Culture

Black Power’s complex relationship with liberalism during the civil rights era and the surprising consequences of that interaction are explored in Devin Fergus’ book "Liberalism, Black Power, and the Making of American Politics, 1965-1980".

As four suspects face possible conviction for plotting to bomb a New York City synagogue and Jewish community center and shoot down military aircraft, the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) releases information on attacks on religious figures and institutions and military targets in the United States. The data were taken from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), which includes information on over 80,000 attacks between 1970 and 2007.

Someone who has a low level of response (LR) to alcohol, meaning relatively little reaction to alcohol, has a higher risk for developing alcohol-use disorders (AUDs). A study that examined the influence of LR in conjunction with other characteristics – like family history of AUDs and age of drinking onset – has found that LR is a unique risk factor for AUDs across adulthood and is not simply a reflection of a broader range of risk factors.

Drinking on college campuses in the United States is a pervasive problem, leading to numerous problems. One study estimated that more than 500,000 college students suffered alcohol-related injuries in 2001. This study examined the "dose-response" effect of quantities and frequencies, finding that heavy drinkers with a sensation-seeking disposition had the greatest risk of alcohol-related injuries.

Results will be published in the September issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

BERKELEY, CA – Multiferroics are materials in which unique combinations of electric and magnetic properties can simultaneously coexist. They are potential cornerstones in future magnetic data storage and spintronic devices provided a simple and fast way can be found to turn their electric and magnetic properties on and off. In a promising new development, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) working with a prototypical multiferroic have successfully demonstrated just such a switch -- electric fields.

The number of MDCT examinations for suspected pulmonary emboli (PE) is rapidly increasing amongst ER patients, with a decrease in the number of positive studies. This may be due to a failure to adhere to established clinical guidelines for evaluating patients with suspected PE, according to a study performed at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI.

Researchers from the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona and the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom say that divorces have risen throughout Europe by an average of 30% since national divorce laws dropped the so-called ‘fault requirement’.

A new study finds that nearly one in four African American women with late stage breast cancer refused chemotherapy and radiation therapy, potentially life saving therapies. Published in the July 1, 2009 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that more efforts are needed to ensure that all women with breast cancer receive appropriate care.

Hyperkyphosis, or "dowager's hump" — the exaggerated forward curvature of the upper spine seen commonly in elderly women — may predict earlier death in women whether or not they have vertebral osteoporosis, UCLA researchers have found.

New Rochelle, NY, May 21, 2009—Reorganizational Healing (ROH), an emerging concept for wellness, healing, and personal growth, is explored in depth in a seminal groundbreaking article and accompanying commentaries in the latest issue of The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). The Reorganizational Healing articles are available free online at www.liebertpub.com/acm

Athens, Ga. – Amid renewed calls to consider reducing the legal drinking age, a new University of Georgia study finds that lower drinking ages increase unplanned pregnancies and pre-term births among young people.

DURHAM, N.C. -- When the going gets rough, the tough apparently sing slower.

As vegetation reclaimed formerly cleared land in California, Oregon and Washington over the last 35 years, male white-crowned sparrows have lowered their pitch and slowed down their singing so that their love songs would carry better through heavier foliage.

"This is the first time that anyone has shown that bird songs can shift with rapid changes in habitat," says biologist Elizabeth Derryberry who made the finding as part of her dissertation research at Duke University.

TORONTO, May 22, 2009 – Gestational diabetes happens in more than three per cent of pregnancies in Ontario. Usually the condition resolves itself after delivery, but many studies have shown that these women are at a very high risk for developing "regular" type 2 diabetes later in life.

Side discrepancy errors in radiology reports do occur and it is important that radiologists, referring physicians and patients communicate well to help prevent errors in clinical management, according to a study performed at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. "Side discrepancy errors refer to instances when the side of the lesion is incorrectly noted in one or more sections of the radiology report," said Minal Jagtiani Sangwaiya, MD, lead author of the study.

"Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines", a new report from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, recommends new guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy that aim to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks for mothers and infants. The report updates guidelines last set in 1990 and takes into account changes in the American population, particularly the increasing percentage of women who are overweight or obese. The report will be released at a one-hour public briefing on Thursday, May 28.