Repeating platinum/bevacizumab in recurrent or progressive cervical cancer yields marginal survival benefits

Our objective was to assess overall survival of cervical cancer patients following prior platinum/bevacizumab chemotherapy, comparing retreatment with platinum/bevacizumab with alternative therapies. A retrospective analysis was performed of women who received platinum/bevacizumab (PB) chemotherapy for cervical cancer at Washington University between July 1, 2005 and December 31, 2015. Wilcoxon rank-sum exact test and Fisher's exact test were used to compare the treatment groups, and Kaplan Meier curves were generated. Cox regression analyses were performed, with treatment free interval and prior therapy response included as covariates. Of 84 patients who received PB chemotherapy, 59 (70%) received no second line chemotherapy, as they did not recur, progressed without further chemotherapy, were lost to follow up, or expired. Of the remaining 25 patients, 9 were retreated with the combination of platinum/bevacizumab (PB), 6 were retreated with a platinum regimen without bevacizumab (P), and 10 were retreated with neither (not-P). The only long-term survivor was in the not-P group and was treated with an immunotherapy agent. Median overall survival of all patients was 7.1 months. There was a marginal difference in survival between women in the PB and not-PB groups (11.8 versus 5.7 months; HR 3.02, 95% CI, 0.98–9.28). There was no difference in survival based on platinum interval (HR 0.81; 95% CI, 0.27–2.45). Outcomes are grim for women retreated after platinum/bevacizumab therapy and are only marginally improved by retreatment with a platinum/bevacizumab regimen. Rather than additional PB therapy, women with cervical cancer who recur after platinum/bevacizumab should consider supportive care or clinical trials

Theoretical impact of insecticide-impregnated school uniforms on dengue incidence in Thai children.

BACKGROUND: Children carry the main burden of morbidity and mortality caused by dengue. Children spend a considerable amount of their day at school; hence strategies that reduce human-mosquito contact to protect against the day-biting habits of Aedes mosquitoes at schools, such as insecticide-impregnated uniforms, could be an effective prevention strategy. METHODOLOGY: We used mathematical models to calculate the risk of dengue infection based on force of infection taking into account the estimated proportion of mosquito bites that occur in school and the proportion of school time that children wear the impregnated uniforms. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The use of insecticide-impregnated uniforms has efficacy varying from around 6% in the most pessimistic estimations, to 55% in the most optimistic scenarios simulated. CONCLUSIONS: Reducing contact between mosquito bites and human hosts via insecticide-treated uniforms during school time is theoretically effective in reducing dengue incidence and may be a valuable additional tool for dengue control in school-aged children. The efficacy of this strategy, however, is dependent on the compliance of the target population in terms of proper and consistent wearing of uniforms and, perhaps more importantly, the proportion of bites inflicted by the Aedes population during school time

Investimento estrangeiro direto e crescimento econômico na Jordânia: uma pesquisa empírica que utiliza o teste de limites de cointegração

Este artículo investiga las elasticidades a largo y corto plazo entre el producto interno bruto y la IED en Jordania. El estudio utiliza datos anuales para analizar la relación entre la IED y el crecimiento económico para el periodo de 1992-2013. Los datos para las variables IED y PIB se obtuvieron de los Indicadores del Desarrollo Mundial y del Banco Mundial, y se utilizó el enfoque ARDL. Los resultados muestran elasticidades de largo y corto plazo en la IED y el PIB. En general, los responsables políticos de Jordania centran sus esfuerzos para atraer más IED a la economía jordana. Esto se debe a que se espera que más IED en la economía jordana conduzca a una disminución de los obstáculos económicos (por ejemplo, disminución de la tasa de desempleo y mayor nivel de inversión).Este artigo pesquisa sobre as elasticidades em curto e longo prazo entre o produto interno bruto (PIB) e o investimento estrangeiro direto (IED) na Jordânia. Este estudo utiliza dados anuais para analisar a relação entre a IED e o crescimento econômico para o período de 1992-2013. Os dados para as variáveis IED e PIB foram obtidos dos Indicadores do Desenvolvimento Mundial e do Banco Mundial, e foi utilizada a abordagem Autorregressiva com Defasagens Distribuídas (ARDL). Os resultados indicam elasticidades de curto e longo prazo no IED e no PIB. Em geral, os responsáveis políticos da Jordânia focam seus esforços para atrair mais IED à economia jordana. Isso se deve a que se espera que mais IED na economia jordana leve a uma diminuição dos obstáculos econômicos (por exemplo, diminuição da taxa de desemprego, maior nível de investimento).This paper investigates both long-run and short-run elasticities between gross domestic product and foreign direct investment (FDI) in Jordan. Annual data have been used in order to explore the relationship between foreign direct investments (FDI) with economic growth for the period 1992-2013. Data were collected for both variables (FDI and GDP) from the World Bank and World Development Indicators, and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) approach was used. The results show long-run and short-run elasticities in foreign direct investment (FDI) and GDP. The results indicate that Jordanian policy makers focus their efforts to attract more FDI to Jordanian economy. This is because more FDI is expected to lead to a decrease in economic obstacles in Jordan (e.g., increased level of investment, decreased unemployment rate)

Equilibrium analysis of a yellow Fever dynamical model with vaccination.

We propose an equilibrium analysis of a dynamical model of yellow fever transmission in the presence of a vaccine. The model considers both human and vector populations. We found thresholds parameters that affect the development of the disease and the infectious status of the human population in the presence of a vaccine whose protection may wane over time. In particular, we derived a threshold vaccination rate, above which the disease would be eradicated from the human population. We show that if the mortality rate of the mosquitoes is greater than a given threshold, then the disease is naturally (without intervention) eradicated from the population. In contrast, if the mortality rate of the mosquitoes is less than that threshold, then the disease is eradicated from the populations only when the growing rate of humans is less than another threshold; otherwise, the disease is eradicated only if the reproduction number of the infection after vaccination is less than 1. When this reproduction number is greater than 1, the disease will be eradicated from the human population if the vaccination rate is greater than a given threshold; otherwise, the disease will establish itself among humans, reaching a stable endemic equilibrium. The analysis presented in this paper can be useful, both to the better understanding of the disease dynamics and also for the planning of vaccination strategies