Culture | Science Codex

Nurse practitioners provide more primary care in states with least restrictive regulations

Facing a nationwide shortage of primary care physicians, some states in recent years have eased up on regulations that create barriers for nurse practitioners who want to work as primary care providers.

That easing of rules has had the intended effect. According to a new study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, those states with the fewest restrictions on nurse practitioners' scope of practice had two-and-a-half times more patients receiving primary care from nurse practitioners than did the most restrictive states.

Patients who are engaged in their own care are more likely to reduce the risk of future fractures

TORONTO -- People over the age of 50 who have suffered a fracture because of a slip or trip play a central role in making sure they get proper care to prevent a future fracture, a new study has found.

The findings are important because previous efforts to improve care for bone health after one of these fractures have had limited success.

Earthworms could help scientists 'dig' into past climates

A team of UK researchers believe earthworms could provide a window into past climates, allowing scientists to piece together the prevailing weather conditions thousands of years ago.

A laboratory study by researchers from the Universities of Reading and York has demonstrated that balls of calcium carbonate (small lumps of chalk-like material) excreted by the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris – commonly known as lobworms or nightcrawlers - maintain a memory of the temperature at which they were formed.

Tailoring diabetes treatment to older patients yields dramatic results

More than a quarter of over 70s with type 2 diabetes could benefit simply from improving communication and education in the clinic, new research has revealed. A study led by the University of Exeter Medical School and published in The Lancet found that 27 percent achieved better glycaemic control through individualised care alone.

At the moment, patients over the age of 70 are treated using a blanket method of aggressively reducing blood glucose levels, but that does little to take their complex needs into account.

African-Americans with blood cancer do not live as long as Caucasians, despite equal care

A new analysis has found that among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, African Americans more commonly present with advanced disease, and they tend to have shorter survival times than Caucasians despite receiving the same care. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the results suggest that biological factors may account for some racial disparities in cancer survival.

Gunning for trouble: Study of young assault victims finds risky mix of gun possession and aggression

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — They're young. They've been injured in an assault – so badly they went to the emergency room. And nearly one in four of them has a gun, probably an illegal one. What happens next?

A new study by the University of Michigan Injury Center provides data that could be important to breaking the cycle of gun violence that kills more teens and young adults than anything except auto accidents.

African Americans with blood cancer do not live as long as caucasians, despite equal care

A new analysis has found that among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, African Americans more commonly present with advanced disease, and they tend to have shorter survival times than Caucasians despite receiving the same care. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the results suggest that biological factors may account for some racial disparities in cancer survival.

Gunning for trouble: Study of young assault victims finds risky mix of gun possession & aggression

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — They're young. They've been injured in an assault – so badly they went to the emergency room. And nearly one in four of them has a gun, probably an illegal one. What happens next?

A new study by the University of Michigan Injury Center provides data that could be important to breaking the cycle of gun violence that kills more teens and young adults than anything except auto accidents.

Continuity of Care from the Patient's Perspective – Security Rather than Seamlessness

A metasummary of 33 qualitative studies on continuity of care finds patients experience continuity as security and confidence rather than as seamlessness.

Patients' desire for connectedness, the researchers find, extends beyond health care encounters to include connectedness between health care and the rest of the patient's life, which translates to a sense of security and confidence more than of seamlessness.

Sediment processes can be significant source of ambient noise

Many studies of ambient ocean noise have focused on anthropogenic, biological, and weather- related sources, but collisions of sediment grains can also generate a significant amount of background noise.

In an observational study linking noise and sediment processes, Bassett et al. measured sediment-generated noise in Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound, Washington, a site where peak tidal currents exceed 3 meters per second (6.7 miles per hour).

From manga to movies: Study offers new insights into Japan's biggest media industries

Japanese films have retaken the box office in their home market in a major shift not seen since the 1960s, according to new research by the University of East Anglia (UEA).

A boom in production numbers has taken place since 2000 - in 2012 Japan produced 554 films, the first time it had broken the 500-film barrier since 1961. This is in contrast to the period from the 1950s to the end of the 1990s, when Japanese production steadily declined from about 500 movies a year to only around 250.

Earliest evidence of using flower beds for burial found in Raqefet Cave in Mt. Carmel

The earliest evidence of using flower beds for burial, dating back to 13,700 years ago, was discovered in Raqefet Cave in Mt. Carmel, during excavations led by the University of Haifa. In four different graves from the Natufian period, dating back to 13,700-11,700 years ago, dozens of impressions of Salvia plants and other species of sedges and mints (the Lamiaceae family), were found under human skeletons. "This is another evidence that as far back as 13,700 years ago, our ancestors, the Natufians, had burial rituals similar to ours, nowadays", said Prof.

It smells fishy: Copper prevents fish from avoiding danger

Fish fail to detect danger in copper-polluted water. A new study, to be presented at the meeting of the Society for Experimental Biology on the 5th of July, shows that fish cannot smell a danger odor signal emitted by other fish in waters contaminated with copper.

Archaeologists unearth carved head of Roman god in ancient rubbish dump

An 1,800-year-old carved stone head of what is believed to be a Roman god has been unearthed in an ancient rubbish dump.

Archaeologists made the discovery at Binchester Roman Fort, near Bishop Auckland in County Durham, England.

First year Durham University archaeology student Alex Kirton found the artefact, which measures about 20cm by 10cm, in buried late Roman rubbish within what was probably a bath house.

Homicide by mentally ill falls, but patient suicide rises in England

The number of people killed by mental health patients has fallen to its lowest level in a decade -- figures released today show.

Experts suggest the fall in homicide reflects safer patient care and point to the possible effect of better treatment of drug and alcohol problems as well as new legal powers in the community.

But suicides among mental health patients increased with the current economic difficulties a likely factor.