Culture

[A trans European Union difference in the decline in trans fatty acids in popular foods: a market basket investigation doi 10.1136/bmjopen-2012-000859]

The heart health of millions of Europeans is still at risk because of the persistently high trans fatty acid content of certain fast and convenience foods, indicates research published in the online journal BMJ Open.

Transitional care is the treatment patients receive in between levels of care, or in between hospitalization and release to home. For chronically ill, older patients, transitional care strategies can reduce unnecessary use of health services and improve patient outcomes.

Less is known about the benefits and harms of transitional care strategies for patients who have a new acute event. Researchers summarized 44 studies that compared usual care with transitional care strategies for adults with acute stroke or myocardial infarction (MI).

In the first clinical trial to demonstrate an effective treatment for constant, disabling cough among people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that taking thalidomide significantly reduced the cough and improved quality of life.

Results of their study are scheduled to be published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Sept. 18 in an article titled "Thalidomide for the Treatment of Cough in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis."

CHICAGO – A study comparing bariatric surgical procedures for obesity suggests that even though undergoing the less commonly used biliopancreatic diversion/duodenal switch (DS) may be associated with higher early risks compared with gastric bypass (GB), the DS appears to achieve better weight loss and control of co-existing illnesses, especially among patients whose body mass index (BMI) was more than 50, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Surgery, a JAMA Network publication.

CHICAGO – A study of patients treated with the anticoagulant medication warfarin suggests that resuming warfarin therapy after an episode of gastrointestinal tract bleeding was associated with lower risk for thrombosis (blood clot) and death, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

When Kayla Dehnert tells friends and family in Northern California about life as a St. Jude Children's Research Hospital patient, she pulls out a string of beads taller than she is.

"This is a learning-to-take medicine bead," Kayla explains, fingering the bumps of a bluish-lavender bead and working her way down the long strand. "This yellow bead is the change-the-bandage bead, and the tiger bead is the losing-your-hair bead."

TORONTO, Sept. 17, 2012—Whether your neighbourhood is conducive to walking could determine your risk for developing diabetes, according to a new study by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Long mandatory minimum sentences or strong limits on judicial discretion can counter-productively reduce the incentives of prison inmates to engage in rehabilitative behavior, thereby raising recidivism rates, according to published research co-written by a University of Illinois economics professor.

Dan Bernhardt, the IBE Distinguished Professor of Economics at Illinois, says rehabilitation incentives are maximized when the lengths of prison sentences are neither too short, nor too long.

WASHINGTON — Outdated approaches to preventing and treating substance abuse, barriers to care, and other problems hinder the U.S. Defense Department's ability to curb substance use disorders among military service members and their families, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. Service members' rising rate of prescription drug addiction and their difficulty in accessing adequate treatment for alcohol and drug-related disorders were among the concerns that prompted members of Congress to request this review.

Seriously ill patients in intensive care units are being cared for in environments with sound levels more than 20 dB higher than the WHO's recommendations. This is shown by a study carried out in partnership between the University of Gothenburg and the University of Borås.

Alexandria, VA – With less than two months before Election Day, AGI and its federation of 50 professional geoscience societies have come together again to provide a list of critical issues and policy recommendations for the next presidential administration. The document, Critical Needs for the Twenty-first Century: the Role of the Geosciences, is meant to inform policymakers of the unique knowledge, experience, and ingenuity of the geoscience community, and to address some of society's most pressing issues.

The antidiabetic drug metformin is not prescribed for patients with reduced kidney function because the risk of adverse effects has been regarded as unacceptably high. A study at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has found that the risks have been substantially overrated. As a result, many more patients with diabetes may be able to enjoy the benefits of the medication.

Children who grow up without siblings have a more than 50 percent higher risk of being overweight or obese than children with siblings. This is the finding of a study of 12,700 children in eight European countries, including Sweden, published in Nutrition and Diabetes. The University of Gothenburg, Sweden, was one of the participating universities in the study.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A recent study examined people's bodily responses while watching presidential campaign ads - and discovered another way that people avoid political information that challenges their beliefs.

In the last days of the 2008 campaign, researchers had people watch a variety of actual ads for Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his Democratic rival Barack Obama while the viewers' heart rates, skin conductance and activation of facial muscles were monitored.

Muscles have a pool of stem cells which provides a source for muscle growth and for regeneration of injured muscles. The stem cells must reside in special niches of the muscle for efficient growth and repair. The developmental biologists Dr. Dominique Bröhl and Prof. Carmen Birchmeier of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have elucidated how these stem cells colonize these niches.