Culture | Page 2414 | Science Codex

CWRU study finds quality-of-life discussions are important for ICU patients

A new study from Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing emphasizes the importance of having discussions related to quality of life before becoming critically ill.

Barbara Daly and Sara Douglas led a research team that observed, taped and analyzed discussions from 116 family meetings, which took place in five intensive care units (ICUs) at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and MetroHealth Medical Center. The family meetings were for patients who had long ICU stays greater than five days.

Personality change key to improving well-being

People's personalities can change considerably over time, say scientists, suggesting that leopards really can change their spots.

Psychologists from The University of Manchester and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) also showed that small positive personality changes may lead to greater increases in happiness than earning more money, marrying, or gaining employment.

New Rice report finds Houston metropolitan area is more diverse, less segregated

Dramatic growth over the past 20 years has made Houston the most ethnically diverse large metropolitan area in the country and reduced its segregation, according to a new report from Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research and the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas.

Trauma study is first to show how cyclists are injured and killed on city streets

A study by researchers at Queen Mary, University of London and Barts and The London NHS Trust proves that HGVs pose the greatest risk of death and serious injury to cyclists.

A number of high profile campaigns have highlighted the vulnerability of cyclists on our city roads but very little evidence exists to back up these campaigns and to show how deaths and injuries can be prevented.

Keep smiling: Collagen matrix promotes gum healing around exposed roots

Receding gums often result in tooth sensitivity and can lead to decay of the root and persistent inflammation of the gum. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Head & Face Medicine demonstrates that a novel method using bovine collagen is able to enhance gum healing. This resulted in thicker margins around the tooth and, in over half the cases, complete coverage of exposed roots.

Does your mother know?

Do your parents know where you are at night? According to 36 per cent of 15 year old boys and nearly a quarter of 15 year old girls the answer to that question, at least once a month, is no.

National Sleep Foundation poll explores transportation workers' sleep

WASHINGTON, DC, March 3, 2012 – The people we trust to take us or our loved ones from place to place struggle with sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation's (NSF) 2012 Sleep in America® poll. It is the first poll to ask transportation professionals, including pilots, train operators,* truck, bus, taxi and limo drivers about their sleep habits and work performance.

Pilots and train operators are most likely to report sleep-related job performance and safety problems.

American College of Rheumatology releases first classification criteria for polymyalagia rheumatica

ATLANTA – The American College of Rheumatology has released the first classification criteria for polymyalgia rheumatica – aimed at helping physicians identify patients with this condition, which occurs in persons aged 50 years or older who have recent onset of pain in the shoulders, neck and hips along with other inflammatory symptoms not explained by an alternate diagnosis.

Cocoa may enhance skeletal muscle function

A small clinical trial led by researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) found that patients with advanced heart failure and type 2 diabetes showed improved mitochondrial structure after three months of treatment with epicatechin-enriched cocoa. Epicatechin is a flavonoid found in dark chocolate.

A healthy teenager is a happy teenager

Teenagers who turn their backs on a healthy lifestyle and turn to drink, cigarettes and junk food are significantly unhappier than their healthier peers. New research also shows that 12-13 is a catalyst age when young people turn away from the healthy habits of their younger years and start to get involved in risky behaviours.

Family preferences strongly influence decision making in very premature deliveries

Philadelphia, PA, March 2, 2012 – When making decisions and counseling about risk and management options for deliveries between 22 and 26 weeks (periviable deliveries), obstetricians are heavily influenced by family preferences, particularly by the impression that parents consistently prefer to have everything possible done to prolong a pregnancy or "save the baby" through interventions such as cesarean section. The results of a University of Pennsylvania study are published in the March issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Where pain lives: Managing chronic pain tougher in poor neighborhoods

Living in a poor neighborhood was linked with worse chronic pain for young adults, according to a study by the University of Michigan Health System, but young black patients faced difficulties with pain management no matter where they lived.

With the study, the University of Michigan researchers have opened a new frontier in addressing chronic pain in America.

Cardiovascular societies release heart valve replacement credentialing recommendations

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Four leading heart organizations representing cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons released initial recommendations today for creating and maintaining transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) programs. The recommendations are aimed at ensuring optimal care for patients with aortic stenosis, a form of valvular heart disease, as use of the new TAVR procedure grows.

Mobile mayhem

First, the bad news: all across America, trucks and tractor-trailers are transporting industrial explosives on nearly every artery of the country's interstate and highway system. That's right, volatile explosives, including munitions, rocket motors, and dynamite, are moving at a high rate of speed down a roadway not too far from you.

New treatment may reduce opioid-induced constipation in critical care patients

Rochester, MN, March 1, 2012 – Opioids are a mainstay of care in the critical care unit, but their use frequently causes constipation which can lead to adverse outcomes including delayed feeding and later discharge from the ICU. Researchers from London, UK, and Chicago, IL, have found that methylnaltrexone (MNTX), a peripheral opioid antagonist, may restore bowel function in critically ill patients. Their retrospective study appears in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.