Culture

Restrictive alcohol policies, such as those limiting liquor store density or imposing taxes on alcohol, have been shown to have a "protective effect" in reducing suicides, according to a newly published review led by Boston University School of Public Health researchers.

Berkeley, CA -- Technology advancements are expected to continue to drive down the cost of wind energy, according to a survey of the world's foremost wind power experts led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Experts anticipate cost reductions of 24%-30% by 2030 and 35%-41% by 2050, under a median or 'best guess' scenario, driven by bigger and more efficient turbines, lower capital and operating costs, and other advancements (see Figure 1).

The currently available drugs cannot permanently alleviate the symptoms of mental disorders. This is the conclusion drawn by psychologists Prof Dr Jürgen Margraf and Prof Dr Silvia Schneider from Ruhr-Universität Bochum in a commentary published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.

Effect of drugs are only short-lived

Implementing an analytic tool that allocates clinical care costs and quality measures to individual patient encounters was associated with significant improvements in value of care for 3 designated outcomes -- total joint replacement, laboratory testing among medical inpatients, and sepsis management, according to a study appearing in the September 13 issue of JAMA.

(SALT LAKE CITY) - Bucking national trends, a new study shows that a program is making a difference in healthcare quality and cost. Developed by University of Utah Health Care (UUHC), the so-called value driven outcomes (VDO) program breaks down health procedure costs to the level of each bandage and minutes of nursing time, revealing variabilities that are otherwise hidden from view.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (SEPT. 13, 2016). Graded aerobic treadmill testing is safe, tolerable, and useful in evaluating and managing cases of sports-related concussion in children and adolescents. This is the finding of a new study reported in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics.

When one thinks about chronic conditions that are commonly painful, HIV doesn't typically spring to mind. However, more than 50% of HIV-positive individuals experience a painful condition like headache, chest pain or neuropathy, and that pain is frequently experienced as moderate to severe in intensity.

Results of new study led by Linda Pagani, professor at the University of Montreal's School of Psychoeducation, show that young children who watch too much television are at risk of victimization and social isolation and adopting violent and antisocial behaviour toward other students at age 13.

"It is unclear to what extent excessive televiewing in early childhood - a particularly critical time in the development of areas of the brain involved in self-regulation of emotional intelligence - can adversely affect social interactions," said Pagani.

For decades, failures by the WHO to respond to global health crises have drawn criticism and calls for reform by policy experts, governments and independent financial donors from across the world that contribute three-quarters of its $4 billion annual budget.

Serious recent failures that have drawn fire include shortcomings in its response to the Ebola pandemic, health crises in Sri Lanka in 2009, Haiti in 2010, South Sudan in 2013 and its current response to drug-resistant Tuberculosis in Papua New Guinea.

New research presented at this year's European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) meeting in Munich, Germany (12-16 September) shows that in patients with type 2 diabetes, those with higher levels of a growth factor protein called angiopoetin-like protein 2 (Angplt2) have an increased risk of death and serious cardiovascular events. The research is by Dr Barnabas Gellen and Dr Mathilde Fraty, Polyclinique de Poitiers, Poitiers, France, and colleagues.

Nearly 2 out of 5 people with diabetes who could benefit from statin therapy to lower their risk of future heart attack, stroke and related death were not prescribed one, according to a research letter published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The analysis also showed wide variation in statin use across cardiology practices included in the study.

A new study on euthanasia trends in Belgium, which shows an increase in reported cases since legislation was introduced, provides lessons for countries that have legalized assisted dying. The research is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Freestanding children's hospitals had the largest financial losses for pediatric inpatients covered by Medicaid, suggesting hospitals may be unlikely to offset decreased Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments from caring for fewer uninsured patients as a result of health insurance expansion, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics.

In one of the first attempts to understand the geography of STEM degree-job matching, a Dartmouth-led study published in Economic Geography finds that matching is much more likely in dense rather than in large STEM labor markets. (A pdf of the study is available upon request).

The judicial costs of crime can vary widely, from as little as $200 to $400 for a motor vehicle theft to as high as $22,000 to $44,000 for a homicide, according to a new RAND Corporation study that provides the first comprehensive effort to accurately estimate the judicial costs of specific reported crimes.