MONTRÉAL (October 19, 2015)- Researchers from Mount Sinai Beth Israel, in New York, New York, created a quality improvement initiative in 2012, recommending a restrictive approach to ordering chest x-rays (CXRs) compared with ordering them routinely. They hypothesized that this restrictive approach would significantly reduce patients' exposure to radiation and reduce ICU operating costs without adversely affecting patient outcomes.
Culture
October 19, 2015 - Advances in ultrathin films have made solar panels and semiconductor devices more efficient and less costly, and researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory say they've found a way to manufacture the films more easily, too.
Typically the films--used by organic bulk heterojunction solar cells, or BHJs, to convert solar energy into electricity--are created in a solution by mixing together conjugated polymers and fullerenes, soccer ball-like carbon molecules also known as buckyballs.
MONTRÉAL (October 19, 2015)- Researchers from Baylor Scott & White Health and Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine in Temple, Texas, found no increased risk of mortality for patients with severe sepsis who were stabilized in the ED prior to ICU admission.
New research indicates that low levels of a growth factor called stem cell factor (SCF)--which is thought to be important for blood vessel repair--are linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Among 96 former Swiss indentured child laborers, 22 individuals showed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and 53 reported having experienced childhood trauma. Men reported a significantly higher prevalence of both sexual concerns and dysfunctional sexual behavior compared with women.
It will be important to further explore the relative role of traumatization and PTSD on sexual behavior and well-being, especially to improve sexual therapy for patients who have experienced trauma.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (October 19, 2015)--Everyone knows that exercise is good for you, regardless of your age. But a new study coming out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and presented earlier this month at the 2015 annual meeting of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) shows that some types of physical activity have a greater impact on body composition in postmenopausal compared to premenopausal women.
Burdens related to poor sleep may put men with sleep apnea at increased risk of erectile dysfunction.
In a study of 713 male patients who visited Seoul National University Hospital for snoring and/or daytime sleepiness from 2006 to 2014, depressive symptoms and a low quality of life due to sleep problems were clearly linked to erectile dysfunction.
The findings suggest that psychological interventions may improve the sexual health of men with sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea may increase the risk of developing gout, a new study shows.
Among 9865 patients with newly-diagnosed sleep apnea and 43,598 comparators of similar weight, investigators identified 270 new cases of gout over one year of follow-up, resulting in incidence rates of 8.4/1000 and 4.8/1000 person-years, respectively. The increased risk of gout was 60% higher among patients with sleep apnea.
In recent years hospitals have been rapidly acquiring physician practices, a trend that could potentially lower health care spending--for example, through better coordination of inpatient and outpatient care--or increase spending by increasing prices or use of profitable hospital-based services.
Health care providers must have detailed discussions with their older adult patients to better determine their true life expectancy, as older adults do not accurately predict their own prognosis, a key factor in making decisions about future health interventions, according to researchers at UC San Francisco and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Their research letter appears online Oct. 19, 2015, in JAMA Internal Medicine.
New research from a team led by a psychologist at the University of Kent suggests that humans, like other species, can perceive certain scents as threatening.
Dr Arnaud Wisman, of the University's School of Psychology, found that putrescine, the chemical produced by decaying tissue of dead bodies, can produce a fight-or-flight response in humans.
In four different experiments, people were exposed consciously and non-consciously to putrescine.
Nanoparticles are ubiquitous in industrial applications ranging from drug delivery and biomedical diagnostics to developing hydrophobic surfaces, lubricant additives and enhanced oil recovery solutions in petroleum fields. For such nanoparticles to be effective, they need to remain well dispersed into the fluid surrounding them. In a study published in EPJ B, Brazilian physicists identified the conditions that lead to instability of nanoparticles and producing aggregates.
Excessive alcohol use continues to be a drain on the American economy, according to a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Excessive drinking cost the U.S. $249 billion in 2010, or $2.05 per drink, a significant increase from $223.5 billion, or $1.90 per drink, in 2006. Most of these costs were due to reduced workplace productivity, crime, and the cost of treating people for health problems caused by excessive drinking.
Climate variability is one of the major forces in the rise and fall of agrarian states in Mexico and Peru, according to a team of researchers looking at both climate and archaeological records.
"We are arguing that the climate information in both areas is good enough to establish that climate is playing some role in the rise and fall of these city states," said Douglas Kennett, professor of environmental archaeology. "Now we need to further refine the archaeological data."