Commercial Perspective Research Articles

Budget Impact of Dabrafenib and Trametinib in Combination as Adjuvant Treatment of BRAF V600E/K Mutation-Positive Melanoma from a U.S. Commercial Payer Perspective.

Before the approval of dabrafenib and trametinib in combination, there were no approved therapies in the adjuvant setting that target the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway. To evaluate the budget impact of dabrafenib and trametinib in combination for adjuvant treatment of patients with BRAF V600 mutation-positive resected Stage IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC melanoma from a U.S. commercial payer perspective using data from the COMBI-AD trial, as well as other sources. The budget impact of dabrafenib and trametinib in combination for patients with BRAF V600E/K mutation-positive, resected Stage IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC melanoma was evaluated from the perspective of a hypothetical population of 1 million members with demographic characteristics consistent with those of a commercially insured U.S. insurance plan (i.e., adults aged less than 65 years) using an economic model developed in Microsoft Excel. The model compared melanoma-related health care costs over a 3-year projection period under 2 scenarios: (1) a reference scenario in which dabrafenib and trametinib are assumed to be unavailable for adjuvant therapy and (2) a new scenario in which the combination is assumed to be available. Treatments potentially displaced by dabrafenib and trametinib were assumed to include observation, high-dose interferon alpha-2b, ipilimumab, and nivolumab. Costs considered in the model include those of adjuvant therapies and treatment of locoregional and distant recurrences. The numbers of patients eligible for treatment with dabrafenib and trametinib were based on data from cancer registries, published sources, and assumptions. Treatment mixes under the reference and new scenarios were based on market research data, clinical expert opinion, and assumptions. Probabilities of recurrence and death were based on data from the COMBI-AD trial and an indirect treatment comparison. Medication costs were based on wholesale acquisition cost prices. Costs of distant recurrence were from a health insurance claims study. In a hypothetical population of 1 million commercially insured members, 48 patients were estimated to become eligible for treatment with dabrafenib and trametinib in combination over the 3-year projection period; in the new scenario, 10 patients were projected to receive such treatment. Cumulative costs of melanoma-related care were estimated to be $6.3 million in the reference scenario and $6.9 million in the new scenario. The budget impact of dabrafenib and trametinib in combination was an increase of $549 thousand overall and 1.5 cents per member per month. For a hypothetical U.S. commercial health plan of 1 million members, the budget impact of dabrafenib and trametinib in combination as adjuvant treatment for melanoma is likely to be relatively modest and within the range of published estimates for oncology therapies. These results may assist payers in making coverage decisions regarding the use of adjuvant dabrafenib and trametinib in melanoma. Funding for this research was provided to Policy Analysis Inc. (PAI) by Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Stellato, Moynahan, and Delea are employed by PAI. Ndife, Koruth, Mishra, and Gunda are employed by Novartis. Ghate was employed by Novartis at the time of this study and is shareholder in Novartis, Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, and Mannkind Corporation. Gerbasi was employed by PAI at the time of this study and is currently an employee, and stockholder, of Sage Therapeutics. Delea reports grant funding from Merck and research funding from Amgen, Novartis, Sanofi, Seattle Genetics, Takeda, Jazz, EMD Serono, and 21st Century Oncology, unrelated to this work.

Budget Impact Of Including Avelumab As A Second-Line Treatment For Locally Advanced Or Metastatic Urothelial Cancer In The United States: Commercial And Medicare Payer Perspectives.

ObjectiveTo estimate the budget impact of introducing avelumab as a second-line (2L) treatment option for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) from the perspective of a US third-party payer (commercial and Medicare).MethodsA budget impact model (BIM) with a three-year time horizon was developed for avelumab. Efficacy and safety data were sourced from published literature and US package inserts. The analysis was conducted in collaboration with a specialist oncologist who validated clinical assumptions. Costs were based on the number of eligible patients, time-to-treatment failure, overall survival, adverse events (AEs), and projected market shares of various treatments.ResultsIn a hypothetical commercial health plan of 30,000,000 members, 884 patients were estimated to be eligible for 2L treatment over a three-year time period. Without avelumab, the total cost for treating patients with mUC was estimated to be US$70,268,035. The introduction of avelumab increased total costs by $73,438 (0.10% increase). In a hypothetical Medicare health plan of 30,000,000 beneficiaries, a total of 4,705 patients were estimated to be eligible for 2L treatment. Without avelumab, the total cost for treating patients with mUC was estimated to be $292,923,098 from a Medicare perspective; however, with avelumab, there was an increase of $719,324 (0.25% increase) in total costs. Results of the sensitivity analyses demonstrated a cost-neutral impact across all tested scenarios from both perspectives.ConclusionThe BIM estimated that avelumab would have a cost-neutral impact within a US commercial and a Medicare health plan. Overall, avelumab can be an affordable and valuable treatment option for patients with locally advanced or mUC in the 2L setting. These findings demonstrate a consistently favorable budget impact in both populations. Further studies should be conducted to more comprehensively assess the clinical and economic implications of adding avelumab to the treatment armamentarium of 2L mUC.

Responses of daphnids and other zooplankton populations to massive fish kill in Lake Suwa

AbstractIn 2016, a massive fish kill of the planktivorous pond smelt Hypomesus nipponensis occurred in Lake Suwa, Japan. Pond smelt, which is important fish species from commercial and cultural perspectives, influences the zooplankton community in the lake. Following the massive fish kill, Daphnia galeata appeared and their population density increased to previously unseen levels by summer 2017. To help recover the fish population, larval pond smelt were released into the lake. Consequently, D. galeata has rarely appeared in Lake Suwa since summer 2017, except for a low‐density population observed in May–June 2018. These phenomena indicated that fish predation is a possible primary factor for suppressing daphnid populations in shallow eutrophic lake. Zooplankton populations showed species‐specific responses to the alterations in predation pressure. When the D. galeata population peaked after the fish kill event, rotifers, which are small‐sized competitors of daphnids, and calanoids tended to decrease in density. Rotifers then increased with the decrease in the daphnid populations due to the recovery of fish. Alternatively, cyclopoids, which demonstrated a similar population density following the fish kill event, tended to decrease when the fish population recovered. The population densities of Leptodora cf. kindtii/richardi and Bosmina spp. did not significantly differ between before the massive kill event and after pond smelt recovery. It is believed that the changes in zooplankton population densities observed in the present study may provide insights for further monitoring of aquatic food webs in eutrophic water systems, including Lake Suwa, where re‐oligotrophication is occurring and biological interactions are changing.

Progress of lithium-air batteries from perspective of commercialization

Progress of lithium-air batteries from perspective of commercialization

Estimating the Impact of Novel Digital Therapeutics in Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension: Health Economic Analysis.

BackgroundBehavioral interventions can meaningfully improve cardiometabolic conditions. Digital therapeutics (DTxs) delivering these interventions may provide benefits comparable to pharmacologic therapies, displacing medications for some patients.ObjectiveOur objective was to estimate the economic impact of a digital behavioral intervention in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension (HTN) and estimate the impact of clinical inertia on deprescribing medications.MethodsDecision analytic models estimated health resource savings and cost effectiveness from a US commercial payer perspective. A 3-year time horizon was most relevant to the intervention and payer. Effectiveness of the DTx in improving clinical outcomes was based on cohort studies and published literature. Health resource utilization (HRU), health state utilities, and costs were drawn from the literature with costs adjusted to 2018 dollars. Future costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were discounted at 3%. Sensitivity analyses assessed uncertainty.ResultsAverage HRU savings ranged from $97 to $145 per patient per month, with higher potential benefits in T2DM. Cost-effectiveness acceptability analyses using a willingness-to-pay of $50,000/QALY indicated that the intervention would be cost effective at total 3-year program costs of $6468 and $6620 for T2DM and HTN, respectively. Sensitivity analyses showed that reduced medication costs are a primary driver of potential HRU savings, and the results were robust within values tested. A resistance to deprescribe medications when a patient’s clinical outcomes improve can substantially reduce the estimated economic benefits. Our models rely on estimates of clinical effectiveness drawn from limited cohort studies with DTxs and cannot account for other disease management programs that may be implemented. Performance of DTxs in real-world settings is required to further validate their economic benefits.ConclusionsThe DTxs studied may provide substantial cost savings, in part by reducing the use of conventional medications. Clinical inertia may limit the full cost savings of DTxs.

Overview of the Ukrainian Solar Market: Status and Commercial Perspectives

Today, solar energy is called the energy of the future, and many companies make significant investments in the construction of such power plants. The article provides an overview of the commercial perspectives of this market, determines the size of investments and the return on the project. Modern solar panels are able to operate without additional investments for decades and, from the point of view of the authors, in the long term the electricity generated in this way will not only cost-effective, and extremely profitable. The global situation in the energy market and in the field of renewable energy, in particular, is considered. The reasons that triggered the development of renewable energy sources, the key of which are the dangers of nuclear energy and environmental pollution, are explained. Along with this, we consider the structure of the market of renewable energy sources in Ukraine, where the geographic location is favorable for the implementation of solar energy projects. The climate of Ukraine is characterized by a large number of sunny days: in terms of insolation, Ukraine is significantly superior to European leaders in solar energy. This basic factor allows us to talk about the commercial perspectives of solar power generation projects implemented in Ukraine. Against the background of these perspectives is considered the structure of the energy market in Ukraine and the investment attraction of renewable energy projects. Market trends in the development of the solar energy market were discussed, which are expected to contribute to the development of new market niches, such as after-sales services, as well as the transformation of existing business models against the backdrop of the introduction of new facilities.

The Microbiological Quality of Commercial Fruit Juices-Current perspectives

The purpose of this review article is to introduce the importance of fruit juices for human health living in the country and in a broad, and to develop awareness among the people about the diseases caused by pathogens associated with fruit juice. Health benefits of juices have been included in this article and how the same juice can cause problems among people of different ages have been discussed. Contamination sources and the ways to prevent them is very important issue in protecting public health Some future recommendations for fruit juices have also been added in this article. Different diseases caused by various microbial agents and the associated symptoms after consuming contaminated fruit juices worldwide are discussed in this review. This review was aimed at the possible sources of microbial contamination, disease caused by them and determining some ways to avoid such phenomena. From the information provided here, it was noticeable that commercial fruit juice can also harbor pathogenic microorganisms which can cause serious disease outbreaks. The contamination can also be initiated during in house consumption if lack of awareness prevails among the consumers. Manufacturing process should be much more strict in this regard to assure the public health safety. Commercially available fruit juices are consumed worldwide among different ages of people and if not processed properly, this healthy drink may be hazardous for human health.
 Bangladesh J Microbiol, Volume 35 Number 2 December 2018, pp 128-133

An empirical study on the commercial adoption of digital currencies

Digital currencies are rapidly evolving Internet currencies that have been increasingly attracting academic, governmental, banking, and business interest. This paper aims to present the commercial perspective towards the adoption of digital currencies as a means of daily transactions. Considering digital currencies as a pioneering technological innovation, this study proposes a research model that combines the innovation decision process model with the technology acceptance model, adding the construct of perceived security in order to investigate the factors that affect the actual use of digital currencies. The collected data from 254 respondents, derived from an online questionnaire-based survey addressed to commercial users, were further analyzed by using structural equation modeling. The findings of this research have significant implications for academics by bridging the gap in the literature about the factors affecting digital currencies’ commercial adoption and for practitioners concerning decision-making on their adoption and use. More specifically, this study stresses the role of perceived security and the fact that managers need to build their policies regarding transactions in digital currencies on the basis of security. Perceived usefulness was also found to be a significant factor, meaning that commercial users should be aware of the advantages of digital currencies regarding businesses. Moreover, compatibility with existing values and practices affects indirectly the actual use of digital currencies, implying that managers need to perceive that the use of digital currencies should be compatible with existing practices.

Investigating business outcomes of healthy food retail strategies: A systematic scoping review.

Large changes to food retail settings are required to improve population diet. However, limited research has comprehensively considered the business implications of healthy food retail strategies for food retailers. We performed a systematic scoping review to identify types of business outcomes that have been reported in healthy food retail strategy evaluations. Peer-reviewed and grey literature were searched. We identified qualitative or quantitative real-world food or beverage retail strategies designed to improve the healthiness of the consumer nutrition environment (eg, changes to the "marketing mix" of product, price, promotion, and/or placement). Eligible studies reported store- or chain-level outcomes for measures of commercial viability, retailer perspectives, customer perspectives, and/or community outcomes. 11 682 titles and abstracts were screened with 107 studies included for review from 15 countries. Overall item sales, revenue, store patronage, and customer level of satisfaction with strategy were the most frequently examined outcomes. There was a large heterogeneity in outcome measures reported and in favourability for retailers of outcomes across studies. We recommend more consistent reporting of business outcomes and increased development and use of validated and reliable measurement tools. This may help generate more robust research evidence to aid retailers and policymakers to select feasible and sustainable healthy food retail strategies to benefit population health within and across countries.

The Untapped Potential of Ultrasound in Reproductive Health: Interviews with Key Opinion Leaders

Ultrasound (US) has been a frequently-used tool in the field of reproductive health since the mid-1950s. It has been hugely successful, especially during pregnancy, in helping to detect issues such as fetal abnormalities. It is also a non-invasive procedure, working by bouncing ultrasonic soundwaves at body structures or tissues and detecting the echoes that bounce back. The quality of US scans has continually improved over the years, and with emergent technologies, such as Doppler and three dimensional (3D) imaging, the ability for physicians to use US to accurately visualise organs and structures within the female pelvis is extensive. However, across the broad spectrum of reproductive health physicians, there appears to be significantly more scope for US to be utilised in daily clinical practice, particularly in treating infertility and increasing the success rates of procedures such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF). To better understand the extent to which US can be utilised, the European Medical Journal recently interviewed two leading figures in reproductive health who are particularly strong proponents of a broad use of US in clinical practice. These were Dr Nicholas Raine-Fenning, Clinical Associate Professor & Reader in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK, and Prof Michaël Grynberg, Head of the Department of Reproductive Medicine and Fertility Preservation at the University Hospital Antoine-Béclère, Clamart, France. As well as providing a general overview of US across reproductive health, each provided an analysis from the perspective of their main area of clinical expertise: Dr Raine-Fenning focussed primarily on the use of US in IVF, while Prof Grynberg gave insights on its role in diagnosing infertility. In addition, Mr Stephen Hussey, General Manager, Women’s Health Ultrasound, Europe & RCIS, GE Healthcare, Amersham Place, UK, was invited to share a commercial perspective on the use of US technology in reproductive medicine.

Enhanced Supercapacitor Performance By Tuning the Wettability of Vapor Grown Carbon Nanofibers Using Oxygen Plasma Treatment

Carbon based materials have been explored widely for supercapacitor applications in commercial perspective. Despite that their poor performance in terms of volumetric and gravimetric capacitance seems bottleneck in high performance supercapacitor device applications. The major reason for the same is their poor wettability. Generally, carbon based materials are found to be hydrophobic which limits their electrode – electrolyte interfacial interaction and hence, suppresses the charge storage performance. In this work, we report vapor grown carbon nano fibers (CNF) at large scale using chemical vapor deposition adopting simple catalytic approach. CVD grown CNF showed crystalline 1 D morphology confirmed by detailed electron microscopy. As grown CNF shows hydrophobic nature. Supercapacitor measurements revealed 14.6 mF/cm2 aerial capacitance. In order to improve electrode - electrolyte interfacial interaction, the wettability factor has to be improved and hence O2 plasma treatment has been adopted to convert hydrophobic CNF into hydrophilic. Time dependent contact angle measurements revealed the absence of ageing effect due to changes in microstructure after plasma treatment which was confirmed by electron microscopic investigations. Further, comparative electrochemical measurements proved remarkable enhancement in supercapacitor performance of plasma treated CNF in terms of aerial capacitance (162.5 mF/cm2) compared to as grown CNF. The change in wettability led to superior supercapacitor performance along with high Coulombic efficiency. Taking this work to one step further CNF were uniformly encapsulated with MoO3 in 1 D core – shell fashion where CNF acts as core and MoO3 acts as shell in the subsequent CVD process. This approach provides a path in developing low cost - high energy density supercapacitor using simple methods.

User-Oriented ICT Cloud Architecture for High-Accuracy GNSS-Based Services.

We introduce a new information and communication technology (ICT) cloud-based architecture for Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) high-accuracy solutions, offering also a commercial overview of GNSS downstream market to show how the developed innovation is thought to fit in the real context. The designed architecture is featured by dynamic scalability, increased integrity, and greater agility of the ICT system. The novelty of the solution developed is a customized ICT architecture, obtained through unique and privileged access to user communities in the frame of the H2020 project TREASURE, allowing the development of a solution entirely driven by user needs. The economic outlook of GNSS downstream markets evolution highlights how the technology proposed effectively matches the evolving business environment, specifically in regard to the increasing need for flexibility and competitive advantage deriving from services. The simultaneous adoption of the technical and commercial perspective is meant to offer interesting findings to both the scientific community and GNSS industry, creating synergies previously unexplored.

Budget impact model of avelumab in patients with metastatic merkel cell carcinoma in the US.

Objective: To estimate the budget impact of avelumab as a treatment option for patients with treatment-naïve first-line (1L) and previously treated second-line or later (2L+) metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (mMCC) in the US.Methods: A budget impact model was developed to evaluate the addition of avelumab for the treatment of mMCC patients using a hypothetical 30 million-member US health plan over a 3-year time horizon (2019–2021). The comparator treatments included in the analysis were pembrolizumab and nivolumab (other immuno-oncology agents); and the chemotherapies routinely used in the eligible mMCC population. Model inputs included market share uptake of avelumab and other comparators, duration of treatments, and costs (drugs, health care resource utilization, adverse events). The model was evaluated from a commercial payer perspective. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to test uncertainties arising from the input values used in the model.Results: In a hypothetical commercial health plan of 30 million members, 285 patients with mMCC were identified over 3 years; 43 patients received avelumab as a 1L treatment over 3 years. In a world without avelumab, the total health care costs of treating patients with mMCC over 3 years were estimated to be US$11,710,115 from a commercial health plan perspective. With avelumab, there were estimated savings of $2,643,173 considering the total costs related to the treatment of mMCC over 3 years (23% reduction in the budget). The incremental cost per member per month over 3 years was −$0.0025.Conclusion: The model results indicate that the adoption of avelumab as a treatment option for mMCC would likely result in minimal budget impact from a US health plan perspective. Patients with mMCC, a rare condition with a poor prognosis and high unmet need, may benefit greatly from recently approved immunotherapies.

PBI18 EVALUATING THE BUDGET IMPACT OF PATISIRAN, THE FIRST APPROVED RNAI THERAPEUTIC, FOR TREATING THE POLYNEUROPATHY OF HATTR AMYLOIDOSIS

Hereditary transthyretin-mediated (hATTR) amyloidosis is a rare, inherited, rapidly progressive, life-threatening disease caused by the deposition of TTR proteins in the nerves and other organs. The U.S. prevalence of hATTR amyloidosis with polyneuropathy is estimated to be 10,000-15,000 patients, although fewer than 3,000 have been diagnosed. In 2018, patisiran and inotersen were approved for the treatment of this condition. The objective of this analysis was to estimate the budget impact to a third-party payer of reimbursing patisiran for its approved indication under various scenarios. An economic model was developed in Microsoft Excel® to estimate the budget impact of reimbursing patisiran in a hypothetical U.S. commercial health plan with 1 million covered lives over a 3-year time horizon. The model assessed the incremental per-member-per-month (PMPM) budget impact of covering patisiran by comparing: 1) treatment landscape with reimbursement of inotersen, without patisiran versus 2) treatment landscape with reimbursement of patisiran and inotersen. In both treatment landscapes, a proportion of patients received best supportive care (BSC) alone or in addition to either patisiran or inotersen. All costs for treatment acquisition and administration (including required pre-medications), monitoring, and serious adverse event costs were reported in 2018 U.S. dollars. Alternative scenarios were tested. Patisiran reimbursement had an incremental budget impact of $0.008 PMPM over a 3-year period, or $284,449 in total incremental costs. Scenario analyses showed a similar budget impact from the Medicare Advantage perspective ($0.009 PMPM). Administration of patisiran as home infusion, rather than outpatient infusion, yielded a cost savings of $0.002 PMPM. Reimbursement of patisiran for the treatment of the polyneuropathy of hATTR amyloidosis is expected to have a minimal budget impact to health plans from both commercial and Medicare Advantage perspectives. If patisiran is administered at home, cost savings may be anticipated.

PMD41 ECONOMIC IMPACT OF NOVEL DIGITAL THERAPEUTICS IN DIABETES, DYSLIPIDEMIA, AND HYPERTENSION

Behavioral interventions produce meaningful improvements in glycemic control, lipid levels and hypertension in patients with metabolic and cardiovascular conditions. Digital therapeutics delivering these interventions have the potential to provide benefits comparable to pharmacologic therapies. At this point in development, however, there are few assessments of the potential economic benefits of digital therapeutics. We estimated the economic impact of a digital behavioral intervention in 3 patient populations: type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), dyslipidemia (HC), and hypertension (HTN). Decision-analytic models estimated budget impact and cost-effectiveness from a US commercial payer perspective. A 3-year time horizon was used as most relevant to the intervention and payer. Effectiveness of the digital therapeutic in improving clinical outcomes were based on cohort studies and the published literature. Resource utilization rates, health state utilities and costs were drawn from the literature with costs inflated to 2017 dollars. Costs and QALYs were discounted at 3%. Sensitivity analyses assessed uncertainty. Average savings in health resource utilization (HRU) ranged from $98 to $178 per patient per month, with the highest potential benefits in DM. QALY improvements were estimated at 0.0549 – 0.0918 in the 3 patient populations. Cost-effectiveness acceptability analyses using a willingness to pay threshold of $100,000/QALY indicated that the intervention would be cost-effective at total three-year program costs of $10,931, $11,553, and $6,443 for DM, HC, and HTN respectively. Sensitivity analyses showed that medication costs were the primary driver of potential HRU savings and that all results were robust within values tested. A resistance to deprescribe pharmacologic treatments when patients’ clinical outcomes improve can substantially reduce estimated economic benefits. Digital therapeutics can provide substantial improvements in economic outcomes at much lower costs than comparable pharmacologic interventions. Clinical inertia may be a barrier to realizing the economic benefits of digital therapeutics.

Graphite coated pyrolyzed filter paper as a low-cost binder-free and freestanding anode for practical lithium-ion battery application

Most of the newer forms of carbon materials being demonstrated as potential anodes for lithium-ion batteries suffer a serious drawback in terms of their commercial perspectives due to their failure in the retention of a flat plateau in the charging/discharging profile. Here we present a facile and low-cost approach for the fabrication of solvent-free, binder-free anode material for the practical usage. A filter paper was coated with graphite using a pencil lead followed by pyrolysis (PyPF) and tested for its electrochemical performance. Galvanostatic charge/discharge experiments as carried out in half-cell configuration exhibited a specific capacity of 342 mAhg−1 with a constant plateau at 156 mAg−1 with 98% coulombic efficiency. This clearly shows the potential and competency of the material to be an inexpensive commercial anode. The role of graphite coating on filter paper was clearly manifested in the comparative studies with only pyrolyzed filter paper. Furthermore, full cell studies were performed using PyPF as anode and carbon coated LiFePO4 as a cathode. A specific capacity of 120 mAhg−1 at C/5 rate with 141 WhKg−1 energy density with the retention of constant plateau and minimal polarization further emphasize the proficiency of PyPF as an anode for a commercial lithium-ion battery.

Análisis de las investigaciones sobre Metarhizium anisopliae en los últimos 40 años

El control biológico se utiliza para la regulación de poblaciones de insectos plaga y evitar la inducción de resistencia de los insectos por el uso excesivo de agroquímicos, así como solventar problemas de residuos para la producción orgánica de alimentos. Existen más de 750 especies de hongos entomopatógenos que pueden utilizarse para el control biológico de plagas, siendo Metarhizium anisopliae, uno de los más utilizados a nivel comercial. La presente revisión tuvo por objetivo determinar los temas más relevantes con respecto a investigaciones concernientes a M. anisopliae durante el período de 1976 a 2018. Se realizó una revisión en el metabuscador Scopus®, utilizando como palabra clave Metarhizium anisopliae solo en título para octubre 9, 2018. Se identificaron las principales revistas, países e instituciones que han publicado sobre el tema. Los datos se analizaron utilizando el software VOSviewer® bajo el principio de co-ocurrencia de términos. Los resultados muestran que este microorganismo ha sido ampliamente estudiado a nivel internacional, especialmente en el período de 2008 a 2014. Las investigaciones se concentran en tres clústeres: producción-actividad, Beauveria bassiana y termitas. Se concluye que este microorganismo sigue analizándose desde una perspectiva comercial y debido a que los agentes de control biológico tienden a ser locales, sus investigaciones continuarán para concentrarse en el desarrollo y caracterización a nivel molecular de cepas locales (nativas) con potencial comercial.

Budget Impact of a Steroid-Eluting Sinus Implant Versus Sinus Surgery for Adult Chronic Sinusitis Patients with Nasal Polyps.

A corticosteroid-eluting sinus implant was recently approved by the FDA as a drug to treat adult patients with nasal polyps who have undergone previous endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) of the ethmoid sinuses. ESS is performed in an operating room under general anesthesia, whereby diseased tissue and bone are removed to provide improved drainage. ESS typically involves dissection of 1 or more of the 4 paired sinus cavities (maxillary, ethmoid, sphenoid, or frontal). The implant, containing 1,350 mcg of mometasone furoate, is inserted by a physician in an office setting and offers controlled localized release of corticosteroid to the polypoid sinus tissue. The implant has demonstrated significant improvements in clinical testing; however, little research has been conducted on its economic impact. To evaluate and quantify the budget impact to a commercial payer of using this implant instead of ESS in patients with nasal polyps after a previous ESS. Since essentially all patients with recurrent nasal polyps after ESS are patients with chronic sinusitis (CS) diagnosis, this study also identified patients with CS with nasal polyposis (CSwNP) for consistency with the patient population studied in clinical trials evaluating the implant. A budget impact analysis was conducted from a U.S. commercial payer perspective over a 1-year time horizon with patients who received the implant or revision ESS. Primary outcomes of interest were annual total and per-member per-month (PMPM) direct health care costs. Costs were estimated using a decision analysis model, assuming 50% implant utilization as an alternative to revision ESS in eligible patients, with other levels (25%, 75%) also considered. The model utilized the results of a recently published analysis of 86,052 patients in the Blue Health Intelligence database, results from published clinical trials evaluating the implant, a literature review, and published Medicare national payment amounts. A commercial health plan with 1 million members could anticipate 1,000 CSwNP patients as candidates for receiving the implant or revision ESS. Estimated direct treatment costs for refractory CSwNP using only revision ESS are $11.03 million ($0.92 PMPM). If the implant replaced surgery in 50% of cases and if 63% those patients received a second treatment with the implant during the year, the estimated total cost savings would be $2.56 million ($0.21 PMPM). Cost savings associated with using the implant changed to $0.11 PMPM and $0.32 PMPM with implant adoption of 25% and 75%, respectively. In a large commercially insured U.S. population, annual revision ESS costs are substantial. Using the implant instead of revision ESS could result in considerable cost savings for payers at various levels of adoption. This study was sponsored by Intersect ENT, which was involved in study design and manuscript review. Ernst and Imhoff are employed by CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services, which contracted with Intersect ENT to conduct this study. Ernst and Imhoff also report other financial support from Intersect ENT during the conduct of the study. DeConde reports personal fees from Intersect ENT during the conduct of the study, as well as personal fees from Optinose, Stryker Endoscopy, and Olympus, outside the submitted work. Manes reports grants from Intersect ENT during the conduct of the study, as well as grants from Optinose and Sanofi outside the submitted work.

“Out of Sight, Out of Mind”: Rapid Ethnographic Assessment of Commercial Fishermen's Perspectives on Corporate/State Response to the Deepwater Horizon Disaster

A rapid ethnographic assessment conducted in 2016 engaged fishermen, their communities, and fisheries along the Gulf of Mexico coast five years after the Deepwater Horizon blowout of 2010. Intervie...

Coming Together: R&D and Children's Entertainment Company in Designing APPs for Learning Early Math.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have an increasing influence on the way we interact, learn, and live. The increase in teaching and learning methodologies that are mediated by ICT in the field of education and in the domestic settings encourages the design of new effective technological tools, supported by scientific research and development to improve student learning. The challenge psychology is facing in the education field is to promote those technologies and make them available to the education community. Technologies also would produce attractive items for users and realistic commercial issues for businesses. This also allows an effective transfer for scientific work, providing visibility to Research and Development. In this context, the main aim of the article is to describe the process to get an agreement between Babyradio (a children’s entertainment company: https://babyradio.es/) and our research team, starting a collaborative work between two groups of people (Babyradio’s technical designer and Psychologist-Engineers software designer), in order to create several educative applications (APPs) in the field of early mathematics cognition. The institutional framework of the relationship of the R&D project and a children’s entertainment company is described. The article also focuses on experience in Psychology, Technological Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. In considering the efficiency of the agreement, we present different APPs designed for tablets and smartphone devices, adapted to the different operating systems (IOS, Android, Windows). APPs are designed to instill the cognitive fundamentals associated with early math learning for students aged 4 to 7 years. The study developed after this babyradio-university enterprise agreement contributes to the development of mathematics skills in children, aged 4–7 years, so that they can successfully meet the mathematics school requirements; it also contributes to encouraging a more positive attitude toward mathematics. This study also suggests how the education system and software and educational content developers’ companies would manage verified instructional APPs, with a more realistic commercial perspective.