Association and correlation of patient symptom perception and asthma control - a rapid literature review.

Background: Several studies suggest that patients often under-estimate their asthma symptoms and over-estimate their level of asthma control, potentially putting them at risk of undertreatment with inhaled corticosteroids.

Objective: To determine the association and correlation between patient symptom perception and asthma control.

Methods: A rapid literature review comprising searches in MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Library identified English language articles published between 2011-2021 that included a statistical measure of the association or correlation between perceptions of symptoms and asthma control in patients with asthma (adults and/or children).

Endemic Burkitt lymphoma avatar mouse models for exploring inter-patient tumor variation and testing targeted therapies.

Endemic Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a childhood cancer in sub-Saharan Africa characterized by Epstein-Barr virus and malaria-associated aberrant B-cell activation and chromosomal translocation. Survival rates hover at 50% after conventional chemotherapies; therefore, clinically relevant models are necessary to test additional therapies. Hence, we established five patient-derived BL tumor cell lines and corresponding NSG-BL avatar mouse models.

SARS-CoV-2 Serosurveys: How Antigen, Isotype and Threshold Choices Affect the Outcome.

Background: Evaluating the performance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) serological assays and clearly articulating the utility of selected antigens, isotypes, and thresholds is crucial to understanding the prevalence of infection within selected communities.

Methods: This cross-sectional study, implemented in 2020, screened PCRconfirmed coronavirus disease 2019 patients (n 86), banked prepandemic and negative samples (n 96), healthcare workers and family members (n 552), and university employees (n 327) for antiSARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain, trimeric spike protein, and nucleocapsid protein immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgA antibodies with a laboratory-developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and tested how antigen, isotype and threshold choices affected the seroprevalence outcomes. The following threshold methods were evaluated: (i) mean 3 standard deviations of the negative controls; (ii) 100 specificity for each antigen-isotype combination; and (iii) the maximal Youden index.

Systematic literature review of the clinical, humanistic, and economic burden associated with asthma uncontrolled by GINA Steps 4 or 5 treatment.

Objective: This study sought to characterize the epidemiologic, clinical, humanistic, and economic burden of patients with asthma uncontrolled by GINA Steps 4 or 5 treatment (severe, uncontrolled asthma [SUA]).

Methods: A systematic literature review adhering to PRISMA guidelines was performed. Relevant publications were searched for in MEDLINE and EMBASE from January 2004 to September 2016 and in a conference proceedings database from January 2012 to October 2016.

The Budget Impact of Including Necitumumab on the Formulary for First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: U.S. Commercial Payer and Medicare Perspectives.

Background: Necitumumab (Neci) was the first biologic approved by the FDA for use in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin (Neci + GCis) in first-line treatment of metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer (msqNSCLC). The potential financial impact on a health plan of adding Neci + GCis to drug formularies may be important to value-based decision makers in the United States, given ever-tightening budget constraints.

Objective: To estimate the budget impact of introducing Neci + GCis for first-line treatment of msqNSCLC from U.

Budget impact of adding lesinurad for second-line treatment of gout: a US health plan perspective.

To estimate budget impact of adopting lesinurad as add-on to allopurinol for urate-lowering therapy in gout. A budget impact model was developed for a US payer perspective, using a Markov model to estimate costs, survival and discontinuation in a one-million-member health plan. The population included patients failing first-line gout therapy, followed for 5 years.

Enhancing the Budget Impact Model for Institutional Use: A Tool with Practical Applications for the Hospital Oncology Pharmacy.

Background: The cost of cancer care is increasing, and tools are needed to understand the economic impact of new drugs on the hospital pharmacy budget.

Objective: To develop an interactive budget impact model (BIM) through a collaborative effort of industry, academia, and modeling experts to evaluate the use of a new agent in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); this BIM included an institutional module specific to the needs of practices that purchase medications for use in institutional settings.

Methods: Treatment regimens, doses, duration of therapy, toxicity, and cost data are from published sources.

Plasma and tissue proteins produced by non-hepatic rat organs as studied with lysine-epsilon-C14; gamma globulins the chief plasma protein fraction produced by non-hepatic tissues.

The non-hepatic tissues in a perfused "carcass" (caudal half of the rat) maintain some physiological functions for as long as 5 to 6 hours of perfusion, including good clearance of lysine-epsilon-C(14) and glucose from the perfusate, and synthesis of both tissue and plasma proteins. The perfused "carcass" tissues incorporate only small amounts of lysine-epsilon-C(14) into the plasma proteins to an extent not markedly affected by the presence of the gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, spleen, or kidneys. This activity is found only in the globulin fraction obtained by sodium sulfate fractionation.

The dominant role of the liver in plasma protein synthesis; a direct study of the isolated perfused rat liver with the aid of lysine-epsilon-C14.

A direct study of the isolated rat liver perfused with oxygenated blood containing amino acids and lysine-epsilon-C(14) has yielded facts indicating that the liver synthesizes practically all the plasma fibrinogen, the albumin fraction, and probably more than 80 per cent of the plasma globulin fraction. The response of the isolated perfused liver in protein synthesis is qualitatively and quantitatively analogous to that of the intact animal, notably in (a) the ability to discriminate between natural L-lysine and D-lysine, (b) the per cent of isotopic amino acid converted to CO(2), (c) the per cent utilized in liver and plasma protein synthesis. The results obtained with the perfused liver are compared and contrasted with those reported for tissue homogenates, minces, and slices.

Plasma and red cell radioiron following intravenous injection; turpentine abscesses in normal and anemic dogs.

Sterile inflammation induced by repeated subcutaneous injections of turpentine in non-anemic, non-iron-deficient dogs, leads to a fall in plasma iron concentration, the development of a moderate anemia, and a marked delay in the uptake by the red blood cells of intravenous radioiron. Similar periods of inflammation in anemic, iron-deficient dogs on a diet low in iron cause no increase in the degree of anemia and no inhibition of red blood cell uptake of intravenous radioiron. Radioiron appears only in traces in abscess exudates.