Ordering physicians have limited knowledge of CT-related radiation exposure and its associated risks, according to a study performed at the Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, VA.
Culture
If you are resident of New Orleans, how would you describe personal events that occurred shortly before August 2005? Would you refer to them as happening "back in July of 2005" or would you describe them as happening "just before Hurricane Katrina"? If you live in Oregon, would you make reference to Hurricane Katrina? A team of researchers, led by psychologist Norman R. Brown from the University of Alberta, investigated how public events (e.g., war, natural disaster, terrorism) shape our personal memories.
In older breast cancer survivors, the number of lymph nodes removed during surgery and the presence of cancer in the lymph nodes were the two factors most directly linked to the development of lymphedema, swelling of the arm and hand, according to a study from the Medical College of Wisconsin's Center for Patient Care and Outcomes Research in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
CT colonography, which is a highly effective colorectal screening test, is feasible in rural health centers with the help of teleradiology, according to a study performed at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ.
Baroque classical music in the reading room can help improve radiologists work lives, potentially improving diagnostic efficiency and accuracy, according to a study performed by researchers at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, MD, Harbor Hospital in Baltimore, MD, and the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia, PA.
The prevalence of benign thyroid nodules is high and there are certain ultrasound features, suggesting malignancy, that can help radiologists determine whether or not a biopsy is needed, according to a study performed at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, CA.
Overworked crime scene investigators can take heart at the results of recent tests at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of new technologies that automate the manual portion of latent fingerprint identification. Prototype systems evaluated by NIST performed surprisingly well for a developing technology: half of the prototypes were accurate at least 80 percent of the time and one had a near perfect score.
The advice and treatment given to patients with vertebral compression fractures is not satisfactory. A thesis presented at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that the majority of patients still have severe pain one year after the fracture.
Graduation rates for low-achieving minority students and girls have fallen nearly 20 percentage points since California implemented a law requiring high school students to pass exit exams in order to graduate, according to a new Stanford study.
The new study said that the exit exam, which is first given in 10th grade to help identify students who are struggling academically and need additional instruction to pass the test, has failed to meet one of its primary goals: to significantly improve student achievement.
Madison, WI—April 22, 2009—A new study in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management demonstrates that public commenters who participate during the early phases of regulatory policymaking play an important agenda setting role. Results suggest that these "public" participants—who are often interest groups—can help shape the content of regulatory proposals as they move through the regulatory process and may thwart unwanted regulations.
Syracuse, N.Y.—April 22, 2009—The increase in single-parent families was a dramatic social change of the 20th century. However, relatively little is known about the evolution of attitudes toward single-parent families. A new study in the Journal of Marriage and Family shows ambivalent acceptance of divorce rather than a full embrace of it.
San Francisco, Calif. - April 22, 2009 – The globalization of health care and the growth of "transplant tourism" (traveling abroad to purchase donor organs and undergo organ transplantation) have outpaced the implementation of internationally accepted ethical standards for procurement of organs for transplantation. A new article appearing in Clinical Transplantation finds that both U.S. and foreign transplant physicians expressed serious concern about organ procurement practices in China, and that this concern influenced their patient care decisions.
Stony Brook, NY, April 22, 2009 - New York Sea Grant (NYSG) announces the release of The Hard Clam Research Initiative: Factors Controlling Mercenaria mercenaria Populations in South Shore Bays of Long Island, NY, a 43-page technical report that summarizes the key results of five research projects funded through NYSG's Hard Clam Research Initiative which began in 1999. Funding partners included NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, South Shore Estuary Reserve, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and New York Sea Grant.
The recent drinking and driving (DUI) arrests of celebrities—Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Michelle Rodriguez and Lindsay Lohan—yielded widespread news coverage, however, very little of it offered any public health context, according to a new report by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy.
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Dating couples whose dreams include marriage would do well to step back and reflect upon the type of support they'll need from their partners when they cross the threshold, a new Northwestern University study suggests.
Will the partner who supports your hopes and aspirations while you are dating also help you fulfill important responsibilities and obligations that come with marriage? The answer to that question could make a difference in how satisfied you are after tying the knot.