Culture | Page 2503 | Science Codex

Created: A better scheduling method for umpires in Major League Baseball

Scheduling umpire crews in Major League Baseball (MLB) can be a daunting task. However, Tallys Yunes, assistant professor of management science at the University of Miami School of Business Administration and his collaborators have created a novel solution. The team developed an efficient method to generate high-quality schedules for the MLB.

The study is titled "Scheduling Major League Baseball Umpires and the Traveling Umpire Problem" published online ahead of print by the journal Interfaces, a popular outlet for practitioners in the field of Operations Research.

Predicting perilous plaque in coronary arteries via fluid dynamics

Researchers at Emory and Georgia Tech have developed a method for predicting which areas of the coronary arteries will develop more atherosclerotic plaque over time, based on intracoronary ultrasound and blood flow measurements.

The method could help doctors identify "vulnerable plaque," unstable plaque that is likely to cause a heart attack or stroke. It involves calculating shear stress, or how hard the blood tugs on the walls of the arteries, based on the geometry of the arteries and how fast the blood is moving.

Aggressive drug therapy aids superbug evolution

New research raises troubling concerns about the use of aggressive drug therapies to treat a wide range of diseases such as MRSA, C. difficile, malaria, and even cancer.

"The universally accepted strategy of aggressive medication to kill all targeted disease pathogens has the problematic consequence of giving any drug-resistant disease pathogens that are present the greatest possible evolutionary advantage," says Troy Day, one of the paper's co-authors and Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Biology at Queen's.

UI biologist finds one species of pathogen can produce two distinct biofilms

Many medical devices, ranging from artificial hip joints to dentures and catheters, become sites for unwelcome guests -- complex communities of microbial pathogens called biofilms that are resistant to the human immune system and antibiotics, thus proving a serious threat to human health.

However, researchers may have a new way of looking at biofilms, thanks to a study conducted by University of Iowa biologist David Soll and his colleagues published in the Aug. 2 issue of the online, open access journal PLoS Biology.

The unfinished symphony of Nobel laureate Robert Burns Woodward

Amsterdam, 1 August 2011 – When Robert Burns Woodward passed away in 1979 he left 699 pages of handwritten notes. Because R.B. Woodward was a Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1965) his family had carefully preserved his notes for posterity. A paper published in Elsevier's Tetrahedron summarizes the process of an extensive study uncovering the hidden treasures in these notes.

Report offers framework to guide EPA on incorporating sustainability in its decision making

WASHINGTON – A new report from the National Research Council presents a framework for incorporating sustainability into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's principles and decision making. The framework, which was requested by EPA, is intended to help the agency better assess the social, environmental, and economic impacts of various options as it makes decisions.

New IOF-ISCD review clarifies the use of FRAX in clinical practice

FRAX® is a computer-based algorithm developed by the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Metabolic Bone Diseases to help predict the 10-year risk of fragility fracture. Now with 34 specific country models, FRAX is being used increasingly by physicians around the world to help assess their patients' fracture risk in the course of a clinical assessment.

Abnormal liver tests associated with increased death rates in people over 75

One in six people over 75 are likely to have at least one abnormal liver test and those that have two or more are twice as likely to die from cancer and 17 times more likely to die from liver disease, according to research in the August issue of Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

UK researchers studied 13,276 patients who were registered with 53 family doctors and agreed to an in-depth health assessment. Patients were drawn at random from the general population and those who were terminally ill or living in nursing homes were excluded.

Hospitalist savings shift to other providers, cost Medicare more than $1.1 billion a year

GALVESTON, July 25, 2011 – Inpatients cared for by hospitalists have higher Medicare costs in the 30 days after discharge than those whose personal physicians oversee their care. This is partly because hospitalists' patients are more likely to be discharged to a rehabilitation or nursing facility than to their homes and more likely to have subsequent emergency room visits and readmissions. Such "cost shifting" translates to more than $1.1 billion in Medicare expenses annually, contradicting beliefs that hospitalist care reduces overall costs.

Heart attack survivors from poorer neighborhoods get less exercise

San Diego, CA, August 2, 2011 – Engaging in physical activity after a heart attack is known to increase the odds of survival. In a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers from the Israel Study Group on First Acute Myocardial Infarction found that myocardial infarction (MI) survivors who lived in low socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhoods engaged in lower levels of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) compared to survivors from wealthier neighborhoods.

For even the most successful blacks and Hispanics, 'separate' means 'unequal'

A new research brief from the US2010 Project shows that the average black or Hispanic household earning over $75,000 lives in a poorer neighborhood than the average white resident earningunder $40,000.

4 physician organizations issue new clinical recommendations for diagnosing and treating COPD

PHILADELPHIA, August 2, 2011 -- The American College of Physicians (ACP), American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), American Thoracic Society (ATS), and European Respiratory Society (ERS) today released a joint clinical practice guideline on diagnosing and treating stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP's flagship journal. ACP convened the four organizations, which represent more than 170,000 physicians from around the world, to develop the joint guideline.

Smoke-free laws don't impact most rural or urban businesses

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 29, 2011) − In a recent study published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research, Ellen Hahn, professor in the University of Kentucky College of Nursing and Mark Pyles, assistant professor of finance in the School of Business at the College of Charleston, found smoke-free legislation does not negatively influence local economies in either rural or urban communities. This is true regardless of whether the law is enacted at the state or local level.

School obesity-prevention curriculum can reduce medical costs

Teaching middle-school children about nutrition and exercise and encouraging them to watch less TV can save the health care system a substantial amount of money, suggests an economic analysis from Children's Hospital Boston and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Interview discusses the safety of cell phone use

New Rochelle, NY, August 1, 2011—The dangers of cell phones have led to preventive policies in France, Israel, Finland, and India, and there are simple ways to minimize the health risks associated with exposure to the radiation energy they emit, according to Devra Lee Davis, PhD, MPH, President of the Environmental Health Trust, in a timely and informative interview featured in Alternative and Complementary Therapies.