Do Areas with More Primary Care Physicians have Lower Cardiovascular and Cancer Mortality?

"Winner at ACP MO Chapter 2019 (not peer-reviewed or edited by this Journal)""There are an estimated 647 000 deaths in the United states from cardiovascular disease (CVD) each year and 606 000 from cancer in 2019 [2,3] . Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention are all independent factors in reducing overall mortality among various diseases such as cancer and CVD. Primary care physicians (PCP) are generally the first point of contact between the patient and health care system and are in an optimal position to practice prevention through managing risk factors, detection, and appropriate use of specialists. According to the Association of American Medical colleges (AAMC), the United States would currently need an additional 95,000 doctors, including PCPs, if health care use patterns equalized across race, insurance coverage and geographic location which are also known individual risk factors for CVD and cancer mortality [4]. Hence, we hypothesize that varying degree of access to primary care physicians at county level in the United States can have an effect on the patterns of CVD and cancer mortality."--IntroductionSindhuja Palle, Annapoorna Singh, and Suveen Angraal, (Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Missouri)Includes bibliographical reference

Modeling a Coronal Mass Ejection as a Magnetized Structure with EUHFORIA

We studied an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME) that erupted on 2015 March 15. Our aim was to model the CME flux rope as a magnetized structure using the European Heliospheric Forecasting Information Asset (EUHFORIA). The flux rope from eruption data (FRED) output was applied to the EUHFORIA spheromak CME model. In addition to the geometrical properties of the CME flux rope, we needed to input the parameters that determine the CME internal magnetic field like the helicity, tilt angle, and toroidal flux of the CME flux rope. According to the FRED technique geometrical properties of the CME flux rope are obtained by applying a graduated cylindrical shell fitting of the CME flux rope on the coronagraph images. The poloidal field magnetic properties can be estimated from the reconnection flux in the source region utilizing the post-eruption arcade method, which uses the Heliospheric Magnetic Imager magnetogram together with the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) 193 angstrom images. We set up two EUHFORIA runs with RUN-1 using the toroidal flux obtained from the FRED technique and RUN-2 using the toroidal flux that was measured from the core dimming regions identified from the AIA 211 angstrom images. We found that the EUHFORIA simulation outputs from RUN-1 and RUN-2 are comparable to each other. Overall using the EUHFORIA spheromak model, we successfully obtained the magnetic field rotation of the flux rope, while the arrival time near Earth and the strength of the interplanetary CME magnetic field at Earth are not as accurately modeled.Peer reviewe

IoT Enabled Smart Fertilization and Irrigation Aid for Agricultural Purposes

Soil is of great importance to agriculture, especially the moisture and nutrients in the soil are the essential ingredients for growing plants and crops. Therefore, benefits and importance of a soil moisture and nutrient monitoring system in modern agriculture and gardening is undeniable. It can also be an interesting feature of an intelligent home or smart agriculture system using the internet of things (IoT) technology. This paper presents an IoT application in Arduino platform aiming to monitor the change in soil moisture and Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K) (NPK) value for an indoor plant using moisture sensors and optical transducers. Other functionalities and important features of this prototype include online data display infographic as user feedback, level-based nutrient classification for enabling proper type of fertilizer selection, hardware and e-mail notification of moisture and nutrients' easily accessible and user-friendly smartphone app

Evaluation of retinal nerve fibre layer, optic nerve head, and macular ganglion cell analysis measurements for early glaucoma detection using spectral domain optical coherence tomography

Background: Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. It is very important to diagnose glaucoma in early stages so that timely management can be done. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), is a newer device which helps to diagnose glaucoma early. The aim of our study was to evaluate the RNFL, ONH, and mGCA (GCL+IPL) measurements for early glaucoma detection using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).Methods: Total 30, POAG (primary open angle glaucoma) suspects were compared with 30 normal controls. The Cirrus HD-OCT optic disc cube 200 × 200 protocol was used to measure ONH, RNFL and macular parameters.Results: The average cpRNFL thickness of all quadrants was significantly lower in POAG suspects, (84.13±7.42 μm versus 103.85±8.95 μm, p<0.001). The superior GCL+IPL thickness of POAG suspects and controls was 75.75±2.60 μm and 80.05±1.74 μm, respectively, (p<0.001). The inferior GCL+IPL thickness of POAG suspects and controls was 75.98±2.59 μm and 80.00±1.79 μm, respectively, (p<0.001).Conclusions: The SD-OCT is an important device to diagnose POAG suspects, early. The GCA measurements and average RNFL (especially superior and inferior) measurements, both are equally good to discriminate between glaucoma suspects and normal controls

Multiple Recurrent De Novo CNVs, Including Duplications of the 7q11.23 Williams Syndrome Region, Are Strongly Associated with Autism

SummaryWe have undertaken a genome-wide analysis of rare copy-number variation (CNV) in 1124 autism spectrum disorder (ASD) families, each comprised of a single proband, unaffected parents, and, in most kindreds, an unaffected sibling. We find significant association of ASD with de novo duplications of 7q11.23, where the reciprocal deletion causes Williams-Beuren syndrome, characterized by a highly social personality. We identify rare recurrent de novo CNVs at five additional regions, including 16p13.2 (encompassing genes USP7 and C16orf72) and Cadherin 13, and implement a rigorous approach to evaluating the statistical significance of these observations. Overall, large de novo CNVs, particularly those encompassing multiple genes, confer substantial risks (OR = 5.6; CI = 2.6–12.0, p = 2.4 × 10-7). We estimate there are 130–234 ASD-related CNV regions in the human genome and present compelling evidence, based on cumulative data, for association of rare de novo events at 7q11.23, 15q11.2-13.1, 16p11.2, and Neurexin 1

Temporal and Latitudinal Variations in Ca-K Plage and Network Area: An Implication for Meridional Flows

The Ca-K spectroheliograms obtained at the Kodaikanal observatory are used to generate a uniform time series using the equal-contrast technique for studying the long- and short-term variations in the solar chromosphere. The percentages of plage, enhanced network, and active and quiet network areas at various latitudes is compared with the activity at 35° latitude and also with the sunspot number for the period of 1907–1984. The values of the phase differences indicate that the activity begins at ∼45° latitude and shifts progressively to a lower latitude at a speed of ∼9.4 m s ^−1 . The shift speed slows down gradually and reaches ∼3 m s ^−1 at ∼5° latitude. No phase difference between the variations of Ca-K activity at 55°, 65°, and 75° latitude belts implies that changes in the activity are happening simultaneously. The analysis shows that the activity at polar latitude belts is anticorrelated with the sunspot number. This study indicates that a multicell meridional flow pattern could exist in the latitude direction. One type of cell could transport the magnetic elements from mid- to low-latitude belts through meridional flows, and the other cell type could be operating in the polar region

Review of bimekizumab in the treatment of psoriasis

Bimekizumab, a selective interleukin (IL) 17 inhibitor, is an emerging systemic treatment for moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Although IL-19, IL-22, and IL-36 are implicated in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, IL-17 drives the activation of these interleukins and the formation of psoriatic plaques. This review assesses the efficacy, safety, and implications of bimekizumab in the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis. A review of literature was conducted using the PubMed repository in March 2022. Articles in English discussing the use of bimekizumab in the treatment of psoriasis were included. One phase II and four phase III trials were included. During clinical trials, bimekizumab was more efficacious, when compared to placebo, ustekinumab, adalimumab, and secukinumab in the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis. Bimekizumab is a promising, efficacious, and relatively tolerable emerging systemic treatment for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis

Are children attaining the minimum dietary diversity criteria in India? Evidence from National Family Health Survey-5

The feeding practices of infants and young children in the first two years of their lives are essential for their nutritional status. The lack of dietary variety poses a significant threat to children’s growth and development. Therefore, it is vital to study the dietary diversity among infants and young children in India to identify nutritional gaps, health risks, and factors that influence their diets. We analyzed data collected from 64,084 children in India through the National Family Health Survey5, based on a 24-hour recall. This study focused on the consumption patterns of food groups and their critical factors among infants and young children in India. We found that only 22.46 percent of children met the minimum dietary diversity requirement. From logistic regression analysis, we identified that age, gender, birth order, religion, nutrition access, and health conditions significantly affect children’s food intake. This study highlighted the significance of maternal education and female leadership in improving health and nutrition outcomes for children. Moreover, the study identified that the socio-economic, cultural, and regional determinants influencing dietary diversity enable the development of tailored strategies. These strategies can ensure equitable access to diverse and nutritious foods, irrespective of socioeconomic background or geographic location in India