'e transcendents were known to describe correlation functions in models with free fermionic spectra.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX2