Lina Mohamed-Assignment 8

Lina Mohamed                                                                              Professor Kowach

MHC Writing Assignment 8

How Much Money the U.S. spends on Pharmaceuticals

The United States leads the world in spending on drugs. Our nation revolves around medication because we have been brainwashed into believing that man-made drugs are the only option. Every time we visit the doctors, we are prescribed pill after pill without considering natural alternatives or physical solutions. The United States spends about $1,000 per person per year on pharmaceuticals. This number is about 40% more than the next higher spender, Canada. And more than twice as countries like France and Germany.¹ Growth in spending on pharmaceuticals is slowing but it needs to be lowered drastically to ensure that the U.S. inhabitants are getting the healthiest care from health care providers.

Revenue is a big part of why our pharmaceutical companies are politicized. However, people need to realize that we can make money off of advertising and selling homeopathic or physical remedies. These natural alternatives are never advertised in the U.S. All that is seen on television and other devices is man-made drugs.

Figure 1: Spending on drugs in certain countries, with the U.S. leading. (PBS)

The Unites States is one of only two countries that has legalized the diretct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisement of drugs. That is how dangerous this strategy is because it is extremely effective. As Dr. Mercola said:

Mood swings, weight gain, joint pain, tummy problems―you name the ailment, there’s a pill for it. And you, the American consumer, are helping Big Pharma sell it. Don’t believe it? Well, it’s happening right before your eyes, and believe it or not, the United States is one of only two countries in the world that allows this to happen. ²

It is a disgusting and immoral way to bring in revenue but it definitely works. The House Commerce Committee found that every $1,000 spent on drugs ads produced 24 new patients. If advertisements did not work, the drug companies would have abandoned them a long time ago. 40-50% of people go to their doctors to ask about a certain drug they saw an advertisement for. ²

References:

1-Paris, V., OECD (2014) Why Do Americans Spend So Much On Pharmaceuticals? PBS Newshour. Retrieved from:

 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/americans-spend-much-pharmaceuticals/

2-Dr. Mercola (2012) So Inherently Dangerous that Only Two Countries in the World Have Legalized This and the U.S. Is One of Them. Mercola.com, Retrieved from:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/07/16/drug-companies-ads-dangers.aspx

-Deepak, C., M.D. (2002) Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide (2nd Edition) Retrieved from Google Scholars: https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=OyrhatOdk9gC&oi=fnd&pg=PA270&dq=natural+alternatives+to+painkillers&ots=68fhOAE58y&sig=-malo2jqTO8ylS5N_CVlAN-PFSo#v=onepage&q=natural%20alternatives%20to%20painkillers&f=false

– Berndt, Ernst R. (2002) Pharmaceuticals in U.S. Health Care: Determinants of Quantity and Price. American Economic Association.

-(Weeks, 2016). Harvard Study Has Good News for Homeopathic Medicine. Integrative Practitioner.

– Desmon, Stephanie. (2013, n. pg.) Politicization of Health Care Preventing Real Changes to Out-Of-Control System, Researchers Suggest. John Hopkins Medicine. Retrieved from Google Scholar:

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/politicization_of_health_care_preventing_real_changes_to_out_of_control_system_researchers_suggest

Into the Life of a Pro Gamer

Being a professional gamer is, in many ways, similar to being a professional athlete. As a reminder, to succeed in a video game at the professional level requires use of strategies that need to be adjusted on the fly. This type of analysis is called eSports analytics. “We formally define eSports analytics as: the process of using eSports related data, primarily behavioural telemetry but also other sources, to find meaningful patterns and trends in said data, and the communication of these patterns using visualization techniques to assist with decision‐making processes” (Schubert, 2016). In fact, “Today, most professional teams employ analysts to observe opponents and discover their tendencies and strategies, develop counter‐ strategies etc., similar to analysts working in physical sports” (Schubert, 2016). Analysts and coaching staff are a necessity in professional gaming, as they can analyze team-wide mistakes from a spectator’s perspective in an attempt to fix them, as well as scout the opponent’s team mistakes in an attempt to exploit them.

Figure 1: Statistics on the prize pool of several eSports tournaments (Breslau, 2014)

With the case of any competition, winning is the ultimate objective. In the case of eSports, nothing is different. As shown in Figure 1, the prize pool of eSports tournaments is increasing with every passing year. Winning is great for teams as they get money and sponsors, which gives more money. Money can be used it to keep or acquire better players, coaching staff, equipment, etc.

Professional gaming is a serious commitment and job. Pro gamers do have salaries and they can earn quite a bit off sponsors. In the case of League of Legends, the League Championship Series (LCS) is the name for its official competitive scene. “Under the 2013 LCS League Rules, players received a minimum salary of $12,500 from Riot for a ten-week season, with the opportunity to earn prize money in the playoffs. Players can also receive additional compensation from their teams for producing game-related content, merchandise sales, and streaming their screens to online audiences… Incorporating these various revenue sources, one team manager recently estimated that professional LoL players can make anywhere from $30,000 to well above $300,000 annually” (Fisher, 2014). Professional gamers are by no means less well-off than a middle class worker.

As mentioned above, professional gamers also have the opportunity to “stream” their screens to online audiences. Live-streaming means to transmit live audio and footage of yourself playing the game to an online audience. It allows “fans to follow tournaments and their favourite players online… Watching your favourite player talk you through their game is a unique attraction of eSports, says Aiken. ‘If you had Usain Bolt giving an analysis of his own race people would love that,’ he says” (Heaven, 2014). During live-streams, there is a chat box that allows for fan interaction during games. This allows for some of the best pro-to-fan interaction in all of sports. Live-streaming is insanely popular among fans and professional gamers too. “Many of these players have extremely high viewer bases, even while no professional tournament is currently running. For example, it is not unusual for some streamers of a game called League of Legends to have over 30,000 concurrent viewers at any one point in time” (Hope, 2014). Because of such high viewer counts, live-streaming can be a great way to make extra money because of ad-revenue. In this case, both the player and audience win, because the player makes money, and the audience gets free entertainment.

References

Breslau, R. (2014, April 2). Report: More than 70 million people watch eSports worldwide.

Fisher, S. D. (2014, January 30). The Rise of eSports League of Legends Article Series. Foster Pepper.

Heaven, D. (2014, August 16). Rise and rise of esports. New Scientist, 223(2982), 17.

Hope, A. (2014). The Evolution of the Electronic Sports Entertainment Industry and its Popularity.

Schubert, M., Drachen, A., & Mahlmann, T. (2016, February). Esports Analytics Through Encounter Detection. MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

Evolution of Mass Communication in the 21st Century

In discussing the different media through which advertisers broadcast their message, it is important to realize exactly how mass communication in conducted with the dawn of digital technology. The advanced technologies that we now have access to have created a limitless ability to send and interpret information in easier and more coherent ways than ever before. Take for instance education television; toddlers are now able to absorb and learn basic science concepts more effectively than in a traditional classroom setting (Shafer, 202). Additionally, mass communication is highly influential on the development of personality traits and cultural norms in everyday people. When observing young children, it was found that exposure to violent films increased aggressive behavior and imitate of content viewed than those who had not (Dickens, 218).

Figure 1. Preferred news sources for presidential campaign coverage.

An interesting point to note about mass communication is that it tends to lean towards a representation of hyper-reality. What this means is that actual events may be embellished with hyperbole and exaggerated details in order to shock and retain an audience and consequentially generate more revenue for the companies producing said content (McQuail, 97). Moreover, the content produced for mass communication is edited and crafted by the administrative leaders in order to manufacture a certain message. These companies are working on tight deadlines and budgets, and therefore assign their own league of “experts” to selectively choose content to produce for the masses (Holz, 196). The motivation by the mechanics behind mass communication is simply to attract both the attention and the capital found in a national audience. This is why the media has come under very heavy scrutiny as of late because of its focus on buzzworthy, sensationalist news rather than value-neutral, factual truth.

As a result, mass communication experts have now drawn to push for an emphasis on the regulation of media companies. Since self-regulation is the system currently in place for producers for media, the notion is that it is up to both the public and the government to call out incorrect news and provide checks for abusive media practices (Phenix, 17). While it is easy to immediately trust the news being communicated to you through the television screen, the reality is that we must be vigilant in how we interpret the information given to us and understand the influence mass communication has on our views on all issues and general practices in everyday life.

Works Cited:

• Shafer, Robert E. “Mass Communication.” Review of Educational Research, vol. 31, no. 2, 1961, pp. 197–207. www.jstor.org/stable/1169140.
• Dickens, Milton, and Frederick Williams. “Mass Communication.” Review of Educational Research, vol. 34, no. 2, 1964, pp. 211–221. www.jstor.org/stable/1169758.
• McQuail, Denis. “Sociology of Mass Communication.” Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 11, 1985, pp. 93–111. www.jstor.org/stable/2083287.
• Holz, Josephine R., and Charles R. Wright. “Sociology of Mass Communications.” Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 5, 1979, pp. 193–217. www.jstor.org/stable/2945953.
• Phenix, Philip H. “Education and Mass Communications.” The Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 43, no. 1, 1961, pp. 15–19. www.jstor.org/stable/20342657.

Analyzing and Interpreting Genome Sequences

Finding mutations for genetic disorders involves not only the study of genes and their modes of inheritance but the cooperation of the scientific community and the way genomic data is collected and sequenced. Communication between scientific communities is crucial to the propelling understanding of genetic disorders. The genome is universal so gene expressions and mutations in a few individuals can give information about certain genes that are found in all humans.

Figure 1- Timeline of genomic sequencing in non-vertebrates

Source: Lander, ES. Initial sequencing and analyzing of the human genome. Nature 2001.

Genomic sequencing of non-vertebrates such as humans and mice, as shown in Figure 1, has been paramount in learning more about genes.  Since the human genome sequencing was completed, researchers have worked to sequence exons, which are DNA sequences that code for proteins (Lyon 2012). This is called exome sequencing, short for “a set of exons in a genome” (Ng 2008). Sequencing genomes were very expensive initially. Work in that field was tied down by costs. As technology improved, a way to sequence genomes cheaply was found in 2007, making the field exome sequencing easier to research (Albert 2007).   In 2008, the causes for syndromes such as Bartter syndrome were found through exome sequencing (Choi 2009). Genome and exome sequencing became more available through companies founded with the goals of sequencing them at low costs. Genome or exome sequencing are used to find genetic causes of disorders such as diabetes and autism, to diagnose patients, and to study pedigrees (Bonnefond 2010, Hedges 2009).

Unfortunately, exome sequencing cannot be used to learn about all genetic disorders. Some disorders are caused by mutations in the non-coding regions of DNA (Cartault 2012). It is estimated that genetic causes are found in only 10% to 50% of cases by exome sequencing, but it is difficult to tell because most researchers that fail to find a genetic cause through exome sequencing do not publish that they failed (Lyon 2012).

Genome sequencing is more readily available, but there is a tremendous amount of data that needs to be analyzed and interpreted. The field of bioinformatics deals with analyzing and interpreting genomic data. Current technology such as software tools should be improved to aid in sequencing these data. Software tools have limited ability because they can only analyze one type of data that came from one type of experiment for sequencing (Lyon 2012). However, there is not enough support to improve these tools. As a result, a genome sequence that costs $1,000 is in reality much more expensive (Lyon 2012). Analyzing the sequence will cost $20,000 to $100,000 (McPherson 2009). The astronomical cost caused those working in genomics to seek better technology so newer software programs were released (Lyon 2012). The problem still remains, however, that larger amounts of data need to be analyzed more quickly and accurately with practical costs.

There is a more practical way of analyzing and interpreting genomic data. Instead of each individual or team analyzing an entire genome, several groups can analyze one genome and share data with each other. In addition, genomic data and its analyses can be made available to the entire scientific community to spread knowledge. Collaboration in the scientific community has produced amazing results in the past in sequencing the human genome for the first time. It can work again to analyze the genome. There may be privacy concerns because there are several ways to thinking about who “owns” a genomic sequence from an individual (Lyon 2012). Companies that store, analyze and interpret the sequence may own it or the individual that the sequence came from may own it. Currently, the consensus is that the individual the genomic sequence came from owns the sequence (Lyon 2012). There may also be other concerns between data sharing among scientists. However, it is undeniable that collaborating to tackle the problem of analyzing and interpreting genomic sequences to find the genetic basis for genetic disorders is a smart idea.

Works Cited

Albert TJ, Molla MN, Muzny DM, Nazareth L, Wheeler D, Song X, Richmond TA, Middle CM, Rodesch MJ, Packard CJ, Weinstock GM, Gibbs RA: Direct selection of human genomic loci by microarray hybridization. Nat Methods. 2007, 4: 903-905. 10.1038/nmeth1111.

Bonnefond A, Durand E, Sand O, De Graeve F, Gallina S, Busiah K, Lobbens S, Simon A, Bellanné-Chantelot C, Létourneau L, Scharfmann R, Delplanque J, Sladek R, Polak M, Vaxillaire M, Froguel P: Molecular diagnosis of neonatal diabetes mellitus using next-generation sequencing of the whole exome. PLoS One. 2010, 5: e13630-10.1371/journal.pone.0013630.

Cartault F, Munier P, Benko E, Desguerre I, Hanein S, Boddaert N, Bandiera S, Vellayoudom J, Krejbich-Trotot P, Bintner M, Hoarau JJ, Girard M, Génin E, de Lonlay P, Fourmaintraux A, Naville M, Rodriguez D, Feingold J, Renouil M, Munnich A, Westhof E, Fähling M, Lyonnet S, Henrion-Caude A: Mutation in a primate-conserved retrotransposon reveals a noncoding RNA as a mediator of infantile encephalopathy. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2012, 109: 4980-4985. 10.1073/pnas.1111596109.

Choi M, Scholl UI, Ji W, Liu T, Tikhonova IR, Zumbo P, Nayir A, Bakkaloglu A, Ozen S, Sanjad S: Genetic diagnosis by whole exome capture and massively parallel DNA sequencing. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2009, 106: 19096-19101. 10.1073/pnas.0910672106.

Hedges DJ, Burges D, Powell E, Almonte C, Huang J, Young S, Boese B, Schmidt M, Pericak-Vance MA, Martin E, Zhang X, Harkins TT, Züchner S: Exome sequencing of a multigenerational human pedigree. PLoS One. 2009, 4: e8232-10.1371/journal.pone.0008232.

Lander ES, Linton LM, Birren B, Nusbaum C, Zody MC, Baldwin J, Devon K, Dewar K, Doyle M, FitzHugh W, Funke R, Gage D, Harris K, Heaford A, Howland J, Kann L, Lehoczky J, LeVine R, McEwan P, McKernan K, Meldrim J, Mesirov JP, Miranda C, Morris W, Naylor J, Raymond C, Rosetti M, Santos R, Sheridan A, Sougnez C, et al: Initial sequencing and analysis of the human genome. Nature. 2001, 409: 860-921. 10.1038/35057062.

Lyon GJ, Wang K: Identifying disease mutations in genomic medicine settings: current challenges and how to accelerate progress. Genome Medicine. 2012, 4: 58. 10.1186/gm359.

McPherson JD: Next-generation gap. Nat Methods. 2009, 6: S2-5. 10.1038/nmeth.f.268.

Ng PC, Levy S, Huang J, Stockwell TB, Walenz BP, Li K, Axelrod N, Busam DA, Strausberg RL, Venter JC: Genetic variation in an individual human exome. PLoS Genet. 2008, 4: e1000160-10.1371/journal.pgen.1000160.

Hookah: Social Factors Causing Skewed Perceptions of the Tobacco Product

Tobacco is undeniably the largest legal drug in the world, with millions addicted to tobacco despite the clear negative effects it can have on people’s health. Hookah is a tobacco product that has increased in popularity in recent years due to its prevalence in college social scenes and bars across America. The biggest problem is that hookah’s dangers are often overlooked by people who use it because they assume it is a less dangerous form of tobacco.

For example, a study published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research conducted an online survey in 2013 of US adults and collected data from the survey. The study found that “Odds for hookah use were greater for those who perceived regular pipe/hookah use as less dangerous (P < .05). Odds for hookah involvement were higher among young adults (P < .001), individuals with higher educational attainment (P < .01)” (Cavazos-Rehg, et al. 2015). Therefore, it is clear that college students are more susceptible to hookah’s effects because of misinformation and the assumption that hookah is less dangerous than other tobacco products.

Furthermore, a study published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention found that “Most of them (71-80%) had misperception about the safety of hookah smoking over cigarette smoking and 54-82% participants were unaware of health effects” (Kakodkar, et al. 2013), and a study conducted in Nicotine & Tobacco Research found that “Approximately 19% of respondents believed that smoking hookah was less harmful than smoking cigarettes. Significant risk indicators for smoking hookah were being younger than 22 years” (Jamil, et al. 2010).

In conjunction with people’s misinformation, hookah also has its own negative health effects. For example, a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that “patrons of hookah cafes had significantly higher CO levels (mean=30.8 parts per million [ppm]) compared to patrons of traditional bars (mean=8.9 ppm)” which shows that hookah has the potential to more than triple CO levels in human beings.

People are aware of the risks that come with smoking hookah, but are negligent of its safety in comparison to cigarettes

Lastly, a study published in the Annual Clinical Journal of Dental Health collected data from a survey and found that while 88% of people considered that there were health risks associated with smoking hookah, nearly half (47%) of the people in the survey assumed that smoking hookah was safer than smoking cigarettes. It is clear that due to hookah’s popularity as a social activity, even when people are aware of the harmful components that may be present in hookah, people fail to consider the consequences smoking hookah can have on health.

While hookah becomes more and more popular in the social scenes of college towns and urban neighborhoods, it is clear that people are misinformed about the harmful effects of its use. Many people assume that it is safer than smoking tobacco cigarettes, when in reality they don’t know for certain, but make the assumption due to things like its variety of flavors and seemingly harmless portrayal.

Works Cited

Barnett TE, Curbow BA, Soule EK, et al. Carbon Monoxide Levels Among Patrons of Hookah Cafes. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Vol 40, p 324-328. 2011.

Cavazos-Rehg PA, Krauss MJ, Kim Y, et al. Risk Factors Associated With Hookah Use. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Vol 18. 2015.

Jamil H, Elsouhag D, Hiller S, et al. Sociodemographic risk indicators of hookah smoking among White Americans: A pilot study. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Vol 18. 2010.

Kakodkar PV, Bansal, SS. Hookah Smoking: Characteristics, Behavior and Perceptions of Youth Smokers in Pune, India. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention. Vol 14, p 4319-4323. 2013.

Khan M. Are waterpipe smokers aware that there are health risks associated with waterpipe smoking? Annual Clinical Journal of Dental Health. Vol 4, p 1-52. 2015.

Filariasis: What is it and What is Being Done?

Filariasis is an infectious disease that is caused by a thread-like parasitic roundworm.  The parasite is transmitted to humans through mosquitoes when they bite (Figure 1). There are two types of parasitic worms that cause filariasis– Wucheria bancrofti and Brugia malayi. Infected people may or may not experience symptoms early on. Classic symptoms that usually arise are fever, chills, body aches, and skin lesions. Chronic lymph node swelling may also occur and areas of the body may begin to accumulate alarming amounts of fluid (NORD, 2016).

Filariasis is prevalent in rural, tropical countries, affecting mainly the poorer sector of the community (figure 2). The disease is also more common amongst the young working population. Over 905 million people are at risk of contracting the disease and 90 million are infected. The countries that see the highest rate of Filariasis are China, India, and Indonesia (Partono, 1987).

To help control the prevalence of Filariasis, scientists are finding that global mapping can be a major advantage. By mapping out the disease, you can see geographically which areas are affected and analyze the data based on distribution to see similarities between endemic countries, and thereby understand how to treat better. The issue is that with diseases like Filariasis, many people do not get properly diagnosed, and therefore many cases go undocumented (Michael and Bundy, 1997).

To control this disease, two drugs can be used together in a single dose to combat the parasite. These drugs are ivermectin and diethylcarbamazine (DEC) or albendazole. They help to reduce microfilariae in the bloodstream, thereby halting the infection and reducing the symptoms. Even a single dose of one of the medications can reduce microfilariae by 90% (Ottesen et al., 1997). Filariasis is a public health issue and is being treated as such with an elimination plan in place. By mapping out the areas where Filariasis is common, drugs can be mass distributed along with vector control, like bednets. By doing intense intervention, not only could Filariasis be reduced, but other diseases such as dengue fever or malaria could also be reduced since communities will also be practicing vector control (Molyneux, 2003).

Figure 1: CDC diagram of the life cycle of Filariasis

Figure 2: Global map of Filariasis:

Works Cited:

Filariasis. (2016, January). National Organization for Rare Disorders.

Molyneux, D. (2003, September 9). Lymphatic Filariasis (Elephantiasis) Elimination: A public health success and development opportunity. Filaria Journal, 2(13).

Partono, F. (1987). The spectrum of disease in lymphatic filariasis. Filariasis, 15-31.

Michael, E., & Bundy, D. (1997, December). Global mapping of lymphatic filariasis. Parasitology Today, 13(12), 472-476.

Ottesen, E., Duke, B., Karam, M., & Behbehani, K. (1997). Strategies and tools for the control/elimination of lymphatic filariasis. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 75(6), 491-503.