Bazinganomics: Economics of The Big Bang Theory

url:http://www.bazinganomics.com The website is designed to provide instructors with clips, explanations, and lesson plans related to economics concepts from TV’s 2nd most watched broadcast show of the 2014-2015 season, CBS’s The Big Bang Theory. The site contains approximately 100 clips. As the show continues to air (currently signed through the 2016-2017 season) the authors plan to increase the number of clips and lesson plans

Lesson Plans for Teaching Economics with The Big Bang Theory

Using examples in the classroom from current and past television shows and movies is becoming increasingly common. Being able to relate ideas back to a popular clip or episode allows the instructor to reach students in ways the traditional lecture cannot. Building on the work of Tierney, Mateer, Smith, Wooten, and Geerling (2016), this paper introduces five lesson plans tied to clips from The Big Bang Theory that can be used in high school (9-12) economics courses

Injection of recombinant tumor necrosis factor directly into liver metastases: an experimental and clinical approach

__Abstract__ Systemic treatment with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is associated with side-effects, limiting its clinical use in the treatment of malignancies. To investigate the feasibility of other routes of administration experimental and clinical studies were started to establish the toxicity and antitumor activity of TNF after intratumoral (i.t.) injection. In a rat model for colon adenocarcinoma, tumor fragments, implanted subcutaneously or under the hepatic capsule, were treated with TNF injected i.v. or i.t. A dosage of 40 μg/kg was lethal when given i.v., but not i.t. Injection of TNF (40 μg/kg) directly into the tumor resulted in inhibition of tumor growth in the subcutaneous as well as subhepatic tumor model. A phase I study was started in patient

Landscape change and biodiversity values of floodplains along the River Vistula, Poland.

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Publiek-private samenwerking in het agrarisch kennis- en innovatiesysteem

Dit onderzoek bestudeert de sterke en zwakke punten van de toepassing van publiek-private partnerschappen om duurzaamheid en het concurrentievermogen van de Nederlandse landbouwsector te bevorderen. In de twee cases Duurzame (intensieve) veehouderij en Kas als Energiebron is het middel van PPS vooral ingezet om systeeminnovatie richting duurzame landbouw te stimuleren, terwijl in de andere twee cases (Uitgangsmaterialen en Food & Nutrition) PPS werd ingezet om het Nederlandse kennissysteem en innovatiekracht bij bedrijven te versterke

Dexamethasone for the prevention of a pain flare after palliative radiotherapy for painful bone metastases:a multicenter double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial

Background: Radiotherapy has a good effect in palliation of painful bone metastases, with a pain response rate of more than 60%. However, shortly after treatment, in approximately 40% of patients a temporary pain flare occurs, which is defined as a two-point increase of the worst pain score on an 11-point rating scale compared to baseline, without a decrease in analgesic intake, or a 25% increase in analgesic intake without a decrease in worst pain score, compared to baseline. A pain flare has a negative impact on daily functioning and mood of patients. It is thought to be caused by periostial edema after radiotherapy. Dexamethasone might diminish this edema and thereby reduce the incidence of pain flare. Two non-randomized studies suggest that dexamethasone reduces the incidence of a pain flare by 50%. The aim of this trial is to study the effectiveness of dexamethasone to prevent a pain flare after palliative radiotherapy for painful bone metastases and to determine the optimal dose schedule. Methods and design: This study is a three-armed, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter trial. We aim to include 411 patients with uncomplicated painful bone metastases from any type of primary solid tumor who receive short schedule radiotherapy (all conventional treatment schedules from one to six fractions). Arm 1 consists of daily placebo for four days, arm 2 starts with 8 mg dexamethasone before the (first) radiotherapy and three days placebo thereafter. Arm 3 consists of four days 8 mg dexamethasone. The primary endpoint is the occurrence of a pain flare. Secondary endpoints are pain, quality of life and side-effects of dexamethasone versus placebo. Patients complete a questionnaire (Brief Pain Inventory with two added questions about side-effects of medication, the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL and QLQ-BM22 for quality of life) at baseline, daily for two weeks and lastly at four weeks. Discussion: This study will show whether dexamethasone is effective in preventing a pain flare after palliative radiotherapy for painful bone metastases and, if so, to determine the optimal dose

Randomized controlled study of pain education in patients receiving radiotherapy for painful bone metastases

BACKGROUND: Although short-course radiotherapy is an effective treatment for patients with painful bone metastases, pain is not always sufficiently controlled. We therefore investigated the additional effect of a nurse-led pain education program on pain control and quality of life (QoL).PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this multicenter study, patients with solid tumor bone metastases and a worst pain intensity of ≥5 on a 0-10 numeric rating scale (NRS) were randomized between care as usual (control-group) and care as usual plus the Pain Education Program (PEP-group). PEP consisted of a structured interview and personalized education with follow-up phone calls. Patients completed the Brief Pain Inventory, EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL and BM22 at week 0, 1, 4, 8 and 12. The primary outcome was pain control, defined as the number of patients whose worst pain intensity was &lt;5 on a 0-10 NRS after 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes were time to reach control of pain (NRS &lt; 5), mean worst pain and average pain, and QoL at weeks 1, 4, 8 and 12.RESULTS: Of 308 included patients, 182 (92 PEP-group) completed 12 weeks follow-up. At 12 weeks, more patients in the PEP-group (71%) compared to the control-group (52%) reported pain control (P =.008). In the PEP-group, pain control was reached earlier than in the control-group (median 29 days versus 56 days; P =.003). Mean worst and average pain decreased in both groups but decreased more in the PEP-group. QoL did not differ between the groups.CONCLUSION: The addition of PEP to care as usual for patients treated with radiotherapy for painful bone metastases resulted in less pain and faster pain control.</p

Aganirsen Antisense Oligonucleotide Eye Drops Inhibit Keratitis-Induced Corneal Neovascularization and Reduce Need for Transplantation: The I-CAN Study.

OBJECTIVE: Eye drops of aganirsen, an antisense oligonucleotide preventing insulin receptor substrate-1 expression, inhibited corneal neovascularization in a previous dose-finding phase II study. We aimed to confirm these results in a phase III study and investigated a potential clinical benefit on visual acuity (VA), quality of life (QoL), and need for transplantation. DESIGN: Multicenter, double-masked, randomized, placebo-controlled phase III study. PARTICIPANTS: Analysis of 69 patients with keratitis-related progressive corneal neovascularization randomized to aganirsen (34 patients) or placebo (35 patients). Patients applied aganirsen eye drops (86 μg/day/eye) or placebo twice daily for 90 days and were followed up to day 180. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary end point was VA. Secondary end points included area of pathologic corneal neovascularization, need for transplantation, risk of graft rejection, and QoL. RESULTS: Although no significant differences in VA scores between groups were observed, aganirsen significantly reduced the relative corneal neovascularization area after 90 days by 26.20% (P = 0.014). This improvement persisted after 180 days (26.67%, P = 0.012). Aganirsen tended to lower the transplantation need in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population at day 180 (P = 0.087). In patients with viral keratitis and central neovascularization, a significant reduction in transplantation need was achieved (P = 0.048). No significant differences between groups were observed in the risk of graft rejection. However, aganirsen tended to decrease this risk in patients with traumatic/viral keratitis (P = 0.162) at day 90. The QoL analyses revealed a significant improvement with aganirsen in composite and near activity subscores (P = 0.039 and 0.026, respectively) at day 90 in the per protocol population. Ocular and treatment-related treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were reported in a lower percentage with aganirsen compared with placebo. Only 3 serious TEAEs (2 with aganirsen and 1 with placebo) were considered treatment-related. CONCLUSIONS: This first phase III study on a topical inhibitor of corneal angiogenesis showed that aganirsen eye drops significantly inhibited corneal neovascularization in patients with keratitis. The need for transplantation was significantly reduced in patients with viral keratitis and central neovascularization. Topical application of aganirsen was safe and well tolerated

European guidelines (S3) on diagnosis and management of mucous membrane pemphigoid, initiated by the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology – Part I

This guideline on mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) has been elaborated by the Task Force for Autoimmune Blistering Diseases of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) with a contribution of physicians from all relevant disciplines and patient organizations. It is a S3 consensus-based guideline encompassing a systematic review of the literature until June 2019 in the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. This first part covers methodology, the clinical definition of MMP, epidemiology, MMP subtypes, immunopathological characteristics, disease assessment and outcome scores. MMP describes a group of autoimmune skin and mucous membrane blistering diseases, characterized by a chronic course and by predominant involvement of the mucous membranes, such as the oral, ocular, nasal, nasopharyngeal, anogenital, laryngeal and oesophageal mucosa. MMP patients may present with mono- or multisite involvement. Patients’ autoantibodies have been shown to be predominantly directed against BP180 (also called BPAG2, type XVII collagen), BP230, laminin 332 and type VII collagen, components of junctional adhesion complexes promoting epithelial stromal attachment in stratified epithelia. Various disease assessment scores are available, including the Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid Disease Area Index (MMPDAI), the Autoimmune Bullous Skin disorder Intensity Score (ABSIS), the ‘Cicatrising Conjunctivitis Assessment Tool’ and the Oral Disease Severity Score (ODSS). Patient-reported outcome measurements (PROMs), including DLQI, ABQOL and TABQOL, can be used for assessment of quality of life to evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions and monitor disease course