Excess body weight and gait influence energy cost of walking in older adults

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

RP92-217 No. 19 Cost of Grain Storage

Grain marketing decisions are among the toughest the farm owner/operator or manager must make. Grain producers store grain to speculate on receiving higher prices, earn a return above storage costs, or to take advantage of government programs. Prices must increase enough to cover the additional costs, or forward contract prices must exceed current prices by more than the cost of storage in order to justify forward pricing. The gain in prices received can come from both changes in price level and changes in basis. This research publication discusses all the areas of the cost of grain storage.

Periocular basal cell carcinoma: cost of topical immunotherapy versus estimated cost of surgical treatment

Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare the estimated cost of clinical and surgical treatment for basl cell carcinoma of the eyelid. Methods: This was a pilot study of 12 patients with basal cell carcinoma receiving treatment with 5% imiquimod cream at the ocular plastic surgery center, medical school University of Sao Paulo (HC-FMUSP, Brazil). The cost of clinical treatment was estimated based on the time of treatment and amount of medication consumed by patients in the home setting. The cost of surgical treatment was estimated by ophthalmologists with experience in reconstructive plastic surgery based on analysis of images of the same patients. Surgeons responded to a questionnaire with four questions about surgical technique, surgical materials required, estimated duration of surgery and type of anesthesia. Results: Immunotherapy lasted from 8 to 12 weeks. All patients reported each cold-stored sachet with 5% imiquimod cream lasted 3 days. According to the institution, a box with 12 sachets costs BRL 480.00. Patients required 1.58-3.11 boxes for complete treatment, corresponding to a total cost of BRL 758.40-1,492.80. Based on image analysis, surgeons evaluated surgery would require 1-3 hours. The estimated cost of surgery room and staff was BRL 263.00, to which the cost of supplies was added. Thus, the total cost of surgical treatment was BRL 272.61-864.82. On the average, immunotherapy was 57,64% more costly than surgical treatment. Conclusions: Malignant eyelid tumors are a common finding in clinical ophthalmology. Surgery is still the treatment of choice at our institution, but immunotherapy with 5% imiquimod cream may be indicated for patients with multiple lesions or high surgical risk and for patients declining surgery for reasons of fear or esthetic concerns. The ability to estimate costs related to the treatment of malignant eyelid tumors is an important aid in the financial planning of health care institutions. Further studies should evaluate the possibility of institutions equating the cost of immunotherapy and surgical treatment by acquiring similar but less expensive medications.

Economic Cost of Air Pollution in Cubatao - SP Based on Health Expenses Related to Diseases of the Respiratory and Circulatory Systems

The aim of this research was to evaluate economic costs of respiratory and circulatory diseases in the municipality of Cubatao, in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Data on hospital admissions and on missed working days due to hospitalization (for age group 14 to 70 years old) from the database of Sistema Unico de Sa de (SUS - Brazilian National Health System) were used. Results: Based on these data, it was calculated that R$ 22.1 million were spent in the period 2000 to 2009 due to diseases of the respiratory and circulatory systems. Part of these expenses can be directly related to the emission of atmospheric pollutants in the city. In order to estimate the costs related to air pollution, data on Cubatao were compared to data from two other municipalities that are also located at the coast side (Guaruja and Peru be), but which have little industrial activity in comparison to Cubatao. It was verified that, in both, average per capita costs were lower when compared to Cubatao, but that this difference has been decreasing in recent years.

Social cost of stray animals

Máster en Economía del Turismo, Transporte y Medio Ambiente

Geographic variation in the cost of ambulatory care in Switzerland

Swiss health care is relatively costly. In order better to understand the drivers of spending, this study analyses geographic variation in per capita consultation costs for ambulatory care.

Validation of the estimation of physiologic ability and surgical stress (E-PASS) score in liver surgery

BACKGROUND: The estimation of physiologic ability and surgical stress (E-PASS) has been used to produce a numerical estimate of expected mortality and morbidity after elective gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was to validate E-PASS in a selected cohort of patients requiring liver resections (LR). METHODS: In this retrospective study, E-PASS predictor equations for morbidity and mortality were applied to the prospective data from 243 patients requiring LR. The observed rates were compared with predicted rates using Fisher's exact test. The discriminative capability of E-PASS was evaluated using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: The observed and predicted overall mortality rates were both 3.3% and the morbidity rates were 31.3 and 26.9%, respectively. There was a significant difference in the comprehensive risk scores for deceased and surviving patients (p = 0.043). However, the scores for patients with or without complications were not significantly different (p = 0.120). Subsequent ROC curve analysis revealed a poor predictive accuracy for morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: The E-PASS score seems to effectively predict mortality in this specific group of patients but is a poor predictor of complications. A new modified logistic regression might be required for LR in order to better predict the postoperative outcome.

Total Cost of Services (TCS) von Learning Management-Systemen

Mit dem zunehmenden Einsatz von E-Learning-Plattformen rücken verstärkt Wirtschaftlichkeitsaspekte in den Betrachtungsmittelpunkt, die Methoden zur Ermittlung systembedingter Kosten voraussetzen. Durch die zunehmende Serviceorientierung und Integration von LMS mit bestehenden Komponenten der Anwendungsarchitektur sind hierfür jedoch neue Methoden notwendig, welche die Defizite traditioneller Total Cost of Ownership-Modelle abbauen. Einen Ansatzpunkt hierfür bietet das ITIL-Referenzmodell, das einen Rahmen für taktische und operative IT-Services vorgibt und somit die Grundlage für eine serviceorientierte Gesamtkostenermittlung in Form der Total Cost of Services (TCS) liefert.

The Impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on the Cost of Going Public

This paper examines the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), a legal framework intended to increase transparency and accountability of listed companies, on the cost of going public in the US. We expect SOX to increase the direct cost of going public, but decrease the underpricing because of reduced asymmetric information. Our main results corroborate these hypotheses. First, we find an increase in the cost of going public of 90 bp of gross proceeds. Second, we record a reduction in underpricing of 6 pp, which is related to a reduced offer price adjustment. This supports our hypothesis that SOX represents a mechanism to reduce asymmetric information.