Examining the Efficacy of Five Lactobacillus Species in Treating and Preventing Atopic Dermatitis: A Systemic Literature Review.

Probiotics have garnered increasing attention, particularly within the realm of atopic dermatitis (AD). Although classified as dietary supplements by the Food and Drug Administration, probiotics are being explored for their potential to modify immune system responses and aid in disease recovery. This review aims to provide a current understanding of probiotics, specifically various lactobacilli strains, as a therapeutic option in preventing and treating AD.

Topical Iron Chelator Therapy: Current Status and Future Prospects.

Systemic iron chelation therapy has long been used for iron overload, providing a role in returning iron levels to proper homeostatic concentrations. Recently, topical iron chelation therapy has emerged as a potential strategy for treating skin damage. This narrative review explores the current status and future prospects of topical iron chelation therapy for treating ultraviolet (UV) and non-UV skin damage, as well as its potential application in wound healing.

Co-occurrence of glioma and multiple sclerosis: Prevailing theories and emerging therapies.

Though the concurrence of primary brain tumors and multiple sclerosis (MS) is exceedingly rare, instances have been noted in the literature as early as 1949. Given these observations, researchers have proposed various ideas as to how these malignancies may be linked to MS. Due to insufficient data, none have gained traction or been widely accepted amongst neurologists or neuro-oncologists.

Compartment Syndrome Secondary to Calcium Gluconate Extravasation.

This case report highlights a rare yet severe complication of calcium gluconate extravasation, namely, compartment syndrome. We present the case of an 86-year-old female who developed compartment syndrome following an extravasation of intravenously administered calcium gluconate for the management of hyperkalemia. Initially, mild erythema and edema were observed at the site of extravasation, which eventually progressed to severe pain, a reduction in the joint range of motion due to increased compartment pressure.

Underlying Immune Mechanisms Involved in Cow's Milk-Induced Hypersensitivity Reactions Manifesting as Atopic Dermatitis.

Of the many symptoms associated with cow's milk allergy (CMA), many populations face the burden of the appearance or worsening of atopic dermatitis (AD) when consuming milk products. Due to the prevalence and possible severity of symptoms, it is important to understand the underlying immune mechanisms involved in such reactions. Hypersensitivity reactions are exaggerated immune responses to often benign antigens, many times resulting in a cascade of pro-inflammatory processes.

Diagnosing Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma With Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography: A Literature Review of Research in Europe and Asia.

The National Cancer Institute names pancreatic cancer the 11 most common type of cancer in the United States. However, even with a somewhat low prevalence, in 2017, the American Cancer Society reported pancreatic cancer as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death. With a lack of symptomology and a broad range of risk factors, pancreatic cancer is frequently diagnosed in a later phase than many other types of cancers, thus resulting in higher metastasis along with a poorer prognosis.

Who Visits Relatives in Nursing Homes? Predictors of at Least Weekly Visiting.

Objectives: Within the context of a single study, assess the relative importance of the 6 factors identified in a 2019 systematic review as associated with the likelihood that family members will visit nursing home residents.

Design: Retrospective statistical analysis of an existing survey data set.

Settings And Participants: A national survey conducted with 4350 relatives of long-term nursing home residents.

Families' and Residents' Perspectives of the Quality of Nursing Home Care: Implications for Composite Quality Measures.

Objectives: To assess (1) the relationship of consumers' assessment of overall nursing home quality to their assessment of specific dimensions of quality; and (2) the implications of this relationship for composite quality measures in Nursing Home Compare.

Design: A survey conducted in 2017 elicited respondents' assessments of the quality of overall care and 13 specific dimensions of care.

Settings And Participants: The sample consisted of 4449 respondents who either resided in a nursing home or had a family member who resided in a nursing home during the 6 months before the survey.

Going the Extra Mile? How Provider Network Design Increases Consumer Travel Distance, Particularly for Rural Consumers.

Context: The practical accessibility to medical care facilitated by health insurance plans depends not just on the number of providers within their networks but also on distances consumers must travel to reach the providers. Long travel distances inconvenience almost all consumers and may substantially reduce choice and access to providers for some.

Methods: The authors assess mean and median travel distances to cardiac surgeons and pediatricians for participants in (1) plans offered through Covered California, (2) comparable commercial plans, and (3) unrestricted open-network plans.

Comparison of Consumer Rankings With Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Five-Star Rankings of Nursing Homes.

Importance: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Five-Star measure for nursing homes is designed with input from expert panels about the importance of multiple quality indicators. Consumers may assign different values to these indicators, creating different 5-star ratings.

Objective: To compare nursing homes' rankings based on the CMS Five-Star measure with rankings based on consumers' judgment about the importance of the same quality indicators.

Net Benefits of Recovery High Schools: Higher Cost but Increased Sobriety and Educational Attainment.

Background: Recovery high schools (RHS) provide a supportive educational and therapeutic environment for students subsequent to treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs). Most students served by RHSs have concurrent mental health disorders and are at risk for school failure or dropout and substance use relapse.

Aims Of The Study: The central question addressed is whether RHSs are economically efficient alternatives to other high school settings for students in recovery.

A Consumer-Centric Approach To Network Adequacy: Access To Four Specialties In California's Marketplace.

We assessed the effect of provider networks on access to four medical specialties for Affordable Care Act Marketplace enrollees in California. Our approach incorporated a crucial consumer-focused attribute, travel distance, and identified the restrictions on provider access resulting from network design. Our analysis indicated that Marketplace plan networks are narrower than their commercial plan counterparts and feature just over half as many providers.

A Knotty Problem: Consumer Access and the Regulation of Provider Networks.

In order to increase access to medical services, expanding coverage has long been the preferred solution of policy makers and advocates alike. The calculus appeared straightforward: provide individuals with insurance, and they will be able to see a provider when needed. However, this line of thinking overlooks a crucial intermediary step: provider networks.

Using contingent valuation to develop consumer-based weights for health quality report cards.

Objective: The current 5-Star composite measure for nursing homes uses expert-driven weights to combine elements of quality into a single score. We assessed the feasibility of using the contingent valuation method (CVM) to derive consumers' preference-based weights for the Nursing Home Compare report card as a potential alternative approach.

Data Sources: Survey of 4310 adults with nursing home experience (residents or family members of a resident) administered between September 25 and October 9, 2017.

Correlations Between the Thermosphere's Semiannual Density Variations and Infrared Emissions Measured With the SABER Instrument.

This paper presents measurements of the amplitudes and timings of the combined, annual, and semiannual variations of thermospheric neutral density, and a comparison of these density variations with measurements of the infrared emissions from carbon dioxide and nitric oxide in the thermosphere. The density values were obtained from measurements of the atmospheric drag experienced by the Challenging Minisatellite Payload, Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment A, Gravity field and Ocean Circulation Explorer, and three Swarm satellites, while the optical emissions were measured with the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument on the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics satellite. These data span a time period of 16 years.

Examination of the New Short-Stay Nursing Home Quality Measures: Rehospitalizations, Emergency Department Visits, and Successful Returns to the Community.

In 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced 3 new quality measures (QMs) to its report card, Nursing Home Compare (NHC). These measures-rehospitalizations, emergency department visits, and successful discharges to the community-focus on short-stay residents. We offer a first analysis of nursing homes' performance in terms of these new measures.

Hospital Discharge and Selecting a Skilled Nursing Facility: A Comparison of Experiences and Perspectives of Patients and Their Families.

Purpose Of Study: A currently proposed rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would require providers to devote more resources to discharge planning from hospitals to ensure the prioritization of patient preferences and goals in the discharge planning process. Annually, more than 3 million persons enter a nursing home in the United States, with the vast majority of patients coming directly from hospitals. Although early evidence suggests more family involvement than patient involvement in the discharge process, most of this work has relied on retrospective reports of the decision-making process postplacement.

Personalizing Nursing Home Compare and the Discharge from Hospitals to Nursing Homes.

Objective: To test whether use of a personalized report card, Nursing Home Compare Plus (NHCPlus), embedded in a reengineered discharge process, can lead to better outcomes than the usual discharge process from hospitals to nursing homes.

Data Sources/setting: Primary data collected in the Departments of Medicine and Surgery at a University Medical Center between March 2014 and August 2015.

Study Design: A randomized controlled trial in which patients in the intervention group were given NHCPlus.

Secret Shoppers Find Access To Providers And Network Accuracy Lacking For Those In Marketplace And Commercial Plans.

The adequacy of provider networks for plans sold through insurance Marketplaces established under the Affordable Care Act has received much scrutiny recently. Various studies have established that networks are generally narrow. To learn more about network adequacy and access to care, we investigated two questions.

Substance Use Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Among Medicaid Patients in Wisconsin: Impacts on Healthcare Utilization and Costs.

Unhealthy substance use in the USA results in significant mortality and morbidity. This study measured the effectiveness of paraprofessional-administered substance use screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) services on subsequent healthcare utilization and costs. The pre-post with comparison group study design used a population-based sample of Medicaid patients 18-64 years receiving healthcare services from 33 clinics in Wisconsin.

When Patients Customize Nursing Home Ratings, Choices And Rankings Differ From The Government's Version.

Report cards currently published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) offer composite (summary) quality measures based on a five-star ratings system, such as the one featured on the Nursing Home Compare website. These ratings are "one size fits all patients" measures. Nursing Home Compare Plus is an alternative that allows patients and their families to create their own composite scores based on their own preferences and medical needs.

Rationale and study protocol for the Nursing Home Compare Plus (NHCPlus) randomized controlled trial: A personalized decision aid for patients transitioning from the hospital to a skilled-nursing facility.

Background: Annually more than 3 million people are admitted to one of the 15,965 skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in the United States, with 90% of admissions occurring from a hospital. Although the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes several internet-based report cards, including one for nursing homes (Nursing Home Compare, NHC), they are not widely used. This is due, in part, to the complexity of the information available and the fact that the choice of nursing homes is typically made while in the hospital without access to the web-based NHC.

Quantitative maps of geomagnetic perturbation vectors during substorm onset and recovery.

Unlabelled: We have produced the first series of spherical harmonic, numerical maps of the time-dependent surface perturbations in the Earth's magnetic field following the onset of substorms. Data from 124 ground magnetometer stations in the Northern Hemisphere at geomagnetic latitudes above 33° were used. Ground station data averaged over 5 min intervals covering 8 years (1998-2005) were used to construct pseudo auroral upper, auroral lower, and auroral electrojet (*, *, and *) indices.

High correlations between temperature and nitric oxide in the thermosphere.

Obtaining accurate predictions of the neutral density in the thermosphere has been a long-standing problem. During geomagnetic storms the auroral heating in the polar ionospheres quickly raises the temperature of the thermosphere, resulting in higher neutral densities that exert a greater drag force on objects in low Earth orbit. Rapid increases and decreases in the temperature and density may occur within a couple days.