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Presents a letter to the editor in response to the article "Diagnostic Tests for Helicobacter pylori: A Prospective Evaluation of Their Accuracy, Without Selecting a Single Tests as the Gold Standard," by J. C. Thijs, A. A. van Zwet, W. J. Thijs et al. in the 1996 issue.

Presents a response by Alan F. Cutler to a letter to the editor about their article "[13C]Urea Breath Test to Confirm Eradication of Helicobacter pylori," in a 1995 issue of the "American Journal of Gastroenterology."

Anniversaries for the two founding fathers of geology occurring in the same year prompted a comparative evaluation of how the two contributed to establishing the basic principles of the discipline. To do so, passages from their publications, codices and manuscripts have been quoted directly. The Stenonian principles ('original horizontality', 'original continuity', and 'superposition of individual strata') are present in Leonardo's notebooks amazingly formulated, using similar wording when studying the same area more than 150 years earlier. Also, Stenonian priority in naming and explaining geological concepts and processes (e.g., faulting, folding, angular unconformity, relative chronology) are mirrored in Leonardo's writings and pictorial works. While Steno enjoys priority in stepwise restoration of the geological history of a given region, Leonardo was the first to construct a 3D geological profile representation and geomorphologic maps. Lastly, the paper focuses on diverging stances of the two savants about the Noachian Deluge and the age of the Earth. Already 500 years ago, Leonardo had solved the question of marine fossil remains of organic origin found in the mountains implying the possibility of deep geologic time in a statement of 'eternalism'. 350 years ago, Steno solved the same question in a different way in which he retained a basic role for the Deluge and assumed a short age for the Earth by focusing mainly on short-lived sedimentary and geomorphologic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Governments in Asia Pacific (APAC) are increasingly using pharmaceutical pricing strategies to contain rising healthcare costs. The objective of this narrative review is to discuss formal pricing strategies for reimbursed prescription medication in APAC, supported by relevant examples of implementation differences across countries. In the discussion section, we examine key advantages and disadvantages of each strategy. Methods: A narrative review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature was undertaken to retrieve information, including strategy definitions, practising countries, country-specific implementation considerations, and merits and demerits of each strategy. Results: Seven strategies (Internal Reference Pricing, External Reference Pricing, Special Pricing Agreements, Pharmacoeconomic Evaluation, Cost plus pricing, Price Maintenance Premium, and Tendering and negotiations) were identified as most commonly practised in APAC through the review process. Most countries use multiple strategies that differ in how they are implemented. Conclusion: APAC countries use multiple strategies simultaneously with varying implementation methods, including different formulae and sub-types of medication that a strategy applies to, whether the strategy is a mandate or guideline, and the extent of negotiations and transparency. Strategies are instituted partly with the aim of cost containment, and may also promote price stability, innovation, and increased access in the short and longer term. Abbreviations: APAC - Asia Pacific; WHO - World Health Organisation; IRP - Internal Reference Pricing; ERP - External Reference Pricing; SPA - Special Pricing Agreement; MES - Managed Entry Scheme; PVA - Price-Volume Agreement; RSA - Risk Sharing Agreement; NHIS - National Health Insurance System; PE - Pharmacoeconomic Evaluation; CEA - Cost-Effectiveness Analysis; QALY - Quality-adjusted Life Year; BIA - Budget Impact Analysis; PMP - Price Maintenance Premium; R&D - Research & Development [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognising the impact of religion on state action, this article identifies two variables that interact to affect the type and level of violence employed by Western states against Third World targets. First, variation in the degree to which the prominent Christian denominations and organisations within these states view evangelisation as either an individual-level or national-level process – Christian individualism vs Christian nationalism – has determined church support for using violence as a tactic. Second, the level of influence that churches and missionary organisations have over their home states affects the ability of Christian actors to directly impact state actions. Western violence against Third World peoples is expected to be lowest when churches and Christian organisations view evangelisation in primarily individualistic terms and have significant influence over the state. The article examines the relationships between concepts of evangelisation, Christian influence over state policies, and levels of violence against the Third World by examining British, French and German colonialism during the late colonial period of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine what groups of children are served by core childhood social safety net programs--including Medicaid, EITC, CTC, SNAP, and AFDC/TANF--and how they have changed over time. We find that virtually all gains in spending on the social safety net for children since 1990 have gone to families with earnings, and to families with income above the poverty line. These trends are the result of welfare reform and the expansion of in-work tax credits. We review the available research and find that access to safety net programs during childhood improves outcomes for children and society over the long run. This evidence suggests that the recent changes to the social safety net may have lasting negative effects on the poorest children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production of high specific activity 186gRe is of interest for development of theranostic radiopharmaceuticals. Previous studies have shown that high specific activity 186gRe can be obtained by cyclotron irradiation of enriched 186W via the 186W (d,2n)186gRe reaction, but most irradiations were conducted at low beam currents and for short durations. In this investigation, enriched 186W metal targets were irradiated at high incident deuteron beam currents to demonstrate production rates and contaminants produced when using thick targets. Full-stopping thick targets, as determined using SRIM, were prepared by uniaxial pressing of powdered natural abundance W metal or 96.86 % enriched 186W metal encased between two layers of graphite flakes for target material stabilization. An assessment of structural integrity was made on each target preparation. To assess the performance of graphiteencased thick 186W metal targets, along with the impact of encasing on the separation chemistry, targets were first irradiated using a 22 MeV deuteron beam for 10 min at 10, 20 and 27 μA, with an estimated nominal deuteron energy of 18.7 MeV on the 186W target material (after energy degradation correction from top graphite layer). Gamma-ray spectrometry was performed post EOB on all targets to assess production yields and radionuclidic byproducts. The investigation also evaluated a method to recover and recycle enriched target material from a column isolation procedure. Material composition analyses of target materials, pass-through/wash solutions and recycling process isolates were conducted with SEM, FTIR, XRD, EDS and ICP-MS spectrometry. To demonstrate scaled-up production, a graphite-encased 186W target made from recycled 186W was irradiated for ∼2 h with 18.7 MeV deuterons at a beam current of 27 μA to provide 0.90 GBq (24.3 mCi) of 186gRe, decay-corrected to the end of bombardment. ICPMS analysis of the isolated 186gRe solution provided data that indicated the specific activity of 186gRe in this scaledup production run was 2.6 ± 0.5 GBq/μg (70 ± 10 Ci/mg). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congressional scholars have conducted little research on the consequences of the majority party controlling bill formulation and excluding minority members from the legislative process. Critics of one-party deliberations use case-study evidence to argue that such processes lead to error-prone, often defective legislation. However, no large-N analysis has sought to operationalize and verify this effect. I develop new empirical strategies to explore claims about the relationship between deliberative procedures and policy outcomes. Examining legislation drafted in the U.S. House between 1987 and 2008, I find suggestive but consistent evidence of error-prone bills being developed under one-party processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An author index is presented for the volume 110, supplemental issue of the "American Journal of Gastroenterology."

Editor's Note Our policy is to annotate all English-language books on economics and related subjects that are sent to us. A very small number of foreign-language books are called to our attention and annotated by our consulting editors or others. Our staff does not monitor and order books published; therefore, if an annotation of a book does not appear six months after the publication date, please write to us or the publisher concerning the book. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article lists names of the periodical "American Journal of Gastroenterology's" reviewers including Peter Lakatos, Brian Lacy, and Julio Bai, who are being recognized for being the most outstanding in 2013 in terms of the speed of their reviewing, number of assignments, and reviewing quality.

Agell, Fredrik, Frågan efter livets mening: Om kunskap och konst i Nietzsches tänkande (E. Wallrup) Axelsson, Per, Höstens spöke: De svenska polioepidemiernas historia (D. Thorsén) Azár, Michael, Sartres krig: Människans frihet och slutet på historien (H. H. Grelland) Barret, Michèle & Barret, Duncan, Star trek: The human frontier (M. Godhe) Baudou, Evert, Den nordiska arkeologin: Historia och tolkningar (O. W. Jensen) Björck, Henrik, Staten, Chalmers och vetenskapen: Forskningspolitisk formering och sociala ingenjörer under Sveriges politiska industrialisering 1890–1945 (C. M. Pålsson) Broberg, Gunnar, Kattens historia: Sverige speglat i djurets öga (L. Nilsson) Burkert, Walter, Babylon, Memphis, Persepolis: Eastern contexts of Greek culture (O. Hägerstrand) Cheneval, Francis, Philosophie in weltbürgerlicher Bedeutung: Über die Entstehung und die philosophischen Grundlagen des supranationalen und kosmopolitischen Denkens der Moderne (R. Lettevall) Cserhalmi, Niklas, Djuromsorg och djurmisshandel 1860–1925: Synen på lantbrukets djur och djurplågeri i övergången mellan bonde- och industrisamhälle (M. Libell) Cutler, Alan, Snäckan i berget: En berättelse om geologins grundare och upptäckten av jordens historia (O. Hägerstrand) Edenborg, Carl-Michael, Alkemins skam: Den alkemiska traditionens utstötning ur offentligheten (I. Nilsson) Ekström, Anders, ed., Den mediala vetenskapen (J. Kärnfelt) Friedman, Lester D., ed., Cultural sutures: Medicine and media (L. Nilsson) Grandin, Karl, Wormbs, Nina & Widmalm, Sven, eds, The science–industry nexus: History, policy, implications (C. Nordlund) Grinell, Klas, Att sälja världen: Omvärldsbilder i svensk utlandsturism (M. Berg) Helander, Hans, Neo-Latin literature in Sweden in the period 1620–1720: Stylistics, vocabulary and characteristic ideas (B. Lindberg) Held, David, Global covenant: The social democratic alternative to the Washington consensus (R. Lettevall) Holmqvist, Bosse, ”Individens tidsålder är förbi”: Några nedslag i femtiotalets människosyn (A. Larsson) Hoßfeld, Uwe, m. fl., eds, ”Im Dienst an Volk und Vaterland”: Die Jenaer Universität in der NS-Zeit (L. Olsson) Hoßfeld, Uwe, m. fl., eds, ”Kämpferische Wissenschaft”: Studien zur Universität Jena im Nationalsozialismus (L. Olsson) Hutton, Sarah, Anne Conway: A woman philosopher (C. Rosengren) Jenkins, Keith, Refiguring history: New thoughts on an old discipline (T. Gustafsson Chorell) Johansen, Maria, Offentlig skrift om det hemliga: Raison d’état, SOU och Varulven (F. Spindler) Jones, Howard, Printing the classical text (S. Fogelmark) Junker, Thomas, Die zweite Darwinsche Revolution: Geschichte des Synthetischen Darwinismus in Deutschland 1924 bis 1950 (L. Olsson) Junker, Thomas, Geschichte der Biologie: Die Wissenschaft vom Leben (L. Olsson) Jönsson, Kutte, Det förbjudna mödraskapet: En moralfilosofisk undersökning av surrogatmödraskap (E. Shirran) Karlsohn, Thomas, Passage mellan medier: Vilém Flusser, datorn och skriften (C.-G. Heidegren) Kemp, Peter, Verdensborgeren som pædagogisk ideal: Pædagogisk filosofi for det 21. århundrede (R. Lettevall) Kjærgaard, Peter C., Wittgenstein og videnskaberne (M. Gustafsson) Legnér, Mattias, Fäderneslandets rätta beskrivning: Mötet mellan antikvarisk forskning och ekonomisk nyttokult i 1700-talets Sverige (B. Jacobsson) Ljunggren, Jens, Känslornas krig: Första världskriget och den tyska bildningselitens androgyna manlighet (P. Widén) Lundahl, Mikela, Vad är en neger?: Negritude, essentialism, strategi (B. Holmqvist) Maia Neto, José R. & Popkin, Richard H., eds, Skepticism in Renaissance and post-Renaissance thought: New interpretations (L. Casini) McCullagh, C. Behan, The logic of history: Putting post- modernism in perspective (T. Gustafsson Chorell) Nordin, Svante, Ingemar Hedenius: En filosof och hans tid (O. Hägerstrand) Nuland, Sherwin B., Doktor Semmelweis och barnsängsfebern (D. Thorsén) Nutton, Vivian, Ancient medicine (A. Lundberg) Oittinen, Vesa, ed., Spinoza in Nordic countries / Spinoza im Norden (J. Sjunnesson) Olsén, Jan Eric, Liksom ett par nya ögon: Frithiof Holmgren och synsinnets problematik (T. Gustafsson Chorell) Ottosson, Jan-Otto, Psykiatrin i Sverige: Vägval och vägvisare (F. Luttenberger) Pettersson, Richard, Blick för kultur: Idéhistoriska aspekter på etnologisk och arkeologisk kulturforskning i Sverige under 1900-talet (O. W. Jensen) Pickstone, John V., Ways of knowing: A new history of science, technology and medicine (C. Nordlund) Pocock, J. G. A., Barbarism and religion: Volume three. The first decline and fall (M. Persson) Pozzo, Riccardo, ed., The impact of Aristotelianism on modern philosophy (L. Casini) Qvarsell, Roger & Torell, Ulrika, eds, Reklam och hälsa: Levnadsideal, skönhet och hälsa i den svenska reklamens historia (D. Thorsén) Shackelford, Jole, A philosophical path for Paracelsian medicine: The ideas, intellectual context, and influence of Petrus Severinus (1540–1602) (H. Håkansson) Shea, William R. & Artigas, Mariano, Galileo in Rome: The rise and fall of a troublesome genius (M. Persson) Snickars, Pelle & Trenter, Cecilia, eds, Det förflutna som film och vice versa: Om medierande historiebruk (L. Nilsson) Stockelberg, David, Simmels former (J. Hansson) Sørensen, Mads P., Den politiske forbruger i det liberale samfund (R. Lettevall) Sörlin, Sverker, Europas idéhistoria 1492–1918. Vol. 1: Världens ordning (D. Harrison) Sörlin, Sverker, Europas idéhistoria 1492–1918. Vol. 2: Mörkret i människan (D. Harrison) Tunlid, Anna, Ärftlighetsforskningens gränser: Individer och institutioner i framväxten av den svenska genetiken (T. Kaiserfeld) Weldes, Jutta, ed., To seek out new worlds: Exploring links between science fiction and world politics (M. Godhe) Wennerholm, Staffan, Framtidsskaparna: Vetenskapens ungdomskultur vid svenska läroverk 1930–1970 (K. Jonsson) Williams, David, Condorcet and modernity (C. Quarfood) Wisselgren, Per, Samhällets kartläggare: Lorénska stiftelsen, den sociala frågan och samhällsvetenskapens formering 1830–1920 (T. Gustavsson) Wolff, Charlotta, Vänskap och makt: Den svenska politiska eliten och upplysningstidens Frankrike (O. Hägerstrand) Wästberg, Per, Axel Hirsch: Folkbildare och filantrop (I. Lundkvist)

The article lists several reviewers for the periodical "American Journal ofGastroenterology" including Sunanda Kane, Paola Loria and Brian Lacey who are being recognized by editors of the periodical for their performances at reviewing articles for the periodical.

In the United States, health care technology has contributed to rising survival rates, yet health care spending relative to GDP has also grown more rapidly than in any other country. We develop a model of patient demand and supplier behavior to explain these parallel trends in technology growth and cost growth. We show that health care productivity depends on the heterogeneity of treatment effects across patients, the shape of the health production function, and the cost structure of procedures such as MRIs with high fixed costs and low marginal costs. The model implies a typology of medical technology productivity: (I) highly cost-effective 'home run' innovations with little chance of overuse, such as anti-retroviral therapy for HIV, (II) treatments highly effective for some but not for all (e.g., stents), and (III) 'gray area' treatments with uncertain clinical value such as ICU days among chronically ill patients. Not surprisingly, countries adopting Category I and effective Category II treatments gain the greatest health improvements, while countries adopting ineffective Category II and Category III treatments experience the most rapid cost growth. Ultimately, economic and political resistance in the United States to ever-rising tax rates will likely slow cost growth, with uncertain effects on technology growth. (JEL H51, I11, I18, O31) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An author index for the 2010 issue of "American Journal of Gastroenterology" is presented.

While much has been written about the distinctions between biologics and small molecules in terms of their scientific, manufacturing and regulatory experiences, relatively little has been published comparing their clinical and commercial experiences. Employing a data base encompassing all 96 biologics and 212 small molecules newly launched in the U.S. between 1998Q1 and 2008Q4, we compare their downstream clinical and commercial characteristics. Substantial heterogeneity occurs across therapeutic classes. Biologics are more concentrated than small molecules in their therapeutic class composition, but have obtained FDA indication approvals in 13 of 15 classes. While average delays between FDA approval and first observed sales revenues are similar, biologics are twice as likely as small molecules to be Orphan Drugs, are slightly more likely to be designated FDA priority rather than standard review status, and gain slightly more supplemental indication approvals. Although 9.4% of new small molecules permanently exited the market for a variety of reasons, 7.3% of new biologics exited, but 26% of biologics had black box warnings compared to 20% of small molecules. Both biologics and small molecules take 21-22 quarters from launch to reach $100 million in real revenues. Small molecules have an initially more rapid uptake, but thereafter biologics' mean revenues tend to be slightly greater than for small molecules. While launch prices for biologics are commonly perceived as being greater than for small molecules, price growth per standard unit is generally greater for small molecules than biologics, with rates of price growth increasing for small molecules in the first five years since launch, and decreasing thereafter. We conclude that the market dynamics of biologics differ substantially from those of small molecules, although therapeutic class composition plays a major role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]