The founder of a decades-long scientific study that has proved the enduring benefits of early education today (Feb. 15, 2013) applauded President Barack Obama's recent call for universal access to high-quality preschool in the United States.
Culture
TORONTO, Feb. 15, 2013—Considering the many things a cancer patient has to think about, it's easy to understand why maintaining proper nutrition may not be top of mind.
This can be true, too, at busy outpatient settings where it's often difficult to find the time and resources to test cancer patients for malnutrition.
However, researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have found a shorter version of a commonly used nutrition-assessment tool does the job effectively and can potentially improve outcomes for cancer patients.
Diabetic patients are more than twice as likely to die from a heart attack as non-diabetic patients, but the mechanisms that underlie increased heart attack-related mortality in diabetic patients are unknown. High levels of the oxidized form of the protein CamKII (ox-CaMKII) have been linked to increased risk of sudden death after heart attack. Additionally, hearts from diabetic patients have significantly greater ox-CAMKII compared to hearts from non-diabetic patients.
University of Cincinnati-led research takes a new direction in examining the availability of healthy foods for urban populations by examining the commuting patterns of its residents.
This new approach to identifying so-called food deserts, now published online, will appear in the May journal of Health and Place.
In modern medicine, no one trusts anyone. Hospitals are greedy death panels, the federal government is even more greedy death panels, and people think sex-change operations should be part of their health insurance and have no deductible and if they don't get it, it's due to greedy insurance companies.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Children who overreact to stressors may be at risk of becoming overweight or obese, according to researchers at Penn State and Johns Hopkins University.
"Our results suggest that some children who are at risk of becoming obese can be identified by their biological response to a stressor," said Lori Francis, associate professor of biobehavioral health. "Ultimately, the goal is to help children manage stress in ways that promote health and reduce the risks associated with an over- or under-reactive stress response."
The study supports the notion that smoking bans have public health benefits from early life.
It is well established that smoking during pregnancy impairs the growth of an unborn child and shortens gestation. Exposure to second-hand smoke has also been found to affect birth outcomes, yet little is known about the impact of recent smoke-free legislation on birth weight and preterm birth.
The authors estimate nearly 40,000 extra admissions to hospital as a result of income inequality over the three year study period.
Income inequality is associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes, including higher infant mortality, reduced life expectancy, and poorer self-reported health. But little is known about the possible link between income inequality and outcome after admission to acute care hospitals.
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (EMBARGOED UNTIL February 14, 2013) – New research from the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health has found lower cesarean birth rates among Medicaid beneficiaries with access to support from a birth doula than among Medicaid patients nationally. A doula is not a medical provider, but is a trained, experienced professional person who can provide information, physical assistance and support to a woman during childbirth.
AUGUSTA, Ga. – When people lose hope that they will ever get another good night's sleep, they become at high risk for suicide, researchers report.
Insomnia and nightmares, which are often confused and may go hand-in-hand, are known risk factors for suicide but just how they contribute was unknown, said Dr. W. Vaughn McCall, Chair of the Medical College of Georgia Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at Georgia Regents University.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Physical Society (APS), the nation's largest organization of physicists, commends President Obama's exhortation in his State of the Union Speech that, "Now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the Space Race."
During the Space Race, the nation made huge investments in scientific research, which led to new discoveries, accelerated technological advancements and generated new innovations and businesses.
New Haven, Conn. – A new study has linked exposure to two common perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) with osteoarthritis. PFCs are used in more than 200 industrial processes and consumer products including certain stain- and water-resistant fabrics, grease-proof paper food containers, personal care products, and other items. Because of their persistence, PFCs have become ubiquitous contaminants of humans and wildlife.
Philadelphia, PA—Social groups in a population can lend important cues to law enforcement officials, consumer-based services and risk assessors. Social and geographical patterns that provide information about such communities or gangs have been a popular subject for mathematical modeling.
In a paper published last month in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, authors use police department records about individuals' social and geographical information to determine gang memberships.
New Haven, Conn. – A new study has linked exposure to two common perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) with osteoarthritis. PFCs are used in more than 200 industrial processes and consumer products including certain stain- and water-resistant fabrics, grease-proof paper food containers, personal care products, and other items. Because of their persistence, PFCs have become ubiquitous contaminants of humans and wildlife.