Culture

DURHAM, N.C. – When it comes to treating kidney stones, less invasive may not always be better, according to new research from Duke Medicine.

In a direct comparison of shock wave lithotripsy vs. ureteroscopy – the two predominant methods of removing kidney stones – researchers found that ureteroscopy resulted in fewer repeat treatments.

The findings were published May 16, 2014, in the journal JAMA Surgery, coinciding with presentation at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association.

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ – May 16, 2014 – PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTCT) today announced that the results of a Phase 3 study of ataluren in patients with nonsense mutation cystic fibrosis (nmCF) were published in Lancet Respiratory Medicine. The results demonstrated positive trends in both the primary endpoint, lung function as measured by relative change in % predicted FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in one second) and in the secondary outcome measure, rate of pulmonary exacerbations.

An article titled "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior," published in The Wall Street Journal in 2011, has continued to provoke a cultural debate among parents after self-proclaimed 'tiger mother' Amy Chua asserted that Asian American parenting methods produce more successful children. Researchers at Stanford University delved deeper into Chua's 'tiger mother' approach, and their research sheds light on key fundamental differences in parenting methods between Asian Americans and European Americans.

Doctors and scientists in Southampton have completed their first hip surgery with a 3D printed implant and bone stem cell graft.

The 3D printed hip, made from titanium, was designed using the patient's CT scan and CAD CAM (computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing) technology, meaning it was designed to the patient's exact specifications and measurements.

The implant will provide a new socket for the ball of the femur bone to enter. Behind the implant and between the pelvis, doctors have inserted a graft containing bone stem cells.

HANOVER, N.H. – May 16, 2014 – The recent U.S. foreclosure crisis contributed significantly to the nation's jump in suicides, independent of other economic factors associated with the Great Recession, according to a study by Dartmouth and Purdue professors publishing Monday.

The study, publishing in the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health and available online now, is the first to ever show a correlation between foreclosure and suicide rates.

STANFORD, Calif. — Men who are infertile because of defects in their semen appear to be at increased risk of dying sooner than men with normal semen, according to a study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Men with two or more abnormalities in their semen were more than twice as likely to die over a roughly eight-year period as men who had normal semen, the study found.

Washington, DC (May 15, 2014) — For individuals with kidney disease, walking may help prolong life and reduce the risk of needing dialysis or a kidney transplant. That's the conclusion of a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

Primary care physicians already have enough administrative duties on their plates, and the implementation of electronic medical records has only added to their burden. As a result, they have less time to spend with their patients.

Electronic monitoring to measure medication adherence by patients with glaucoma documented that a sizable number of patients did not regularly use the eye drops prescribed to them.

Topical medications for glaucoma lower intraocular pressure and can delay or slow the progression of the eye disease. Medication adherence is important.

Stereotypes of gay men as effeminate and weak and black men as threatening and aggressive can hurt members of those groups when white people evaluate them in employment, education, criminal justice and other contexts.

But the negative attributes of the two stereotypes can cancel one another out for gay black men in the employment context, according to research by a Princeton University graduate student in sociology, challenging the commonly held idea that membership in multiple marginalized groups leads to more discrimination than being a member of a single such group.

The newly updated, online, interactive state data tool allows policymakers, educators and other users to discern trends in education, science and research in each of the 50 states. This free resource supplements the state data in the 2014 Science and Engineering Indicators report, the premier source of information and analysis of the nation's position in science and engineering education and research. The biennial report is published by the National Science Board, the policy making body of the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The fixed combination of the drugs dapagliflozin and metformin (trade name: Xigduo) has been approved since January 2014 for adults with type 2 diabetes in whom diet and exercise do not provide adequate glycaemic control. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) now examined whether this new drug combination offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy.

Female politicians' success can be predicted by their facial features, especially in conservative states where women with more feminine faces tend to do better at the ballot box, a Dartmouth College-led study finds.

Beverly, MA, May 15, 2014 – Less aggressive anticoagulation therapy, combined with low-dose aspirin, can be used safely in conjunction with a newer generation mechanical heart valve. These findings from the first phase of a randomized clinical trial are published in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, an official publication of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery.

Roughly 25 million Africans live with HIV, many of who now have access to antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). Among their side effects, ARVs can cause patients to put on weight. Subsequently, attention paid to malnutrition among African HIV patients has waned. However, widespread malnutrition has been identified as a reason that up to a quarter of HIV patients in a number of African countries die just months after beginning medical treatment.