Racial and ethnic differences in patient ratings of colorectal and non-small-cell lung cancer care: A SEER-CAHPS study.

Purpose: Although significant racial and ethnic disparities exist in colorectal and lung cancer treatment and survival, racial differences in patient-reported experience of care are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in patient-reported ratings of colorectal and non-small-cell lung cancer care by race/ethnicity.

Methods: Medicare beneficiaries with AJCC stage I-IV colorectal and non-small-cell lung cancer (2003-2013) who completed a Medicare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers (CAHPS) survey within 5 years of cancer diagnosis were identified in the linked SEER-CAHPS dataset.

The Road Less Traveled: Transportation Barriers to Cancer Care Delivery in the Rural Patient Population.

Patients with cancer residing in geographically rural areas experience lower rates of preventative screening, more advanced disease at presentation, and higher mortality rates compared with urban populations. Although multiple factors contribute, access to transportation has been proposed as a critical barrier affecting timeliness and quality of health care delivery in rural populations. Patients from geographically rural regions may face a variety of transportation barriers, including lack of public transportation, limited access to private vehicles, and increased travel distance to specialized oncologic care.

Incorporation of fluorophore-cholesterol conjugates into liposomal and mycobacterial membranes.

Fluorescently-labeled steroids that emit intense blue light in nonpolar solvent (λem (CH2Cl2)≈440nm, ΦF=0.70) were prepared by treating cholesteryl chloroformate with 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimides. The lipid portion of the conjugates embeds into liposomal membrane bilayers in minutes, leaving the fluorophore exposed to the external aqueous environment.

Dimerization and anion binding of a fluorescent phospholipid analogue.

A diarylacetylene fluorophore featuring spatially separated urea and phosphocholine (PC) groups forms a macrocyclic "head-to-tail" dimer stabilized by NH(urea)···OP(PC) hydrogen bonds. At concentrations above ~2 × 10(-5) M in CH(2)Cl(2), the emission intensity of the dimer is quenched by HCO(3)(-) and H(2)PO(4)(-) but not by Cl(-) and NO(3)(-). Under more dilute conditions, all four anions are bound unselectively with association constants on the order of 10(5) M(-1).