No abstract

The Michigan Department of Transportation contracted with Michigan State University to evaluate the performance of highway paint-line material. Several types of pavement-marking materials were studied under a variety of conditions. The project’s goal is to help develop guidelines governing the cost-effective use of pavement-marking materials. Preliminary results indicate that retroreflectivity levels of paint lines did not vary as a function of material; pavement surface had little effect on lane-marking performance; and snowplowing and sanding appeared to be the main factors affecting the decay of lane line retroreflectivity.

Background A major barrier in improving cancer outcomes in Botswana and other low‐ and middle‐income countries is timely access to care. Understanding time to diagnosis of pediatric cancers in Botswana and evaluating factors contributing to delays was necessary to inform interventions. Methods A retrospective cohort study of children diagnosed with cancer at Princess Marina Hospital from 2008 to 2015 was performed utilizing the Botswana Pediatric Oncology Database. The time to diagnosis, pretreatment center delay, and pathology turnaround time were calculated. Time to diagnosis was analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses to determine association with age, sex, distance to a treatment center, HIV status, cancer type, outcome, and presence of metastasis at diagnosis. Results The median time to diagnosis was 10.7 weeks, median pretreatment center delay was 9.6 weeks, and median pathology turnaround time was 3 weeks. Longer time to diagnosis was significantly correlated with presence of metastasis at diagnosis. Age, sex, distance to a treatment center, HIV status, cancer type, and outcome were not significantly associated with diagnostic delay. Conclusion Children with cancer in Botswana have more than three months of symptoms prior to diagnosis, which is associated with metastasis at diagnosis. Efforts should be made to empower and promote awareness of pediatric cancer symptoms among caregivers and community healthcare providers in order to shorten time to presentation at a treatment center.

The following is an edited transcript of the thirty‐eighth in a series of Capitol Hill conferences convened by the Middle East Policy Council. The meeting was held on January 11, 2005, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, with Chas. W. Freeman, Jr., moderating.