Culture

The structure of a federal program that provides monthly subsidies to promote the adoptions of special needs children in foster care may actually be delaying some adoptions, according to a new study by University of Notre Dame economist Kasey Buckles.

A team of scientists from Johns Hopkins and other institutions report that restoring tiny, hair-like structures to defective cells in the olfactory system of mice is enough to restore a lost sense of smell. The results of the experiments were published online this week in Nature Medicine, and are believed to represent the first successful application of gene therapy to restore this function in live mammals.

Increasing racial and ethnic diversity has long been apparent at the national level and in our nation's largest metropolitan gateways. Since 1980 over nine-tenths of all cities, suburbs and small towns have become more diverse. And rural communities are following the lead of their urban counterparts, according to a U.S. 2010 policy brief.

"What really stands out is the near-universal nature of the trend toward greater racial and ethnic diversity at the local level," said Barry Lee, professor of sociology and demography, Penn State, and co-author of the brief.

Archaeologists from the University of Leicester who are leading the search for the lost grave of King Richard III announced today that they have made a new advance in their quest.

They have uncovered evidence of the lost garden of Robert Herrick – where, historically, it is recorded there was a memorial to Richard III.

Now the 'time tomb team' as they have become to be known has discovered paving stones which they believe belong to the garden.

Antibiotic treatment with amoxicillin/clavulanate improves moderate exacerbations in patients with mild-to-moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and significantly prolongs the time between exacerbations, according to a new study from researchers in Spain.

Sticking yourself in the finger day after day: For many diabetics, this means of checking blood glucose is an everyday part of life. Especially for patients with Type-1 diabetes, who always have to keep a close eye on their levels, since their bodies are incapable of producing the insulin to break down the glucose in the blood. Several times a day, they have to place a tiny drop of blood on a test strip. It is the only way they can ascertain the blood glucose value, so they can inject the correct amount of insulin needed.

Untreated severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality in the elderly, and adequate treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) may significantly reduce this risk, according to a new study from researchers in Spain.

Men and women with raised levels of an antibody known as rheumatoid factor in their blood have up to a 26-fold greater long term risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

These findings suggest the need for early referral for examination after a positive rheumatoid factor test – even in the absence of typical arthritic symptoms like pain and swelling in the joints, say the authors.

Highlights

• Many patients with a common kidney disease called IgA nephropathy who had normal kidney function and only minor urinary abnormalities at the time of diagnosis experienced remission without special treatments.
• None developed kidney failure over a 20-year follow-up.
• The findings indicate that patients have an excellent prognosis and can avoid taking potentially toxic immunosuppressive medications.

Prognosis has been difficult to accurately predict in individual patients with IgA nephropathy.

Highlights

• Blood tests of particular autoantibodies can accurately diagnose the autoimmune kidney disease called idiopathic membranous nephropathy.
• Patients with high levels of these autoantibodies tend to have more severe disease, while those with low levels often experience remission.

Each year, an estimated 50,000 people globally are diagnosed with idiopathic membranous nephropathy.

Highlights

• For the first time, a new test can measure the propensity for calcification to occur in an individual's blood.
• The test could identify people at risk for vascular calcification, a major cause of heart disease.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in kidney disease patients and the general population.

The contentious phenomenon of identity politics isn't limited to Democrats and Republicans. A national survey shows that "cat people" and "bird people" have heated differences of opinion, complicating the challenge of managing more than 50 million free-roaming feral cats while protecting threatened wildlife.

A North Carolina State University study to be published Sept. 6 in PLOS One identifies why the claws come out over feral cat management and which approaches might be useful in finding common ground among those with polarized opinions.

SALT LAKE CITY Sept. 6, 2012 - University of Utah engineers mapped white blood cells called eonsinophils and showed an existing diagnostic method may overlook an elusive digestive disorder that causes swelling in the esophagus and painful swallowing.

By pinpointing the location and density of eosinophils, which regulate allergy mechanisms in the immune system, these researchers suggest the disease eosinophilic esophagitis, or EoE, may be under- or misdiagnosed in patients using the current method, which is to take tissue samples (biopsies) with an endoscope.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- We hear all the time that we need to get off the couch, stop watching TV and get moving.

But what if watching TV under specific conditions could actually provide the mental boost you need to tackle a difficult task?

A new paper that describes two studies by Jaye Derrick, PhD, research scientist at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions, found that watching a rerun of a favorite TV show may help restore the drive to get things done in people who have used up their reserves of willpower or self-control.

Analysis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient records in the California Cancer Registry (CCR) database during the 20-year period of 1988-2008 indicates that Hispanics/Latinos with NSCLC have a higher overall survival compared to non-Hispanic white patients, according to research presented at the 2012 Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology.