Culture

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Hospitalization for underage drinking is common in the United States, and it comes with a price tag -- the estimated total cost for these hospitalizations is about $755 million per year, a Mayo Clinic study has found. Researchers also found geographic and demographic differences in the incidence of alcohol-related hospital admissions. The findings were published online today in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

With expanded industrial-scale production of nanomaterials fast approaching, scientists are reporting indications that dust generated during processing of nanomaterials may explode more easily than dust from wheat flour, cornstarch and most other common dust explosion hazards.

WASHINGTON -- Scientists and engineers at the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) three national security laboratories appear committed to their work and core mission of maintaining the country's nuclear weapons stockpile, but according to a new National Research Council report, a "broken relationship" between NNSA and the labs threatens to erode the quality of the scientific research and engineering being conducted there.

A study from North Carolina State University shows that Toyota's safety-related recalls that began in 2009 made little to no impact on how consumers perceived the brand.

"These findings highlight the importance of establishing and maintaining a reputation for quality," says Dr. Robert Hammond, an assistant professor of economics at NC State and lead author of a paper describing the study. "Not only will it help you sell cars in the first place, but it will help you weather public scrutiny in the event of a recall."

Stress levels of unemployed people are linked more to their surroundings than their age, gender, disposable income, and degree of deprivation, a study shows.

The presence of parks and woodland in economically deprived areas may help people cope better with job losses, post traumatic stress disorder, chronic fatigue and anxiety, researchers say.

They found that people's stress levels are directly related to the amount of green space in their area – the more green space, the less stressed a person is likely to be.

In a first-of-its-kind study in Canada, Kevin Bainey of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry has discovered that South Asians who live in Alberta with coronary disease experience a lower quality of life.

This adds to prior data that this group lives with more severe disease.

Stem cell therapy moderately improves heart function after a heart attack, according to a systematic review published in The Cochrane Library. But the researchers behind the review say larger clinical trials are needed to establish whether this benefit translates to a longer life.

With news of the Health and Social Care Bill facing further challenge in the House of Lords, Cambridgeshire GP Dr Peter Bailey asks the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley to "Get rid of the Bill" in an article published today on bmj.com.

Dr Bailey is a former chair of the Local Medical Committee and former vice chair of the Local Commissioning Group in Cambridge, a place he describes as "Lansley's back yard".

A person has a tumor removed from her femur. A soldier is struck by an improvised explosive device and loses a portion of his tibia. A child undergoes chemotherapy for osteosarcoma but part of the bone dies as a result.

Every year, millions of Americans sustain fractures that don't heal or lose bone that isn't successfully grafted. But a study presented at the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) 2012 Annual Meeting in San Francisco offers new hope for those who sustain these traumas.

Almost a year's treatment with a vitamin D compound did not alleviate key structural and functional cardiovascular abnormalities in patients with kidney disease and cardiac enlargement. In a paper in the February 15 Journal of the American Medical Association, an international research team reports that daily doses of a vitamin D compound did not reduce enlargement or improve impaired functioning of the heart's main pumping chamber.

CHICAGO – Treatment with the antibiotic amoxicillin for patients with acute uncomplicated rhinosinusitis (inflammation of the nasal cavity and sinuses) did not result in a significant difference in symptoms compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the February 15 issue of JAMA. Antibiotics are commonly used to treat this condition even though there is limited evidence supporting their effectiveness.

CHICAGO – Patients with chronic kidney disease who received the vitamin D compound paricalcitol for up to 48 weeks did not show improvement on measures of cardiac structure, function, or left ventricular mass, compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the February 15 issue of JAMA.

Imagine a smart sensor customized to provide vital, real-time information about a patient's recent orthopaedic surgery. Instead of relying on X-rays or invasive procedures, surgeons will be able to collect diagnostic data from an implantable sensor. A study presented at the Orthopaedic Research Society 2012 Annual Meeting in San Francisco outlined this remarkable technology that promises to make post-surgical diagnosis and follow up more precise, efficient, and cost-effective.

New research from Western University, Canada, has demonstrated the benefits of performing Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) in cases where patients have been resuscitated after Sudden Cardiac Death or enter hospital suffering from ventricular arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeat rhythm). Cardiologist Dr. James White and his colleagues at Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, found CMR is a highly effective diagnostic imaging tool, identifying a cardiac diagnosis in 75 per cent of cases compared with only 50 per cent in all other testing.

Mental state can play a crucial role in physical health — medical professionals have long known about the connection between anxiety and the immune system, for example. Now researchers at Tel Aviv University have found that mental health can also interfere with the heart.