The tax status of a hospice (for-profit vs. nonprofit) affects community benefits, the population served and community outreach.
The number of for-profit hospices has increased over the past two decades with about 51 percent of hospices being for-profit in 2011 compared with about 5 percent in 1990. But little is known about how for-profit and nonprofit hospices differ in activities beyond service delivery.
The risk of heart attack or stroke is increased in the 30 days after a partner's death.
Bereavement is recognized as a risk factor for death and is associated with cardiovascular events.
The authors compared the rate of myocardial infarction (MI, heart attack) or stroke in older patients (n=30,447, 60 to 89 years of age) whose partner died to that of individuals (n=83,588) whose partners were still alive during the same period.
An extensive review of scientific literature indicates that depression should be added to the list of risk factors associated with heart disease. Others include obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking.
A 12-person panel of experts that included Robert M. Carney, PhD, and Kenneth E. Freedland, PhD, both professors of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, made the recommendation to the American Heart Association (AHA).
Their findings are published online as a scientific statement in the journal Circulation.
PHILADELPHIA— Half of melanoma patients with the BRAF mutation have a positive response to treatment with BRAF inhibitors, but nearly all of those patients develop resistance to the drugs and experience disease progression.
Philadelphia, Pa. (February 21, 2014) – The millions of Americans living with more than one chronic disease are at high risk of poor health outcomes, and account for a disproportionate share of health care costs. A special March supplement to Medical Care presents updates from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) Multiple Chronic Conditions (MCC) Research Network, formed to address knowledge gaps and research challenges in meeting the complex health care needs of this growing population.
There's more to dieting than just sheer willpower and self-control. The presence of friends, late night cravings or the temptation of alcohol can often simply be too strong to resist. Research led by Heather McKee of the University of Birmingham in the UK monitored the social and environmental factors that make people, who are following weight management programs, cheat. The study¹ is published in the Springer journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine.²
So far, film studios have had to put in huge amounts of effort to set monsters, superheroes, fairies or other virtual characters into real feature film scenes. Within the so-called motion capturing process, real actors wear skintight suits with markers on them. These suits reflect infrared light that is emitted and captured by special cameras. Subsequent to this, the movements of the actors are rendered with the aid of software into animated characters. The most popular example of this is "Gollum" from the film Lord of the Rings, played by Andy Serkis.
PISCATAWAY, NJ – Although some advocates want to lower the legal drinking age from 21, research continues to show that the law saves lives. That's the finding of a new review published in a special supplemental issue to the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
The UK urgently needs a green economic strategy to move towards low-carbon prosperity, resource security and environmental quality, says a new report published today by UCL's Green Economy Policy Commission.
The Commission – drawn from a range of academic disciplines across UCL – argues that the UK's current situation of climate instability and increasing resource constraints mean that decisive action is urgently needed by the UK government to green the economy.
A pathway to more effective and efficient synthesis of pharmaceutical drugs and other flow reactor chemical products has been opened by a study in which for the first time the catalytic reactivity inside a microreactor was mapped in high resolution from start-to-finish. The results not only provided a better understanding of the chemistry behind the catalytic reactions, they also revealed opportunities for optimization, which resulted in better catalytic performances. The study was conducted by a team of scientists with the U.S.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 21, 2014) -- A new report from the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC) reveals the prevalence and charges associated with drug overdose in the Bluegrass state. The report, "Drug Overdose Deaths, Hospitalizations, and Emergency Department Visits in Kentucky, 2000-2012", analyzes overdose morbidity and mortality among Kentucky residents and documents the enormous societal and financial toll on the Commonwealth's population. KIPRC, located in the UK College of Public Health, is a bona fide agent for the Kentucky Department for Public Health.
Cholera has been all but eradicated in Europe, but this bacterial, primarily waterborne disease still claims thousands of lives in Africa every year. Scientists are examining the effects various environmental factors have on cholera epidemics in Uganda. As part of this work, the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB in Karlsruhe developed a software architecture for early warning systems that compares environmental and health data and presents the results graphically.
Greece's health crisis is worsening as a result of continued healthcare budget cuts, says a new study published in the medical journal, The Lancet. Researchers say the harmful effects of austerity are linked to the increasing inability of patients to access the health system, large rises in the incidence of infectious disease, and a deterioration in the overall mental health of Greek people.
Washington, DC (February 20, 2014) — In addition to experiencing negative health effects from their disease, patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are also at risk of experiencing hazardous events potentially related to medical treatments they receive. A study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN) finds that low blood sugar and high blood potassium being common complications of their medical care.
MADISON — A multi-university team of engineers has developed what could be a promising solution for charging smartphone batteries on the go — without the need for an electrical cord.