Lung cancer is a very frequent tumor in the developed world and the leading cause of cancer death, with non-small cell lung cancer being the most prevalent type and with most difficult prognosis. In this paper we present a decision support system built for finding the optimal selection of tests and therapy for each patient. The system basically consists of an influence diagram with super value ...

Economic models of climate change often take the problem seriously, but paradoxically conclude that the optimal policy is to do almost nothing about it. We explore this paradox as seen in the widely used DICE model. Three aspects of that model, involving the discount rate, the assumed benefits of moderate warming, and the treatment of the latest climate science, explain the timidity of the mode...

Imaging colorectal cancer has become a major indication for positron emission tomography using fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG–PET). In primary diagnosis and staging, the role for this technique is limited but FDG–PET has proved highly accurate in the detection of recurrent tumour. The three main indications are (i) characterisation of a residual structural lesion after definitive therapy, (ii) pre-ope...

Due to the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and the increasing burden this is placing on society, an increased interest in possible treatment remedies of musculoskeletal pain is evident. The “news section” in a recent British Medical Journal reported that “complementary medicine is booming worldwide”. This is mainly the result of patient satisfaction, costeffectiveness of some of these comple...

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Cellular communication networks are plagued with redundant capacity, which results in low utilization and costeffectiveness of network capital investments. The redundant capacity can be exploited to deliver secondary traffic that is ultra-elastic and delay-tolerant. In this paper, we propose an analytical framework to study the capacity-delay tradeoff of elastic/secondary traffic in large scale...

Results Doctors working in conventional hospitals had comparatively negative consciousness regarding the basic concept, remedial value and necessity for collaborative practice and TKM. In regards with disease treatment’s effectiveness of collaborative practice, both groups evaluated musculoskeletal and immune disease were more effective than others. There were positive relationships between per...

The Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) is a process of implementing communication strategies for the welfare of individual or communities to encourage them to adopt positive behaviours suitable to the local problem and the settings. Successful implementation of BCC essentially needs extensive research and meticulous planning based on the level of knowledge and attitude of the target populatio...

A systematic review on the effectiveness and costeffectiveness of Immunochemical faecal occult IFOBT for CRC screening was carried out. A total of 450 relevant titles were identified, 41 abstracts were screened and 18 articles were included in the results. There was fair level of retrievable evidence to suggest that the sensitivity and specificity of IFOBT varies with the cut-off point of haemo...

RESULTS: The decision tree shows the associated probabilities, QALYs and costs for each clinical outcome arising from either the LVOS arm or the SSIR arm. An ICUR of $644/QALY favoring LVOS was calculated based off of its clinical-effectiveness gain of 7.11 QALY at an additional cost of $4,579.43 (partly due to the additional costs of radiation treatment and the bilateral operation needed for L...