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This study aims to analyze the types and cost of infertility care provided in a clinical setting to examine the changes of healthcare utilization for infertility after the 2017 launch of assisted reproductive technology (ART) health insurance coverage in South Korea. Health Insurance Review Assessment—National Patient Sample data from 2016 and 2018 were analyzed comparatively. Data related to receiving medical service under the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision code N97 (female infertility) or N46 (male infertility) at least once were analyzed, including patients' characteristics and healthcare utilization (type of healthcare facility and treatment approach). Between 2016 and 2018, the percentage of patients aged 30–34 receiving infertility care dropped; the percentages of patients in older age groups increased. The number of female patients remained comparable, whereas the number of male patients increased by 23%. Average visits per patient increased by about 1 day from 2016 to 2018. Total annual infertility care claim cost increased from $665,391.05 to $3,214,219.48; the per-patient annual cost increased from $114.76 to $522.38. The number of claims and cost of treatment and surgery increased markedly, as did the number of claims and cost of gonadotropins. With its focus on health insurance coverage of ART and results demonstrating increases in medical services, medications, cost, and patient utilization, this study reveals the significant effects of national health policies on the treatment, cost, and management of infertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies on osteosarcoma regimens have mainly focused on modifying the combination of antineoplastic agents rather than enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of each component. Here, an albumin nanocluster (NC)‐assisted methotrexate (MTX), doxorubicin (DOX), and cisplatin (MAP) regimen with improved antitumor efficacy is presented. Human serum albumin (HSA) is decorated with thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) to increase the affinity to the bone tumor microenvironment (TME). MTX or DOX (hydrophobic MAP components) is adsorbed to HSA‐TPP via hydrophobic interactions. MTX‐ or DOX‐adsorbed HSA‐TPP NCs exhibit 20.8‐ and 1.64‐fold higher binding affinity to hydroxyapatite, respectively, than corresponding HSA NCs, suggesting improved targeting ability to the bone TME via TPP decoration. A modified MAP regimen consisting of MTX‐ or DOX‐adsorbed HSA‐TPP NCs and free cisplatin displays a higher synergistic anticancer effect in HOS/MNNG human osteosarcoma cells than conventional MAP. TPP‐decorated NCs show 1.53‐fold higher tumor accumulation than unmodified NCs in an orthotopic osteosarcoma mouse model, indicating increased bone tumor distribution. As a result, the modified regimen more significantly suppresses tumor growth in vivo than solution‐based conventional MAP, suggesting that HSA‐TPP NC‐assisted MAP may be a promising strategy for osteosarcoma treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth in China based on time series data for the period 1981-2018. For an empirical study, we used vector autoregressive (VAR) analysis. Before building our VAR model, we performed tests for unit root, normality, and heteroscedasticity to certify the data quality. The optimal lag 3 was selected using the Akaike information criterion (AIC), Schwartz (SC), and Hannan-Quinn (HQ) criteria. The Granger causality test is additionally performed. Based on the VAR model, we determined the impulse responses and variance decomposition of log FDI and log GDP in China. The results showed a positive and consistent impact of log FDI on China’s economic growth. The impact in the short-term is insignificant, as it is likely that there are multiple factors drive economic growth of China besides FDI inflows. However, the impact of FDI increases to a significant level in the long-term. Which indicates that FDI is one of the main factors to enhance Chinese economy. In conclusion, we suggest a policy implication how to sustain and promote the existing positive effects of FDI inflows on Chinese economy.

The significance of economic cooperation between South Korea and Russia is growing due to the new foreign policies of the two countries: the New Northern policy of South Korea, and the Pivot to East of Russia. Thereby, in this study, we investigated the determinants of South Korean outward FDI in Russia based on the time-series data for the period 1993-2017 to draw policy implications. To overcome the issues of multicollinearity and the small number of observations in an ordinary least square (OLS) function, we employed a partial least square (PLS). The result of PLS analysis indicated that GDP (+) and inflation (-) are statistically significant out of the 7 explanatory variables in our model. But, as the coefficient of inflation was too small, it is also hard to be defined as a significant factor. While, the difference of GDP per capita, freedom index, the nominal exchange rate, natural resource, and trade openness are determined as statistically insignificant. From the result, we found that South Korean outward FDI in Russia is predominantly purposed with market-seeking.