The utility of a risk function in clinical practice is an important concept that has received insufficient attention. The authors evaluated the clinical usefulness of the Framingham risk function (FRF) for cardiovascular disease in a Middle Eastern population (2,640 men and 3,584 women aged 30-74 years) free of cardiovascular disease at baseline in 1999. They calculated the net benefit fraction...

OBJECTIVE Epidemiologic research suggests that significant public health benefits can accrue from preventive interventions that delay the initiation of youth alcohol use. This analysis compares the cost effectiveness of tvo interventions designed for general population families of adolescents. It also conservatively estimates their benefit-cost ratios and net benefits. METHOD Cost-effectivene...

Well-differentiated digestive neuroendocrine tumors (NET) are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms usually associated with slow growth but a high rate of metastases, including peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). Herein, we aimed to comprehensively review the current knowledge of PC in terms of implications for the management and prognosis of patients with NET, including the latest studies and expert ...

The development of Internet technology has facilitated the emergence of online marketplace for various kinds of tasks (e.g., Amazon’s Mechanical Turk in USA and Taskcn.com in China). Although the payment is relatively low, numerous people participate in the tasks in these online marketplaces. Drawing upon shopping value literature, we develop a research model by considering various value percep...

Measures aimed at conservation or restoration of ecosystems are often seen as net-cost projects by governments and businesses because they are based on incomplete and often faulty cost-benefit analyses. After screening over 200 studies, we examined the costs (94 studies) and benefits (225 studies) of ecosystem restoration projects that had sufficient reliable data in 9 different biomes ranging ...

This paper aims to explore the analytical issues surrounding the graphical representation of causation in accident scenarios. Two types of graphical renderings, Petri Nets and Why-Because Graphs, are introduced and the different ways in which they denote accident causation are explored. The second part reports an experiment undertaken to explore whether graphical renderings of causality have an...

Fuel expenses, diesel exhaust health externalities, and climate change are concerns that encourage the use of electric vehicles. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) policies provide additional economic incentives. This analysis evaluates the costs and benefits associated with the use of electric vehicles and determines the cost effectiveness of using a V2G-capable electric school bus compared to a traditiona...

BACKGROUND Retrievable filters are increasingly implanted for prophylaxis in patients without pulmonary embolism (PE) but who may be at transient risk. These devices are often not removed after the risk of PE has diminished. This study employs decision analysis to weigh the risks and benefits of retrievable filter use as a function of the filter's time in situ. METHODS Medical literature on p...

Cities import energy, which in combination with their typically high solar absorption and low moisture availability generates the urban heat island effect (UHI). The UHI, combined with human-induced warming, makes our densely populated cities particularly vulnerable to climate change. We examine the utility of solar photovoltaic (PV) system deployment on urban rooftops to reduce the UHI, and we...