Impacts of co‐payments for prescribed medicines on publicly‐insured children and older people in Ireland. ESRI Research Bulletin 202111 April 2021.

This bulletin examines the impact of the introduction, and subsequent increase in, prescription drug co-payments for medical cardholders in Ireland from October 2010, focusing on two population groups: children and older people

The effect of accessibility to GP services on healthcare utilisation among older people. ESRI Research Bulletin 2018/12

We investigated the impact of accessibility to General Practitioner (GP) services on the use of GP services among older people in Ireland. Older people use healthcare services more frequently and intensively than the population as a whole. However, having limited personal mobility or poorer access to transport may present significant obstacles for an older person trying to avail of healthcare services. Internationally, the World Health Organization raises awareness of the need for healthcare to be within physical reach of vulnerable or marginalised groups, with older people and residents of rural areas identified as ‘at risk’ populations

Increased risk of type 2 diabetes with ascending social class in urban South Indians is explained by obesity: The Chennai urban rural epidemiology study (CURES-116).

AIM: The aim of this study is to determine the factors responsible for differences in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in subjects of different social class in an urban South Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Analyses were based on the cross-sectional data from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study of 1989 individuals, aged ≥20 years. Entered in the analyses were information obtained by self-report on (1) household income; (2) family history of diabetes; (3) physical activity; (4) smoking status; (5) alcohol consumption. Biochemical, clinical and anthropometrical measurements were performed and included in the analyses. Social class was classified based on income as low (Rs. <2000) intermediate (Rs. 2000-5000`) and high (Rs. 5000-20000). RESULTS: The prevalence rates of DM were 12.0%, 18.4% and 21.7% in low, intermediate and high social class, respectively (P < 0.001). A significant increase in the risk of diabetes was found with ascending social class (Intermediate class: Odds ratio [OR], 1.7 [confidence interval [CI], 1.2-2.3]; High class: OR, 2.0 [CI-1.4-2.9]). The multivariable adjusted logistic regression analysis revealed that the effect of social class on the risk of diabetes remained significant (P = 0.016) when age, family history of diabetes and blood pressure were included. However, with the inclusion of abdominal obesity in the model, the significant effect of social class disappeared (P = 0.087). CONCLUSION: An increased prevalence of DM was found in the higher social class in this urban South Indian population, which is explained by obesity

Snakes of Telangana: An annotated checklist with new locality records and notes on natural history

With every growing human population and the resultant shrinkage of natural habitats, snakes are frequently encountered in and around human settlements, leading to widespread human-wildlife conflict. Conservation efforts involve rescue &amp; relocation of 'stray' snakes, to mitigate snakebites, human deaths &amp; snake mortality. We utilized snake rescue data of Friends of Snakes Society, Hyderabad, Telangana, recorded between the years 1995 and 2020, to present an annotated snake checklist for Telangana, along with their distribution. Further, opportunistic encounters and temporary captive care of the rescued species yielded significant insights into habitat preferences, dietary choices, aposematic responses, breeding cycles, etc., of various species of this region

Duloxetine hydro­chloride

The title compound [systematic name: N-methyl-3-(1-naphth­yloxy)-3-(2-thien­yl)propan-1-aminium chloride], C18H20NOS+·Cl−, was crystallized from 1,4-dioxane. Twofold rotational disorder exhibited by the thio­phene ring in a 0.580 (5):0.420 (5) ratio represents two different conformations of the mol­ecule that exist in the same crystal form. The crystal structure contains strong N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds

Delivery of alcohol advice to dental patients

• Alcohol harms have significant health, social and economic costs in Scotland• Alcohol is a major risk factor for oral and throat cancers• Dental Professionals (DPs) are ideally placed to screen their patients’ alcohol consumption and provide brief advice to those who may have an increased risk of cancer• Many DPs in the UK are reluctant to deliver alcohol advice to patient

Modelling and detecting tumour oxygenation levels.

Tumours that are low in oxygen (hypoxic) tend to be more aggressive and respond less well to treatment. Knowing the spatial distribution of oxygen within a tumour could therefore play an important role in treatment planning, enabling treatment to be targeted in such a way that higher doses of radiation are given to the more radioresistant tissue. Mapping the spatial distribution of oxygen in vivo is difficult. Radioactive tracers that are sensitive to different levels of oxygen are under development and in the early stages of clinical use. The concentration of these tracer chemicals can be detected via positron emission tomography resulting in a time dependent concentration profile known as a tissue activity curve (TAC). Pharmaco-kinetic models have then been used to deduce oxygen concentration from TACs. Some such models have included the fact that the spatial distribution of oxygen is often highly inhomogeneous and some have not. We show that the oxygen distribution has little impact on the form of a TAC; it is only the mean oxygen concentration that matters. This has significant consequences both in terms of the computational power needed, and in the amount of information that can be deduced from TACs

Superfluid current through a dissipative quantum point contact

We measure superfluid transport of strongly-interacting fermionic lithium atoms through a quantum point contact with local, spin-dependent particle loss. We observe that the characteristic non-Ohmic superfluid transport enabled by high-order multiple Andreev reflections survives even at dissipation strength greater than the superfluid gap. We develop a model with mean-field reservoirs connected via tunneling to a dissipative site. Our calculations in the Keldysh formalism reproduce the observed non-equilibrium particle current, yet do not fully explain the observed loss rate or spin current

Physical activity patterns and gestational diabetes outcomes – The wings project

AbstractObjectiveTo compare physical activity (PA) patterns in pregnant woman with and without gestational diabetes (GDM) and to assess the effects of an exercise intervention on change in PA patterns, blood glucose levels and pregnancy outcomes in GDM women.MethodsFor the first objective, PA patterns were studied in 795 pregnant women with and without GDM. For the second objective, the Women in India with Gestational Diabetes Strategy-Model of Care (WINGS-MOC) intervention were evaluated in 151 women out of 189 with GDM. PA was assessed using a validated questionnaire and a pedometer. Changes in PA patterns, glycemic parameters and neonatal outcomes were evaluated.ResultsOverall, only 10% of pregnant women performed recommended levels of PA. Women with GDM were significantly more sedentary compared to those without GDM (86.2 vs. 61.2%, p<0.001). After the MOC was implemented in women with GDM, there was a significant improvement in PA and a decrease in sedentary behaviour amongst women (before MOC, moderate activity: 15.2%, sedentary: 84.8% vs. after MOC-moderate: 26.5%, sedentary: 73.5%; p<0.001), and an increase in their daily step count from 2206/day to 2476/day (p<0.001). Fasting 1 and 2-h postprandial glucose values significantly decreased (p<0.001 for all). Sedentary behaviour was associated with a fourfold higher risk (p=0.02), and recreational walking with 70% decreased risk, of adverse neonatal outcomes (p=0.04) after adjusting for potential confounders.ConclusionsPA levels are inadequate amongst this group of pregnant women studied i.e. those with and without GDM. However, a low-cost, culturally appropriate MOC can bring about significant improvements in PA in women with GDM. These changes are associated with improved glycemic control and reduction in adverse neonatal outcomes