Culture | Page 2139 | Science Codex

Researchers link obesity and the body's production of fructose

AURORA, Colo. (Sept. 10, 2013) – Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine reported today that the cause of obesity and insulin resistance may be tied to the fructose your body makes in addition to the fructose you eat.

In recent years the role of added sweeteners, such as high fructose corn syrup and table sugar (sucrose), has taken center stage as risk factors for obesity and insulin resistance. Numerous studies suggest that the risk from added sugars may be due to the fructose content.

Language change: From London's 'EastEnders' to Glasgow

(Washington, DC) – A recent study provides the first empirical evidence to show that active and engaged television viewing can help to accelerate language change.

Study: Racial, ethnic differences in outcomes following stroke known as subarachnoid hemorrhage

TORONTO, Sept. 10, 2013—Race or ethnicity can be a significant clue in the United States as to who will survive a kind of stroke known as a subarachnoid hemorrhage and who will be discharged to institutional care, a new study has found.

Compared to Caucasians, Asian/Pacific Islander patients were more likely and Hispanic patients less likely to die of a subarachnoid hemorrhage, or SAH, while in the hospital.

Racial/ethnic differences in outcomes following subarachnoid hemorrhage

Charlottesville, VA (September 10, 2013). University of Toronto researchers examined data on patients who had been hospitalized in the United States for subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and found racial/ethnic differences in the rates of inpatient mortality and hospital discharge to institutional care. Compared to white patients, Asian/Pacific Islander patients were more likely and Hispanic patients less likely to die while in the hospital.

Maya dismembered their enemies

Researchers of the Department of Anthropology of the Americas at the University of Bonn have discovered a mass grave in an artificial cave in the historical Maya city of Uxul (Mexico). Marks on the bones indicate that the individuals buried in the cave were decapitated and dismembered around 1,400 years ago. The scientists assume that the victims were either prisoners of war or nobles from Uxul itself.

Study reveals benefits of wishes on seriously ill children and their parents

New research has shown that schemes that grant children with a life threatening illness a special wish have a positive impact on their and their family's wellbeing.

The research also demonstrates that seeing the child experience their wish was positive for the parents, while often it provoked bittersweet feelings.

Study: Minimally injured people sent to trauma centers cost hundreds of millions per year

PORTLAND, Ore. — During a three-year period in seven metropolitan areas in the western United States, the emergency medical services system sent more than 85,000 injured patients to major trauma hospitals who didn't need to go there — costing the health care system more than $130 million per year, according to an Oregon Health & Science University study published today in the journal Health Affairs.

New strategy could reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics

Barcelona, Spain: Researchers have developed a new strategy for prescribing antibiotics that could reduce patient harm and help combat the rise in antibiotic resistance.

A new study, which is due to be presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress in Barcelona tomorrow (11 September 2013), found that a new prescribing protocol could significant reduce potential misuse of antibiotics.

Electronic tool helps reduce deaths from pneumonia in emergency departments

Barcelona, Spain: An electronic decision support tool helped to reduce deaths from pneumonia in four hospital emergency departments in a new study.

The findings, which will be presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress in Barcelona tomorrow (11 September 2013), could lead to improvements in pneumonia care and outcomes for patients.

MRI may predict heart attack and stroke risk in people with diabetes

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Whole-body MRI may serve as a valuable noninvasive tool for assessing the risk of heart attack and stroke in diabetic patients, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

Diabetes is a metabolic disease characterized by an increased concentration of glucose in the blood. There are 347 million diabetic patients worldwide, and the World Health Organization projects that diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death by 2030.

World Heart Federation calls on all countries to follow example of Finland, New Zealand

As the Tobacco End Game conference takes place in New Delhi, India, this week, The World Heart Federation today calls on countries worldwide to follow the example set by nations such as Finland, New Zealand, and Scotland to set a target year to end tobacco use in their populations. Ending tobacco use in this sense means reducing population smoking levels to 5% or below, as well as implementing further measures in the international tobacco control treaty 'The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.'

Full impact of the ACA won't be known due to fundamental problems in how U.S. Health care is organized

Reviewing the objectives of the Affordable Care Act and analyzing the likely outcomes in light of the imperfect hand of the U.S. health care market, J.B. Silvers, PhD, a health care economist at Case Western Reserve University, concludes it is unlikely the potential for higher value care efficiently provided in the best location at a fair competitive price will be fully realized.

Closing in on risk factors for cerebral palsy and infant death

Karin B. Nelson, M.D., scientist emeritus at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health, and her colleagues from the University of Sydney, the University of Western Australia and Sydney Adventist Hospital in Australia examined the degree to which four specific risk factors contributed to cerebral palsy and young infant death.

New report finds no evidence that safety-net patients receive substandard primary care

WASHINGTON and NEW YORK—A new study by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) finds no evidence that primary care physicians provide "second-class" care to Medicaid, uninsured and other patients who rely on the nation's safety-net system. The study, which appears in the September issue of the journal Health Affairs, challenges previous claims that the care provided to low-income and vulnerable patients is substandard.

Blacks in U.S. may be at higher risk for health problems from insufficient sleep

Boston, MA -- Blacks are more likely than whites to sleep less than seven hours a night and the black-white sleep disparity is greatest in professional occupations, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). "Short sleep" has been linked with increased risk of health problems, including obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and death. The researchers also found that black professionals had the highest prevalence of short sleep and white professionals had the lowest prevalence.