Culture

Singapore/Lugano - Novel strategies are on the way for difficult-to-treat and advanced head and neck cancer, the most heterogeneous group of malignancies which are generally associated with poor survival, and encouraging results have been presented at the first ESMO Asia 2015 Congress in Singapore.

Future Science Group (FSG) today announced the publication of a new article in the Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research, discussing the recent recommendations from the Center for Medical Technology Policy's (CMTP) Green Park Collaborative (GPC-USA). The recommendations, released in August, discuss the conduct of studies that compare sequences of therapies in areas of advanced and metastatic cancer where a range of therapeutic options exist, but evidence is lacking on the optimal choices for sequential or combination therapy.

Females of the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster show an especially strong response to the odor of their most dangerous enemies, parasitic wasps of the genus Leptopilina. In nature, up to 80 percent of Drosophila larvae are parasitized by these wasps, which lay their eggs into the larvae. The wasps' larvae grow and consume the Drosophila larvae from within. However, an innate early warning system alerts female flies when wasps are near and thus increases the chance the flies' offspring will survive.

A clinical trial to test the effectiveness of a stem cell therapy among adults with difficult to treat Crohn's disease has found it is not significantly better than conventional treatment in producing sustained disease remission after one year.

Ever wonder how much the price you pay for an All-You-Can-Eat (AYCE) buffet influences how you feel at the end of the meal? To explore this idea and address the lack of studies that do, this study examines whether pricing affects key indicators such as overeating, physical discomfort, and guilt. Researchers discovered that lower paying diners feel more physically uncomfortable and guiltier compared to the higher paying diners, even when eating the same amount - a finding that has implications for consumers, restaurants, and public health officials.

LOS ANGELES -- Retinal implants that deliver longer pulses of electrical current may noticeably improve image sharpness for individuals who have lost their sight due to retinitis pigmentosa, according to a new study by researchers from the USC Eye Institute and USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

The research will be published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine online on Dec. 16, 2015.

Across the United States, record quantities of corn and soybeans have been harvested in recent years. However, according to a BioScience article by David Gustafson of the International Life Sciences Institute Research Foundation and his colleagues, this trend may soon change.

With education, employment and income levels all rising for women in sub-Saharan Africa, many observers have speculated that divorce rates would follow suit - as they have in much of the developed world. But a new study by McGill University researchers finds that divorce rates across 20 African countries over the past 20 years have remained stable or declined.

Santa Claus performers struggle with fulfilling the role of old St Nick due to an acute awareness of the sensitivities around interactions with children, finds a study published by SAGE, in partnership with The Tavistock Institute, in the journal Human Relations.

As the author of the study, "Recognition and the moral taint of sexuality: Threat, masculinity and Santa Claus", Philp Hancock of the University of Essex explains:

Poisonings from recreational drug and alcohol use account for 9 percent of all poisoning-related hospital admissions, says a new University of Sydney study revealing that males and people under 30 are at greatest risk.

Published today in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, the finding underscores the harm and prevalence associated with recreational drug use among young people following a recent string of drug and alcohol-related deaths and poisonings at Australian music festivals.

In a world first, clinical researchers from the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester have collaborated with colleagues in south Asia to adapt a parent-led autism therapy.

Successfully tested it in India and Pakistan, the partnership aims to improve treatment for an estimated five million children in the region with the disorder.

Taking certain antidepressants for depression is linked to a heightened risk of subsequent mania and bipolar disorder, reveals research published in the online journal BMJ Open.

The strongest association seemed to be for serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs for short, and the dual action antidepressant venlafaxine, the analysis indicated.

PASADENA, Calif., December 15, 2015 -- Elderly patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who received the shingles vaccine were half as likely to develop shingles compared to those who were not vaccinated. The new study from Kaiser Permanente, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, also found the best protection against shingles was achieved when patients received the vaccination shortly after beginning dialysis.

Patients trained to administer their own intravenous antibiotics at home (self-administered outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy or S-OPAT), achieved similar or better outcomes compared to patients who received healthcare-delivered OPAT (H-OPAT) with assistance from a home-care nurse or skilled nursing facility, according to a paper published this week in PLOS Medicine. The study, by Kavita P.

Herpes zoster (also called "shingles") is linked to a transient increased risk of stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) in the months following initial zoster diagnosis, according to a study published by Caroline Minassian and colleagues from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, published in this week's PLOS Medicine.