Culture

A significant number of adults are at risk of unintentionally overdosing on over-the-counter (OTC) pain medication, according to a new study in the US by Dr. Michael Wolf, from Northwestern University in Chicago, and his colleagues. Their work¹, looking at the prevalence and potential misuse of pain medication containing the active ingredient acetaminophen as well as the likelihood of overdosing, appears online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine², published by Springer.

If the task is to tunnel through a mountain, workers turn to explosives: the 15-kilometer-long Gotthard Tunnel, for instance, was created by blasting through the rock with explosive gelatin made largely out of the nitroglycerine – better-known as dynamite. Producing these explosives calls for extreme caution. After all, no one wants a demonstration of explosive force in the lab. Because the production process generates heat, it must proceed slowly: drop for drop, the reagents are added to the agitating vessel that holds the initial substance.

A study conducted at the University of Granada has concluded that most immigrant women who give birth in Spain suffer "severe stress" and should receive psychological treatment after giving birth to help them overcome disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder, phobic anxiety, depression or psychoticism. These disorders are caused by "the stress of labor itself combined with other personal stress factors. This is a very stressful moment in women's life due to biological, psychological and social factors".

Philadelphia, PA, May 30, 2012 – Bipolar disorder is a serious and debilitating condition where individuals experience severe swings in mood between mania and depression. The episodes of low or elevated mood can last days or months, and the risk of suicide is high.

Every single town in Australia has been rated on its proximity to cardiac care, before and after a heart attack, in a new report published in Circulation and headed by Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

Associate Professor Robyn Clark, from QUT's School of Nursing, led a national research team for the seven-year multi-disciplinary project, entitled the Cardiac Accessibility and Remoteness Index for Australia (Cardiac ARIA), with funding from an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant and linkage partner AlphaPharm Pty Ltd.

WASHINGTON, DC (30 MAY 2012)—New research released today by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) shows that hundreds of millions of forest peoples in tropical nations have, in the last 20 years, quietly gained unprecedented legal rights to the land and resources owned under customary law. The research also finds, however, that more than one-third of the rules governing land rights in most of the forests of Africa, Asia and Latin America significantly limit a community's ability to exercise those rights.

A retrospective analysis of methotrexate (MTX) safety data found that injection of this disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) was not superior to oral therapy in long-term treatment of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Findings published in Arthritis Care & Research, a peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), suggest that with similar efficacy and tolerability the more comfortable oral approach may be more suitable to treat pediatric arthritis patients.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- If you are a white girl, a black girl or a black boy, exposure to today's electronic media in the long run tends to make you feel worse about yourself. If you're a white boy, you'll feel better, according to a new study led by an Indiana University professor.

Nicole Martins, an assistant professor of telecommunications in the IU College of Arts and Sciences, and Kristen Harrison, professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan, also found that black children in their study spent, on average, an extra 10 hours a week watching television.

DURHAM, N.C. – While the Statue of Liberty and old pennies may continue to turn green, printed electronics and media screens made of copper nanowires will always keep their original color.

Duke University chemists created a new set of flexible, electrically conductive nanowires from thin strands of copper atoms mixed with nickel. The copper-nickel nanowires, in the form of a film, conduct electricity even under conditions that break down the transfer of electrons in plain silver and copper nanowires, a new study shows.

URBANA – A recent report conducted by the University of Illinois provides an economic snapshot of the current state of the livestock industry, giving the Illinois livestock industry data to back up their importance to the state. The data show the production sector of the industry contributing to more than 25,000 jobs and $3.5 billion to the state's economy. When combined with meat and dairy processing, the numbers are an even more impressive 99,000 jobs and $27 billion.

Glasgow, UK, May 29, 2012 - Life expectancy in Scotland is markedly lower compared to other European nations and the UK as a whole [1]. But what are the reasons for this higher mortality? An explanatory framework, synthesising the evidence is published this month in Public Health.

ITHACA, N.Y. – The family meal is often touted and encouraged for its social and health benefits, but a new Cornell University study questions the nature of this association, finding that the perceived benefits may not be as strong or as lasting once a number of factors are controlled for.

Cabazitaxel (trade name: Jevtana®) has been approved since March 2011 in men with metastatic prostate cancer who no longer respond to conventional therapy with hormone blockers and have already been pre-treated with the cytostatic drug docetaxel. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the "Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products" (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether cabazitaxel offers an added benefit compared with the present standard therapy.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Researchers led by Regenstrief Institute investigator Neale Chumbler, Ph.D., a research scientist with the Center of Excellence on Implementing Evidence-Based Practice at the Richard Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, have developed STeleR, a home telerehabilitation program that they report improves lower body physical functioning after a stroke.

The police use of stun guns increases the risk of injuries for those on the receiving end, but tends to increase officer safety, according to the most comprehensive study of such devices to date.

But when officers use stun guns in conjunction with other restraint methods, they also face an increase risk of injury.

Those are the conclusions of two joint studies from the University of Central Florida and Michigan State University recently published in the journals, Justice Quarterly and Police Quarterly.