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Introduction In 2002, Congress enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) '[t]o safeguard investors in public companies and restore trust in the financial markets following the collapse of Enron Corporation.' Lawson v. [...]

Nearly one-third of adults over age 65 developed one or more new medical conditions in the weeks following a COVID-19 infection, according to new research. The findings of the observational [...]

IMPORTANCE: Spinal cord stimulators (SCSs) are increasingly used for the treatment of chronic pain. There is a need for studies with long-term follow-up. OBJECTIVE: To determine the comparative effectiveness and costs of SCSs compared with conventional medical management (CMM) in a large cohort of patients with chronic pain. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a 1:5 propensity-matched retrospective comparative effectiveness research analysis of insured individuals from April 1, 2016, to August 31, 2018. This study used administrative claims data, including longitudinal medical and pharmacy claims, from US commercial and Medicare Advantage enrollees 18 years or older in Optum Labs Data Warehouse. Patients with incident diagnosis codes for failed back surgery syndrome, complex regional pain syndrome, chronic pain syndrome, and other chronic postsurgical back and extremity pain were included in this study. Data were analyzed from February 1, 2021, to August 31, 2022. EXPOSURES: SCSs or CMM. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Surrogate measures for primary chronic pain treatment modalities, including pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic pain interventions (epidural and facet corticosteroid injections, radiofrequency ablation, and spine surgery), as well as total costs. RESULTS: In the propensity-matched population of 7560 patients, mean (SD) age was 63.5 (12.5) years, 3080 (40.7%) were male, and 4480 (59.3%) were female. Among matched patients, during the first 12 months, patients treated with SCSs had higher odds of chronic opioid use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.14; 95% CI, 1.01-1.29) compared with patients treated with CMM but lower odds of epidural and facet corticosteroid injections (aOR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.39-0.51), radiofrequency ablation (aOR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.44-0.72), and spine surgery (aOR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.61-0.85). During months 13 to 24, there was no significant difference in chronic opioid use (aOR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.94-1.20), epidural and facet corticosteroid injections (aOR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.87-1.14), radiofrequency ablation (aOR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.66-1.09), or spine surgery (aOR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.75-1.09) with SCS use compared with CMM. Overall, 226 of 1260 patients (17.9%) treated with SCS experienced SCS-related complications within 2 years, and 279 of 1260 patients (22.1%) had device revisions and/or removals, which were not always for complications. Total costs of care in the first year were $39 000 higher with SCS than CMM and similar between SCS and CMM in the second year. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this large, real-world, comparative effectiveness research study comparing SCS and CMM for chronic pain, SCS placement was not associated with a reduction in opioid use or nonpharmacologic pain interventions at 2 years. SCS was associated with higher costs, and SCS-related complications were common.

One might expect a company located in a place called Middletown to play things moderately and safely, and in some cases that accurately describes Cohen Brothers Inc. But a closer [...]

The article presents a hypothetical case study of how a chief executive officer's decision to commit campaign contributions from company funds impacted the company. It also presents commentaries from executives John Harrington of Harrington Investments advisory firm and Ken Cohen of petroleum company Exxon Mobile Corp. in response to the case study and whether or not the hypothetical company should continue making campaign contributions. INSET: The Experts Respond.

Not only does Ken Cohen work in the oil and gas sector, one of the largest, most complex, and vital global industries, he is VP of public and government affairs [...]

As competition increases in the high-yield debt space, the term 'high-yield debt fund' becomes less and less accurate. 'It might be 'higher yielding,' but high yields are a thing of [...]

Pantheon has a wide range of services, including property management, real estate brokerage, and construction management and consulting services on property and land projects, offering its partners the benefit of [...]

The culinary arts may date back thousands of years, but running a multi-unit restaurant chain today requires a delicate balance of the old and new: Preparing and serving great food [...]

The culinary arts may date back thousands of years, but running a restaurant chain today requires a delicate balance of the old and new -- that is, preparing and serving [...]

L and M Auto Supply of North Hollywood, California, expands its Japanese import auto-parts lines expecting continued Japanese import-market domination. It stocks 5,000 items and buys its Japanese parts from SBH-Lazorlite, its European parts from five importer-distributors.

The article presents a correspondence from the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Corporate) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service discussing rulings pertaining to the federal income tax consequences of the proposed transactions described under sections of the Income Tax Regulations.

Honoring the Medicine: The Essential Guide to Native American Healing by Ken 'Bear Hawk' Cohen Ballantine Books 1540 Broadway, New York, New York Description: Part one of this two-part book [...]

Synbiotics' Ken Cohen Practices Canine Philosophy: If What You Want Is Buried, Dig for It At the entrance of Synbiotics Corp. in Rancho Bernardo, photos of employees and their pets [...]

Tiger Woods is golf's superstar and Nike has invested in him. The sports shoes company expects him to sell its prized footwear not only locally, but world-wide. The problem that Nike might encounter with that is the fact that the product is not easily connected to performance in the sports, unlike the connection that was easily made between Michael Jordan's leap and the shoes. However, Nike again seems to be rewriting the rules of advertising and marketing with Woods.

ObjectiveTo characterize the risk of persistent and new clinical sequelae in adults aged ≥65 years after the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingUnitedHealth Group Clinical Research Database: deidentified administrative claims and outpatient laboratory test results.ParticipantsIndividuals aged ≥65 years who were continuously enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan with coverage of prescription drugs from January 2019 to the date of diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, matched by propensity score to three comparison groups that did not have covid-19: 2020 comparison group (n=87 337), historical 2019 comparison group (n=88 070), and historical comparison group with viral lower respiratory tract illness (n=73 490).Main outcome measuresThe presence of persistent and new sequelae at 21 or more days after a diagnosis of covid-19 was determined with ICD-10 (international classification of diseases, 10threvision) codes. Excess risk for sequelae caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2 was estimated for the 120 days after the acute phase of the illness with risk difference and hazard ratios, calculated with 95% Bonferroni corrected confidence intervals. The incidence of sequelae after the acute infection was analyzed by age, race, sex, and whether patients were admitted to hospital for covid-19.ResultsAmong individuals who were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2, 32% (27 698 of 87 337) sought medical attention in the post-acute period for one or more new or persistent clinical sequelae, which was 11% higher than the 2020 comparison group. Respiratory failure (risk difference 7.55, 95% confidence interval 7.18 to 8.01), fatigue (5.66, 5.03 to 6.27), hypertension (4.43, 2.27 to 6.37), memory difficulties (2.63, 2.23 to 3.13), kidney injury (2.59, 2.03 to 3.12), mental health diagnoses (2.50, 2.04 to 3.04), hypercoagulability 1.47 (1.2 to 1.73), and cardiac rhythm disorders (2.19, 1.76 to 2.57) had the greatest risk differences compared with the 2020 comparison group, with similar findings to the 2019 comparison group. Compared with the group with viral lower respiratory tract illness, however, only respiratory failure, dementia, and post-viral fatigue had increased risk differences of 2.39 (95% confidence interval 1.79 to 2.94), 0.71 (0.3 to 1.08), and 0.18 (0.11 to 0.26) per 100 patients, respectively. Individuals with severe covid-19 disease requiring admission to hospital had a markedly increased risk for most but not all clinical sequelae.ConclusionsThe results confirm an excess risk for persistent and new sequelae in adults aged ≥65 years after acute infection with SARS-CoV-2. Other than respiratory failure, dementia, and post-viral fatigue, the sequelae resembled those of viral lower respiratory tract illness in older adults. These findings further highlight the wide range of important sequelae after acute infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including "The Supreme Court: Open for business," in the July 9/16, 2007 issue, "The French lesson in health care," in the July 9/16, 2007 issue, and "What next, bubblegum botox?" in the July 2, 2007 issue.

Introduction:OAC are recommended for AF patients with CHA2DS2-VASc ≥2 in men or ≥3 in women (high-risk group), may be considered in patients with CHA2DS2-VASc 1 in men or 2 in women (medium-risk group), and are reasonable to omit in patients with CHA2DS2-VASc 0 in men or 1 in women (low-risk group). Furthermore, NOACs are recommended over warfarin in most AF patients. This study aimed to investigate AF stroke prevention treatment patterns in patients managed in routine practice, in particular, the under-use of OAC in the high-risk group and over-use in the low-risk group.Methods:Adult patients with AF were identified using de-identified claims for commercial and Medicare Advantage enrollees in the OptumLabs Data Warehouse. Prescription fills were assessed within 90 days of a patient’s AF encounter between 1/1/2016-12/31/2020. Patients with other indications for OAC, such as VTE, recent joint replacement, prior mechanical or bioprosthetic valve replacement, rheumatic mitral stenosis, and patients who underwent LAAO were excluded.Results:Among the 339,197 AF patients, 4.4%, 8.0%, and 87.6% were in the low-, medium-, and high-risk groups, respectively. The mean age was 51.2 ±10.5 yr, 59.9 ±9.4 yr, and 75.1 ±8.8 yr. In the low-risk group, 29.6% were treated with OAC, whereas in the high-risk group, 40.3% were not treated with any antithrombotic therapy and 7.5% used thienopyridine only. Although 71% of patients on OAC were on a NOAC, the proportion of patients on NOAC decreased from 91% in the low-risk group to 69% in the high-risk group.Conclusions:There are potentially both under-use of guideline-recommended stroke prevention therapies in the high-risk patients and over-use in the low-risk group. Because patients at a high risk of stroke are also at a high risk of major and intracranial bleeding who might benefit from NOACs, the decreased use of NOAC in high-risk patients might highlight the need for future quality improvement efforts.

We conducted two studies with medically hospitalized cancer and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients to assess the reliability and validity of a new measure of delirium severity, the Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale (MDAS). The first study used multiple raters who jointly administered the MDAS to 33 patients, 17 of whom met DSM III-R/DSM IV criteria for delirium, 8 met diagnostic criteria for another cognitive impairment disorder (for example, dementia), and 8 had non-cognitive psychiatric disorders (for example, adjustment disorder). Results indicate high levels of inter-rater reliability for the MDAS (0.92) and the individual MDAS items (ranging from 0.64 to 0.99), as well as high levels of internal consistency (coefficient alpha = 0.91). Mean MDAS ratings differed significantly between delirious patients and the comparison sample of patients with other cognitive impairment disorders or no cognitive impairment (P < 0.0002). The second study compared MDAS ratings of 51 medically hospitalized delirious patients with cancer and AIDS made by one clinician to ratings on several other measures of delirium (Delirium Rating Scale, clinician's ratings of delirium severity) and cognitive functioning (Mini-Mental State Examination) made by a second clinician. Results demonstrated a high correlation between MDAS scores and ratings on the Delirium Rating Scale (r = 0.88, p < 0.0001), the Mini-Mental State Examination (r = − 0.91, P < 0.0001), and clinician's global ratings of delirium severity (r = 0.89, P < 0.0001). Thus, our findings indicate that the MDAS is a brief, reliable tool for assessing delirium severity among medically ill populations that can be reliably scored by multiple raters. The MDAS is highly correlated with existing measures of delirium and cognitive impairment, yet offers several advantages over these instruments for repeated assessments which are often necessary in clinical research.

Tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) analysis by reversed-phase liquid chromatography was achieved by a novel approach using two mini phenyl columns (4.5 × 50 mm). Analyses were organized into two drug groups: 1. n-desmethyl doxepin, doxepin, nortriptyline and amitriptyline, and 2. desipramine and imipramine. Sample preparation was modified from a published procedure (Wong and McCauley, J. Liq. Chrornatogr., 4, 849 (1981), using n-hexane/isoanyl alcohol (99:1) as the organic extractant, followed by back-extracting with dil. phosphoric acid. Both steps were carried out by using polypropylene tubes to minimize adsorptive

ObjectiveTo evaluate the excess risk and relative hazards for developing incident clinical sequelae after the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection in adults aged 18-65.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingThree merged data sources from a large United States health plan: a large national administrative claims database, an outpatient laboratory testing database, and an inpatient hospital admissions database.ParticipantsIndividuals aged 18-65 with continuous enrollment in the health plan from January 2019 to the date of a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Three comparator groups, matched by propensity score, to individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2: a 2020 comparator group, an historical 2019 comparator group, and an historical comparator group with viral lower respiratory tract illness.Main outcome measuresMore than 50 clinical sequelae after the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection (defined as the date of first SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis (index date) plus 21 days) were identified using ICD-10 (international classification of diseases, 10th revision) codes. Excess risk in the four months after acute infection and hazard ratios with Bonferroni corrected 95% confidence intervals were calculated.Results14% of adults aged ≤65 who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 (27 074 of 193 113) had at least one new type of clinical sequelae that required medical care after the acute phase of the illness, which was 4.95% higher than in the 2020 comparator group. The risk for specific new sequelae attributable to SARS-Cov-2 infection after the acute phase, including chronic respiratory failure, cardiac arrythmia, hypercoagulability, encephalopathy, peripheral neuropathy, amnesia (memory difficulty), diabetes, liver test abnormalities, myocarditis, anxiety, and fatigue, was significantly greater than in the three comparator groups (2020, 2019, and viral lower respiratory tract illness groups) (all P<0.001). Significant risk differences because of SARS-CoV-2 infection ranged from 0.02 to 2.26 per 100 people (all P<0.001), and hazard ratios ranged from 1.24 to 25.65 compared with the 2020 comparator group.ConclusionsThe results indicate the excess risk of developing new clinical sequelae after the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including specific types of sequelae less commonly seen in other viral illnesses. Although individuals who were older, had pre-existing conditions, and were admitted to hospital because of covid-19 were at greatest excess risk, younger adults (aged ≤50), those with no pre-existing conditions, or those not admitted to hospital for covid-19 also had an increased risk of developing new clinical sequelae. The greater risk for incident sequelae after the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection is relevant for healthcare planning.

There is an attack being launched against Ashton-Tate's dBASE as the standard PC database-management system. With more than 500,000 users, dBASE has emerged as the de facto standard for database [...]

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including "3 Things OS X Could Learn from the Classic Mac OS," by John Gruber in the January 2009 issue, "Beyond Air Port" in the January 2009 issue, and "6 Worst Apple Products of All Time" in the January 2009 issue.

Describes how energy supplier ExxonMobil Corp. fulfill its corporate responsibility. Conventional role of a corporation; Reliable and affordable energy supply; Standards of business conduct; Development and support of special programs; Collaboration with many non-governmental organizations for the common good.

A letter to the editor is presented in correction to the article "Square Pegs in Oval Office," in the November 24, 2008 issue.

Presents letters to the editor referencing articles and topics discusses in previous issues. Comments on the new magazine layout of "TV Guide"; Appreciation of author Rochell Thomas' column; Views on a comment made by actor David Krumholtz regarding mathematicians.

Presents letters to the editor of the periodical concerning developments in golf in the U.S. Sportsmanship in golf; Role of competition in golf tournaments; Issues on the sudden death format in golf tournaments.

The article lists several museums and galleries in the U.S. which includes Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona, Kim Eagles-Smith Gallery in Mill Valley, California, and Oceanside Museum of Art in Oceanside, California.

The article discusses the 2015 International One Meter (IOM) model boat sailing competition and the performance of competitors, including Olivier Cohen, Ken Binks, and the period's IOM world champion Brad Gibson that was held in Foster City, California.

Steve Cohen, Ken Griffin, major museums are among the buyers "It's such a watershed moment", said Lisa Melandri, executive director of Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, which will host Sherald's first solo museum exhibition next month. "Helter Skelter I", a Bradford painting inspired by serial killer Charles Manson, was acquired earlier this year by the Broad museum for $12 million, an auction record for the artist. [Extracted from the article]

A 2022 guide and directory to various prominent art galleries, museums and artists is presented.

Hedge funds have traditionally relied on experienced professionals from investment banks to manage their funds, but as the industry has grown, finding talented individuals has become more difficult. To address this issue, hedge funds are now creating in-house boot camps to train and develop their own traders. These boot camps provide a combination of classroom teaching, on-the-job experience, and mentoring to mold promising hires into successful investors. This new approach has shown promising results, with some top firms seeing returns of 10% or better. The rise of these boot camps could lead to more efficient management of funds and potentially more money left for investors. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses appointment of officials to the Fair Wages Commission, to advise on a minimum wage, made by administration of the British Columbia (BC) New Democratic Party, including economist Marjorie Griffin Cohen, Ken Peacock, of Business Council of BC, and Ivan Limpright.

Season 11 of 'Futurama' will include "payoffs to decades-long mysteries" as well as new storylines featuring "bitcoin, cancel culture, and streaming TV," per the official synopsis [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, and his recent comments on the UK food system. Davey referred to UK supermarkets as "supernormal profiteers" and suggested that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) should investigate their workings. The author criticizes Davey's comments, stating that supermarkets tend to pay higher prices for food commodities and that the CMA has already found the industry to be intensely competitive. The author argues that high food inflation is a serious political matter and suggests that addressing it should be the responsibility of a Minister for the Food System. The article concludes by stating that pressurizing supermarkets with CMA investigations is unhelpful and not what the British food industry needs. [Extracted from the article]