Culture | Page 1775 | Science Codex

State laws boost flu vaccination rates in health care workers

PITTSBURGH, March 2, 2016 - State laws mandating influenza immunization for people who work in health care increase their vaccination rates, according to new research led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

The analysis, published in the Journal of the National Medical Association and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, looked at influenza immunization rates from 2000 to 2011, a timespan in which states with flu vaccination laws aimed at health care workers climbed from two to 19.

Mechanism discovered for mosaic pattern of cells in the nasal cavity

Every cell in our bodies has its proper place, but how do they get there? A research group led by Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine Ph.D. student KATSUNUMA Sayaka and Assistant Professor TOGASHI Hideru discovered the mechanism for a mosaic pattern formation of two different cell types. Their discovery has potentially broad applications as a common principle for determining pattern formation in different types of cell. The findings were published in "The Journal of Cell Biology" on February 29, 2016.

Bundled payments improve care for Medicare patients undergoing joint replacement

(Orlando, Fla.) Implementing bundled payments for total joint replacements resulted in year-over-year improvements in quality of care and patient outcomes while reducing overall costs, according to a new three-year study from NYU Langone Medical Center.

Specifically, NYU Langone's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery saw reductions in overall length of stay, decreases in admission to follow-up care facilities and lower readmission rates at 30, 60, and 90 day intervals over the three-year study period.

Emergency departments face considerable costs related to long-term urinary catheters

Problems with long-term urinary catheters create a considerable demand on emergency departments and are very costly to healthcare systems, according to a new study from South East London.

Patients with long-term urinary catheters should have access to community nursing services, but most patients in this study had minimal community nurse support. "More than 80% of patients attended the emergency department for a simple catheter problem, and only 14% actually saw a community nurse beforehand," said June Tay, lead author of the BJU International article.

Study shows high patient satisfaction with telemedicine-based care of sleep apnea

DARIEN, IL - A new study suggests that telemedicine-based management for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is as effective and may be comparable to in-person care.

Nuanced findings for a large experimental treatment trial for Ebola virus disease

While not conclusive, valuable research generated through researching an experimental treatment for Ebola virus disease in Guinea during the recent Ebola outbreak will support future research into treating Ebola virus disease, according to Prof. Denis Malvy from INSERM, France and a large team of international researchers in a new Research Article published in this week's PLOS Medicine.

Identity unearthed

In a middle-class tomb just east of the Nile River in what was Upper Nubia, a woman offers a glimpse of how two met civilizations met, mingled and a new pharaonic dynasty arose. Her tomb was Egyptian, but she was buried in the Nubian style -- placed in a flexed position on her side and resting on a bed. Around her neck she wore amulets of the Egyptian god Bes, the protector of households.

They work for stores and airlines -- could customer loyalty programs work in health care too?

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- When you buy a cup of coffee, a load of groceries, an airline ticket or a tank of gas these days, you probably pull out a customer loyalty card without even thinking about it. It might even be linked to how you pay.

You may be thinking mostly about the perks you're earning. But the place you're buying from is focused on keeping your business, getting your positive word of mouth to family and friends -- and even making you more tolerant of problems for the sake of rewards.

Severe anemia linked with risk of serious intestinal disorder among VLBW infants

Ravi M. Patel, M.D., M.Sc., of the Emory University School of Medicine & Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and colleagues examined whether red blood cell transfusion and severe anemia were associated with the rate of necrotizing enterocolitis (an acute, life-threatening, inflammatory disease occurring in the intestines of premature infants) among very low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants. The study appears in the March 1, 2016 issue of JAMA.

Screening for impaired vision in older adults

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has concluded that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for impaired visual acuity (clearness of vision) in adults age 65 years or older. The report appears in the March 1 issue of JAMA.

This is an I statement, indicating that evidence is lacking, of poor quality, or conflicting, and the balance of benefits and harms cannot be determined. An I statement is not a recommendation against screening but a call for more research.

Effectiveness of insulin regimens for patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes

In a study appearing in the March 1, 2016 issue of JAMA, John B. Buse, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, and colleagues compared the outcomes of once-daily injection of basal insulin (glargine) vs a once-daily injection of the combination of basal insulin degludec and the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist liraglutide in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes.

Combination injection improves glucose control for patients with type 2 diabetes

DALLAS - March. 1, 2016 - A multinational clinical trial led by UT Southwestern Medical Center and others found that injection of a new long-acting insulin combined with another drug improves glucose control in patients with Type 2 diabetes and, additionally, is associated with weight loss.

Youngest and oldest patients more likely to report pain, lower activity levels following

While all age groups report comparable improvement in range of motion following total knee replacement surgery (TKR), new research presented today at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) found that patients age 45 and younger, and those age 75 and older, report more pain and less activity following the procedure.

Drugs that treat osteoporosis also can cause small risk of thigh bone fractures

MAYWOOD, Ill. - Osteoporosis drugs have significantly reduced the risk of bone fractures for millions of people, but also have been linked to unusual fractures of the femur (thigh bone).

In the journal Current Geriatrics Reports, orthopaedic surgeons report the latest findings for treating these injuries, called atypical femur fractures.

The article is written by surgeons at Loyola University Medical Center and Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

One in two Americans have a musculoskeletal condition

An estimated 126.6 million Americans (one in two adults) are affected by a musculoskeletal condition--comparable to the total percentage of Americans living with a chronic lung or heart condition--costing an estimated $213 billion in annual treatment, care and lost wages, according to a new report issued today by the United States Bone and Joint Initiative (USBJI).