Culture | Science Codex

Domestic dogs' fear responses to noise

A study has gained new insight into domestic dogs' fear responses to noises. The behavioral response by dogs to noises can be extreme in nature, distressing for owners and a welfare issue for dogs.

The research by academics from the School of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Bristol, and funded by the RSPCA, is published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science. The study provides an important insight into dogs' fear of noises, and could improve our understanding of behavioral signs of fear or anxiety.

CWRU study examines family struggles with anger and forgiveness when relative is dying

Watching a loved one die tests some family members' relationships with God or the higher being of one's faith. And the spiritual anger and resentment grow with the level of pain and suffering their family member endures, according to researchers at Case Western Reserve University.

Psychologist Julie Exline and palliative care advanced practice nurse Maryjo Prince-Paul surveyed 147 family members with a hospice patient under home care.

CT angiography helps predict heart attack risk

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is an effective tool for determining the risk of heart attacks and other adverse cardiac events in patients with suspected coronary artery disease but no treatable risk factors, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

Fibromyalgia prevalence at 2.1 percent of general German population

Researchers have determined that fibromyalgia prevalence is 2.1% of the general population in Germany. Results appearing in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), suggest that fibromyalgia is a spectrum disorder rather than a categorical illness. Additionally, a number of fibromyalgia cases in the general population satisfy proposed criteria for physical symptom disorder—the presence of one or more physical symptoms that impair function, which cannot be explained by another clinical or psychiatric illness.

Study suggests women have higher risk of hip implant failure

Women appear to have a higher risk of implant failure than men following total hip replacement after considering patient-, surgery-, surgeon-, volume- and implant-specific risk factors, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

Doctors fail to communicate impact of heart devices with patients, SLU study finds

ST. LOUIS – New research at Saint Louis University shows physicians do not talk to patients about the psychosocial impact and long-term risks of implanting cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) to treat irregular heart rhythms, leaving them misinformed about how the device may affect quality of life.

The article, titled 'Patient Perceptions, Physician Communication and the Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator,' was published online in JAMA Internal Medicine (formerly Archives of Internal Medicine) on February 18.

Projected U.S. water use likely to increase as climate warms

Because of increasing efficiency, water demand in the United States over the next 50 years would stay within 3 percent of current demand, even with an expected 50 percent increase in population. Butdespite increases in efficiency, advocates say water demand in the United States is likely to increase substantially in the future if the climate continues to warm.

Brown et al. project future water use to 2090 based on past trends from U.S. Geological Survey water use data from 1960 to 2005 and trends in efficiency.

High Out-of-Pocket Health Expenses Cause Life Disruptions

With American families contributing a growing proportion of their personal income to health care, researchers find patients are consequently experiencing a range of social, medical, financial and sometimes legal disruptions resulting from high out-of-pocket expenses.

Loyalty is trump

A skilful negotiator can save a lot of money when shopping in his favourite store. This was found out by researchers at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) in a large-scale study. An extra five percent discount is, on average, no problem - as long as you know how to use your customer loyalty as a trump.

The credo turned on its head

Excessive TV in childhood linked to long-term antisocial behaviour

Children and adolescents who watch a lot of television are more likely to manifest antisocial and criminal behaviour when they become adults, according to a new University of Otago, New Zealand, study published online in the US journal Pediatrics.

Clinicians' Implicit Racial Bias Associated with Black Patients' Perceptions of Care

Clinicians with higher levels of implicit ethnic or racial bias—bias that may not be consciously acknowledged but operates in more subtle ways—are rated less favorably by their black patients than are clinicians with lower levels of implicit bias.

Surveys of nearly 3,000 patients, randomly selected from patient panels of 134 clinicians who had previously completed tests of implicit ethnic or racial bias, found black patients rated clinicians who had greater implicit bias against blacks lower in patient-centered care than they did clinicians with little or no such implicit bias.

Walking again after spinal injury

In the lab, rats with severe spinal cord injury are learning to walk—and run—again. Last June in the journalScience, Grégoire Courtine, of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), reported that rats in hislab are not only voluntarily initiating a walking gait, but they were sprinting, climbing up stairs, and avoidingobstacles after a couple of weeks of neurorehabilitation with a combination of a robotic harness and electricalchemicalstimulation.

Science journalists, be more like Rachel Carson: Work for government, then be advocates

It has been more than 50 years since Rachel Carson published her groundbreaking book "Silent Spring". Derided by scientists at the time, she is now regarded as a hero by environmental progressives and a villain by many others, but Carson certainly changed how the public views environmentalism.

Resilience of coastal communities in a wild weather world

Hurricane Sandy was a fearsome reminder that coastal communities are highly vulnerable to extreme weather events and environmental variability, and that vulnerability is only expected to increase with climate change. Brown University scientists Heather Leslie and Leila Sievanen, members of an interdisciplinary research team focused on human-environment interactions in coastal regions, will discuss these challenges this month at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston.

Engineering cities in a changing climate

DURHAM, N.H. – As our climate changes, the way we engineer our cities must, too. That's the message that University of New Hampshire professor Paul Kirshen, an author of a recent report that assessed Boston's vulnerability to coastal flooding, will deliver at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting February 14-18, 2013, in Boston.