Global cancer research initiative

Cancer is an increasing problem for low- and middle-income countries undergoing an epidemiologic transition from dominantly acute communicable disease to more frequent chronic disease with increased public health successes in the former domain. Progress against cancer in high-income countries has been modest and has come at enormous expense. There are several well-conceived global policy and planning initiatives which, with adequate political will, can favorably impact the growing global cancer challenges. Most financial resources for cancer, however, are spent on diagnosis and management of patients with disease in circumstances where specific knowledge about effective approaches is significantly limited, and the majority of interventions, other than surgery, are not cost-effective in resource-limited countries by global standards. In summary, how to intervene effectively on a global scale for the majority of citizens who develop cancer is poorly defined. In contrast to technology-transfer approaches, markedly increased clinical research activities are more likely to benefit cancer sufferers. In these contexts, a global cancer research initiative is proposed, and mechanisms for realizing such an effort are suggested

Returns to Soybean Producers from Investments in Promotion and Research

U.S. soybean producers have been cooperatively investing in both production research and demand promotion for nearly four decades to enhance the profitability and international competitiveness of their industry. Have producers benefitted from their contributions to soybean checkoff program activities over the years? How has the return to investments in soybean production research compared to that of soybean demand promotion investments? The overall positive returns to producers over the study period resulted primarily from promotion activities. Production research contributed negatively to overall producer returns from soybean checkoff investments.Agribusiness,

DISTINGUISHING THE SOURCE OF MARKET POWER: AN APPLICATION TO CIGARETTE MANUFACTURING

We compare nonparametric and nonstructural market power tests using data from the cigarette manufacturing industry. Tests are implemented to examine both monopoly and monopsony power exertion by cigarette manufacturers. Results indicate that market power in the tobacco industry, previously attributed to monopoly power exertion, should at least in part be attributed to monopsony market power in the upstream tobacco market.market power, nonparametric, nonstructural, monopsony, monopoly, cigarette manufacturing, Agribusiness,

Closing Plenary

The closing session of the symposium was a plenary session in which invited speakers were asked to make brief critical and reflective comment on the symposium theme and future directions regarding Māori and Pacific psychologies

The Marquette Palliative Care System

Worldwide, major clinical barriers to effective palliative care are the absence of a. current data on symptom type and intensity; b. immediately accessible information on practical, affordable, and effective interventions; and c. self-sustaining systems to facilitate physician engagement in continuing palliative care. Our adaptable system, developed for Bangladesh and Nepal, addresses these barriers. A tele-home palliative care program facilitates home care, minimizes expense, and encourages efficient professional practitioner involvement employing two information technology tools: a patient cell-phone “app” on the Android platform with a 15-item symptom questionnaire and an Internet website with health information sections for patients/families and for clinicians. The physician section contains a guide for patient symptom review, clinical practice palliative care guidelines, secured patient demographics, medical summaries, and current and past symptom reports along with prescription-writing capability. The system is managed by a local organization that registers patients and their physicians, instructs patients on the free downloadable application and completes their demographic and medical summaries, and arranges collection of a modest fee. The organization also ensures regular physician/clinic visits by the patient or by a family member with a patient phone check-in, at least every 2 weeks