Culture

Pregnant women living near the World Trade Center during 9/11 experienced higher-than-normal negative birth outcomes, according to a new working paper by Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

August 14, 2014 – More than 40 percent of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) recipients take opioid pain relievers, while the prevalence of chronic opioid use is over 20 percent and rising, reports a study in the September issue of Medical Care. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Presenting an authentic image on social network sites (SNSs) includes an element of fakery according to a new study by researchers at Aalto University. During the study, researchers discovered that being authentic is very important for social media users. At the same time, users also admitted faking parts of their online image in order to conform to social norms and expectations.

By focusing on two SNSs, Facebook and Last.fm, the researchers came to the conclusion that being real is much more acceptable according to social norms.

Bethesda, MD (Aug. 14, 2014) – Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is one of the most innovative new treatments of the 21st century. Experts believe that this procedure, which transplants microbes from one human gut to another through fecal matter, could offer the cure to a vast range of diseases and shed new light on the role of the microbiome in gastrointestinal diseases. New research presented this weekend at the American Gastroenterological Association's 2014 James W.

High-dose influenza vaccine is 24 percent more effective than the standard-dose vaccine in protecting persons ages 65 and over against influenza illness and its complications, according to a Vanderbilt-led study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

Older adults suffering from sleep disturbances are more likely to die by suicide than well-rested adults, according to a study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

"This is important because sleep disturbances are highly treatable, yet arguably less stigmatizing than many other suicide risk factors," said Rebecca Bernert, PhD, lead author of the study. Bernert is an instructor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of the Suicide Prevention Research Laboratory at Stanford.

Reported poor sleep quality, independent of a depressed mood, appears to be associated with an increased risk for suicide in older adults.

The study was written by Rebecca A. Bernert, Ph.D., of the Stanford University School of Medicine, California, and colleagues

A cure for a range of blood disorders and immune diseases is in sight, according to scientists who have unravelled the mystery of stem cell generation.

The Australian study, led by researchers at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) at Monash University and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, is published today in Nature. It identifies for the first time mechanisms in the body that trigger hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) production.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- In the past half-century, fear of crime in the United States has fueled "white flight" from big cities, become known as a quality of life issue and prompted scholars and law enforcement experts to address ways of reducing this fear.

But a study by a Michigan State University criminologist challenges this longstanding theory by arguing that a healthy fear of crime is, in fact, a good thing.

A major international study of more than 303,000 births in 29 low-income and middle-income countries has found that only half (52%) of women who are eligible to receive a simple, effective, low-cost treatment to prevent death and disability in their newborn babies are getting it.

Well-publicized tragedies on college campuses across the United States have prompted university officials to implement alert systems that broadcast real-time warnings via text message and e-mail to students, faculty, and staff. Such systems can be highly effective tools, but only if users take them seriously. New research to be presented at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 2014 Annual Meeting in Chicago illustrates some factors that can determine whether campus alert systems are attended to or disregarded.

About 1 in 5 Medicare patients is discharged from hospice care alive, due to patients' informed choice or a change in their condition, but sometimes inappropriate actions by the hospice to save on hospitalization costs related to terminal illness.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed – and misdiagnosed – behavioral disorder in children in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unfortunately, there are currently no reliable physiological markers to diagnose ADHD. Doctors generally diagnose the disorder by recording a medical and social history of the patient and the family, discussing possible symptoms and observing the patient's behavior.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Twenty-first-century patients typically don't stay in the hospital until they are completely well or totally healed. As hospitalization durations decrease, a significant number of older patients -- about one in five -- are discharged to skilled nursing facilities for continuation or closure of their care.

The Henry Ford team first braced the inside of the IVC with a metal, expandable stent. He then used the catheter to insert and expand a TAVR valve to fit snugly inside.

The team used 3D modeling to create a working replica of the patient's heart, which helped them properly plan the procedure and choose an appropriately sized valve in advance.

Once deployed, the new valve stopped blood from leaking and pooling in the patient's abdomen and lower extremities.