1,573 research outputs found
The Strategic Use of Lifetime Gifting Programs to Reduce Estate Taxes in Light of Recent Congressional and Internal Revenue Service Antipathy Towards Transfer Tax Reduction Devices
Adjuvant Radiation Therapy of Retroperitoneal Sarcoma: The Role of Intraoperative Radiotherapy (IORT)
Purpose. The purpose is to review the natural history, the
clinicopathological prognostic factors, and the role of adjuvant radiation therapy with
particular attention to the limited but favorable experience with IORT
The Case for the Retention of the State Death Tax Credit in the Federal Transfer Tax Scheme: Just Say No to a Deduction
Ostracoda (Myodocopina) of the Hawaiian Islands.
v. ill. 23 cm.QuarterlyOstracoda (Myodocopina) from four of the Hawaiian Islands (Kaua‘i, Moloka‘i, Maui, and Hawai‘i) are identified, and a new species, Pterocypridina colesi Kornicker & Harrison-Nelson, that was present on all the Islands is described and illustrated, including all five instars and the adult male and female. The genus was not previously known from the area, and its ontogeny had not been described. The number of species collected on the Islands varied from two on Moloka‘i to six on Kaua‘i
Lattice anisotropy as microscopic origin of static stripes in cuprates
Structural distortions in cuprate materials offer a microscopic origin for
anisotropies in electron transport in the basal plane. Using a real-space
Hartree-Fock approach, we consider the ground states of the anisotropic Hubbard
(t_x \ne t_y) and t-J (t_x \ne t_y, J_x \ne J_y) models. Symmetrical but
inhomogeneous (``polaronic'') charge structures in the isotropic models are
altered even by rather small anisotropies to one-dimensional, stripe-like
features. We find two distinct types of stripe, namely uniformly filled,
antiphase domain walls and non-uniform, half-filled, in-phase ones. We
characterize their properties, energies and dependence on the model parameters,
including filling and anisotropy in t (and J). We discuss the connections among
these results, other theoretical studies and experimental observation.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures, 8 table
Chemotherapeutic agents subvert tumor immunity by generating agonists of platelet-activating factor
Oxidative stress suppresses host immunity by generating oxidized lipid agonists of the platelet-activating factor receptor (PAF-R). Because many classical chemotherapeutic drugs induce reactive oxygen species (ROS), we investigated whether these drugs might subvert host immunity by activating PAF-R. Here, we show that PAF-R agonists are produced in melanoma cells by chemotherapy that is administered in vitro, in vivo, or in human subjects. Structural characterization of the PAF-R agonists induced revealed multiple oxidized glycerophosphocholines that are generated nonenzymatically. In a murine model of melanoma, chemotherapeutic administration could augment tumor growth by a PAF-R-dependent process that could be blocked by treatment with antioxidants or COX-2 inhibitors or by depletion of regulatory T cells. Our findings reveal how PAF-R agonists induced by chemotherapy treatment can promote treatment failure. Furthermore, they offer new insights into how to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy by blocking its heretofore unknown impact on PAF-R activation
Predictors of linkage to care following community-based HIV counseling and testing in rural Kenya
Despite innovations in HIV counseling and testing (HCT), important gaps remain in understanding linkage to care. We followed a cohort diagnosed with HIV through a community-based HCT campaign that trained persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) as navigators. Individual, interpersonal, and institutional predictors of linkage were assessed using survival analysis of self-reported time to enrollment. Of 483 persons consenting to follow-up, 305 (63.2%) enrolled in HIV care within 3 months. Proportions linking to care were similar across sexes, barring a sub-sample of men aged 18–25 years who were highly unlikely to enroll. Men were more likely to enroll if they had disclosed to their spouse, and women if they had disclosed to family. Women who anticipated violence or relationship breakup were less likely to link to care. Enrolment rates were significantly higher among participants receiving a PLHA visit, suggesting that a navigator approach may improve linkage from community-based HCT campaigns.Vestergaard Frandse
Healthcare Costs and Life-years Gained From Treatments Within the Advancing Cryptococcal Meningitis Treatment for Africa (ACTA) Trial on Cryptococcal Meningitis: A Comparison of Antifungal Induction Strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Background
Mortality from cryptoccocal meningitis remains high. The ACTA trial demonstrated that, compared with 2 weeks of amphotericin B (AmB) plus flucystosine (5FC), 1 week of AmB and 5FC was associated with lower mortality and 2 weeks of oral flucanozole (FLU) plus 5FC was non-inferior. Here, we assess the cost-effectiveness of these different treatment courses.
Methods
Participants were randomized in a ratio of 2:1:1:1:1 to 2 weeks of oral 5FC and FLU, 1 week of AmB and FLU, 1 week of AmB and 5FC, 2 weeks of AmB and FLU, or 2 weeks of AmB and 5FC in Malawi, Zambia, Cameroon, and Tanzania. Data on individual resource use and health outcomes were collected. Cost-effectiveness was measured as incremental costs per life-year saved, and non-parametric bootstrapping was done.
Results
Total costs per patient were US 1763 for 1 week of AmB and FLU, 2125 for 2 weeks of AmB and FLU, and 208 (95% confidence interval $91–1210) per life-year saved.
Conclusions
Both 1 week of AmB and 5FC and 2 weeks of Oral FLU and 5FC are cost-effective treatments
The relationship between serum sodium and intracranial pressure when using hypertonic saline to target mild hypernatremia in patients with head trauma
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