Terrorism and Assassination: Political Assassination as an Instrument of National Policy - An Inquiry into Operations, Expediency, Morality, and the Law

The 2002 Symposium opened on Thursday, April 11, with a role-playing exercise and town meeting: Assassination of a Terrorist Enemy. In this session, a group of nationally prominent political leaders, policy makers, scholars, and members of the intelligence, military, religious and civil liberties communities engaged in a role-playing exercise exploring a fictional scenario posing the question of whether the United States should undertake an operation to assassinate the leader of a terrorist organization deemed responsible for acts of violence against the United States. The issue was explored through historical, moral, religious, operational, political, diplomatic, and legal perspectives. The final segment of the program included a town meeting discussion in which members of the audience participated in the debate and deliberation. These issues were explored the next day of the conference in a series of more specifically focused sessions. The opening session, on Thursday, April 11 from 6:30-9:00 p.m., featured Jeff Addicott; June Aprille; William C. Banks; Azizah al-Hibri, professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law; Julie Laskaris, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Richmond; Peter Raven-Hansen, Gary Solis, Porcher Taylor, and Robert Turner. Rodney A. Smolla, the Allen Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law, served as moderator. The “Roundtable Session I: Policy, Politics, and Operations” session, held on Friday, April 12 from 9:00-10:15 a.m., was led by Jeff Addicott, William C. Banks, Peter Raven-Hansen, Gary Solis, and Robert Turner. John Paul Jones, Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law, served as moderator. “Roundtable Session II: Moral and Religious Perspectives,” held on Friday, April 12 from 10:30-11:45 a.m., was led by Azizah al-Hibri, Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law. Julie Laskaris, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Richmond, served as moderator. “Roundtable Session III: Assassination as an Instrument of Policy and the Law,” held on Friday, April 12 from 1:30- 2:45 p.m., was led by Jeff Addicott, William C. Banks, Peter Raven-Hansen, Gary Solis, Professor John Paul Jones, and Robert Turner. Porcher Taylor served as moderator

Erratum to: Methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41512-016-0001-y.]

Evidence synthesis to inform model-based cost-effectiveness evaluations of diagnostic tests: a methodological systematic review of health technology assessments

Background: Evaluations of diagnostic tests are challenging because of the indirect nature of their impact on patient outcomes. Model-based health economic evaluations of tests allow different types of evidence from various sources to be incorporated and enable cost-effectiveness estimates to be made beyond the duration of available study data. To parameterize a health-economic model fully, all the ways a test impacts on patient health must be quantified, including but not limited to diagnostic test accuracy. Methods: We assessed all UK NIHR HTA reports published May 2009-July 2015. Reports were included if they evaluated a diagnostic test, included a model-based health economic evaluation and included a systematic review and meta-analysis of test accuracy. From each eligible report we extracted information on the following topics: 1) what evidence aside from test accuracy was searched for and synthesised, 2) which methods were used to synthesise test accuracy evidence and how did the results inform the economic model, 3) how/whether threshold effects were explored, 4) how the potential dependency between multiple tests in a pathway was accounted for, and 5) for evaluations of tests targeted at the primary care setting, how evidence from differing healthcare settings was incorporated. Results: The bivariate or HSROC model was implemented in 20/22 reports that met all inclusion criteria. Test accuracy data for health economic modelling was obtained from meta-analyses completely in four reports, partially in fourteen reports and not at all in four reports. Only 2/7 reports that used a quantitative test gave clear threshold recommendations. All 22 reports explored the effect of uncertainty in accuracy parameters but most of those that used multiple tests did not allow for dependence between test results. 7/22 tests were potentially suitable for primary care but the majority found limited evidence on test accuracy in primary care settings. Conclusions: The uptake of appropriate meta-analysis methods for synthesising evidence on diagnostic test accuracy in UK NIHR HTAs has improved in recent years. Future research should focus on other evidence requirements for cost-effectiveness assessment, threshold effects for quantitative tests and the impact of multiple diagnostic tests

Erratum to: Methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41512-016-0001-y.]

Massively Parallel Mate Pair DNA Library Sequencing for Translocation Discovery: Recurrent t(6;7)(p25.3;q32.3) Translocations In ALK-Negative Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphomas

52nd Annual Meeting of the American-Society-of-Hematology (ASH) -- DEC 04-07, 2010 -- Orlando, FLWOS: 000289662200634Amer Soc Hemato

Discovery of recurrent t(6;7)(p25.3;q32.3) translocations in ALK-negative anaplastic large cell lymphomas by massively parallel genomic sequencing

The genetics of peripheral T-cell lymphomas are poorly understood. The most well-characterized abnormalities are translocations involving ALK, occurring in approximately half of anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCLs). To gain insight into the genetics of ALCLs lacking ALK translocations, we combined mate-pair DNA library construction, massively parallel (“Next Generation”) sequencing, and a novel bioinformatic algorithm. We identified a balanced translocation disrupting the DUSP22 phosphatase gene on 6p25.3 and adjoining the FRA7H fragile site on 7q32.3 in a systemic ALK-negative ALCL. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization, we demonstrated that the t(6;7)(p25.3;q32.3) was recurrent in ALK-negative ALCLs. Furthermore, t(6;7)(p25.3;q32.3) was associated with down-regulation of DUSP22 and up-regulation of MIR29 microRNAs on 7q32.3. These findings represent the first recurrent translocation reported in ALK-negative ALCL and highlight the utility of massively parallel genomic sequencing to discover novel translocations in lymphoma and other cancers