Culture | Page 1709 | Science Codex

Partners of patients with melanoma find new cancers with skin exam training

Skin-check partners of patients with melanoma effectively performed skin self-examinations and identified new melanomas as part of an effort to increase early detection of the skin cancer that can be fatal, according to the results of a clinical trial published online by JAMA Dermatology.

Patients with melanoma are at increased risk of developing a second primary melanoma. Patients with melanoma and their partners can help to manage early detection of new or recurrent melanoma with skin self-examination (SSE).

Simple screening tool helps determine COPD risk

A simple 7-item screening tool can help clinicians identify patients at risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), even if they are not experiencing any symptoms.

Blue-collar training in high school leaves women behind

ITHACA, N.Y. - What's the best way to prepare high schoolers for jobs in the 21st century? Education leaders and the general public have been debating this question with more heat in recent years, clashing over whether to focus on college preparation or vocational training, especially training linked to blue-collar jobs.

AJR opinion piece considers managing the radiation dose while communicating the risk

Leesburg, VA, June 29, 2016-- Despite evidence that low doses of ionizing radiation associated with imaging are not dangerous, the medical community is frequently faced with the challenge of communicating the risk and managing the dose.

Congress should create commission to examine the protection of participants in research

WASHINGTON -- A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that examines the regulations governing federally funded research recommends that Congress authorize and the president appoint an independent national commission to examine and update the ethical, legal, and institutional frameworks governing research involving human subjects. The commission should make recommendations for how the ethical principles governing human subjects research should be applied to unresolved questions and new research contexts.

Everolimus R-CHOP combination safe for treating diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- The targeted therapy everolimus may be safely combined with R-CHOP for new, untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma according to the results of a pilot study by Mayo Clinic researchers published in the Lancet Haematology. R-CHOP is a combination of drugs used to treat lymphoma. The combination includes rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone.

Research reveals widespread herbicide use on North American wildlands

MISSOULA, Montana - University of Montana researchers are giving the public its first look at the widespread use of herbicides on federal and tribal land in North America, and they urge land managers to better document it.

Herbicides originally were developed to suppress weeds in crop agriculture. Today, they also are widely used in natural areas or "wildlands" to control non-native plants, which have arrived from other regions and can cause considerable ecological and economic harm.

Creating a sustainable 'circular economy' could be complex but rewarding

Styles are always evolving. With every new fad comes more waste and pollution as we throw out our old clothes and use copious amounts of chemicals and water to create new ones. Some say a "circular economy," in which resources are recycled instead of discarded, is the answer to our fashion woes. The cover story in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, explores its pitfalls and potential.

Protein in, ammonia out

Ammonia gas packs quite the smelly punch. In small doses, it's what makes smelling salts so effective. But high levels of ammonia can be a health hazard and a pollutant.

Dairy farms are one of the major sources of ammonia emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that dairy farms contributed more than 20% of the ammonia emitted from animal husbandry operations in 2015.

Now, a recent study has compiled and analyzed data from 25 previous studies. Researchers honed in on factors that influence how much ammonia dairy barns emit.

Certain red flags indicate an increased need for intensive care among patients with asthma

In patients admitted to the hospital for asthma, illicit drug use and low socioeconomic status were linked with an increased risk of requiring admission to the intensive care unit. Not adhering to asthma prevention medication further increased this risk.

The study included 482 asthma patients admitted to the hospital between January 2010 and January 2014. Of these patients, 39 required intensive care.

The findings may help clinicians assess asthma patients' risks and monitor their health during hospitalizations.

Antidepressant does not reduce hospitalization, death for HF patients with depression

In a study appearing in the June 28 issue of JAMA, Christiane E. Angermann, M.D., of University Hospital Wurzburg, Germany, and colleagues examined whether 24 months of treatment with the antidepressant escitalopram would improve mortality, illness, and mood in patients with chronic heart failure and depression.

Rehab therapy while in ICU for respiratory failure does not reduce hospital length of stay

In a study appearing in the June 28 issue of JAMA, Peter E. Morris, M.D., of the University of Kentucky, Lexington, and colleagues compared outcomes for standardized rehabilitation therapy to usual intensive care unit (ICU) care for acute respiratory failure.

European Medicines Agency talks to doctors and industry about revising trial design

Sophia Antipolis, June 29, 2016: The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has discussed its concept paper for evaluating trial results on treatments for acute coronary syndromes with doctors and drug companies. The conclusions are published today in European Heart Journal: Acute Cardiovascular Care.1

Medical device regulation in the EU and US needs urgent reform, say experts

Medical devices approved first in the European Union (EU) are associated with a greater rate of safety issues, finds a study published by The BMJ today.

Clinical trial results for many new medical devices that could guide treatment decisions also remain unpublished or unavailable up to five years after approval, the findings show.

As such, the researchers call for greater regulatory transparency to enable patients and clinicians to make informed decisions about treatment.

Latest research on physical therapy in ICU setting a 'surprising reversal'

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 28, 2016) -- In a surprising reversal, researchers have determined that a particular protocol providing physical therapy to ICU patients with acute respiratory failure did not shorten hospital length of stay.

Secondary measures of physical function and health-related quality of life were split.

The study, which is the largest to-date on this topic, was not able to confirm the findings from earlier pilot and quality improvement studies.