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Early health technology assessment is increasingly being used to support health economic evidence development during early stages of clinical research. Such early models can be used to inform research and development about the design and management of new medical technologies to mitigate the risks, perceived by industry and the public sector, associated with market access and reimbursement. Over the past 25 years it has been suggested that health economic evaluation in the early stages may benefit the development and diffusion of medical products. Early health technology assessment has been suggested in the context of iterative economic evaluation alongside phase I and II clinical research to inform clinical trial design, market access, and pricing. In addition, performing early health technology assessment was also proposed at an even earlier stage for managing technology portfolios. This scoping review suggests a generally accepted definition of early health technology assessment to be “all methods used to inform industry and other stakeholders about the potential value of new medical products in development, including methods to quantify and manage uncertainty”. The present review also aimed to identify recent published empirical studies employing an early-stage assessment of a medical product. With most included studies carried out to support a market launch, the dominant methodology was early health economic modeling. Further methodological development is required, in particular, by combining systems engineering and health economics to manage uncertainty in medical product portfolios.

During my life, I have spent a great deal of time – some would argue far too much time – watching movies. And of the countless films I have seen, few have made more of an impression on me than Steven Spielberg’s 1998 masterpiece, Saving Private Ryan, which is generally regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time. Staff no

Global niobium production is presently dominated by three operations, Araxá and Catalão (Brazil), and Niobec (Canada). Although Brazil accounts for over 90% of the world’s niobium production, a number of high grade niobium deposits exist worldwide. The advancement of these deposits depends largely on the development of operable beneficiation flowsheets. Pyrochlore, as the primary niobium mineral, is typically upgraded by flotation with amine collectors at acidic pH following a complicated flowsheet with significant losses of niobium. This research compares the typical two stage flotation flowsheet to a direct flotation process (i.e. elimination of gangue pre-flotation) with the objective of circuit simplification. In addition, the use of a chelating reagent (benzohydroxamic acid, BHA) was studied as an alternative collector for fine grained, highly disseminated pyrochlore. For the amine based reagent system, results showed that while comparable at the laboratory scale, when scaled up to the pilot level the direct flotation process suffered from circuit instability because of high quantities of dissolved calcium in the process water due to stream recirculation and fine calcite dissolution, which ultimately depressed pyrochlore. This scale up issue was not observed in pilot plant operation of the two stage flotation process as a portion of the highly reactive carbonate minerals was removed prior to acid addition. A statistical model was developed for batch flotation using BHA on carbonatite ore (0.25% Nb2O5) that could not be effectively upgraded using the conventional amine reagent scheme. Results showed that it was possible to produce a concentrate containing 1.54% Nb2O5 with 93% Nb recovery in ~15% of the original mass. Fundamental studies undertaken included FT-IR and XPS, which showed the adsorption of both the protonized amine and the neutral amine onto the surface of the pyrochlore (possibly at niobium sites as indicated by detected shifts in the Nb3d binding energy). The results suggest that the preferential flotation of pyrochlore over quartz with amines at low pH levels can be attributed to a difference in critical hemimicelle concentration (CHC) values for the two minerals. BHA was found to be absorbed on pyrochlore surfaces by a similar mechanism to alkyl hydroxamic acid. It is hoped that this work will assist in improving operability of existing pyrochlore flotation circuits and help promote the development of niobium deposits globally. Future studies should focus on investigation into specific gangue mineral depressants and inadvertent activation phenomenon related to BHA flotation of gangue minerals.

A University of Regina computer science professor, Dr. Yiyu Yao, scores very high when it comes to having his work cited by other researchers. Staff no

Early region 1A (E1A) protein is the first protein expressed following viral infection. E1A proteins initiate the cell cycle in infected cell by altering cellular gene expression and also activate expression of other viral genes enabling viral replication. The C-terminus of E1A is the least-characterized region of the protein, with few known binding partners, however DREF has been identified as a novel binding partner. My studies have determined that DREF directly binds to E1A and has a role in the virus life cycle. DREF is a restriction factor for virus growth and is a component of viral replication centres. DREF is SUMOylated and SUMOylation appears to affect localization to viral replication centres. DREF co-localizes with PML bodies and subcellular distribution of DREF is altered by the presence of E1A. This work provides a platform to study the role of DREF in uninfected cells, and in HAdV biology and its possible role in antiviral response.

Menu from Cathay House restaurant in Ottawa, ON. Soups, chop suey, egg foo young, sea foods, chow feon macaroni, chow mein, complete dinners, noodles in broth, sweet & sour, fried won ton, fried rice, special Chinese dishes, miscellaneous side orders, soups & appetizers, steaks and chops, eggs and omelettes, roasts, fish, salads, vegetables, sandwiches, desserts, hot and cold drinks. From the Imogene Lim restaurant menu collection https://viuspace.viu.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/2763/LimCathayHouse.pdf?sequence=4

Timber beams with end splits were investigated in this study to determine their shear strength. Two conditions were considered: a) Group 1 had supports located near the ends with the portion of the beam extending beyond the support, and b) Group 2 had supports located right at the end of the beam subjected to a horizontal split at approximately mid height. In Group 1, seventeen beams were tested under static loading and four were tested in fatigue. In Group 2, nineteen beams were tested under static loading and four under fatigue. In Group 1, eight beams under static loading failed in shear. In Group 2, all beams under static loading failed in shear. Group 1 and Group 2 beams under static load produced average shear strength values of 4.93 MPa and 4.49 MPa, respectively. During fatigue tests, Group 1 sustained more cycles than beams in Group 2.

Presentation on production state of the Ontario Library Research Cloud (OLRC), a service of the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) with support from Scholars Portal. The talk also covered future use scenarios and projected subscription costs.

“Evil Dead: The Problematic Story of the Jonestown Corpses” examines the issues that arose with handling the bodies after the mass suicide of Peoples Temple members on the Jonestown site in 1978. The Jonestown dead are treated as deviant and dangerous. This project examines strategies of classification and identification, and how these differed before and after the mass suicide. A particular emphasis will be on the disgust response as a shared signifier of danger. A comparison is drawn between the 2011 Jonestown memorial stone and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, examining how memorials can be made that separate the dead from controversial conflicts. The Peoples Temple saw themselves as participating in a ‘Revolutionary Suicide’ to advance a socialist agenda. This intent was lost in the aftermath of the suicides, and they were instead treated as irrational and excluded by their former allies. The eventual memorial only became possible by separating the dead from their cause.