High Price Research Articles

List prices and clinical value of anticancer drugs in China, Japan, and South Korea: a retrospective comparative study

High prices of anticancer drugs have raised concerns due to their financial impact on patients and healthcare systems. This study aimed to assess the initial and latest list prices and clinical value of reimbursed anticancer drugs in China, Japan, and South Korea. We identified anticancer drugs newly approved by the National Medical Products Administration of China from January 2012 to June 2022, and by the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency of Japan and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea up until June 2022. We compared initial and latest treatment prices between countries and assessed clinical value using patients' survival, quality of life (QoL), and European Society for Medical Oncology Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale (ESMO-MCBS). We calculated Spearman rank correlation coefficients of treatment prices with clinical value for individual countries and employed regression analyses to investigate whether the relationship between prices and clinical value was modified by the country setting. Our cohort included 91 anticancer drug indications, with 60 listed for reimbursement in China, 91 in Japan, and 87 in South Korea. Median treatment prices were highest in Japan, followed by South Korea, and lowest in China, both for initial prices (US$64082 vs. US$45529 vs. US$19144, p<0.0001) and latest prices (US$50859 vs. US$31611 vs. US$18666, p<0.0001). Over time, China (β=-0.047, p<0.0001) and South Korea (β=-0.049, p<0.0001) witnessed more significant price reductions compared to Japan (β=-0.013, p=0.011). The correlations between both initial and latest treatment prices and clinical value (QoL and ESMO-MCBS) were more significant and stronger in China and South Korea than in Japan, although Japan exhibited slightly stronger correlations in terms of survival compared to China and South Korea. The relationship between clinical value and treatment prices may not be modified by the country setting. In comparison, South Korea's list prices and their correlations with clinical value appear reasonable. Policymakers in Japan could enhance efficiency by controlling prices and aligning them with clinical value, while China would need to take substantial steps to expand anticancer drug coverage. National Natural Science Foundation of China (72374149 and 72074163), and China Center for South Asian Studies, Sichuan University.

High variability in self-pay pricing for vasectomy and vasectomy reversal in the United States.

In the United States (US) men who undergo vasectomy and/or vasectomy reversal (vasovasotomy) are likely to pay out-of-pocket for these procedures. We characterized the publicly disclosed pricing of both procedures with a focus on variability in self-pay prices. We queried all US hospitals for publicly disclosed prices of vasectomy and vasovasotomy. We assessed interhospital variability in self-pay pricing and compared hospitals charging high (≥75th percentile) and low (≤25th percentile) self-pay prices for either procedure. We also examined trends in pricing after the 2022 US Supreme Court decision that allowed individual states to ban abortion. Of 6692 hospitals, 1375 (20.5%) and 281 (4.2%) disclosed self-pay prices for vasectomy and vasovasotomy, respectively. There was a 17-fold difference between the 10th and 90th percentile self-pay prices for vasectomy ($421-$7147) and a 39-fold difference for vasovasotomy ($446-$17,249). Compared with hospitals charging low (≤25th percentile) self-pay prices for vasectomy or vasovasotomy, hospitals charging high (≥75th percentile) prices were larger (median 150 vs. 59 beds, p < 0.001) and more likely to be for-profit (31.2% vs. 7.8%, p < 0.001), academic-affiliated (52.7% vs. 23.1%, p < 0.001), and located in an urban zip code (70.1% vs. 41.3%, p < 0.001). From October 2022 to April 2023, the median self-pay price of vasectomy increased by 10% (from $1667 to $1832) while the median self-pay price of vasovasotomy decreased by 16% (from $3309 to $2786). We found large variability in self-pay pricing for vasectomy and vasectomy reversal, which may serve as a barrier to the accessibility of male reproductive care.

PENGENALAN DAN PELATIHAN DIVERSIFIKASI PRODUK HASIL PERIKANAN KEPADA ISTRI NELAYAN DI KENJERAN-SURABAYA

The impoverished economic condition of fishermen is one of reasons that compelling the wives to work and earn extra living for their families. This problem is predominantly occurred in fishermen households in Kenjeran, Surabaya. This impoverished economic condition of fishermen is considerably influenced by the lack of adequate facilities and education related to the processing of diversified fishery commodities. Therefore, in order to help the economy improvement and reduce the poverty level within fishermen households, it is necessary to provide community service which is focusing on giving skill in diversification process of fisheries commodities. This activity aims to provide training and information enrichment related to fishery product processing skills in order to encourage financial independence in fishermen communities. This community service activity was initially began with conducting preliminary survey, which then continued with the training in making products from fisheries commodities. In the counseling process, primary data was taken by conducting interviews to fill out questionnaires. The result of this community service activity showed that the majority of participants already had certain level of understanding toward nutritional information and proper method to make processed fisheries products. The participants of this activity were given information regarding to the utilization of package in protecting and elevating the selling price of fisheries products. The questionnaires evaluation shows that the fishermen wives need further assistance regarding the variety of fish processing method, along with the effective marketing strategy and the proper implementation of sanitation hygiene to make products with high selling price. The Kenjeran fishing community understands the importance of diversifying fishery products. This is an effort to increase the economic value of products as an economic resource for residents.

Effect of Procurement Planning on Public Institutions Performance: A Case of Rwanda Development Board

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of procurement planning on public institutions performance. The Rwandan Development Board (RDB) has included state agencies in the creation of procurement strategies, but their efforts have been fruitless so far. An everyday scenario would be an organization's signed contracts with its contractors seeing a rise in the amounts due to the unexpectedly high pricing on global marketplaces. In conducting this research, three objectives were laid out to assess the effects of procurement needs identification and specifications on performance of Rwanda Development Board, to find out the effect of procurement budgeting on performance of Rwanda Development Board and to examine the effect of procurement risk management on the performance of Rwanda Development Board. To accomplish these goals, we first conducted a literature study that centered on the resource-based perspective, stakeholder theory, and relationship management theory; then, we used a census sample approach to choose 156 RDB workers from whom we gathered data. Methods for gathering information included an interview guide, documentation, and a questionnaire. We used quantitative and qualitative data to examine the data. The results show that, with all procurement planning set to zero, the performance of RDB will be 147.4 percent; there will be a 36.8 percent boost in RDB performance with an increase of one unit in the use of procurement needs identification and specifications; a 63.2% boost in RDB performance with an increase of one percent in the use of procurement budgeting; and a 68.4 percent boost in RDB performance with an increase of one percentage point in the use of procurement risk management planning. From a high level of analysis, it was found that procurement risk management planning, procurement budgeting, and procurement requirements identification and specifications were the three factors that had the most impact on the performance of public institutions at RDB. Procurement requirements identification and specifications, procurement budgeting, and procurement risk management planning all had 0.011, 0.018, and 0.31 levels of significance, respectively, at a 5% level of significance and a 95% level of confidence. With p&lt;0.05, all of the factors were considerably different. Also, the Rwanda Development Board's procurement plans and the performance of public institutions are significantly different (p=.000), according to the ANOVA test. Public sector organizations' efficiency and effectiveness are both improved by procurement planning, according to the research. Procurement planning allows the government agency to save money by consolidating comparable needs under a single contract and by dividing more complicated needs into smaller, more manageable packages. The researcher concluded that RDB could benefit from identifying possible product issues before purchase through procurement needs identification and specifications; as a result, the researcher advised that RDB and suppliers typically enter into a transactional relationship. It is recommended to collaborate with suppliers when acquiring commodities that have a greater supply risk.

On-site hydrogen refuelling station techno-economic model for a fleet of fuel cell buses

Fuel cell electric buses (FCBs) have proven to be a technically viable solution for transportation, owing to various advantages, such as reliability, simplicity, better energy efficiency, and quietness of operation. However, large-scale adoption of FCBs is hindered by the lack of extensive and structured infrastructure and the high cost of clean hydrogen. Many studies agree that one of the significant contributors to the lack of competitiveness of green hydrogen is the cost of electricity for its production, followed by transportation costs. On the one hand, to reduce the investment cost of the electrolyzer, high operating hours should be achieved; on the other, as the number of operating hours decreases, the impact of the electricity costs declines. This paper presents an innovative algorithm for a scalable hydrogen refuelling station (HRS) capable of successfully matching and identifying the most cost-efficient levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) produced via electrolysis and connected to the grid, based on the HRS components' cost curves and the hourly average electricity price profile. The objective is to identify the least-cost range of LCOH by considering both the electric energy and the investment costs associated with a hydrogen demand given by different FCB sizes and electrolyzer rated powers. In addition, sensitivity analyses have been conducted to quantify the technology cost margins, and a cost comparison between the refuelling of an FCB fleet and the recharging infrastructure required for an equivalent fleet of Battery Electric Buse (BEB) has been performed. An LCOH of around 10.5 €/kg varying from 12 €/kg (2 FCB) to 10.2 €/kg (30 FCB) has been found for the best-optimized configurations. The final major conclusion of this paper is that FCB technology is currently not economically competitive. Still, a cost contraction of the electric energy price and the electrolyzer capital investment would lead to a 50% decrease in the LCOH. Furthermore, increasing renewable energies into the grid may shift the electricity cost curve, resulting in higher prices when the BEB recharging demand is more significant. This impact, in addition to the peak power load and longer recharging times, might contribute to bridging the gap with FCBs.

For better or worse: the influence of conflict-driven decentralization on the resilience of urban water supply infrastructure in the Middle East

ABSTRACT When armed conflicts disrupt urban water supply, local communities are forced to find other ways to fulfill their domestic water needs. In this paper, we analyze the development of decentralized water infrastructure as a coping strategy during armed conflict in five cities across Iraq, Syria and Yemen. We discuss the implications of conflict-driven decentralization on the resilience of urban water supply infrastructure, addressing its functionality, its recovery in case of disruption, and its sustainability on the long term. The results indicate that decentralized water supply systems developed throughout conflict uphold a basic level of functionality and minimize their vulnerability to conflict-related shocks. However, short-term resilience gains come at the cost of health risks and high water prices, and undermine system sustainability due to a lack of coordination. We conclude that decentralization processes implemented within the constraints of armed conflict are often detrimental to infrastructure resilience, particularly over longer timeframes.

New sagittal abdominal diameter and transverse abdominal diameter based equations to estimate visceral fat area in type 2 diabetes patients

ObjectiveComputed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are considered gold standards for measuring visceral fat area (VFA). However, their relatively high prices and potential radiation exposure limit their widespread use in clinical practice and everyday life. Therefore, our study aims to develop a VFA estimated equation based on sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) and transverse abdominal diameter (TAD) using anthropometric indexes. To the best of our knowledge, there have been limited studies investigating this aspect thus far.MethodsThis study was designed as a cross-sectional, retrospective cohort survey. A total of 288 patients (167 males and 121 females) aged 18–80 with type 2 diabetes (T2D) were consecutively collected from a multicenter hospital, and VFA was measured by CT. Subsequently, variables highly correlated with VFA were screened through general linear correlation analysis. A stepwise regression analysis was then conducted to develop a VFA estimated equation. Discrepancies between the estimated and actual VFA values were assessed using the Bland-Altman method to validate the accuracy of the equation.ResultsIn the female T2D population, triglyceride (TG), SAD, TAD were found to be independently correlated with VFA; in the male T2D population, BMI, TG, SAD and TAD showed independent correlations with VFA. Among these variables, SAD exhibited the strongest correlation with VFA (r = 0.83 for females, r = 0.88 for males), followed by TAD (r = 0.69 for females, r = 0.79 for males). Based on these findings, a VFA estimated equation was developed for the T2D population: VFA (male) =-364.16 + 15.36*SAD + 0.77*TG + 9.41*TAD − 5.00*BMI (R2 = 0.75, adjusted R2 = 0.74); VFA(female)=-170.87 + 9.72*SAD-24.29*(TG^-1) + 3.93*TAD (R2 = 0.69, adjusted R2 = 0.68). Both models demonstrated a good fit. The Bland-Altman plot indicated a strong agreement between the actual VFA values and the estimated values, the mean differences were close to 0, and the majority of differences fell within the 95% confidence interval.ConclusionsIn the T2D population, a VFA estimated equation is developed by incorporating SAD and TAD along with other measurement indices. This equation demonstrates a favorable estimated performance, suggesting to the development of novel and practical VFA estimation models in the future study.

THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR

The war between Russia and Ukraine had far-reaching consequences, particularly in the realms of politics and economics, on a worldwide scale. It caused prices to skyrocket in the financial sector, particularly in the energy markets. Military buildups on the Russian-Ukrainian border have exacerbated tensions, leading to increased costs. Before the military operation broke out, Russia cut off European gas supplies. In response, the Western bloc imposed severe economic sanctions on Russia, affecting most of its industries; it is crucial for European countries and hurt the world due to high inflation rates. The high prices and higher demand result from the low supply and associated lack of risk. One significant question that arises from studying the current state of the global economy is whether or not these high inflation rates will be a permanent problem. Quick economic remedies, including eliminating taxes and fees on production inputs and local industries, along with assistance for these sectors and the agricultural and commercial ones, are the key to answering this question. Because the issue of high inflation rates most impacts developing nations, these suggestions work better there. Sanctions against Russia have an economic component in the realm of politics. But politics is at the heart of it all, as any action that swerves the economic wheel has political underpinnings. Some choices that cause problems in international politics may be reversed due to political pressures caused by worsening relations with countries. To illustrate this point, consider the following table, which details the sanctions several nations have levied against Russia.

The shift from lament to praise in the psalms: A psychodynamic phenomenon

This article returns to the long-standing problem of the so-called ‘sudden shift of mood’ in the lament psalms, revisiting this shift from petition to praise from the perspective of contemporary psychoanalytic depth psychology, especially via insights offered by object relations psychology. In this light, the movement from lament to praise may be seen as a psychodynamic phenomenon related to, and witnessed in, the therapeutic processes of illumination, subtraction, and addition. This understanding of how the lament psalms work underscores how crucial the expression of mourning is to psychological health. To borrow terms from Walter Brueggemann, the psychological interpretation offered here demonstrates once again ‘the costly loss of lament’, but the high price in question extends beyond that identified by Brueggemann insofar as the subtractive therapeutic action at work in the grieving process is precisely what facilitates the restoration of psychological well-being.

Cross-Watershed Leakage of Agricultural Nutrient Runoff

Abstract Agricultural nutrient runoff has been a major contributor to hypoxia in many downstream coastal ecosystems. Although programs have been designed to reduce nutrient loading in individual coastal waters, cross watershed interdependencies of nutrient runoff have not been quantified due to a lack of suitable modeling tools. Cross-watershed pollution leakage can occur when nutrient runoff moves from more to less regulated regions. We illustrate the use of an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) that combines economic and process-based biophysical tools to quantify Nitrogen loading leakage across three major US watersheds. We also assess losses in consumer and producer surplus from decreased commodity supply and higher prices when nutrient delivery to select coastal ecosystems is restricted. Reducing agricultural N loading in the Gulf of Mexico by 45% a) increases loading in the Chesapeake Bay and Western Lake Erie by 4.2% and 5.5%, respectively, and b) results in annual surplus losses of $7.1 and $6.95 billion with and without restrictions on leakage to the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie, respectively.

Novel High-Entropy FeCoNiMoZn-Layered Hydroxide as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The exploration of catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with high activity and acceptable price is essential for water splitting to hydrogen generation. High-entropy materials (HEMs) have aroused increasing interest in the field of electrocatalysis due to their unusual physicochemical properties. In this work, we reported a novel FeCoNiMoZn-OH high entropy hydroxide (HEH)/nickel foam (NF) synthesized by a facile pulsed electrochemical deposition method at room temperature. The FeCoNiMoZn-OH HEH displays a 3D porous nanosheet morphology and polycrystalline structure, which exhibits extraordinary OER activity in alkaline media, including much lower overpotential (248 mV at 10 mA cm−2) and Tafel slope (30 mV dec−1). Furthermore, FeCoNiMoZn-OH HEH demonstrates excellent OER catalytic stability. The enhanced catalytic performance of the FeCoNiMoZn-OH HEH primarily contributed to the porous morphology and the positive synergistic effect between Mo and Zn. This work provides a novel insight into the design of HEMs in catalytic application.

Design and optimization of slot number in supercooled vapor suction in steam turbine blades for reducing the wetness

An enormous amount of the world's electricity is produced by steam power plants. The existence of a liquid phase in the steam turbine results in an efficiency drop and mechanical losses, which are very expensive due to its high price. Creating a suction slot in the stationary blade of the steam turbine for sucking the supercooled vapor and wetness fraction in the low-pressure stages of the turbine is one of the most effective methods of preserving the rotor blades against corrosion and erosion. The Eulerian-Eulerian method is employed for modeling the condensing flow. In the current research, the impact of the suction slot location and number on the surfaces of the turbine blades is investigated on condensation, total suction ratio, liquid suction ratio, average droplet radius, and condensation losses. Optimization is performed by the TOPSIS algorithm. Based on the results, the location and number of the suction slots affect the flow pattern in the turbine blade. Creating a suction slot in the optimal case has a total suction ratio of 4.1 %, which decreases the liquid suction ratio, condensation losses, and average droplet radius, respectively, by 5.28 %, 6 %, and 25 % compared to the original case.

What determines local attitudes towards Jordan’s renewable energy transition? Evidence from household surveys

ABSTRACT The potential for renewable energy to encourage sustainable development raises high hopes for the future among countries in the Global South. However, there has been less research on how energy transitions are perceived outside of the Global North and democratic contexts. This paper explores attitudes towards the energy transition in Jordan, where expert interviews reveal that a strong renewable energy industry has emerged from top-down government efforts to reduce energy dependency and costs. We perform an in-person household survey with 320 respondents in areas with different transition risks and benefits, and then test a series of hypotheses using regression analysis. In the four communities surveyed, income stress and climate concern influence attitudes, as well as perceptions of community benefits. National-level concerns also matter, including energy dependency and energy costs for all Jordanians. Our results highlight the importance of context: findings from the North are not universal and understanding transitions in the Global South requires studying them in their own right. Policy insights Jordanian policymakers should reverse their policy of blocking renewables to avoid public backlash. Jordanian policymakers and funders should promote projects in communities with high economic dependence on the fossil fuel industry to ensure local support in areas facing transition risks. Policymakers should highlight collective, not just individual benefits of transitions, as perceptions of community and country benefits increase support. Policymakers in highly energy-dependent countries like Jordan should frame renewables as an answer to local and national challenges such as high energy prices. Actors wishing to promote clean energy support in different contexts should investigate local dynamics to build communication strategies that frame transitions appropriately.

Investment contract as a basis for obtaining housing: theory and practice problems

The investment contract, as a mechanism that allows you to get housing, is gaining more and more popularity in modern housing construction. This tool becomes key in ensuring access to housing for broad segments of the population and contributes to the development of housing construction. However, along with its advantages, the investment contract causes several problems in both theoretical and practical aspects. In the current economic instability in Ukraine and the difficult financial situation of a large part of the population, the search for affordable and effective ways to realize the dream of owning a home has intensified. In this context, new buildings are especially popular as objects that provide an opportunity to purchase housing during the construction stage. Investment contracts certainly remain among the most profitable in this process. Purchasing at the construction stage allows you to reduce costs as much as possible, and later sell at a higher price when the object is ready for operation, reducing the tax burden. However, having chosen this path, future owners face the risk of an unforeseen situation, since there are almost no guarantees for investors to invest in residential construction without complying with the law or the terms of the contracts. In this context, studying the problems of the theory and practice of the investment contract as a basis for obtaining housing is an urgent task. On the one hand, it is necessary to carefully analyze the theoretical foundations of the investment contract and its place in the system of legal regulation. On the other hand, it is important to consider the practical experience of using this tool, identify the problems faced by participants in housing construction, and propose ways to solve them. In this work, we will reveal the essence of the investment contract as a mechanism for obtaining housing, analyze the theoretical aspects of this issue, consider the practical experience of using investment contracts in housing construction, and identify the main problems that arise in this area. Such an analysis will make it possible to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of using an investment contract as a tool for obtaining housing and to determine directions for further research in this area.

Liothyronine (LT3) prescribing in England: Are cost constraints inhibiting guideline implementation?

Primary hypothyroidism affects about 3% of the general population in Europe. In most cases people with hypothyroidism are treated with levothyroxine. In the context of the 2023 British Thyroid Association guidance and the 2020 Competitions and Marketing Authority (CMA) ruling, we examined prescribing data for levothyroxine, Natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) and liothyronine by dose, regarding changes over the years 2016-2022. Monthly primary care prescribing data for each British National Formulary code were analysed for levothyroxine, liothyronine and NDT. The rolling 12-month total/average of cost or prescribing volume was used to identify the moment of change. Results included number of prescriptions, the actual costs, and the cost/prescription/mcg of drug. Liothyronine: In 2016 94% of the total 74,500 prescriptions were of the 20 mcg dose. In 2020 the percentage prescribed in the 5 mcg and 10 mcg doses started to increase so that by 2022 each reached nearly 27% of total liothyronine prescribing. The average cost/prescription in 2016 of 20 mcg was £404/prescription and this fell by 80% to £101 in 2022; while the 10 mcg cost of £348/prescription fell by only 35% to £255 and the 5 mcg cost of £355/prescription fell by 38% to £242/prescription. The total prescriptions of liothyronine in 2016 were 74,605, falling by 30% up to 2019 when they started to grow again - most recently at 60,990-15% lower than the 2016 figure, with the result that total costs fell by 70% to £9 m/year. Liothyronine costs fell after the CMA ruling but remain orders of magnitude higher than for levothyroxine. The remaining 0.2% of patients with liothyronine treated hypothyroidism are still absorbing 16% of medication costs. The lower liothyronine 5cmg and 10 mcg doses as recommended by BTA are 240% the costs of the 20 mcg dose. Thus, following latest BTA guidance which recommends the lower liothyronine doses still incurs substantial additional costs vs the prescribing liothyronine in the no longer recommended treatment regime. High drug price continues to impact clinical decisions, potentially limiting liothyronine therapy availability to a considerable number of patients who could benefit from this treatment.

Moving from “superstar” cities to “ordinary” cities to reclaim middle-class status: gentrification-induced inter-metropolitan migration

ABSTRACT A national reshuffling of the United States population is in progress, as ever more people adjust to the reality of excessively expensive urban housing markets. We unpack the out-migration of middle-class people from large, high-growth cities propelled by gentrification pressures, into one lower-cost metropolitan area in North Carolina: Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill (“the Triangle”), considering the multiple impacts of migrants on the region. We refine concepts that are central to the gentrification scholarship, namely who is displaced and the geographic range of displacement. We find that migrants experience many benefits in their new location but have fears about the future of their new city. As the Triangle is growing, it is reproducing the high prices, environmental harm, and loss of a sense of place migrants experienced in their city of origin. This suggests that newly growing cities such as the Triangle are at risk of replicating the inequalities that plague superstar cities. Theoretically, we reflect on how a case study of an “ordinary” city (Robinson [2002]. Global and world cities: A view from off the map. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 26(3), 531–554.; Robinson [2006]. Ordinary Cities: Between Modernity and development. Psychology Press.) in the United States South, an underrepresented region in urban studies, can shed new light on urbanization in the United States.

Characterization and Quantitation of Anthocyanins of the Pigmented Tea Cultivar TRI 2043 (Camellia sinensis L.) from Sri Lanka

Tea leaves are rich in diverse bioactive compounds. The tea accession TRI 2043 is unique due to its pigmented leaves caused by anthocyanins, clonal origin, resistance to blister blight disease, and high pubescence density. Because of its peculiarity, TRI 2043 is used to produce high-quality silver tip tea, a premium type of tea that commands high prices. This study was carried out to clarify and elucidate the types of anthocyanins in this particular accession. Four different anthocyanin species were identified and quantitated as cyanidin-3-O-β-d-galactoside and delphinidin-3-O-β-d-galactoside equivalents for leaf blades and stems of the cultivar TRI 2043. The characterization was performed by comparison with commercially available reference substances and further confirmed using ion mobility high-resolution time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (IMS-HRTOF-MS). Quantitation was carried out using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography ultraviolet–visible detection (UHPLC-UV-vis) with cyanidin-3-O-β-d-glucoside as an internal standard. E- and Z-geometric isomers of 6-p-coumaroyl derivates of delphinidin and cyanidin-3-O-β-d-galactopyranosides were observed, and collision cross section (CCS) values were determined for all four different anthocyanidin species. The content of anthocyanins in leaf blades of cultivar TRI 2043 was 856.32 ± 41.56 µg/g dry weight, with cyanidin being the more abundant anthocyanin (69.8%). Conversely, the stem material contained an anthocyanin amount of 459.5 ± 44.7 µg/g dry weight, with a higher content of delphinidin (69.6%). In summary, an enrichment strategy using analytical membrane chromatography was established to fully elucidate and quantify the anthocyanin profile of plant samples such as the special tea variety TRI 2043.

Comparative Analysis of Stock Price Prediction Accuracy: A Machine Learning Approach with ARIMA, LSTM, And Random Forest Models

This research investigates the comparative effectiveness of three distinct predictive models – ARIMA (Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average), LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory), and Random Forest – in forecasting stock prices. Focusing on Tata Motors and Infosys stocks, historical data spanning a significant timeframe is collected using the finance library. These models are trained on a diverse set of features including open, close, high, and low prices to capture the underlying market dynamics. The evaluation of model performance is centred on their ability to forecast stock prices over varying prediction horizons. Metrics such as Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Squared Error (MSE), and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) are utilized to quantify the accuracy and reliability of the predictions. Through rigorous analysis, this study provides insights into the strengths and limitations of each model, offering valuable guidance to investors and market analysts. The findings underscore the significance of selecting appropriate predictive models in financial forecasting and contribute to advancing the understanding of predictive modelling techniques in stock market analysis. Additionally, the research delves into the implications of long-term dependencies in stock price forecasting, shedding light on the challenges and opportunities inherent in predicting market trends over extended periods.

US macroeconomic determinants of Bitcoin

This study aims to determine the impact of macroeconomic variables on bitcoin prices in the United States. Bitcoin is one of the cryptocurrencies that has the highest price and the most users in the United States in recent years. This study uses monthly data on inflation, interest rates, USD/EUR rates, gold prices, and bitcoin prices. To achieve the objectives of this study, Dynamic Conditional Correlation (DCC) and Multivariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (MGARCH) were used. The results showed that there is a negative and significant relationship between the variables of inflation, interest rates, and USD/EUR rates affecting the price of Bitcoin in that period. Conversely, there is a positive and significant relationship between the price of gold and the price of Bitcoin in the United States during that period. An in-depth understanding of how macroeconomic factors such as inflation, interest rates and the USD/EUR rates affect Bitcoin price is key to making smart investment decisions in an increasingly complex crypto market. The findings of this analysis confirm that the significant relationship between macroeconomic variables and Bitcoin price provides deeper insights for investors to anticipate market movements and design adaptive investment strategies.

Patent Portfolios Protecting 10 Top-Selling Prescription Drugs

Brand-name drugs are sold at high prices in the US during market exclusivity periods protected by patents. Multiple overlapping patents protecting a drug are known as patent thickets and can effectively delay the emergence of price-lowering generic competition for many years. To evaluate the composition of patent thickets of 10 top-selling prescription drugs in the US and compare the characteristics of drug patents filed during development with those filed on these products after US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. This cross-sectional study examined US patent thickets of the 10 prescription drugs with the highest US net sales revenue in 2021 using information on issued patents and patent applications as of June 30, 2022, obtained from a public database by the Initiative for Medicines, Access, and Knowledge. Data were analyzed from September 2022 to June 2023. Prevalence of patents filed before and after FDA approval; types of claims present in issued patents (ie, chemical composition, method of use, process or synthesis, formulation, and delivery device); and patent thicket density (number of active patents at a given time). The 10 top-selling prescription drugs in the US for 2021 included 4 small-molecule drugs and 6 biologics. These 10 drugs were linked to 1429 patents and patent applications: 742 (52%) issued patents, 218 (15%) pending applications, and 469 (33%) abandoned applications. Almost three-quarters of patent applications (1028 [72%]) were filed after FDA approval. The postapproval proportion was higher for biologics (80%) than for small-molecule drugs (58%). Postapproval filing of patent applications peaked in the first 5 years after FDA approval for small-molecule drugs and 12 years after FDA approval for biologics. Of 465 patents issued for applications filed after FDA approval, 189 (41%) had method of use claims, 127 (27%) had formulation claims, and 103 (22%) had process or synthesis claims, while 86 (19%) had chemical composition claims and 46 (10%) had device claims. Patent thicket density peaked 13 years after FDA approval, at which time these 10 drugs were protected by a median (IQR) of 42 (18-83) active patents, 66% of which were filed after FDA approval. This study found that among the 10 top-selling prescription drugs in the US in 2021, patents filed after FDA approval and containing claims covering aspects other than the active ingredient of the drug contributed to patent thickets. Scrutiny of patent applications and of patents filed after FDA approval is needed to facilitate timely generic or biosimilar competition.