Culture

Defining a patient's symptoms using the historical diagnostic labels of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an outdated approach to understanding an individual's condition, according to experts writing in the European Respiratory Journal today (Feb. 1, 2016).

DEWEY BEACH, DELAWARE - The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO), a five state partnership of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, today released an ambitious and wide-ranging set of information on the vast natural resources and economically-important uses of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean, which contribute to the health and vibrancy of the region's coastal communities. The analytical data included in this release are a significant step forward in improving the scientific basis for regional ocean decision-making.

AMES, Iowa - Journalists from around the world will file countless reports from Iowa in the final days leading up to the caucuses. According to the latest Iowa State University/WHO-HD Iowa Caucus Poll, voters rely on a variety of these reports for political information with national television news being the primary source.

Scientists from the Spanish National Police Corps (CNP) and from the University of Granada (UGR) have developed an IT system based in mathematical algorithms which allows to predict how many and what type of crimes are going to be committed in the next police shift.

It's about using scientific methods for police patrolling, and it's the first time in History that predictive police methods are combined with a mathematical patrolling model.

A study investigating how hospitals try to avoid unnecessary emergency admissions has identified a series of innovations that can help to address this pressing problem in different ways

Between 1998 and 2013 emergency admission to UK hospitals rose in number by 47 per cent. In recent months, an increasing number of hospitals have been put on black alert as pressures from emergency admissions have serious repercussions for bed occupancy and planned (elective) treatments.

Around 10% of UK primary care patients prescribed antidepressants for depression or anxiety have undiagnosed bipolar disorder, a study has found.

Researchers from Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds interviewed young adults from general practices in a study1 published in the British Journal of General Practice (BJGP).

People hospitalized due to an encounter with a law enforcement officer are more likely to have a mental illness, have longer hospitalizations, more injuries to the back and spine, and greater need for extended care than those hospitalized due to altercations with other civilians. The findings, based on 10 years of Illinois hospitalization data, are published in the journal Injury Epidemiology.

HOUSTON - (Jan. 28, 2016) - Almost 70 percent of uninsured Texans said the high cost of health insurance is the reason they remain uninsured, according to a new report released today by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF). The report found less than 20 percent of uninsured Texans said they simply don't want health insurance.

TORONTO, JANUARY 28, 2016 -- Depending on which hospital you go to for your low-risk surgical procedure, you may be 2.4 times more or less likely to be sent for unnecessary blood tests. This is among the findings of a study conducted by researchers from the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and the Women's College Hospital Institute for Health Systems Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV).

A new blood clotting analysis system designed in Japan makes it easier to determine the effects of taking one or more antithrombotic (anti-clotting) drugs.

Myocardial infarction, arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation), cerebral infarction and economy-class syndrome all have one thing in common: they are all diseases that are caused by a blood clot blocking a blood vessel.

A smartphone app containing motivational videos developed to help married rural women in India better understand contraceptive choices led to a dramatic increase in the number of women using modern family planning methods in just a few months, new Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) research suggests.

The researchers say that women who watched videos were 4.5 times more likely to use modern contraceptive methods than those who did not.

Children and adolescents have a doubled risk of aggression and suicide when taking one of the five most commonly prescribed antidepressants, according to findings of a study published in The BMJ today.

However, the true risk for all associated serious harms--such as deaths, aggression, akathisia and suicidal thoughts and attempts--remains unknown for children, adolescents and adults, say experts.

This is because of the poor design of clinical trials that assess these antidepressants, and the misreporting of findings in published articles.

(Boston) -- In recent decades, the United States has seen a dramatic increase in opioid prescribing for chronic pain. That growth has been associated with increasing misuse of these medications, leading to alarming increases in unintentional opioid overdose deaths.

By examining relevant studies related to fishing in the open ocean, researchers have found that while using circle instead of J-shaped hooks and fish instead of squid for bait may avoid harm to sea turtles, dolphins, certain whales, and possibly seabirds, it may increase the catch and injury of some sharks and rays.

The findings indicate the importance of assessing the conflicts as well as mutual benefits of bycatch mitigation methods amongst and within species.

DETROIT - A new study finds that educating and involving family members in the care of a loved one who has memory loss may significantly reduce hospital readmissions.

When researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit evaluated the strategy in treating 489 patients in its congestive heart failure (CHF) unit, the results were impressive: the 30-day readmission rate dropped to 16 percent from 23 percent - a 30 percent decline.

Researchers theorize the decline could have been higher had they studied a larger pool of patients.