Culture

In a small clinical study, researchers administered a new method for treating chronic wounds using a novel ultrasound applicator that can be worn like a band-aid. The applicator delivers low-frequency, low-intensity ultrasound directly to wounds, and was found to significantly accelerate healing in five patients with venous ulcers. Venous ulcers are caused when valves in the veins malfunction, causing blood to pool in the leg instead of returning to the heart.

London (31 July 2013). New research suggests that failure by junior doctors in their annual changeover period to identify deteriorating patients and poor prioritisation skills are likely to drive a reduction in the quality and safety of patient care. Next Wednesday 7 August thousands of newly qualified doctors will take up their first hospital jobs and junior doctors will become a grade more senior. This period is associated with worse clinical outcomes than the rest of the year.

In women who use donor eggs to become pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF), those who are obese are just as likely to become pregnant as normal weight women, according to a new report.

Studies have shown that obesity is associated with lower chances of pregnancy using IVF, but most of this work is limited to women using their own eggs. Research on outcomes for obese women using donor eggs has had mixed results.

Leading physicists last year turned game theory on its head by giving selfish players a sure bet to beat cooperative players. Now two evolutionary biologists at Michigan State University offer new evidence that the selfish will die out in the long run.

"We found evolution will punish you if you're selfish and mean," said lead author Christoph Adami, MSU professor of microbiology and molecular genetics. "For a short time and against a specific set of opponents, some selfish organisms may come out ahead. But selfishness isn't evolutionarily sustainable."

Partners of new mothers often experience shifts in sexuality, and these shifts are often unrelated to biological or medical factors pertaining to childbirth. The findings, which are published in a recent issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, expand current understanding of postpartum sexuality, and may help health professionals as they counsel new parents.

WASHINGTON, DC, July 30, 2013 — Neither the threat of arrest nor punishment may significantly deter Mexicans from trying to enter the United States illegally, according to a new study in the August issue of the American Sociological Review.

WA, Seattle -- In an article published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, Immune Tolerance Network (ITN) researchers demonstrated that a single course of rituximab therapy (anti-CD20; Rituxan, Genentech, Inc.) is as effective as the current standard of care regimen of drugs for remission induction and maintenance in patients with ANCA-associated Vasculitis (AAV). AAV is an autoimmune disease marked by the presence of antibodies that attack neutrophils and cause inflammation of the blood vessels, leading to organ damage and sometimes death.

Lunch at a restaurant with friends reduces cognitive control more than lunch eaten alone at a desk does, according to research published July 31 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Werner Sommer from the Humboldt University at Berlin, Germany, and colleagues from other institutions.

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease with accumulation of cholesterol in the vessel walls. The atherosclerotic plaque is built up throughout life and when it ruptures it leads to heart attack or stroke. T cells are important immune cells able to direct the immune response; they are present in the plaques at all stages and signal to other cells through contact or secretion of cytokines, a type of hormone-like signal molecules. In the present study the researchers have identified a cytokine produced by T cells that can stabilize atherosclerotic plaques and protect them from rupture.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—July 31, 2013—Altruism is a strong motivating factor for clinical trial participation in the general population and even more so among several minority groups. A significant percentage of African-Americans (61%), Hispanics (57%) and Asians (50%) say it's very important to participate as a volunteer in a clinical trial to improve the health of others, compared to 47% of non-Hispanic whites, according to a new national public opinion poll commissioned by Research!America.

Los Angeles, CA (July 31, 2013) In his January 2009 State of the Union address, President Obama announced his goal for the U.S. to lead the world in college graduates by 2020. While policymakers often blame university systems for low graduation among college students, according to new research, characteristics known about a student before he or she even enters a college classroom can accurately predict graduation rates.

Boston - As many as 20 percent of infertile couples in the United States have unexplained reasons for their infertility. Now, new research led by Catherine Racowsky, PhD, director of the Assisted Reproductive Technologies Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), shows that exposure to BPA (Bisphenol-A) could be a contributing factor as to why some infertile couples are having difficulty conceiving. The study will be published online on July 31, 2013 in the journal Human Reproduction.

Southerners are generally not as trusting as people who live in other parts of the country, but trusting people are more likely to cooperate in recycling, buying green products and conserving water, a new Baylor University study shows.

"A lot of researchers have reported trust as kind of a cure-all for protecting the environment through cooperation. Southerners are just as willing, but less trusting," said lead author Kyle Irwin, Ph.D., an assistant professor in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences.

Type 2 diabetics who have severe hypoglycaemia are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, a paper published today on bmj.com suggests.

Severe hypoglycaemia is a condition where there is an abnormally low content of sugar in the blood. It is often classed as a medical emergency.

Severe hypoglycaemia is a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes and recent clinical trials have failed to demonstrate a beneficial effect of intensive glucose control on overall CVD events.

A new definition of chronic kidney disease labels over 1 in 8 adults and around half of people over 70 years of age as having the disease. Yet low rates of kidney failure suggest many of those diagnosed will never progress to severe disease.

On bmj.com today, Ray Moynihan and colleagues argue this is evidence of overdiagnosis. They call for a re-examination of the definition and urge clinicians to be cautious about labelling patients, particularly older people.