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In addition to accomplishing charitable goals, charitable lead annuity trusts (CLAT) can be powerful income tax deduction tools for clients ranging from former executives receiving large one-time income payments from deferred compensation plans or nonqualified retirement plans to professional athletes receiving up-front contract or roster bonuses. Hedge fund managers who hold offshore investments in their own funds are also looking at CLATs as a way to ease the tax burden incurred as they meet the Emergency Economic Stability Act of 2008 provision to repatriate this money by 2017. In its simplest form, a CLAT is the inverse of its brother, the charitable remainder trust (CRT). In a CRT, the primary beneficiary is the donor or a named individual, and then the charitable organization is the beneficiary of the remainder. Given the current tax rules and favorable market dynamics, advisors to ultra-high net worth individuals should consider reviewing grantor CLATs and their potential advantages when implemented with private placement insurance.

Most investment managers have a well articulated methodology for why they recommend a particular stock, bond, or fund out of the universe of offerings. Insurance brokers, however, have traditionally not had their own formal methodology to explain their carrier selection to clients. This needs to change, and there is a way to do that. Congress is currently considering whether the current model of having the insurers pay the rating services for their ratings creates a conflict of interest. Carrier selection becomes objective. This contrasts with the practices at some firms where carrier selection is done according to subjective factors and business relationships.

We aimed to compare overall survival after standard-dose versus high-dose conformal radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy and the addition of cetuximab to concurrent chemoradiation for patients with inoperable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer. In this open-label randomised, two-by-two factorial phase 3 study in 185 institutions in the USA and Canada, we enrolled patients (aged ≥18 years) with unresectable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer, a Zubrod performance status of 0–1, adequate pulmonary function, and no evidence of supraclavicular or contralateral hilar adenopathy. We randomly assigned (1:1:1:1) patients to receive either 60 Gy (standard dose), 74 Gy (high dose), 60 Gy plus cetuximab, or 74 Gy plus cetuximab. All patients also received concurrent chemotherapy with 45 mg/m2 paclitaxel and carboplatin once a week (AUC 2); 2 weeks after chemoradiation, two cycles of consolidation chemotherapy separated by 3 weeks were given consisting of paclitaxel (200 mg/m2) and carboplatin (AUC 6). Randomisation was done with permuted block randomisation methods, stratified by radiotherapy technique, Zubrod performance status, use of PET during staging, and histology; treatment group assignments were not masked. Radiation dose was prescribed to the planning target volume and was given in 2 Gy daily fractions with either intensity-modulated radiation therapy or three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy. The use of four-dimensional CT and image-guided radiation therapy were encouraged but not necessary. For patients assigned to receive cetuximab, 400 mg/m2 cetuximab was given on day 1 followed by weekly doses of 250 mg/m2, and was continued through consolidation therapy. The primary endpoint was overall survival. All analyses were done by modified intention-to-treat. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00533949. Between Nov 27, 2007, and Nov 22, 2011, 166 patients were randomly assigned to receive standard-dose chemoradiotherapy, 121 to high-dose chemoradiotherapy, 147 to standard-dose chemoradiotherapy and cetuximab, and 110 to high-dose chemoradiotherapy and cetuximab. Median follow-up for the radiotherapy comparison was 22·9 months (IQR 27·5–33·3). Median overall survival was 28·7 months (95% CI 24·1–36·9) for patients who received standard-dose radiotherapy and 20·3 months (17·7–25·0) for those who received high-dose radiotherapy (hazard ratio [HR] 1·38, 95% CI 1·09–1·76; p=0·004). Median follow-up for the cetuximab comparison was 21·3 months (IQR 23·5–29·8). Median overall survival in patients who received cetuximab was 25·0 months (95% CI 20·2–30·5) compared with 24·0 months (19·8–28·6) in those who did not (HR 1·07, 95% CI 0·84–1·35; p=0·29). Both the radiation-dose and cetuximab results crossed protocol-specified futility boundaries. We recorded no statistical differences in grade 3 or worse toxic effects between radiotherapy groups. By contrast, the use of cetuximab was associated with a higher rate of grade 3 or worse toxic effects (205 [86%] of 237 vs 160 [70%] of 228 patients; p<0·0001). There were more treatment-related deaths in the high-dose chemoradiotherapy and cetuximab groups (radiotherapy comparison: eight vs three patients; cetuximab comparison: ten vs five patients). There were no differences in severe pulmonary events between treatment groups. Severe oesophagitis was more common in patients who received high-dose chemoradiotherapy than in those who received standard-dose treatment (43 [21%] of 207 patients vs 16 [7%] of 217 patients; p<0·0001). 74 Gy radiation given in 2 Gy fractions with concurrent chemotherapy was not better than 60 Gy plus concurrent chemotherapy for patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer, and might be potentially harmful. Addition of cetuximab to concurrent chemoradiation and consolidation treatment provided no benefit in overall survival for these patients. National Cancer Institute and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

The Spectro Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) is conducting the first all-sky near-infrared spectral survey spanning 0.75–5.0 μm with resolving power R ≈ 35–130. Linear variable filters mounted in front of six H2RG detectors produce a position-dependent spectral response across the focal plane. This paper presents the ground-based spectral calibration of SPHEREx, including the cryogenic apparatus, optical configuration, measurement strategy, analysis pipeline, and resulting calibration products. Monochromatic wavelength scans are used to derive the spectral response function, band center, and resolving power for every pixel. Band centers are measured to better than 1 nm for Bands 1 through 4 (0.75–3.82 μm) and better than 10 nm for Bands 5 and 6 (3.82–5.0 μm). Out-of-band leakage is negligible for detectors above 1.64 μm and is present at the percent level below this wavelength. The resolving power is measured to within 5% and agrees with design expectations to within 10%. An on-sky spectrum of the Cat’s Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) constructed from repeated observations provides in-flight verification and shows agreement between ground-calibrated response and astrophysical emission features. Calibration products, including per-pixel band center and resolving power maps, are released through IPAC to support community use of SPHEREx data. The absolute spectral calibration will continue to improve through in-flight measurements, with further reductions in uncertainty expected for the longest-wavelength bands.

Background Risky drinking among college campuses has been a long-standing concern and there have been dedicated efforts to develop evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies (EBSs) to decrease alcohol use and increase healthy behaviors among college students. Further, the College Alcohol Intervention Matrix (CollegeAIM) was developed as a tool with accompanying resources, to assist institutions of higher education in selecting EBSs that are appropriate and a good fit for their campuses. However, the CollegeAIM tool and selection of prevention strategies from stakeholders’ perspectives has yet to be evaluated. This study protocol describes the methodology for a research project evaluating CollegeAIM from an implementation science perspective using the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment framework. Methods The aims of this study will be accomplished with a mixed-method design comprised of reviews of strategic planning documents, quantitative surveys and interviews with prevention experts, and focus groups to identify key components of a decision-support program for prevention experts to support the use of CollegeAIM. Participants are members of the multi-site Missouri Partners in Prevention coalition to reduce risky substance use on college campuses across the state. Discussion The results of this study will provide key information to support the development of additional supportive tools for campuses that can improve their selection and implementation of EBSs that fit the needs of their respective campuses. This work is important to further advance the implementation and sustainment of extant EBSs for risky college alcohol use.

Purpose Amyloid imaging with 18 F-labelled radiotracers will allow widespread use of this technique, facilitating research, diagnosis and therapeutic development for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The purpose of this analysis was to compare data on cortical Aβ deposition in subjects who had undergone both 11 C-PiB (PiB) and 18 F-florbetaben (FBB) PET imaging. Methods We identified ten healthy elderly controls (HC) and ten patients with AD who had undergone PET imaging after intravenous injection of 370 MBq of PiB and 300 MBq of FBB under separate research protocols. PiB and FBB images were coregistered so that placement of regions of interest was identical on both scans and standard uptake value ratios (SUVR) using the cerebellar cortex as reference region were calculated between 40 and 70 min and between 90 and 110 min after injection for PiB and FBB, respectively. Results Significantly higher SUVR values ( p  < 0.0001) in most cortical areas were observed in AD patients when compared with HC with both radiotracers. Global SUVR values in AD patients were on average 75% higher than in HC with PiB and 56% higher with FBB. There was an excellent linear correlation between PiB and FBB global SUVR values ( r  = 0.97, p  < 0.0001) with similar effect sizes for distinguishing AD from HC subjects for both radiotracers (Cohen’s  d 3.3 for PiB and 3.0 for FBB). Conclusion FBB, while having a narrower dynamic range than PiB, clearly distinguished HC from AD patients, with a comparable effect size. FBB seems a suitable 18 F radiotracer for imaging AD pathology in vivo.

Amyloid imaging with ^sup 18^F-labelled radiotracers will allow widespread use of this technique, facilitating research, diagnosis and therapeutic development for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The purpose of this analysis was to compare data on cortical Aβ deposition in subjects who had undergone both ^sup 11^C-PiB (PiB) and ^sup 18^F-florbetaben (FBB) PET imaging. We identified ten healthy elderly controls (HC) and ten patients with AD who had undergone PET imaging after intravenous injection of 370 MBq of PiB and 300 MBq of FBB under separate research protocols. PiB and FBB images were coregistered so that placement of regions of interest was identical on both scans and standard uptake value ratios (SUVR) using the cerebellar cortex as reference region were calculated between 40 and 70 min and between 90 and 110 min after injection for PiB and FBB, respectively. Significantly higher SUVR values (p<0.0001) in most cortical areas were observed in AD patients when compared with HC with both radiotracers. Global SUVR values in AD patients were on average 75% higher than in HC with PiB and 56% higher with FBB. There was an excellent linear correlation between PiB and FBB global SUVR values (r=0.97, p<0.0001) with similar effect sizes for distinguishing AD from HC subjects for both radiotracers (Cohen'sd 3.3 for PiB and 3.0 for FBB). FBB, while having a narrower dynamic range than PiB, clearly distinguished HC from AD patients, with a comparable effect size. FBB seems a suitable ^sup 18^F radiotracer for imaging AD pathology in vivo.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

The Spectro Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) is conducting the first all-sky near infrared spectral survey spanning 0.75 to 5.0um with resolving power R~35 to 130. Linear variable filters mounted in front of six H2RG detectors produce a position dependent spectral response across the focal plane. This paper presents the ground-based spectral calibration of SPHEREx, including the cryogenic apparatus, optical configuration, measurement strategy, analysis pipeline, and resulting calibration products. Monochromatic wavelength scans are used to derive the spectral response function, band center, and resolving power for every pixel. Band centers are measured to better than 1nm for Bands 1 through 4 (0.75 to 3.82um) and better than 10nm for Bands 5 and 6 (3.82 to 5.0um). Out-of-band leakage is negligible for detectors above 1.64um and is present at the percent level below this wavelength. The resolving power is measured to within 5% and agrees with design expectations to within 10%. An on-sky spectrum of the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) constructed from repeated observations provides in-flight verification and shows agreement between ground calibrated response and astrophysical emission features. Calibration products, including per-pixel band center and resolving power maps, are released through IPAC to support community use of SPHEREx data. The absolute spectral calibration will continue to improve through in-flight measurements, with further reductions in uncertainty expected for the longest-wavelength bands.