The effect of DPP-4 inhibitors on asthma control : an administrative database study to evaluate a potential pathophysiological relationship

Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge Koustubh Ranade (MedImmune, Gaithersburg, MD, USA) and Stephen Johnston, a member of the steering committee who was employed by Truven Health Analytics at the time the study was conducted, for their contributions to this study . Truven Health Analytics, an IBM Company, received funding from AstraZeneca in relation to this study. This work was previously presented as a poster at the annual international conference of the American Thoracic Society, May 19–24, 2017, Washington, DC (Colice G, et al. The Effect of Dipeptidyl-Peptidase-4 Inhibitors on Asthma Control: An Administrative Database Study to Evaluate a Potential Pathophysiological Relationship. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2017;195:A3050).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The placebo effect and its determinants in fibromyalgia: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The aims of this study were to determine whether placebo treatment in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is effective for fibromyalgia and to identify possible determinants of the magnitude of any such placebo effect. A systematic literature search was undertaken for RCTs in people with fibromyalgia that included a placebo and/or a no-treatment (observation only or waiting list) control group. Placebo effect size (ES) for pain and other outcomes was measured as the improvement of each outcome from baseline divided by the standard deviation of the change from baseline. This effect was compared with changes in the no-treatment control groups. Meta-analysis was undertaken to combine data from different studies. Subgroup analysis was conducted to identify possible determinants of the placebo ES. A total of 3912 studies were identified from the literature search. After scrutiny, 229 trials met the inclusion criteria. Participants who received placebo in the RCTs experienced significantly better improvements in pain, fatigue, sleep quality, physical function, and other main outcomes than those receiving no treatment. The ES of placebo for pain relief was clinically moderate (0.53, 95%CI 0.48 to 0.57). The ES increased with increasing strength of the active treatment, increasing participant age and higher baseline pain severity, but decreased in RCTS with more women and with longer duration of fibromyalgia. In addition, placebo treatment in RCTs is effective in fibromyalgia. A number of factors (expected strength of treatment, age, gender, disease duration) appear to influence the magnitude of the placebo effect in this condition

Distance and disparity: social disadvantage and the distribution of hazardous waste in America

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on January 15, 2008)Includes bibliographical references.Thesis (M.A.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Sociology.[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Since the original studies of environmental discrimination were completed in the early 1980s, many scholars have measured disproportionate proximity to hazardous waste by poor and minority communities. The majority of this research has found evidence to support claims of environmental injustice, yet no research to date has examined the role of residential segregation in producing or proliferating environmental inequities. This research has addressed this limitation by systematically testing racial residential segregation as part of a more rigorous measurement of the theoretical constructs of environmental inequality, and by measuring each of the theoretical constructs in counties where hazardous waste facilities are owned or operated by the federal government. The results of multivariate analyses suggest that proximity to hazardous waste emissions inequitably burdens racial minorities and segregated residents, even when controlling for urbanization and local industry. Evidence of inequalities in counties with federal facilities was inconclusive

Canadian news media coverage of the George Floyd protests : a content analysis

This thesis examines how four English-language Canadian news organizations reported on the Black Lives Matter protests that sprung up after the killing of George Floyd in 2020. A framing analysis of 55 articles from four news outlets in two of the countries’ largest English-speaking cities examined how the news media used language, framing, and sources to report on the protests. I coded for several key variables, including overall tone, sourcing, and the presence of marginalizing and legitimizing framing devices. This thesis found that all four news outlets were more likely to use an overall positive tone to frame the protests and protesters by emphasizing peacefulness and highlighting the underlying reason for the protests. The results replicated previous research on the Black Lives Matter protests by Elmasry and el-Nawawy (2017), which found that most of the news articles from their sample framed the protests positively. My findings also determined that government officials were quoted the same amount as protesters, while police were under-quoted compared to past research. Future research should continue to examine how the Canadian news media frames social protest movements to determine if this study's findings indicate a shift in the protest paradigm.Arts, Faculty ofJournalism, School ofGraduat

Analysis of utilization patterns and associated costs of the breast imaging and diagnostic procedures after screening mammography

Anna Vlahiotis,1 Brian Griffin,2 A Thomas Stavros,3 Jay Margolis1 1Value Based Care, Outcomes Research, Truven Health Analytics, an IBM Company, Bethesda, MD USA; 2Value Based Care, Outcomes Research, Truven Health Analytics, an IBM Company, Newark, NJ, USA; 3Seno Medical Instruments, Inc., San Antonio, TX, USA Background: Little data exist on real-world patterns and associated costs of downstream breast diagnostic procedures following an abnormal screening mammography or clinical exam.Objectives: To analyze the utilization patterns in real-world clinical settings for breast imaging and diagnostic procedures, including the frequency and volume of patients and procedures, procedure sequencing, and associated health care expenditures.Materials and methods: Using medical claims from 2011 to 2015 MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Databases, adult females with breast imaging/diagnostic procedures (diagnostic mammography, ultrasound, molecular breast imaging, tomosynthesis, magnetic resonance imaging, or biopsy) other than screening mammography were selected. Continuous health plan coverage without breast diagnostic procedures was required for ≥13 months before the first found breast diagnostic procedure (index event), with a 13-month post-index follow-up period. Key outcomes included diagnostic procedure volumes, sequences, and payments. Results reported descriptively were projected to provide US national patient and procedure volumes.Results: The final sample of 875,526 patients was nationally projected to 12,394,432 patients annually receiving 8,732,909 diagnostic mammograms (53.3% of patients), 6,987,399 breast ultrasounds (42.4% of patients), and 1,585,856 biopsies (10.3% of patients). Following initial diagnostic procedures, 49.4% had second procedures, 20.1% followed with third procedures, and 10.0% had a fourth procedure. Mean (SD) costs for diagnostic mammograms of US$349 ($493), ultrasounds US$132 ($134), and biopsies US$1,938 ($2,343) contributed US$3.05 billion, US$0.92 billion, and US$3.07 billion, respectively, to annual diagnostic breast expenditures estimated at US$7.91 billion.Conclusion: The volume and expense of additional breast diagnostic testing, estimated at US$7.91 ­billion annually, underscores the need for technological improvements in the breast diagnostic landscape. Keywords: breast cancer, mammography, imaging, diagnosis, health care utilization, expenditure