379 research outputs found
Solid-State Microwave Electronics
Contains reports on three research projects.National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NGR-22-009-163
Solid-State Microwave Electronics
Contains reports on three research projects.National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NGL 22-009-163)Joint Services Electronics Programs (U. S. Army, U. S. Navy, and U. S. Air Force) under Contract DA 28-043-AMC-02536(E
Solid-State Microwave Electronics
Contains reports on three research projects.National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NGL-22-009-163)Joint Services Electronics Programs (U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force)under Contract DA28-043-AMC-02536(E
The cost of injury to the Australian army
This thesis is the first study to have determined a comprehensive estimate of the
cost of injury to the Australian Army. The approach used was that of a cost of illness
study, which summarised the economic burden of injury and provides information for
stakeholders, allowing them to make informed decisions on the allocation of scarce
healthcare resources. Cost of illness (COI) studies serve a different purpose to that of
health economic evaluations which are focused on evaluating the cost of an
intervention rather than estimating the cost of a particular disease. A "top down"
approach to analysis was adopted utilising high level organisational databases to obtain
cost data. This thesis adopted the primary perspective of government, but also
considered costs from a societal and individual perspective.
Estimating the economic burden of injury in a defined population is dependant
on the availability of data of sufficient quality and scope, which is often lacking. This
was the case in this thesis where available datasets contained data of poor quality or
insufficient detail to provide accurate injury cost data. A number of assumptions were
required in order to develop estimates of the contribution of injury to different sources
of cost. There is a clear requirement for Defence to improve it injury surveillance and
introduce an electronic health record to facilitate this. Efforts must also be made to link
clinical data with cost data to better inform decision makers about the relative benefits
achieved from the considerable cost resulting from injury.
The cost of injury has three components; direct costs; indirect costs; and
intangible costs. Direct costs considered in this analysis included external medical and
compensation costs, as well as compensation liabilities calculated by the Australian
Government Actuary. Indirect costs included productivity losses, with invalid pensions
also included because they constitute a significant cost to Government not usually
included in (COI) studies. An additional analysis of the net present value of lost wages
was conducted on those soldiers who were invalided from the Army. A novel approach,
termed the Capital Investment Model, was used to estimate the loss of training
investment as a result of premature separation from the Army due to injury. Intangible
costs were not included in this study because of the difficulty in placing a monetary
value on these aspects of injury.
Direct injury costs in 1996 were estimated to be between 42.36M
with outstanding compensation liabilities of 10.74M with invalid pension liabilities of 10.1 OM. The total cost of
injury to the Australian Army (in 1996 dollars) was estimated to be between 63.20M, with estimated pension and compensation liabilities of $333.82M. Injury
causes a significant financial impost.
This is also the first study to compare the cost and outcomes of a range of spinal
surgical procedures reflective of general orthopaedic community practice. It adopted a
"bottom up" approach to analysis, where detailed data was obtained from individual
records and a patient survey. This allowed for outcome and cost analysis by subgroup.
A number of findings were consistent with the literature, in particular the dissociation
between pain score and functional capacity. Increasing complexity of surgical
intervention increased costs with no improvement in clinical outcome and alarming levels of radiological exposure was found. Radiation exposure could not be compared
to other studies as they did not report the distribution of radiological investigations. The
decision to undergo surgery appears to be based on the baseline level of pain and the
fear of it worsening rather than specific clinical indications. The use of effective nonoperative
methods of reducing pain offers the prospect of significantly reducing the
patient demand for surgery and its attendant cost.
The greatest injury-related cost savings from a societal perspective are obtained
from interventions that promote early return to work and minimize lost productivity.
Preventing an injury prevents the associated cost, so efforts in the area of injury
prevention are critical in reducing the burden of injury. The significant reduction in
injury observed from the Defence Injury Prevention Program highlights the benefit of
effective primary prevention programs. Equally, once an injury occurs, secondary
prevention efforts seek to achieve maximum restoration of function with minimal
morbidity and cost. The results of the spinal surgery study have shown that
improvement in primary outcome measures are not effect by the cost of the chosen
intervention and efforts to achieve pain relief through non-operative means,in order to
prevent surgical intervention, should be a high priority for research, not just in Army
but in the broader community
Herpesviruses shape tumour microenvironment through exosomal transfer of viral microRNAs
Metabolic changes within the cell and its niche affect cell fate and are involved in many diseases and disorders including cancer and viral infections. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the etiological agent of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). KSHV latently infected cells express only a subset of viral genes, mainly located within the latency-associated region, among them 12 microRNAs. Notably, these miRNAs are responsible for inducing the Warburg effect in infected cells. Here we identify a novel mechanism enabling KSHV to manipulate the metabolic nature of the tumour microenvironment. We demonstrate that KSHV infected cells specifically transfer the virus-encoded microRNAs to surrounding cells via exosomes. This flow of genetic information results in a metabolic shift toward aerobic glycolysis in the surrounding non-infected cells. Importantly, this exosome-mediated metabolic reprogramming of neighbouring cells supports the growth of infected cells, thereby contributing to viral fitness. Finally, our data show that this miRNA transfer-based regulation of cell metabolism is a general mechanism used by other herpesviruses, such as EBV, as well as for the transfer of non-viral onco-miRs. This exosome-based crosstalk provides viruses with a mechanism for non-infectious transfer of genetic material without production of new viral particles, which might expose them to the immune system. We suggest that viruses and cancer cells use this mechanism to shape a specific metabolic niche that will contribute to their fitness
Solid-State Microwave Electronics
Contains reports on status of research and nine research projects.National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NGR-22-009-163
Cell-Cell Communication between Malaria-Infected Red Blood Cells via Exosome-like Vesicles
Cell-cell communication is an important mechanism for information exchange promoting cell survival for the control of features such as population density and differentiation. We determined that Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells directly communicate between parasites within a population using exosome-like vesicles that are capable of delivering genes. Importantly, communication via exosome-like vesicles promotes differentiation to sexual forms at a rate that suggests that signaling is involved. Furthermore, we have identified a P. falciparum protein, PfPTP2, that plays a key role in efficient communication. This study reveals a previously unidentified pathway of P. falciparum biology critical for survival in the host and transmission to mosquitoes. This identifies a pathway for the development of agents to block parasite transmission from the human host to the mosquito.Neta Regev-Rudzki, Danny W. Wilson, Teresa G. Carvalho, Xavier Sisquella, Bradley M. Coleman, Melanie Rug, Dejan Bursac, Fiona Angrisano, Michelle Gee, Andrew F. Hill, Jake Baum, Alan F. Cowma
Solid-State Microwave Electronics
Contains research objectives and reports on status of research projects.National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NGR-22-009-163
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