The burden of childhood atopic dermatitis in the primary care setting: a report from the Meta-LARC Consortium

Background: Little is known about the burden of AD encountered in U.S. primary care practices and the frequency and type of skin care practices routinely used in children. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of AD and allergic comorbidities in children 0-5 years attending primary care practices in the U.S. and to describe routine skin care practices used in this population. Design: A cross-sectional survey study of a convenience sample of children under the age of 5 attending primary care practices for any reason. Setting: Ten primary care practices in five U.S. states.Results: Amongst 652 children attending primary care practices, the estimated prevalence of ever having AD was 24 % (95% CI= 21-28) ranging from 15% among those under the age of one to 38% among those aged 4- 5 years. The prevalence of comorbid asthma was higher among AD participants compared to those with no AD, 12% and 4%, respectively (p less than 0.001). Moisturizers with high water:oil ratios were most commonly used (i.e., lotions) in the non-AD population, whereas moisturizers with low water:oil content (i.e. ointments) most common when AD was present. Conclusions: Our study found a large burden of AD in the primary care practice setting in the U.S. The majority of households reported skin care practices in children without AD that may be detrimental to the skin barrier such as frequent bathing and the routine use of moisturizers with high water: oil ratios. Clinical trials are needed to identify which skin care practices are optimal for reducing the significant risk of AD in the community

Mapping of diatom indices by remote sensing to evaluate the Um El-Naaj Marshes' water quality

This study was conducted to evaluate the water quality of the Um El-Naaj Marshes using the community of diatoms bioindicator and mapping them by remote sensing data. From November 2018 to April 2019, epiphytic diatoms were collected from host aquatic plants of Zannichllia palustnia from six sites in the Um El-Naaj Marshes.  According to the results, the Diatom Index (DI) ranged from 3.5 in autumn 2018 to 2.4 in summer 2019, i.e in sites 3 and 2, respectively. The index of trophic diatoms (TDI) for the majority of study sites showed the mesotrophic state ranged from 47.5 to 62.5 in all seasons. Except for site 2, which had the lowest value (35) in the summer of 2019, and station 3 which had a greater value than 60 in the Autumn of 2018 and spring of 2019, other sites had oligo-mesotrophic states. The general diatomic index (GDI) values showed the lowest value (9.6) at site 2 in the summer of 2019 and the greatest value (14.4) at site 3 in the spring of 2019. In addition, in the current study, maps were produced using remote sensing methods to visualize the values close to the studied sites to show the quality state of the whole marsh