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Objectives: To explore how the use of EQ-5D-5L value set and crosswalk from EQ-5D-5L to EQ-5D-3L (and use of 3L value set) would affect cost-effectiveness analysis results for England and six other countries (Canada, the Netherlands, China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore).Methods: Individual-level utilities derived from primary 5L data using both value set (5L) and crosswalk (c5L) approaches were applied to three Markov models assessing the cost-effectiveness of hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients to estimate incremental quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). The mathematic functions between incremental QALY and utility were derived.Results: 5L- and c5L-based incremental QALYs were similar in the model for non-diabetic patients (range: 1.910-2.149, 1.922-2.121). 5L tends to generate more incremental QALYs than c5L in the model for diabetic patients (range: 1.454-1.633, 1.365-1.568) but fewer incremental QALYs in the model for all ESRD patients (range: 0.290-0.480, 0.315-0.493). In all models, 5L (c5L) generated more incremental QALYs when Chinese (South Korean) value sets were used. The largest and smallest differences in 5L- and c5L-based incremental QALYs were observed when Chinese and Dutch value sets were used. Incremental QALYs was a positive linear function of both utility of PD and difference in utilities of HD and PD.Conclusions: The value set and crosswalk approaches may not be used interchangeably in economic evaluation when EQ-5D-5L data are used to estimate utilities. Results of cost-effectiveness analysis using Markov models may be affected by both absolute utilities and their differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Each year, approximately 12 percent of all traffic-related deaths in the United States and 22 percent in Europe involve a pedestrian. At the forefront of initiatives to improve pedestrian safety has been a continued focus on crosswalk enhancements that have been implemented to improve both crosswalk and pedestrian visibility for the purposes of increasing drivers' yield compliance rates. Adding to the inherent danger of pedestrian crossings is the increased usage of mobile devices, and the potential for distracted pedestrians, which has been associated with an increased crash risk. This research evaluated the extent to which distraction affects pedestrian-vehicle interactions at road crossings and the prevalence of distracted walking as a function of different crosswalk types. Methodologically, a total of 1386 pedestrian crossings and 890 pedestrian-vehicle interactions, were directly observed in a series of field studies at seven different crosswalk treatment types. The naturalistic observations yielded several interesting findings regarding differences in pedestrian behavior (i.e., look/no look, talking on the phone, etc.) as a function of crosswalk treatment. Pedestrian distraction varied by crosswalk type, collectively 47% of observed pedestrians were distracted. When investigating driver behavior, 80% of drivers yielded for distracted pedestrians and only 74% yielded for non-distracted pedestrians (p = 0.019) suggesting perhaps that drivers were less likely to expect a distracted pedestrian to exhibit safe crossing behavior. The overall results expand upon current literature and provide specific guidance that is useful in the development of countermeasures aimed at improving pedestrian safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexity of cataloging manuscripts, particularly medieval manuscripts, has meant that these materials have remained largely inaccessible to the public. The quantity and quality of the descriptive data, the time and money it takes to catalog manuscripts, and the fragility of the materials themselves explain the dearth of searchable data on these valuable resources. Even when manuscripts have been cataloged, they have often been physically available only to a few elite scholars who are able to gain access to them. Certain institutions have embarked on projects to reverse this situation. This paper deals with three of these projects: the British Library's Digital Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts (DigCIM), a European consortium's database entitled Manuscripts And Letters Via Integrated Networks in Europe (MALVINE), and Columbia University's Digital Scriptorium (DS). The author explores the history of each project, compares the metadata utilized by each one through the creation of a crosswalk, and analyzes the usefulness of these catalogs to the user. doi:10.1300/J104v45n02_03 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]