6,260 research outputs found
Preserving the promise : improving the culture of biotech investment /
No full text"Preserving the Promise: Improving the Culture of Biotech Investment critically examines why most biotech startups fail, as they emerge from universities into an ecosystem that inhibits rather than encourages innovation. This 'Valley of Death' squanders our public investments in medical research and with them, the promise of longer and healthier lives. The authors explicate the Translation Gap faced by early stage biotech companies, the result of problematic technology transfer and investment practices, and provide specific prescriptions for improving translation of important discoveries into safe and effective therapies. In Preserving the Promise, Dessain and Fishman build on their collective experience as company founders, healthcare investor (Fishman) and physician/scientist (Dessain). The book offers a forward-looking, critical analysis of 'conventional wisdom' that encumbers commercialization practices. It exposes the self-defeating habits of drug development in the Valley of Death, that waste money and extinguish innovative technologies through distorted financial incentives. Explains why translation of biotech discovery into medicine succeeds so infrequently that it's been dubbed the Valley of Death. Uncovers specific decision-making strategies that more effectively align incentives, improving clinical and financial outcomes for investors, inventor/entrepreneurs, and patients. Examines the critical, early stages of commercialization, where technology transfer offices and Angels act as gatekeepers to development, and where tension between short-term financial and long-term clinical aspirations sinks important technologies. Deconstructs the forces driving biotech, recasts them in a proven conceptual framework, and offers practical guidance for making the system better."--Provided by publisher.Includes bibliographical references and index.Online resource; title from e-book title screen (EbscoHost platform, viewed February 23, 2017)."Preserving the Promise: Improving the Culture of Biotech Investment critically examines why most biotech startups fail, as they emerge from universities into an ecosystem that inhibits rather than encourages innovation. This 'Valley of Death' squanders our public investments in medical research and with them, the promise of longer and healthier lives. The authors explicate the Translation Gap faced by early stage biotech companies, the result of problematic technology transfer and investment practices, and provide specific prescriptions for improving translation of important discoveries into safe and effective therapies. In Preserving the Promise, Dessain and Fishman build on their collective experience as company founders, healthcare investor (Fishman) and physician/scientist (Dessain). The book offers a forward-looking, critical analysis of 'conventional wisdom' that encumbers commercialization practices. It exposes the self-defeating habits of drug development in the Valley of Death, that waste money and extinguish innovative technologies through distorted financial incentives. Explains why translation of biotech discovery into medicine succeeds so infrequently that it's been dubbed the Valley of Death. Uncovers specific decision-making strategies that more effectively align incentives, improving clinical and financial outcomes for investors, inventor/entrepreneurs, and patients. Examines the critical, early stages of commercialization, where technology transfer offices and Angels act as gatekeepers to development, and where tension between short-term financial and long-term clinical aspirations sinks important technologies. Deconstructs the forces driving biotech, recasts them in a proven conceptual framework, and offers practical guidance for making the system better."--Provided by publisher.Innovation Meets the Translation Gap. Stop the Madness and Cure Something ; Into the Valley of Death ; Clinical Promise [not]= Investment Practice ; Velcade, a Biotech Success Story ; Biotechnology and the Future of Pharma ; Why Pharma Should Care About the Valley of Death ; Porter's Five Forces and the Market for Angel Capital ; Out of the Frying Pan: The Fire's Not So Great Either ; Getting to Australia -- Translation Gap 1: Universities Don't Make What Companies Need. When Is an Experiment Ready for the Valley of Death? ; Unintended Consequences of Applying for a Patent ; What if It Doesn't Actually Work? ; Building a Better Mousetrap -- Translation Gap 2: Good Innovation Is Not Always a Good Investment. Due Diligence and Angel Incentives ; What Is Value? ; Angels at the Crux of Invention ; Investment: A Nuanced Decision ; Ready for a Long-Term Relationship With a Science Experiment? ; Investing in Hockey Sticks ; Harps for Angels ; Connecting Innovation to Investment -- Translation Gap 3: Technology Transfer Wastes Money and Innovation. Mitigating Supplier Power ; Preventing Speeding by Closing the Road ; Breaking Old Habits -- Epilogue: Why We Do This.Elsevie
Gastric outlet obstruction from duodenal lipoma in an adult
No full textThe duodenum is a rare site for gastrointestinal lipoma with less than 230 cases reported in the literature. Although, peptic ulcer disease remains the most common benign cause of gastric outlet obstruction (GOO), duodenal lipomas remain a rare, but possible cause of GOO and could pose a diagnostic challenge, especially in countries where access to endoscopy and modern imaging techniques poses a challenge. The authors present a case of GOO in a 40-year-old male, secondary to a duodenal lipoma. It was successfully treated by a transduodenal resection through a midline laparotomy. The histology report confirmed it was a submucosal lipoma
Biochemical constituents of gallstones from indigenous blacks of Nigerian origin
No full text<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> The biochemical constituents of gallstones predict its etiopathogenesis. Hence, this study is conducted to investigate the biochemical constituents of gallstones from indigenous Nigerian patients.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> It was a retrospective study of the biochemical constituents of post-operative gallstones from 48 adult patients of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Records on age, sex, and concentrations of gallstone biochemical constituents (total cholesterol, triglyceride, total bilirubin, and calcium) from 1<sup>st</sup> January 2007 to December 2016 were extrapolated from laboratory records and analyzed using SPSS version 15. </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> The gallstones were of more females than the males (70.8% versus 29.2%; p=0.004). The mean age of the study cohorts was 46.88±7.96 with age range 31–64 years. No sex difference in age was observed, however, females were younger (males 50.39±8.31 versus females 45.47±7.52; p=0.056) with a lower age range (males 40–64 versus females 31- 63) than the males. The gallstone comprised of cholesterol stones (64.7%), mixed stones (22.9%), and pigment stones (12.5%). Though the females dominated among the three types of gallstones, the predominant stone type in both sexes remained cholesterol stones. Cholesterol lipid was the main constituent of the gallstones with no sex difference (p=0.227).</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Cholesterol gallstones are the most common type of gallstones in this study and the cholesterol lipid is the most prevalent constituent of these gallstones. The females presented with more of the gallstones disease than the males.</p></jats:p
Relationship between plasma calcium and carcinoembryonic antigen among colorectal cancer patients
No full textBackground: Low serum calcium is hypothesized to influence colorectal carcinogenesis. Hence, this study was set out to investigate the pattern of plasma calcium in patients with colorectal cancer, and to determine the relationship between the mineral with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) among patients with colorectal cancer.Methods: This was a retrospective study of 45 colorectal cancer patients who presented to a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. The laboratory characteristics of these patients were evaluated. Records of sex, age, serum albumin, plasma total calcium, and serum CEA test results from 1st January 2008 to 31st December 2017 were retrieved from laboratory and medical records and analyzed with SPSS software version 20.Results: There were a total of 45 records of colorectal patients in this study, among them were 62.2% males and 37.8% females. The majority (57.8%) of the study cohorts are within the age group 50 to 59 years. Low total calcium was observed in 37.8% of the study cohort while 66.7% tested positive for CEA. The positive CEA group had lower total calcium level than those with negative CEA results (p = 0.001). Negative but weak correlations of total calcium and serum CEA was observed among the overall study cohort (r = -0.485; p = 0.001) and those with positive test for CEA (r = -0.384; p = 0.036).Conclusions: The evidence from this study suggests that low serum calcium could be a risk factor for colorectal cancer and is also associated with higher serum level of the CEA biomarker.</jats:p
Disciplinary Privilege and the Promise of Decampment: A Response to James Thuo Gathii's “The Promise of International Law: A Third World View”
No full textThis address were delivered at the 114th Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, in which the author served as Annual Grotius Lecture Discussant, responding to James Thuo Gathii’s Grotius Lecture: ‘The Promise of International Law: A Third World View’ (available at https://ssrn.com/abstract=3635509). They address what Third World approaches to international law (TWAIL), and the structural racism of the discipline of international law that TWAIL scholarship makes apparent, demand of scholars proceeding from other epistemic locations
Current concepts in the management of enterocutaneous fistula
No full textEnterocutaneous fistula is an abnormal connection between the intra-abdominal gastrointestinal tract and skin. It causes considerable morbidity and mortality. The goals of management are restoration of gastrointestinal continuity and allowance of enteral nutrition with minimal morbidity and mortality. A multidisciplinary approach is essential in the successful management and this has led to closure rates ranging from 5-20% following conservative management and 75-85% with operative treatment. This article seeks to review the current concepts in the management of enterocutaneous fistula. A systematic search of literature on enterocutaneous fistula was conducted. Relevant materials were selected and selected references from relevant books, journal articles and abstracts using Medline, Google scholar and Pubmed databases were critically reviewed. Enterocutaneous fistulas can be classified by the anatomy, aetiology or physiology. Anatomically, enterocutaneous fistula has been classified based on the organ of origin and this is useful in the consideration of management options: type l (abdominal oesophageal and gastroduodenal fistula), type ll (small bowel fistula), type lll (large bowel fistula) and type IV (enteroatmospheric, regardless of origin. The anatomy also depends on the presence or absence of associated abscess cavity and the length and characteristics of the fistula tract. Aetiologically, the majority of enterocutaneous fistulas are iatrogenic (75-85%) while between 15 and 25% occur spontaneously. The physiological classification is based on the volume of its output. High output fistulas drain more than 500mls in 24 hours, moderate output between 200 and 500mls in 24 hours and low output less than 200mls in 24 hours. Successful management requires a multidisciplinary approach and would consist of initial resuscitaion with fluids and electrolytes, control of sepsis, good and adequate nutrition, wound care and skin protection and definitive management. The treatment of enterocutaneous fistula is multidisciplinary and remains a challenge despite the recent improvement in supportive care. Once enterocutaneous fistula occurs, adequate stabilization of the patient and non-operative management should be commenced. If surgery is required, careful planning, meticulous dissection, restoration of bowel continuity and reconstruction of abdominal wall are critical.</jats:p
The promise of Iceland
No full textMemoir, 288 pages. An account of journeys made by the author from Australia to Iceland as a way of interrogating notions of cultural belonging, family, and homecoming.\ud
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"In 1990, Kári Gíslason travelled to Iceland to meet his father for the first time. What he finds is not what he expected.\ud
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Born from a secret liaison between a British mother and an Icelandic father, Kári Gíslason was the subject of a promise – a promise elicited from his father to not reveal his identity. The Icelandic city of Reykjavík, where Kári was born, was also home to his father and his father’s wife and five children – none of whom knew of Kári’s existence. Moving regularly between Iceland and Australia, he grew up aware of his father’s identity, but understanding that it was the subject of a secret pact between his parents. At the age of 27, he makes a decision to break the pact and contacts his father’s other family. What follows, and what leads him there, makes for a riveting journey over landscapes, time and memory. \ud
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Kári travels from the freezing cold winters of Iceland to the shark net at Sydney’s Balmoral, an unsettled life in the English countryside and the harsh yellow summer of Brisbane, and back again. He traces the steps of his mother who answered an ad in The Times for an English-speaking secretary in 1970 and found herself in Iceland among the ‘Army of Foreign Secretaries’, and in the arms of a secret lover. Iceland becomes the substitute for the father Kári never really knew as he discovers the meaning of ‘home’ and closes the circle of his own fatherless life."-- publisher websit
Electronic information: promise and peril
No full textWith reference to a recent visit to Dhaka, Bangladesh, the author gives his personal view on the spread of IT technology that accompanies globalisation. He comments particularly on the communication potential of the Internet and email, and the tendency of the technology to aggravate existing inequalities.This article is hosted by our co-publisher Taylor & Francis.</p
Implementing the AIFMD: Success or failure? ECMI Commentary No. 34, 28 March 2013
No full textThis commentary considers the implementation of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) by the European Commission. The AIFMD creates an internal market for asset management and as an endeavour to develop market-based finance is an important piece of legislation for the European economy. The author, Mirzha de Manuel Aramendía, considers the implementation of some of the provisions that raised concern among industry participants. He finds that, on balance, a practical and flexible approach to implementation has been followed that should help secure the success of the framework, which at present is still uncertain. The commentary also considers the remuneration guidelines adopted recently by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). It encourages EU and national authorities to commit to the success of the AIFMD framework, as part of a broader effort to develop capital markets and reduce the historical reliance of the European economy on bank finance
The Essence of Promise
No full textAccording to the author the nature of promise presents a twofold problem. First refers to the question why and how an utterance may cause action; second – to the question why and how this action may cause a duteous state, or action. The conclusions drawn from these analyses can facilitate legal statements concerning the nature of promise
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