Between 1993 and 2003, the proportion of urban residents without health insurance rose from 27 to 50%. The probability of outpatient visits in the previous 2 weeks dropped from 19.9 to 11.8% in urban areas between 1993 and 2003, and from 16.0 to 13.9% in rural areas. To improve risk-pooling and risk-sharing, private health insurance should play an important role in China's health insurance system. This paper estimates the demand for private health insurance in urban areas using contingent valuation methods. Individuals were asked about their willingness-to-pay (WTP) for major catastrophic disease insurance (MCDI), inpatient expenses insurance (IEI), and outpatient expenses insurance (OEI). The study was based on a household survey conducted in four small cities in China in 2004 and included 2671 respondents. More people would like to buy IEI and MCDI (48.5 and 43.0%, respectively) than OEI (24.5%). In addition, individuals would pay a higher premium for MCDI and IEI than for OEI. The price elasticities of demand for MCDI, IEI, and OEI were -0.27, -0.34, and -0.42, respectively. The determinants of enrollment in the three private health insurance programs were similar with employment status, age, education, and income.

Receptor tyrosine kinases are classified into subfamilies, which are believed to function independently, with heterodimerization occurring only within the same subfamily. In this study, we present evidence suggesting a direct interaction between the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) and the platelet-derived growth factor ␤ (PDGF␤) receptor (PDGF␤R), members of different receptor tyrosine kinase subfamilies. We find that the addition of EGF to COS-7 cells and to human foreskin Hs27 fibroblasts results in a rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of the PDGF␤R and results in the recruitment of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase to the PDGF␤R. In R1hER cells, which overexpress the EGFR, we find ligand-independent tyrosine phosphorylation of the PDGF␤R and the constitutive binding of a substantial amount of PI-3 kinase activity to it, mimicking the effect of ligand in untransfected cells. In support of the possibility that this may be a direct interaction, we show that the two receptors can be coimmunoprecipitated from untransfected Hs27 fibroblasts and from COS-7 cells. This association can be reconstituted by introducing the two receptors into 293 EBNA cells. The EGFR/PDGF␤R association is ligand-independent in all cell lines tested. We also demonstrate that the fraction of PDGF␤R bound to the EGFR in R1hER cells undergoes an EGF-induced mobility shift on Western blots indicative of phosphorylation. Our findings indicate that direct interactions between receptor tyrosine kinases classified under different subfamilies may be more widespread than previously believed.

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Copolymerizations of olefins and styrene by a conventional Ziegler-Natta catalyst have been reported by several authors since 1964.1-4 Ziegler-Natta catalytic methods are commonly used throughout the polymer industry, especially for the production of ethylene copolymers, and have a history tracing back to 1957. However, for a vinyl aromatic comonomer

Drug-eluting beads (DEBs) may become a standard of care in the treatment of unresectable liver cancers. DEBs have a significant advantage by offering simultaneous embolisation, and sustained release of antineoplastic agents in a controlled manner, resulting in a localisation of the drug in the targeted tumour, while minimising its systemic exposure. This article reviews current treatment options for liver cancer and concentrates on the benefits of DEBs for patients with unresectable liver cancer. Preclinical and clinical studies suggest smaller microspheres and extended release characteristics as key properties that will enable DEB device technologies to become a standard of care for unresectable liver cancer. A new, tightly size-calibrated DEB ≤100 μm, Embozene TANDEM™, was designed to meet these requirements.