Culture

SAN ANTONIO, TX (November 5, 2015) - Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children, and one of the most difficult to manage, which is one of the reasons there are so many emergency department visits for asthma sufferers in the US. A new study has determined that the probability of future acute care visits increased from 30 percent with one historical acute care visit to 87 percent with more than five acute care visits.

SAN ANTONIO, TX (November 5, 2015) - Many patients with cardiovascular disease are treated with aspirin because it is effective, low-cost and has few side effects. Some patients who have a reaction to aspirin are told they are allergic without being tested by an allergist, and stop an otherwise effective therapy.

In an era of economic crisis, growth seems indispensable. Not so, argues "Degrowth: A Vocabulary for a New Era", which distinguishes recession from degrowth.

Degrowth involves new ways of organizing society to live prosperously without being obsessed with growth. “Degrowth” includes 50 chapters on the limits and pitfalls of growth as well as on concrete social and policy alternatives.

The prescription only sleeping tablet zopiclone, that can become addictive if used for more than a few weeks, is easily available online, warn experts in The BMJ today.

Paul Dargan and colleagues from the clinical toxicology unit at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London, say regulatory authorities "must take measures to ensure that these websites comply with medicines and other regulations for the supply of this prescription only drug."

In The BMJ this week, experts discuss whether hospitals should ban smoking for psychiatric patients outside as well as indoors.

Banning smoking in the outdoor areas of psychiatric hospitals as well as indoors helps patients to quit smoking and leads to better engagement with psychiatric treatment, argue Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, and Simon Wessely, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Higher-spending physicians face fewer malpractice claims, a study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School has found.

Nearly three-quarters of physicians report practicing defensive medicine, which is broadly defined as the ordering of tests, procedures, physician consultations and other medical services solely to reduce risk of malpractice claims. Defensive medicine is estimated to cost the U.S. as much as $50 billion annually.

Physicians who spend more money and resources conducting tests and procedures for patients are less likely to be sued for malpractice, according to a new study that indicates "defensive medicine" may work.

Ever since he can remember, Karl Jones has been fascinated by the animals that live in streams. 'I grew up next to a river in the Adelaide Hills where I spent many hours catching the creatures that live there', he recalls; and one group of aquatic insects that caught his eye was the backswimmers. However, two members of the Family (Anisops and Buenoa) have an even more remarkable talent: they can swim at depths that other backswimmers can only reach fleetingly.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A Grand Valley State University nursing faculty member will present research at a national conference about text messaging to promote medication adherence trials and an interprofessional approach to helping vulnerable older adults remain at home and out of nursing homes.

Sandra Spoelstra, associate dean for research and scholarship for the Kirkhof College of Nursing, will give two presentations at the Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting in Florida November 18 and 20.

Text message intervention trials

Aurora, Colo. (Nov. 4, 2015) - New results from the Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Youth study (TODAY) examined predictors of the outcomes in youth with onset type 2 diabetes (T2D) based on early characteristics at diagnosis, and suggests the need for specific criteria for adolescents that are different from those in adults.

Swimming, walking and other mild physical activities, along with avoidance of resistance exercise, are often recommended for pregnant women. But a new PhD thesis at Sahlgrenska Academy has found that resistance exercise can relieve symptoms related to pregnancy and improve sense of control.

Recommendations for the intensity, duration and type of exercise during pregnancy vary widely. Most previous research has focused on the effects of aerobics and few have explored resistance exercise.

Suitable exercise

In a study of 26 twin and sibling pairs where one of each pair had received long-term antiepileptic drug therapy, participants who were taking these medications swayed more during static and dynamic balance tests compared with their siblings who were not taking antiepileptic medications. They also showed a greater deterioration in sway tests over an average interval of 3 years.

Addressing these balance issues in patients taking antiepileptic drugs may help reduce their risk of falling, which can lead to fractures and other injuries.

WASHINGTON, D.C, November 4, 2015 -- It's well known that gradual adaptation to the environment shaped the development of human bodies and brains, but recent work by an international group of researchers suggests that the variations in human linguistic evolution also reflect adaptations to the local ecological conditions.

Iron selenide (FeSe) is an attracting superconducting material since the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) is enhanced from 8 K in bulk form toward 65 K in one-monolayer form.

However, systematic thickness dependence of electrical measurement has been difficult to address.

A team of researchers at Tohoku University's Institute for Materials Research (IMR), has realized layer-by-layer etching in superconducting FeSe films down to approximately one-monolayer about 0.6 nm using classical electrochemical reaction in electric-double-layer transistor configuration.

A link between depression in pregnancy and long periods of sitting down has been identified by researchers from the University of Warwick.

The study found those suffering from symptoms of depression during pregnancy are more likely to sit down for long periods of time in the second trimester. The academics also found this puts them at risk of greater weight gain and contracting gestational diabetes.