Retraction: The Consequences of COVID-19 on Breast Cancer Screenings in an Underserved Urban Population and the Screening Access of Value for Essex Program's Efforts to Control the Damage.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.7759/cureus.42338.].

Evaluating Health Disparities in Radiology Practices in New Jersey: Exploring Radiologist Geographical Distribution.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine if a disproportionate number of radiologists practice in high-income versus low-income counties in New Jersey (NJ), identify which vulnerable populations are most in need of more radiologists, and discuss how these relative differences can ultimately influence health outcomes. METHODS: The NJ Health Care Profile, a database overseen and maintained by the Division of Consumer Affairs, was queried for all actively practicing radiologists within the state of NJ. These results were grouped into diagnostic and interventional radiologists followed by further stratification of physicians based on the counties where they currently practice. The median household income and population size of each county for 2021 were obtained from the US Census database. The ratio of the population size of each county over the number of radiologists in that county was used as a surrogate marker for disparities in patient care within the state and was compared between counties grouped by levels of income. RESULTS: Of the 1,186 board-certified radiologists actively practicing within the state of NJ, 86% are solely diagnostic radiologists and 14% are interventional radiologists. About 44% of radiologists practice within counties that are within the top one-third of median household income in NJ, 25% practice within counties in the middle one-third, and 31% practice within counties in the bottom one-third. CONCLUSIONS: There is a disproportionate number of radiologists practicing in high-income counties as opposed to lower-income counties. A contradiction to this trend was noted in three low-income counties: Essex, Camden, and Atlantic County, all of which exhibited low numbers of individuals per radiologist that rivaled those of higher-income counties. This finding is a concrete measure of successful radiologist recruitment efforts within these counties during the past few years to combat the increased prevalence of disease and associated complications that historically marginalized communities tend to disproportionately exhibit. Other low-income counties should look to what Essex, Camden, and Atlantic County have done to increase radiologist recruitment to levels that rival those of high-income areas.

The Consequences of COVID-19 on Breast Cancer Screenings in an Underserved Urban Population and the Screening Access of Value for Essex Program's Efforts to Control the Damage.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer screening in an underserved population, identify patient barriers, and discuss strategies to promote the importance of screening. Methods/operations: The Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Screening Access of Value for Essex (SAVE) program delivers cancer prevention services to the most vulnerable population in Essex County, New Jersey. The SAVE program was shut down from March 2020 to June 2020 due to COVID-19. The number of mammograms performed 18 months before the pandemic (September 2018 to March 2020) and 18 months after the shutdown of the program (July 2020 to December 2021) were recorded. A calling project was created in response to the pandemic to educate patients about COVID-19 precautions and provide healthcare and social services resources. RESULTS: There was a 15.4% reduction in screening mammograms during the post-shutdown period (1,459 pre-COVID-19 versus 1,234 post-shutdown). The number of diagnostic mammograms increased from 264 to 272. The calling project spoke with 1,548 patients and identified the following concerns: exposure to COVID-19, language barriers, and lack of health insurance. CONCLUSION: Although COVID-19 had a profound impact on most patients, especially in the realm of breast cancer screening, the implementation of the SAVE program's strategies such as transitioning to an appointment-only system has helped minimize the negative impacts. Reaching out to the patients, partnering with community organizations, and promoting SAVE services have played a vital role in encouraging more patients to have screening done.

Double Aortic Arch in an Asymptomatic Adult.

We present a rare double aortic arch (DAA) diagnosis incidentally on CT in a 60-year-old male who presented with pneumonia. DAA is a vascular ring that typically manifests in infants or children due to compression of the esophagus or trachea, resulting in dysphagia or dyspnea. Diagnosis of DAA in adulthood is usually due to the delayed emergence of obstructive symptoms. We present a case of DAA in an adult patient without dysphagia or dyspnea. We discuss factors that can lead to the presentation of DAA in adults. These include an absence of associated congenital disabilities, insufficient tracheal or esophageal constriction in childhood and the onset of compressive symptoms later in life from decreased vascular compliance.

Impact of The Daily Plan on Length of Stay and Readmission.

The Veterans Health Administration implemented The Daily Plan (TDP) to improve patient safety. We compared length of stay and readmission between intervention and control units. Length of stay decreased for both groups. Readmission rates increased for controls (21.3%-25.0%, P = .02) and barely changed for TDP units (21.7%-22.5%, P = .37). Although there were no efficiency improvements, TDP's ultimate goal was safety. Not all patient safety actions improve efficiency; nonetheless, their value continues.

Ion-assisted sputtering deposition of antireflection film coating for flexible liquid-crystal display applications.

The optical properties and surface morphologies of sputtering films both without and with use of the ion-assisted deposition (IAD) technique are investigated and compared. Optimal antireflection (AR) coating films with SiO2/Nb2O5 layers, which are grown at 80 degrees C with a 15 cm distance between target and substrate, 55 SCCM oxygen flow (SCCM denotes cubic centimeters per minute at STP), and 1250 W magnetron sputtering power with use of the IAD technique, are used to study the optical performance. By using an atomic force microscope to investigate the surface of the sputtered Nb2O5 films, we find that the films' roughness is 0.185 nm. On a flexible hardness polycarbonate (HPC) substrate with the multilayer AR films, the peak transmittances measured in the visible range are 95.89% and 93.40%, respectively, for coatings with and without use of the IAD sputtering technology. These results are better than those measured with a bare HPC substrate (91.25%) and are well above the commercial liquid-crystal display standard (90%) and flexible application.