AIM To compare current hydroxychloroquine retinopathy screening practices with the published 2002 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Preferred Practice Patterns (PPP). METHODS A multiple-choice survey was distributed to 105 ophthalmologists to assess current screening practices and knowledge of patient risk factors. Results were compared with the PPP guidelines. A cost analysis of the PP...

BACKGROUND HCV virus (HCV) is a significant global problem with wide-ranging socio-economic impacts. Because of the high morbidity and mortality associated with end-stage liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the economic burden of HCV infection is substantial. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to estimate the direct medical care costs of chronic HCV infection. PATIENTS AN...

Phosphoprotein phosphatases (PPP), these ancient and important regulatory enzymes are present in all eukaryotic organisms. Based on the genome sequences of 12 Drosophila species we traced the evolution of the PPP catalytic subunits and noted a substantial expansion of the gene family. We concluded that the 18-22 PPP genes of Drosophilidae were generated from a core set of 8 indispensable phosph...

PURPOSE In reconstructive procedures harvested bone grafts are often temporarily stored in extraoral media while the recipient site is prepared. The aim of the present study was to analyze histomorphometrically osteocytes in calvarial bone grafts stored in either physiologic saline solution or platelet-poor plasma (PPP). MATERIALS AND METHODS Calvarial bone fragments were obtained from 12 rab...

RIG-I recognizes molecular patterns in viral RNA to regulate the induction of type I interferons. The C-terminal domain (CTD) of RIG-I exhibits high affinity for 5' triphosphate (ppp) dsRNA as well as blunt-ended dsRNA. Structures of RIG-I CTD bound to 5'-ppp dsRNA showed that RIG-I recognizes the termini of dsRNA and interacts with the ppp through electrostatic interactions. However, the struc...

This paper examines the validity of purchasing power parity (PPP) using CPI and Big Mac prices. The benchmark model, i.e., the OLS method, which does not take nonstationarity into account, rejects the hypothesis of PPP regardless of prices used. We next use the panel cointegration method to consider the nonstationary nature of variables. Estimated results for CPI are mixed. The PPP is rejected ...

2. PPPs also bring fiscal risks. These need to be mitigated and managed. To address these challenges, governments usually try to introduce PPP legal and institutional reforms to develop technically sophisticated PPP ecosystems that identify, structure and eventually only pursue PPP proposals that can maximize value-for-money (VfM) to tax-payers. These ecosystems exist to carry transactions from...

Postpartum psychosis (PPP) is a serious mental health issue associated with maternal suicide and infanticide. Although a growing research base suggests that childhood abuse is predictive of psychosis, bipolar disorder, and postpartum depression, the link between abuse and PPP is less clear. Currently, prevention and treatment strategies are pharmacological and require hospitalization once sympt...

Globally, sustainable development has been given high priority for the Government agenda in order to achieve a balance of social, economic and environmental factors. The UK government realise the importance and criticality of sustainable development and they intend to use the public procurement power to demand more sustainable public building development to improve energy efficiency and reduce ...

BACKGROUND Picropodophyllin (PPP) is a promising novel anti-neoplastic agent that efficiently kills tumor cells in vitro and causes tumor regression and increased survival in vivo. We have previously reported that PPP treatment induced moderate tolerance in two out of 10 cell lines only, and here report the acquired genomic and expression alterations associated with PPP selection over 1.5 years...