Disparities in Cause-Specific Cancer Survival by Census Tract Poverty Level in Idaho, U.S.

Objective. This population-based study compared cause-specific cancer survival by socioeconomic status using methods to more accurately assign cancer deaths to primary site. Methods. The current study analyzed Idaho data used in the Accuracy of Cancer Mortality Statistics Based on Death Certificates (ACM) study supplemented with additional information to measure cause-specific cancer survival by census tract poverty level. Results. The distribution of cases by primary site group differed significantly by poverty level (chi-square = 265.3, 100 df, p In the life table analyses, for 8 of 24 primary site groups investigated, and all sites combined, there was a significant gradient relating higher poverty with poorer survival. For all sites combined, the absolute difference in 5-year cause-specific survival rate was 13.6% between the lowest and highest poverty levels. Conclusions. This study shows striking disparities in cause-specific cancer survival related to the poverty level of the area a person resides in at the time of diagnosis

Computer simulation and visualization in medicine

LectureThe goals of medical simulation and visualization are multifaceted. While some simulations and visualizations facilitate diagnosis, others help physicians plan surgery, therapy, and other forms of treatment. Still other simulation and visualization techniques are used for medical training and to acquire a better understanding of human physiology. Among the most exciting and pressing problems facing computer scientists today are those involving the use of computers in medical applications. With the help of computers, the medical community now verges on important breakthroughs in diagnosing, controlling, treating, and even curing numerous life-threatening conditions, including heart disease and a variety of cancers

Biomedical visual computing: case studies and challenges

pre-printAdvances in computational geometric modeling, imaging, and simulation let researchers build and test models of increasing complexity, generating unprecedented amounts of data. As recent research in biomedical applications illustrates, visualization will be critical in making this vast amount of data usable; it's also fundamental to understanding models of complex phenomena

Elie Wiesel: Moral Action in an Immoral World

The essay, Elie Wiesel: Moral Action in an Immoral World, is an investigation into the three ways Elie Wiesel\u27s characters in his novel The Town Beyond the Wall deal with their own often painful and confusing views of the absurd world about them. Because The Town Beyond the Wall is a very autobiographical work for Wiesel, the backdrop of chaos found in the novel--the concentration camps, the death of the main character\u27s father, mother and sister, the cold indifference with which the rest of the world watched as the Jews were \u27liquidated\u27--are found in Wiesel\u27s world too. Reading Wiesel\u27s works, one discovers how the chaos of past events such as the Holocaust and Hiroshima not only plague Wiesel\u27s generation but still linger as signs of absurdity at the present. One also comes to realize that current tragedies, such as those in Zaire and Bosnia, darken the shadow chaos casts on the world today. The Town Beyond the Wall calls attention to the different ways one can react to the horrors of the past and the horrors to come: as a spectator, indifferent to others\u27 trials and tribulations, as a mad person, retreating within the chaos of the world, or as an artist, attacking one\u27s fears and molding his own meaning and vision of the world by embracing others and making himself into an artwork