(C) 2009 American Institute of Physics [DOI: 10 1063/1 3055806]“

(C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3055806]“
“Background: In recent years, great attention has been given to the presence of psychological problems and psychiatric comorbidity that are also present in children affected by primary headaches. The relationship between pain and attachment has been identified, and it may be that pain perception may change in relation with specific attachment styles. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalent attachment style and verify its putative relationship

and correlation with the main characteristics of migraine attacks, in school-aged children affected BX-795 by migraine without aura (MoA).

Materials and methods: The study population consisted of 219 children (103 males, 116 females) aged between 6 and 11 years (mean 8.96 +/- 2.14 years), consecutively referred for MoA compared with 381 healthy controls (174 males, 207 females; mean age 9.01 +/- 1.75 years) randomly selected from schools. All the children were classified according

to the attachment typologies of the Italian modified version of the Separation Anxiety Test; monthly headache frequency and mean headache duration were assessed from daily headache diaries kept by all the children. Headache intensity was assessed on a visual analog scale. The ACY-738 chi-square test and t-test, where appropriate, were applied, and the Spearman rank correlation test was applied to explore the relationship between the types of attachment style and clinical aspects of MoA.

Results: The MoA group showed a significantly higher prevalence of type A (avoidant) attachment (P<0.001) and a significantly lower prevalence of type B (secure) attachment (P<0.001) compared with the control group. Moreover, the Spearman rank correlation analysis showed a significant relationship between MoA characteristics and the attachment style of MoA

children.

Conclusion: The main findings of the present study were the higher prevalence among MoA children of the avoidant attachment style (type A) and the significantly lower prevalence of the secure style attachment (type B) compared with the normal controls, 3-MA price suggesting that the study of psychiatric comorbidity in pediatric headache may be enriched by this new aspect of analysis.”
“The presence of antibodies against Encephalitozoon cuniculi (E. cuniculi) and Encephalitozoon intestinalis (E. intestinalis) was examined in 215 samples from humans and in 488 samples from five different species of domestic and companion animals in Slovakia. The 215 human samples and samples from 90 swine, 123 non-infected cattle (cattle), 24 cattle infected with bovine leukosis virus (BLV-positive cattle), 140 sheep and 111 dogs were examined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Samples with serum titres 1:200 or higher were considered as positive. Specific anti-E.

Better patient assessment and knowledge of factors associated wit

Better patient assessment and knowledge of factors associated with early readmission may contribute to reduced mortality. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Recently,

dark-field imaging (DFI) and bright-field imaging (BFI) have been proposed and applied to visualize X-ray refraction effects yielded in biomedical objects. In order to clarify the spatial resolution due to a crystal analyzer in Laue geometry, a program based on the Takagi-Taupin equation was modified to be used for carrying out simulations to evaluate the spatial resolution of images coming into a Laue angular analyzer (LAA). The calculation was done with a perfect plane wave for diffraction wave-fields, which corresponded to BFI, under the conditions of 35 keV and a diffraction index 440 for a 2100 mu m thick LAA. As a result, MK-2206 the spatial

resolution along the g-vector direction showed approximately 37.5 mu m. 126 mu m-thick LAA showed a spatial resolution better than 3.1 mu m under the conditions of 13.7 keV and a diffraction index 220. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3651144]“
“Pulmonary emphysema is a connective tissue disease characterized by the progressive destruction of alveolar walls leading to airspace enlargement and decreased elastic recoil of the lung. However, the relationship between microscopic tissue structure and decline in stiffness of the lung is not well understood. In this study, we developed a 3D computational model of lung tissue in which a pre-strained cuboidal block of tissue www.selleckchem.com/products/Lapatinib-Ditosylate.html was represented by a tessellation of space filling polyhedra, with each polyhedral unit-cell representing an alveolus. Destruction of alveolar walls was mimicked by eliminating faces that separate two polyhedral either randomly or in a spatially correlated manner, in SBE-β-CD concentration which the highest force bearing walls were removed at each step. Simulations were carried

out to establish a link between the geometries that emerged and the rate of decline in bulk modulus of the tissue block. The spatially correlated process set up by the force-based destruction lead to a significantly faster rate of decline in bulk modulus accompanied by highly heterogeneous structures than the random destruction pattern. Using the Karhunen-Loeve transformation, an estimator of the change in bulk modulus from the first four moments of airspace cell volumes was setup. Simulations were then obtained for tissue destruction with different idealized alveolar geometry, levels of pre-strain, linear and nonlinear elasticity assumptions for alveolar walls and also mixed destruction patterns where both random and force-based destruction occurs simultaneously. In all these cases, the change in bulk modulus from cell volumes was accurately estimated. We conclude that microscopic structural changes in emphysema and the associated decline in tissue stiffness are linked by the spatial pattern of the destruction process.

In Study 2 with adolescents

In Study 2 with adolescents PARP inhibitor aged 12-21, this ability continued to develop into late adolescence among New Zealand European (NZE) and New Zealand Chinese (NZC) adolescents; however, cultural differences also existed in the

specificity of memories. NZC adolescents narrated fewer life story chapters containing specific memories than NZE adolescents. These findings support and extend current theories of episodic memory by specifying that pre-adolescents are starting to organize their episodic memories into lifetime periods, but this achievement is not fully realized until later in adolescence.”
“Both in vivo and in vitro studies have suggested that airborne organic dusts may induce inflammatory responses in the lungs, characterized by typical patterns of cytokine up-regulation and secretion. Recent work showed that exposure to glucan-spiked dust might influence nasal and pulmonary function, without an accompanying inflammatory response. However, effects of glucan-spiked dust exposure LY2835219 on NOS and GSNO reductase (enzymes important to NO signaling) remain less clear. This study aims

to determine the effects of simultaneous exposure to glucan-spiked dust on NO signaling pathway in the airway. Danish Office dust was spiked with 1% (1-3)-beta-glucan (curdlan). Mice were exposed to 20 mu L PBS (controls), 20 mu L 25 mu g/20 mu L OVA and 20 mu L 100 mu g/20 mu L glucan-spiked dust, respectively, daily for 12 days. NOS and GSNO reductase activity were measured in lung homogenate. Glutathione concentration and SOD activity in lung tissue were also determined to evaluate changes in oxidative stress. IL-6 concentration was measured in lungs to quantify the inflammatory response. Results showed that 12 day OVA and glucan-spiked dust exposure did not significantly influence NOS activity,

GSH concentration, SOD activity, or IL-6 concentration. An insignificant increase in GSNOR activity and expression was observed in 12 day OVA-exposed mice, whereas glucan-spiked dust exposure significantly increased GSNOR activity and expression. Our results suggested that repeated glucan-spiked dust exposure to the airway could activate GSNO reductase but not NOS. Since GSNO reductase plays a pivotal role in NO signaling, these results may have clinical importance. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 26: 279-286, 2011.”
“Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis click here (2-DE) was employed to assess the thermo-tolerance characteristics of Bifidobacterium infantis ATCC 27920 to mild heat adaptation. When exposed to various heat levels, pH, and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) stress conditions, B. infantis ATCC 27920 exhibited high level of stress resistance. Under mild-heat treatment (46 degrees C), no significant change in viability level was observed after 2 hr. Interestingly, improved viability was observed in mild-heat adapted (46 degrees C for 1 hr) Cultures exposed to 55 degrees C, in comparison to control experiments.

Intravenous rHuEPO (1,000 U/kg) was given at the start of saline

Intravenous rHuEPO (1,000 U/kg) was given at the start of saline resuscitation, and at 24 hours ileal function was evaluated using quantitative cultures of mesenteric lymph nodes to assess for bacterial translocation (colony-forming units per gram of tissue [CFU/g]), determination of portal vein plasma endotoxin levels and histopathological evaluation using semi-thin plastic ATM/ATR inhibition sections of the distal ileum. In a second series of animals, fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran 4000 (FD-4) was used to assess mucosal permeability of the distal ileum to macromolecules.

Results: At

24 hours, the saline group had morphologic evidence of intestinal injury when compared with the sham group, and the degree of mucosal injury was less in the saline + rHuEPO when compared with the saline group, which demonstrated significantly reduced bacterial translocation to the mesenteric lymph nodes (383 CFU/g +/- 111 CFU/g vs. 1130 CFU/g +/- 297 CFU/g; p < 0.05) and decreased terminal ileum permeability to FD-4 (3.08 mu g/mL +/- 0.31 mu g/mL vs. 5.14 mu g/mL +/- 0.88 mu g/mL; p < 0.05). No significant difference was found in the portal vein endotoxin levels between the two groups. Histopathological

evaluation demonstrated a trend for decreased enterocyte disarray or disruption and vacuolization in the saline + rHuEPO versus saline group.

Conclusion: Using rHuEPO at time of saline resuscitation resulted in decreased bacterial translocation and permeability to macromolecules 24 hours after shock. These observations suggest that rHuEPO can mediate a protective effect on intestinal mucosal barrier function during ischemic injury.”
“Background Bromosporine concentration Exposure to farming environments

and siblings is associated with reduced risks of childhood hay fever and atopy. We explored the independence and interaction of these protective effects in the GABRIELA study. Methods Questionnaire surveys on farming, asthma, and allergies were conducted in four central European areas among 79,888 612-yr-old children. Aeroallergen-specific serum IgE was measured in a stratified sample of 8,023 children. Multiple logistic regression was used to compare gradients in allergy prevalence by sibship size across three Transferase inhibitor categories of exposure to farming environments. Results The prevalence of hay fever ranged from 2% (95% confidence interval 1.6%; 2.7%) among farmers’ children with more than two siblings to 12% (11.2%; 13.0%) among children with no farm exposure and no siblings. Farming families were larger on average. More siblings and exposure to farming environments independently conferred protection from hay fever and atopy. There was no substantial effect modification between family size and exposure to farming environments. The odds ratios for hay fever per additional sibling were 0.79 among unexposed non-farm children, 0.77 among farm-exposed non-farm children, and 0.72 among children from farming families (2df interaction test: p=0.41).

Our previous study has demonstrated that enriched insulin-like gr

Our previous study has demonstrated that enriched insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1) was expressed in the proliferation and hypertrophic layers of CH cartilage. Accordingly, this study was aimed to investigate whether IGF-1 regulates CH chondrocytes proliferation in condylar cartilage overgrowth and explore the molecular mechanism of IGF-1 involved in.

Methods: Chondrocytes were isolated from 6 CH and 3 normal cartilage (NC) specimens and cultured in alginate beads or monolayer, treated with IGF-1 or specific inhibitors such as

7-[trans-3-[(azetidin-1-yl)-methyl]cyclobutyl]-5-(3-benzyloxyphenyl)7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-amine (NVP-AEW541). U0126, and LY294002. Thereafter, cellular proliferation capacity www.selleckchem.com/products/AZD7762.html was evaluated by Cell Viability Analyzer (alginate beads culture) or 3(4,5-dimethylthiazo(-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) (monolayer culture). Gene expression levels of IGF-1, IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R), collagen selleck compound type II, type X and those genes associated with proliferation were evaluated by realtime PCR. Protein levels of IGF-1 and IGF-1R synthesized by CH chondrocytes were accessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and western blotting.

Results: CH chondrocytes enhanced cellular proliferation capacity and expressed significantly higher levels of messenger RNA (mRNA)

and protein expressions of IGF-1 and IGF-1R, a; compared with NC chondrocytes. Furthermore, enriched IGF-1 enhanced CH chondrocytes proliferation, up-regulated the expressions of specific genes associated with

cellular proliferation and elevated the gene expression of collagen type II A1 (COL2A1). Besides, IGF-1-mediated CH chondrocytes proliferation mainly depended on the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-ERK pathway.

Conclusions: IGF-1 promotes human TMJ cartilage overgrowth in the developing process of CH by enhancing chondrocytes proliferation via MAPK-ERK pathway. (C) 2012 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“The expression levels of the MYC oncoprotein have long been recognized to be associated with the outputs of major cellular processes including proliferation, cell growth, Baf-A1 apoptosis, differentiation, and metabolism. Therefore, to understand how MYC operates, it is important to define quantitatively the relationship between MYC input and expression output for its targets as well as the higher-order relationships between the expression levels of subnetwork components and the flow of information and materials through those networks. Two different views of MYC are considered, first as a molecular microeconomic manager orchestrating specific positive and negative responses at individual promoters in collaboration with other transcription and chromatin components, and second, as a macroeconomic czar imposing an overarching rule onto all active genes.

5% and 10 8% in physical

5% and 10.8% in physical compound inhibitor component summary and mental component summary, respectively. In addition, performances on the 30 meter sprint test and slalom test running with a ball in the TG improved significantly (P < 0.01) from baseline to posttest when compared to CG. Soccer practice appears able to improve psychophysical health in individuals with diagnosis

of schizophrenia. Indeed, our study demonstrated that programmed soccer physical activity could reduce antipsychotic medication-related weight gain and improve SRHQL and sports performance in psychotic subjects.”
“Suberin is a hydrophobic polyester found in the cell walls of various plant-environment interfaces, including shoot and root peridermal tissue, and the root hypodermis and endodermis. Suberin deposits form apoplastic barriers that control water and nutrient transport, protect against pathogens and seal wounded tissue. Despite this physiological importance, and the detailed information on the suberin composition of many plants, there is a great gap in our selleck chemicals knowledge of the molecular mechanism of suberin biosynthesis, caused in

part by a lack of mutants in suberin formation. Here, we report the characterization of daisy, an Arabidopsis mutant that is defective in a fatty acid elongase condensing enzyme. The daisy mutant roots exhibit disturbed growth, and the suberin level is reduced in C(22) and C(24) very long chain fatty acid derivatives, whereas C(16), C(18) and C(20) derivatives accumulate, compared with wild-type suberin, indicating that DAISY functions

as a docosanoic acid synthase. Consistent with a significantly increased level of suberin in the roots of NaCl-stressed plants, DAISY is transcriptionally activated by NaCl application, and also by polyethylene glycol-induced drought stress and wounding. Expression analysis using RT-PCR and promoter-GUS fusions demonstrated a distinct DAISY expression pattern in the root stele, senescing sepals, siliques abscission zones and the chalaza-micropyle region of seeds. Together, these results indicate that DAISY is involved in suberin biosynthesis GDC-0994 research buy and in the formation of protective layers in these tissues, and in the response to unfavourable environmental conditions.”
“Background: The main aim of this study was to assess the reliability and structural validity of the French version of the 12-item version of the Personal Report of Confidence as Speaker (PRCS), one of the most promising measurements of public speaking fear.

Methods: A total of 611 French-speaking volunteers were administered the French versions of the short PRCS, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, the Fear of Negative Evaluation scale, as well as the Trait version of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory-II, which assess the level of anxious and depressive symptoms, respectively.

Thermogravemetric analysis (TGA) and Differential scanning calori

Thermogravemetric analysis (TGA) and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to assess the thermal properties of the functionalized LDPE. Suitable reaction scheme was proposed. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 122: 2252-2261, 2011″
“Background: In malarious areas of the world, a higher proportion of the population has blood group O than in non-malarious areas. This is probably due to a survival advantage conferred either by an attenuating

effect on the course of or reduction in the risk of infection by plasmodial parasites. Here, the association between ABO blood group and incidence of placental malaria was assessed in order to determine the possible influence of the former on the latter.

Methods: Data from a study in Lambarene, Gabon, and data from three previously learn more published reports of studies in The Gambia, Malawi and Sudan, were compiled and compared. ABO blood groups were cross-tabulated with placental malaria stratified by parity. Odds ratios (OR), stratified by parity, were calculated for the outcome, placental parasitaemia, and compared between blood group O vs. non-O mothers in all four studies. Random effects meta-analysis of data from individual studies from areas

with perennial hyper/holoendemic transmission was performed.

Results: In Gabon, the odds ratio (OR) for active placental parasitaemia in mothers with group O was 0.3 www.selleckchem.com/products/epacadostat-incb024360.html (95% CI 0.05-1.8) for primiparae and 0.7 (95% CI 0.3-1.8) for multiparae. The OR for primiparae in the published study from The Gambia was 3.0 (95% CI 1.2-7.3) and, in Malawi, 2.2 (95% CI 1.1-4.3). In the Sudanese study, no OR for primiparae could be calculated. The OR for placental parasitaemia in group O multiparae was 0.8 (95% CI 0.3-1.7) in the Gambia, 0.6 (95% CI 0.4-1.0) in Malawi and 0.4 (95% CI 0.1-1.8) in Sudan. Combining data from the three studies conducted in hyper-/holo-endemic settings (Gambia, Malawi, Gabon) the OR for placental malaria in blood group O multiparae was 0.65 (95% CI 0.44-0.96) and for primiparae

GW4869 chemical structure 1.70 (95% CI 0.67-4.33).

Conclusion: Studies conducted in The Gambia and Malawi suggest that blood group O confers a higher risk of active placental infection in primiparae, but a significantly lower risk in multiparae. These findings were not confirmed by the study from Gabon, in which statistically non-significant trends for reduced risk of placental parasitaemia in those with blood group O, regardless of parity, were observed.”
“Over the years, in vitro Franz diffusion experiments have evolved into one of the most important methods for researching transdermal drug administration. Unfortunately, this type of testing often yields permeation data that suffer from poor reproducibility. Moreover, this feature frequently occurs when synthetic membranes are used as barriers, in which case biological tissue-associated variability has been removed as an artefact of total variation.

In conclusion, gender differences observed in the treatment of at

In conclusion, gender differences observed in the treatment of atrial fibrillation cannot be fully explained by differences in clinical characteristics between men and women in the population. Full English text available from: www.revespcardiol.org (C) 2010 Sociedad Espanola de Cardiologia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.”
“Background: Extremes in micronutrient intakes are common in HIV-infected patients in developed countries and may affect the

progression of atherosclerosis in this population.

Objective: We completed a cross-sectional study examining the association between serum micronutrient concentrations and surrogate markers of atherosclerosis in a cohort of HIV-infected adults.

Design: We measured serum selenium, zinc, vitamin A, and vitamin E concentrations as well as selleck inhibitor carotid intima-media thickness (c-IMT) and coronary artery calcium (CAC) in 298 Nutrition for Healthy Living participants. We assessed cardiovascular disease risk factors, c-IMT, and CAC for each micronutrient tertile by using a chi-square test for binary variables and analysis of variance for continuous variables. We performed multivariate regression of c-IMT and CAC with each micronutrient

with adjustment for HIV-related and cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Results: In the multivariate analysis, the highest tertile of serum vitamin E concentration was associated with higher selleck products common and internal c-IMT and CAC scores (P < 0.05 for c-IMT and CAC). Participants with higher vitamin E concentrations learn more were more likely to have detectable CAC (50% compared with 44% compared with 67% for tertiles 1, 2, and 3, respectively; P = 0.004) and common c-IMT >0.8 mm (5% compared with 4% compared with 17% for tertiles 1, 2, and 3, respectively; P = 0.002). Other than vitamin E, micronutrients had no association with markers of atherosclerosis.

Conclusions: Our study showed that elevated serum vitamin E concentrations are associated with abnormal markers of atherosclerosis and may increase the risk of cardiovascular

complications in HIV-infected adults. Am J Clin Nutr 2010; 91: 1213-9.”
“The authors used a national database to examine the prevalence and incidence of autism spectrum disorders. The National Health Research Institute provided a database of 1 000 000 random participants for study. A population-based sample of 372 642 aged younger than 18 was obtained as a dynamic cohort. Those study participants who had at least one service claim from 1996 to 2005 with a principal diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders were identified. The cumulative prevalence of autism spectrum disorders increased from 1.79 to 28.72 per 10 000 from 1996 to 2005. The annual incidence of autism spectrum disorders increased from 0.91 to 4.41 per 10 000 per year from 1997 to 2005.

Methods: Twenty patients with histopathologically confirmed recta

Methods: Twenty patients with histopathologically confirmed rectal cancer (Stage II-III) were enrolled in the study. Radiotherapy of 50 Gy was delivered in 25 fractions of 2 Gy, one fraction/day,

five fractions/week, for 5 weeks. Oxaliplatin 55 mg/m(2) was administered intravenously for 60 minutes on Day 1 every 2 weeks, and tegafur-uracil 350 mg/m(2) was given orally everyday during the whole radiotherapy selleckchem course, including holidays. Surgery was scheduled 6 weeks after completion of the preoperative chemoradiotherapy. The primary endpoint was to determine the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate after this neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. The secondary endpoint was to determine the treatment-related toxicity profile, local control, DFS,

OS, and time to metastasis.

Results: All patients underwent a complete course of preoperative chemoradiotherapy. There was no local recurrence during the study period. The complete resection rate was 20/20 (100%) and the close resection margin rate was 3/20 (15%). The pCR rate was 8/20 (40%). During chemoradiotherapy, the most frequent toxicity was diarrhea 9/20 (45% of patients, grade 2 in 3/20, 15%). There were Rabusertib research buy no grade 3 or higher hematologic or non-hematologic events or treatment-related deaths.

The 3-year OS and DFS rates were 94.1% and 78.6%, respectively.

Conclusion: Preoperative chemoradiotherapy with oxaliplatin and tegafur-uracil was well-tolerated and achieved an excellent pCR in our patients with locally advanced mid-to-lower rectal cancer. Copyright (C) 2013 Elsevier Taiwan LLC and the Chinese Medical Association. All rights reserved.”
“Globally, focus has been given on the development of neem oil based agrochemical formulations by replacing synthetic agro chemical based products. One of the main inert components in liquid agrochemical formulation is petroleum based solvent which has been replaced by water, by solubilizing the neem KU-57788 order oil which can act as a pesticide. These water based microemulsions may have the benefit of natural pesticide along with replacement of highly volatile petroleum solvents which create number of problems in agrochemical formulations like irritation to the eyes at the time of manufacturing and applications, phytotoxicity to the plants, etc. In this study we have demonstrated the feasibility of constructing pseudo ternary phase diagrams which are fully diluted with water.

Four radiologists (two residents without experience in cranial CT

Four radiologists (two residents without experience in cranial CT and two consultants) independently evaluated all cases. Each radiologist

reported findings in 100 patients by using transverse sections only and findings in the other 100 patients this website by using the unfolded view. The radiologists were blinded to patient names, and patient and group orders were randomized. The results were compared with a standard of reference established by two experts from all prior reading results, all reconstructions, and high-spatial-resolution multiplanar reformats. Logistic regression with repeated measurements was used for statistical analysis.

Results: The experts found 63 fractures in 30 patients. When transverse sections only were used, the mean patient-based fracture detection rate was 43% (13 of 30) for inexperienced and 70% (21 of 30) for experienced readers; with curved MIPs, the rates were 80% (24 of 30) and 87% (26 of 30), respectively. Overall sensitivity was higher with curved MIPs (P < .001); specificity was higher with transverse sections (P < .001).

Conclusion: Curved Torin 2 chemical structure MIPs enable a significantly higher fracture detection rate than transverse sections. They also considerably close the experience gap in fracture detection

rate between residents and experts. (C) RSNA, 2010″
“We report the first observation of ultraviolet superfluorescence (SF) from oxygen vacancies in WO3-x nanowires at room temperature, and of picosecond-scale energy transfer between emission centers (oxygen vacancies) in a plane. A theoretical development from Dicke’s model leads to general formulation for a two-dimensional system, and is applied to explain the energy transfer process. The results demonstrate a possibility to generate

ultrafast pulse of ultraviolet light through SF from a localized ensemble of defect states. (C) IPI-145 manufacturer 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3514078]“
“Aims: The aim of this analysis is to investigate the mean incremental costs and life expectancy associated with two first-line treatments for advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in Korea and Taiwan; bevacizumab plus cisplatin and gemcitabine (BevCG) and cisplatin plus pemetrexed (CP).

Methods: A health economic (area under curve) model with three health states was developed to assess health outcomes (life-years gained [LYG]), direct costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were derived from randomized clinical trials and used in an indirect comparison in order to estimate their cost effectiveness. A life-time horizon was used. Costs and outcomes were discounted yearly by 5% in Korea and by 3% in Taiwan.

Results: The incremental LYG for the BevCG patients compared with patients treated with CP were 1.10 (13.2 months) in Korea and 1.19 (14.3 months) in Taiwan.