Month: September 2017

Medicine, Health Care Internists Urge President Trump to… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by American College of Physicians   Internists Urge President Trump to ‘Consider Taking Additional Actions’ to Provide Relief in Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Letter offers solutions to prevent situation from becoming greater public health crisis Washington, September 28, 2017 –The American College of Physicians (ACP) today sent a letter? urging President Trump “to consider taking additional actions to provide immediate assistance and

Medicine, Health Care Getting to the Heart of… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by American Institute of Physics WASHINGTON, D.C., September 29, 2017 — Atrial fibrillation is the most prevalent form of cardiac arrhythmia, affecting up to 6 million people in the U.S. alone. Common treatments for severe forms of the erratic beating phenomenon are controversial, and guided by detection methods that are not yet standardized or fully refined. But new research from a diverse group

Medicine, Health Care Risk of Transmission of Livestock-associated… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by American Society for Microbiology   WASHINGTON, DC – September 29, 2017 – At a swine farm with pigs carrying methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, levels of MRSA among 95% of visitors became virtually undetectable only two hours after exposure. MRSA in the nasal passages was associated with exposure to airborne MRSA and not directly on physical contact with the animals. The research is published September

Medicine, Health Care Breakdown of Brain Cells’ Metabolic… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by Baylor College of Medicine Researchers have discovered that impairing a critical partnership between brain cells can lead to neurodegeneration. The study published in Cell Metabolism reports a mechanism by which two types of brain cells, neurons and glia, normally support each other’s functions. The researchers discovered that when this mechanism fails, neurodegeneration follows, opening a path to a better understanding of disorders

Medicine, Health Care Women with Disabilities May Be… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by Cancer Research UK   Women with disabilities are a third less likely to participate in breast cancer screening and a quarter less likely to take part in bowel cancer screening compared to women reporting no disabilities,* according to a new paper published in the British Journal of Cancer** by researchers from the University of Oxford. More than a fifth of the nearly 500,000

Medicine, Health Care New Regulator of Liver Metabolism… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin All cells can adapt their metabolic activity with respect to the availability of various sources of energy, such as glucose. This vital ability makes cells more efficient at absorbing and utilizing these substances, in addition to protecting them against the negative effects of overload. However, exposure to chronically-high glucose levels can result in an adaptive response which is

Medicine, Health Care Nutrition Is Key to Increasing… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo   Improving the productivity of Brazilian livestock means not only finding ways to make the cattle produce more meat or more milk, but also addressing issues such as diseases. One of those, ruminal acidosis, plays a major role in livestock breeding since it mainly strikes animals kept in intensive farming systems, featuring a

Medicine, Health Care New Study Identifies Protein That… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Flu season is on its way, and a new report in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology has identified an innovative strategy for battling this deadly illness. Scientists showed that a small protein called retrocyclin-101 (RC-101) could potentially improve the symptoms and mortality associated with the flu and possibly other types of infectious illness. As a

Medicine, Health Care Special Focus Issue: ‘Bioanalysis of… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by Future Science Group   Bioanalysis, a leading MEDLINE indexed journal for bioanalysts, has published a Special Focus Issue on ‘Bioanalysis of Biopharmaceuticals’. The journal is published by Future Science Group. Biopharmaceuticals are gaining interest as new therapeutic agents and as technology progresses; they continue to increase in complexity, placing increasing expanding demand for bioanalytical capability to assess drug pharmacology, safety and immunogenicity. The

Medicine, Health Care GW-led Consortium And FDA Release… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by George Washington University   WASHINGTON (Sept. 29, 2017) — The George Washington University (GW) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have published a BioCompute Object Specification Document for research and clinical trial use, which details a new framework for communication of High-throughput Sequencing (HTS) computations and data analysis, known as BioCompute Objects (BCOs). This framework will allow researchers to share and

Medicine, Health Care How the Lungs of Premature… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health The lungs are one of the last organs to undergo full maturation in a baby’s body. Children that are born very prematurely do not have fully developed lungs, and are therefore more susceptible to associated complications. The most common of these is a chronic lung disease known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which

Medicine, Health Care Study Shows MRIs Are Safe… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by Intermountain Medical Center   Magnetic resonance imaging appears to be safe for patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices, even for chest imaging, according to a new study by researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City. In the past, MRIs have been considered dangerous for people who have the devices. However, the new study, “Real World MRI Experience with

Medicine, Health Care Over a Quarter of Workers… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee   A survey of European workers has revealed that workplace coffee drinking habits are shaped by time, taste, and the desire for a productivity boost. The survey, commissioned by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC) and conducted by YouGov, had over 8,000 respondents from six European countries, including the UK. Workers were asked about their

Medicine, Health Care Disease Resistance Successfully Spread from… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases WHAT: Using genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes to reduce or prevent the spread of infectious diseases is a new but rapidly expanding field of investigation. Among the challenges researchers face is ensuring that GM mosquitoes can compete and mate with their wild counterparts so the desired modification is preserved and spread in the wild population. Investigators

Medicine, Health Care Immune System Cells Protect Against… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by PLOS Immune system cells known as natural killer (NK) cells play an important protective role against hearing loss in mice infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV), according to a new study published in PLOS Pathogens. Mothers may pass CMV to babies during pregnancy, putting them at greater risk for long-term hearing loss. CMV is responsible for 15-30% of hearing loss in children. Previous studies

Medicine, Health Care Nation’s Public Cord Blood Banks… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by RAND Corporation   The nation’s public umbilical cord blood banks provide benefits that far outweigh their costs and should continue to receive federal support, even though use of cord blood stem cells from the banks has been declining, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Federal regulators can better support the 19 public cord banks by standardizing the way the organizations are paid

Medicine, Health Care Study Ranks Safety, Effectiveness of… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by St. Michael’s Hospital   TORONTO, Sept. 29, 2017–A new study ranking the safety and effectiveness of four drugs taken to enhance concentration, memory, alertness and moods, found that donepezil was most likely to effectively improve cognition in patients with Alzheimer’s dementia. However, patients who took donepezil were more likely to experience side effects including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea than those who received a

Medicine, Health Care Scientists Develop Broad-spectrum Inhibitors of… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by Scripps Research Institute   A team of researchers from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and Janssen Research Development (Janssen) has devised artificial peptide molecules that neutralize a broad range of influenza virus strains. Peptides are short chains of amino acids – like proteins but with smaller, simpler structures. These designed molecules have the potential to be developed into medicines that target influenza, which

Medicine, Health Care TSRI Researchers Get a Lead… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by Scripps Research Institute   Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) may have found a way to help doctors diagnose diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s earlier in their progression. A special peptide probe being developed in Jeffery Kelly’s lab at TSRI is showing promise as a tool for detecting the early signs of transthyretin (TTR) polyneuropathy, a progressive neurological disease. This probe could

Medicine, Health Care Researchers Look to Protect ‘Self-reactive’… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center   CHAPEL HILL — Researchers at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center are using what they know about a rare, inherited autoimmune disease to turn the body’s defenses against melanoma. In JCI Insight, researchers report on a potential new way to fight melanoma by blocking one of the immune system’s checks and balances. Combining their

Medicine, Health Care An Epidemic of Dream Deprivation:… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by University of Arizona Health Sciences TUCSON, Ariz. – A silent epidemic of dream loss is at the root of many of the health concerns attributed to sleep loss, according to Rubin Naiman, PhD, a sleep and dream specialist at the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, who recently published a comprehensive review of data. His review, “Dreamless: the silent epidemic of

Medicine, Health Care New Med-tech Zinc Sensor Developed… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by University of Adelaide A new zinc sensor has been developed by researchers, which will allow for a deeper understanding of the dynamic roles that metal ions play in regulating health and disease in the living body. The research, published in the journal ACS Omega reports that the newly designed chemical sensor can detect and measure zinc levels in cells. It also has

Medicine, Health Care Elderly Who Have Trouble Identifying… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by University of Chicago Medical Center A long-term study of nearly 3,000 adults, aged 57 to 85, found that those who could not identify at least four out of five common odors were more than twice as likely as those with a normal sense of smell to develop dementia within five years. Losing the ability to smell can have a substantial impact on

Medicine, Health Care Transcranial Electrical Stimulation Shows Promise… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by University of California – San Diego Using a form of low-impulse electrical stimulation to the brain, documented by neuroimaging, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) and collaborators elsewhere, report significantly improved neural function in participants with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Their findings are published online in the current issue

Medicine, Health Care Frequent Sauna Bathing Keeps Blood… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by University of Eastern Finland Frequent sauna bathing reduces the risk of elevated blood pressure, according to an extensive follow-up population-based study carried out at the University of Eastern Finland. The risk of developing elevated blood pressure was nearly 50% lower among men who had a sauna 4-7 times a week compared to men who had a sauna only once a week. These

Medicine, Health Care Study Provides First Estimate of… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by University of Georgia Athens, Ga. – New research led by a University of Georgia sociologist on the growth in the scope and scale of felony convictions finds that, as of 2010, 3 percent of the total U.S. population and 15 percent of the African-American male population have served time in prison. People with felony convictions more broadly account for 8 percent of

Medicine, Health Care Confronted with Bacteria, Infected Cells… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by University of Pennsylvania The immune system is contantly performing surveillance to detect foreign organisms that might do harm. But pathogens, for their part, have evolved a number of strategies to evade this detection, such as secreting proteins that hinder a host’s ability to mount an immune response. In a new study, a team of researchers led by Igor E. Brodsky of the

Medicine, Health Care Black Children Less Likely to… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine PHILADELPHIA – A new study shows white children in America are more likely to see a doctor for treatment of eczema than black children, despite the fact that the disease is likely more severe among minorities. Research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found black children with eczema were 30 percent

Medicine, Health Care Understanding Connection Between HIV Transmission… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing   PHILADELPHIA (Sept. 28, 2017) – The health effects of where people live, work, and interact are well documented, as are the value of neighborhood-level structural interventions designed to improve health. But place-based characteristics that contribute to disparities in HIV transmission and disease burden are poorly understood, possibly resulting in less-effective HIV risk reduction interventions and programming.

Psychology Students Know About Learning Strategies… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by Frontiers Many university students don’t use common learning strategies, despite knowing that they exist, finds a study in open-access journal Frontiers in Psychology. Specific training on how and when to use learning strategies could help more students to maximize their academic potential. The first year in university is a steep learning curve for many students. Living away from home, managing finances and balancing socializing

Psychology JCU Team’s Winning Basketball Formula… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by James Cook University   James Cook University scientists have come up with a winning formula for basketball teams looking to take home Olympic gold. JCU Associate Professor Anthony Leicht and Dr Carl Woods, along with Dr Miguel Gomez from Spain, analysed every moment of 156 men’s basketball games played at the last four Olympics. “Unlike regional or national competitions, where players are together for a

Psychology Study Unlocks Why Public Appeals… Published: September 29, 2017.Released by University of Western Ontario It has long puzzled fundraisers why, in any appeal, some people will eagerly jump in with the throng while others equally passionate about the cause will reject the same pitch. Now research led by Western researcher Bonnie Simpson is nearer to figuring out why some people are — and aren’t — motivated by public appeals, and how fundraisers might better

Medicine, Health Care Early ‘Full-term’ Babies May Have… Published: September 27, 2017.Released by American Heart Association DALLAS, Sept. 27, 2017 — Babies born early in a full-term pregnancy range may be more likely to have poor cardiorespiratory fitness through adolescence and young adulthood, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. “We believe that earlier births — even within the at-term

Medicine, Health Care Study Examines Characteristics of Mobile… Published: September 27, 2017.Released by American Roentgen Ray Society   Leesburg, VA, September 25, 2017 – Significant differences were found among women receiving mammography at a cancer center versus those visiting a mobile mammography van, according to an ahead-of-print article scheduled to be published in the December 2017 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR). Mobile mammography units have increasingly been used to address patient health care

Medicine, Health Care Defining Optimal Opioid Pain Medication… Published: September 27, 2017.Released by Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, MA–A new study led by researchers at the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital analyzed opioid prescription data from the Department of Defense Military Health System Data Repository, identifying more than 200,000 opioid-naïve individuals who had undergone one of eight common surgical procedures between 2006 and 2014 and were subsequently prescribed opioid

Medicine, Health Care ‘Telephone First’ Approach Is No… Published: September 27, 2017.Released by BMJ   General practice in the UK, as in many other countries, is under considerable strain and policy makers are looking for ways to improve patient access and ease staff workload. One approach is ‘telephone first’ in which a GP speaks to all patients on the telephone to decide whether the problem can be resolved over the phone, if a face to face

Medicine, Health Care Health And Social Care Changes… Published: September 27, 2017.Released by BMJ   Allyson Pollock and colleagues at Newcastle University and Queen Mary University of London, say changes introduced by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and further reform planned under the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 and Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs) are being presented to the public and health professionals as a way of integrating health and local authority

Medicine, Health Care Fever During Labor May Present… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by American Friends of Tel Aviv University Intrapartum fever — fever that occurs during labor — occurs in approximately 1-2% of deliveries and is often associated with maternal and neonatal complications. But the precise reasons for the fever and its different outcomes are unclear. A new Tel Aviv University study finds a link between the duration of intrapartum fever and maternal complications; and,

Medicine, Health Care Popping Bubbles: Surfactants Have Surprising… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by American Institute of Physics WASHINGTON, D.C., September 28, 2017 — Nanobubbles have recently gained popularity for their unique properties and expansive applications. Their large surface area and high stability in saturated liquids make nanobubbles ideal candidates for food science, medicine and environmental advancements. Nanobubbles also have long lifetimes of hours or days, and greater applicability than traditional macrobubbles, which typically only last

Medicine, Health Care Women with Suspected HPV Adverse… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by Aarhus University New research from Aarhus University shows that women who are referred to an HPV centre more often have had psychiatric medicine prescribed or been hospitalised for psychiatric conditions up to five years before they received the vaccine. Research from Aarhus University shows that 29 per cent of the referred women over the age of 18 have been prescribed psychiatric medicine

Medicine, Health Care Uncovering Why Psoriasis Recurs … Published: September 28, 2017.Released by Brigham and Women’s Hospital New research by investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Rockefeller University helps address a longstanding question about the inflammatory skin condition psoriasis: Why do skin lesions that have resolved with therapy recur in the same locations after a patient stops using topical steroids? According to BWH physician scientist Rachael Clark, MD, PhD, of the Department of Dermatology,

Medicine, Health Care Tracking the Body’s Mini-shuttles … Published: September 28, 2017.Released by Cardiff University The development of a new technique for labelling the body’s own transporters – exosomes – could have long term benefits in the treatment of life-threatening medical conditions, including cancer. A team of researchers at Cardiff University’s Schools of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Medicine, and Biosciences, together with the Basque Foundation for Science in Spain, has discovered a new way of

Medicine, Health Care ECDC Study: Nearly 1 in… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) A study published in The Lancet HIV showed that while the rate of newly reported HIV cases in Europe remained steady in younger people between 2004 and 2015, it increased by 2% each year overall in older people. With around 30 000 newly diagnosed HIV infections reported each year over the last decade, the

Medicine, Health Care Delayed Diagnosis, Not Gender, Affects… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by Elsevier Chicago, September 28, 2017 – Women with heart disease typically receive less complete surgical revascularization with arterial grafts than men do, but not because of gender bias. Instead, factors such as delayed diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) in women may contribute to the differences in treatment, according to a new study published online today in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

Medicine, Health Care Medical Device Recall Rates Linked… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences   Key Takeaway: Placing FDA investigators on a rotating schedule at medical device manufacturing plants can lead to 100 fewer medical device recalls annually in the U.S., or a reduction of 20 percent. CATONSVILLE, MD, September 27, 2017 – Medical device manufacturing plants in the U.S. can experience 100 fewer product recalls per year, or

Medicine, Health Care Computer Model Showed an Optimal… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by Institute for Systems Biology Moscow Moscow, Russia, September 28, 2017 – One must activate amyloid degradation as soon as possible to prevent the appearance of the protein plaques in brain under Alzheimer’s conditions. This conclusion was reached by scientists from the biotechnology company InSysBio, who created the first computer model of the disease. The final part of the work has been recently

Medicine, Health Care Study Suggests an Answer To young… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by James Cook University A collaborative research project involving James Cook University and the University of Queensland indicates high rates of sleep problems continuing through teenage years and into early adulthood – but also suggests a natural remedy. Dr. Yaqoot Fatima from JCU’s Mount Isa Centre for Rural and Remote Health was associated with a study that tracked more than 3600 people from

Medicine, Health Care Achieving National HIV/AIDS Strategy Targets… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by Massachusetts General Hospital An analysis led by a team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators shows that achieving the treatment targets of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) by 2020 not only would prevent hundreds of thousands of new infections and deaths but also would demonstrate excellent value. Their study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, finds that meeting the NHAS goals

Medicine, Health Care Parkinson’s Disease Involves Degeneration of… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft The first symptom of Parkinson’s disease is often an impaired sense of smell. This neurodegenerative disease primarily causes irreparable damage to nerve cells in a brain area involved in movement control. How it affects the olfactory system has been unclear. Researchers at the Max Planck Research Unit for Neurogenetics in Frankfurt and the University of Auckland in New Zealand have now

Medicine, Health Care Abusive Bosses Experience Short-lived Benefits… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by Michigan State University   EAST LANSING, Mich. – Being a jerk to your employees may actually improve your well-being, but only for a short while, suggests new research on abusive bosses co-authored by a Michigan State University business scholar. Bullying and belittling employees starts to take its toll on a supervisor’s mental state after about a week, according to the study, which is

Medicine, Health Care Medication That Treats Parasite Infection… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by Osaka University (Osaka, Japan) Osaka Researchers, in partnership with other Japanese and U.S. scientists, report a new gene target, KPNB1, for treatment against epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). EOC is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women and has a particularly grim outlook upon diagnosis. They also find that ivermectin exerts an anti-tumor effect on EOC cells by interacting with the

Medicine, Health Care University of Hawaii Awarded Nearly… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by University of Hawaii Cancer Center   University of Hawaii vaccine researcher Axel Lehrer, PhD, has received a nearly $6.3 million grant to test whether the Ebola vaccine formula he has developed will protect against two additional viruses in the same family. The Ebola vaccine UH has created is “heat stable,” which means it does not need refrigeration, and could be easily transported and

Medicine, Health Care Secrets from Inside the Womb… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by University of Leeds The major structures of a baby’s heart form in just four days, according to new research using the latest imaging techniques. This is an image of the fetal heart at the end of the 4 days when cardiac tissue is organised into the helix shape of the heart. Credit: Dr Eleftheria … Identifying the precise time when the four

Medicine, Health Care Researchers Identify Intriguing Link Between… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by University of Maryland School of Medicine   More than 3.2 million Americans suffer from schizophrenia; about 100,000 people are newly diagnosed every year. The disease includes a wide range of symptoms including visual and auditory hallucinations, cognitive problems and motivational issues. A key issue with the disease, and one that gets less attention than other symptoms, is cognitive problems. Many with the disease

Medicine, Health Care Early Babies Face Lifelong Fitness… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by University of Queensland Babies born even a few weeks early are more likely to have poor physical fitness throughout life, University of Queensland researchers have found. Associate Professor Isabel Ferreira from the School of Public Health said babies delivered between 37 and 38 weeks had a 57 per cent higher risk of poor cardiorespiratory fitness throughout their life compared with babies born

Medicine, Health Care Acculturation May Be a Predictor… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by University of Texas at Arlington   Acculturation may play a key role in psychological birth trauma among young Latina mothers, according to a study by a researcher at the University of Texas at Arlington’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation. But the relationship between psychological birth trauma and acculturation, a process in which one culture overshadows another, among Hispanic adolescent mothers is largely

Medicine, Health Care UTA Study Says Zinc Can… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by University of Texas at Arlington   Zinc supplements can significantly inhibit the proliferation of esophageal cancer cells, according to a new study co-authored by a University of Texas at Arlington researcher. Previous studies had shown that zinc is essential for maintaining human health and protects the esophagus from cancer. However, it has never been fully understood why zinc has the ability to prevent

Medicine, Health Care New Triage Tool Helps Doctors… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by University of Virginia Health System In situations where medical resources are most limited, doctors are often forced to make life-or-death decisions with very little information and very little time. But now an international team of researchers has developed a simple way for healthcare providers to quickly identify and prioritize patients at the greatest risk of death. The new scoring system calculates risk

Medicine, Health Care Highly Virulent Bacterium Causes Rampant… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by Umea University Researchers at Umeå University in Sweden have made a novel discovery connecting highly variant types of the caries bacterium Streptococcus mutans and their adhesive function to children with rampant caries and increased risk of dental caries. The results, which can lead to a better way of identifying high-risk patients and treat their caries, are published in the journal EBioMedicine. Nicklas

Psychology How to Enhance Refugee Advocacy… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by Concordia University   Education researcher Nadia Naffi, made a promising discovery when she adapted cutting-edge interview techniques traditionally used in constructivist psychology as part of her ongoing study of how social media shapes young people’s attitudes toward refugees. “During one-on-one interviews with teens and young adults, participants reflected more thoughtfully on their own reactions to Facebook posts about Syrian refugee resettlement, and they sought to

Psychology Study Finds Driving Speed Affected… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by North Carolina State University Research from North Carolina State University finds that driving speed fluctuates more when a driver’s mind wanders from focusing on the act of driving – and that the outside environment influences how often a driver’s mind wanders. “As autonomous and semi-autonomous technologies take over some driving tasks, drivers are likely to experience increased boredom because they will have less to

Psychology Immeasurable Hardiness of Character … Published: September 28, 2017.Released by National Research University Higher School of Economics The Grit Scale questionnaire has gained popularity over the past decade, not only in research but also in practical psychology and in employee selection. The questionnaire is used to measure ‘grit’ – a personality trait which combines perseverance in reaching one’s goals, on one hand, and consistency of one’s interests over time, on the other. HSE researchers

Psychology Paper: Don’t Rely on Mixed… Published: September 28, 2017.Released by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign   CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Self-improvement edicts to lose weight, quit smoking or eat more fruits and vegetables can fall on deaf ears if the intervention message is mixed, says new research co-written by a University of Illinois expert in social psychology. When recommending multiple behavior changes, it’s more effective if the messages are framed along similar polarities, according to a

Medicine, Health Care Pass the Salt: Mapping the… Published: September 27, 2017.Released by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center BOSTON – While the average American’s high-salt diet has been linked to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, the truth is we couldn’t live without this once scarce mineral. Salt helps the body balance its water content and plays a critical role in regulating blood pressure and cellular function throughout the body. As salt is lost through

Medicine, Health Care Should We Welcome Plans to… Published: September 27, 2017.Released by BMJ   Earlier this year, Sir Robert Naylor, national adviser on NHS property and estates, recommended that wasted NHS land and property (“estate”) should be sold to fund essential backlog maintenance of existing buildings and deliver plans for a modern health service. His review concluded that around an extra £10bn was needed to repair hospital buildings and replace essential medical equipment to improve

Medicine, Health Care New Study Released on Nontraffic… Published: September 27, 2017.Released by Brown University Philadelphia, PA – Over the last couple of decades, significant reductions in vehicle crash-related child fatalities have been attributed to advances in legislation, public safety campaigns and engineering. However, less is known about nontraffic injuries and fatalities (occurring primarily in driveways and parking lots) to children in and around motor vehicles. A new Traffic Injury Prevention journal study, Unintentional Nontraffic

Medicine, Health Care Opioid Crisis in Staten Island… Published: September 27, 2017.Released by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health   Sept. 27, 2017 — Contrary to media reports, the opioid epidemic on Staten Island is not confined to affluent young white residents, and affects all neighborhoods, races, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The study by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) is published in

Medicine, Health Care Study Shows Minimally Invasive Valve… Published: September 27, 2017.Released by Duke University Medical Center   DURHAM, N.C. – A minimally invasive procedure used to replace heart valves without open heart surgery appears to provide a durable remedy for people with a life-threatening form of heart disease in which the aortic valve opening narrows, diminishing blood flow. The procedure, called trans-catheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, has been safely used in older patients who

Medicine, Health Care Increased Arterial Stiffness Linked to… Published: September 27, 2017.Released by Elsevier   GLENVIEW, IL, September 27, 2017 – Increased arterial stiffness is a known predictor of cardiovascular diseases in different populations, including healthy subjects and patients with hypertension, diabetes, or renal disease. A new study examining arterial stiffness in a large population determined that both restrictive spirometry pattern and reduced forced vital capacity (FVC) were associated with a higher risk of arterial stiffness

Medicine, Health Care Having an Older Sibling Poses… Published: September 27, 2017.Released by European Lung Foundation Children under two years are more likely to be admitted to hospital with influenza if they have an older sister or brother, according to research published today (Thursday) in the European Respiratory Journal. Flu can be serious in very young children because it can cause lung infections and breathing difficulties. It can also cause a very high fever, leading