Asthma and autoimmune diseases apparently have little to share except for the involvement of the immune system in both types of disorder. However, epidemiological studies have shown that asthma and Type 1 diabetes, a typical autoimmune disease, are associated at the population level, and some experimental findings have suggested that autoimmune mechanisms might be operating in asthma as well. Female preponderance, increased incidence of antinuclear autoantibodies and detection of autoantibodies against either bronchial epithelial antigens or endothelial antigens in patients with nonallergic asthma suggest that the disease may have an autoimmune basis. Approximately 50% of patients with nonallergic asthma react to intradermal injection of autologous serum, indicating the presence of circulating vasoactive factors and suggesting an autoreactive mechanism. Recent findings in experimental animals support the involvement of an autoreactive mechanism in allergic asthma as well, indicating that human alpha-nascent polypeptide-associated complex, identified as an IgE-reactive autoantigen, has the potential to sensitize and induce immediate skin reactions and airway inflammation. In summary, asthma is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by chronic inflammation of the respiratory airways that can be triggered by allergen exposure or by other mechanisms, possibly autoreactive/autoimmune. The autoimmune hypothesis is further, indirectly, supported by the response to immunosuppressive drugs.

Recent research clarified that mast cells are controlled by their internal clock—which is regulated by a specific set of clock genes—as well as external factors such as light sensed by the suprachiasmatic nuclei, hormonal status, or diet.

U.S. physicians who use EHRs spend an average of 1.84 hours a day completing documentation outside work hours, according to a research published March 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The researchers analyzed responses to the 2019 National Electronic Health Records survey to learn more about the documentation burden being borne by physicians. Their findings represent 301,603 physicians across the U.S.

Here are five more notable findings from the research:

Nearly 33 percent of physicians spend two hours or more completing documentation outside work hours daily.

Forty-one percent of physicians agreed the time they spend completing documentation is appropriate, whereas 58 percent disagreed.

Fifty-seven percent of physicians said time spent documenting reduces the time they can spend with their patients, while 43 percent said it does not reduce their time with patients.

Eighty-five percent of physicians agreed that documentation done solely for billing increases their total documentation time, whereas 15 percent disagreed.

The researchers estimate physicians spent a total of 125 million hours completing documentation outside work hours in 2019.

The Ford and Rockefeller foundations funded “population control” programs that went horrifically awry.

Hardin was wrong. There was not a tragedy of overuse. The Commons were dismantled by the state to make room for the formal economy and higher income user groups. I revisit the history of the Commons as a central, planned space in cities in order to ask two main questions. First, what role did the Commons play for cities and how is its lost felt? Second, how might planning reintroduce the Commons? In response, this research builds a functional theory of self-sufficiency at multiple scales of governance based on the opportunities of the Commons. The conclusion charts an urgent agenda for planning practice during a global population phase shift as cities increasingly house a greater proportion of humanity.