Culture

Neighbourhood income deprivation has a strong negative effect on altruistic behaviour when measured by a 'lost letter' experiment, according to new UCL research published today in PLOS ONE.

Researchers from UCL Anthropology used the lost letter technique to measure altruism across 20 London neighbourhoods by dropping 300 letters on the pavement and recording whether they arrived at their destination. The stamped letters were addressed by hand to a study author's home address with a gender neutral name, and were dropped face-up and during rain free weekdays.

Dieters often use online calorie calculators to stay true to their weight-loss plan. Translating the concept to the population health arena, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health created the Caloric Calculator to help policymakers, school district administrators, and others assess the potential impact of health policy choices on childhood obesity.

New research from New Zealand's University of Otago is casting doubt on a landmark (and overhyped) US study that suggested infants as young as six months old possess an innate moral compass that allows them to evaluate individuals as 'good' or 'bad'.

The 2007 study by Yale University researchers provided the first evidence that 6- and 10-month-old infants could assess individuals based on their behavior towards others, showing a preference for those who helped rather than hindered another individual.

Nurse-centred care of HIV patients can be just as safe and effective as care delivered by doctors and has a number of specific health benefits, according to a new study led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the University of Cape Town (UCT).

In today's BMJ, leading experts in health policy and behavioral economics argue that pay-for-performance (P4P) schemes – which financially reward doctors and hospitals for hitting specific, numerical targets in such matters as preventing hospital readmissions or prescribing certain drugs – are likely to do more harm than good.

A paper published on bmj.com today suggests that over 1000 people have committed suicide due to the 2008-2010 economic recession in the UK (846 men and 155 women).

Suicides began to rise in the UK in 2008 following 20 years of decline - suicides rose 8% among men and 9% among women in 2008, compared to 2007. And even though suicides did begin to fall in 2010 figures were still above the 2007 averages.

CHICAGO – Among couples in which one partner was diagnosed as having posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), participation in disorder-specific couple therapy resulted in decreased PTSD symptom severity and increased patient relationship satisfaction, compared with couples who were placed on a wait list for the therapy, according to a study in the August 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.

Girls with Atention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – and their families – often look forward to the likely decline in visible symptoms such as fidgety or disruptive behavior as they mature into young women.

However, new findings from UC Berkeley caution that, as they enter adulthood, girls with histories of ADHD are more prone to internalize their struggles and feelings of failure, a development that can manifest itself in self-injury and even attempted suicide.

Professor Dr. Dr. Perikles Simon, head of the Sports Medicine division of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany, and a team suggest that German children gain weight soon after entering elementary school. From birth up to the age of five years, children's weight development is nearly identical to those from twenty years ago. Then as now there are about 10 percent of the children in this age range who are classified as being overweight. There is even a slight tendency that in the first five years of their life, today's children weigh less as it was 20 years ago.

The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (GW) today released a report representing consensus findings from a cross-section of stakeholders that could help transform the process used to evaluate interventions to treat obesity, a public health crisis that now affects one in three adults. The report, "Obesity Drug Outcome Measures," results from a stakeholder dialogue group convened by GW that, over a period of nine months, explored why development and approval of obesity drugs have proven so difficult.

Parental hopes of a "miraculous intervention," prompted by deeply held religious beliefs, are leading to very sick children being subjected to futile care and needless suffering, suggests a small study in the Journal of Medical Ethics. The authors, who comprise children's intensive care doctors and a hospital chaplain, emphasize that religious beliefs provide vital support to many parents whose children are seriously ill, as well as to the staff who care for them.

Does the ideal ratio of couch to rug size keep you up at night? Are the exposed wires of your stereo causing you angst? Is that crocheted toilet paper cover kitschy enough to be cool? If you wonder, then you are not alone.

CHICAGO – A strategy using an algorithm that incorporates high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) values appears to be associated with ruling-out or ruling-in myocardial infarction (heart attack) within one hour in 77 percent of patients with acute chest pain who presented to an emergency department, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

A study that examined how rural farmers in Ethiopia learn new farming techniques and adopt them on their own farms discovered that learning from a friend was a stronger motivator than learning from neighbors in close proximity.

The goal of the study was to find out how farmers in Ethiopia learn and ultimately adopt new agricultural technologies such as using fertilizers in the production of grains, trying new grain crop varieties, and installing an irrigation system to grow new high-value fruit and vegetable crops.

When it comes to college-age individuals taking care of their bodies, appearance is more important than health, according to surveys conducted at the University of Missouri by María Len-Ríos, an associate professor of strategic communication, Suzanne Burgoyne, a professor of theater (of all things) and a team of undergraduate researchers asked how college-age women view their bodies and how they feel about media messages aimed at women. Based on focus group research findings (i.e.