Four of every 10 people treated in a hospital for pain or other problems caused by sickle cell disease have to be readmitted for treatment again within 30 days, according to a new study published in the April 7 issue of JAMA. The study, the largest to date on the subject, also found that many sickle cell patients need emergency room care within 30 days of being discharged from a hospital. The study was conducted by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin; Children's Research Institute at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, both in Milwaukee; and the U.S.
Tech
Despite a concern that obese or overweight patients may receive lower quality of health care, an analysis of eight common outpatient quality measures from a sample of nearly 70,000 patients finds no evidence that obese or overweight patients receive inferior care when compared with normal-weight patients, and in fact may receive a higher rate of recommended care on several measures, according to a study in the April 7 issue of JAMA.
Patients with sickle cell disease average about 2.5 hospital visits per year, with 18- to 30-year old patients more likely to require acute care or rehospitalization, according to a study in the April 7 issue of JAMA.
SEATTLE—Hopes are high that health information technology will support care between office visits, boost efficiency and convenience, and help patients lead healthier lives. An evaluation in the April Health Affairs suggests how to make the most of this new approach: Routinely ask patients how they like it and what they want.
Lignin is the double-edged sword of biofuels: if you are making cellulosic ethanol, you want less lignin because it blocks the breakdown of cellulose. If you are using pyrolytic methods, you want more lignin because lignin contains more energy than cellulose. Whether you wish to maximize or minimize lignin content, an understanding of lignin synthesis is essential and has proved elusive.
PITTSBURGH, April 6 – Compared to women with uncomplicated pregnancies, women with preeclampsia have reduced numbers of special cells that are thought to help grow and maintain blood vessels, according to a study by researchers at the Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings are available online in Reproductive Sciences.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When doctors become invested in an outpatient surgery center, they perform on average twice as many surgeries as doctors with no such financial stake, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Health System.
"This computer vision technology will also enable the development of new automobile safety features, including systems that can allow cars to stay in their lane, avoid traffic and gracefully react to emergency situations – such as those where a driver has fallen asleep at the wheel, had a heart attack or gone into diabetic shock. This can help protect not only the car that has the safety feature, but other drivers on the road as well. That's a next generation of this research."
Alcohol-use disorders (AUDs), referring to both alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, affect nearly 8.5 percent of the American population, are associated with numerous medical, psychiatric, family, legal, and work-related problems, and cost an estimated $185 billion in 1998. A new study has found that oral naltrexone can reduce both alcohol- and non-alcohol-related healthcare costs for patients with AUDs.
Results will be published in the June 2010 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (April 5, 2010) – Socially deprived children removed from orphanages and placed in foster care appear to experience gains in growth and intelligence, catching up to their non-institutionalized peers on many measures, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the June print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
AMARILLO – Texas AgriLife Research scientists in Amarillo are embarking on a new study amid recent concerns over greenhouse gas emissions from crop fertilization, tillage and feed yard operations.
Dr. Ken Casey, AgriLife Research air quality engineer, and Al Caramanica, a research chemist, have added a few new laboratory tools to help measure three greenhouse gases: nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and methane.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — If you think Facebook, Twitter and other Web sites that foster online communication and interaction are merely vapid echo chambers of self-promotion, think again, say two University of Illinois professors who study computer-mediated communication and the Internet.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Whether it is about who gets to ride shotgun or who wore a shirt without asking, siblings fight. While seemingly innocent, a recent study at the University of Missouri reveals that certain types of fights can affect the quality of sibling relationships. MU researchers identified two major types of conflict among adolescent siblings and found that conflicts about personal space have a negative impact on trust and communication between siblings.
Tampa, Fla. (April 5, 2010) – A study published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (19:1) has found that using the FDA-approved contrast agent Indocyanine Green (ICG) to label human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) substantially improved efforts to optically track stem cells after transplanting them into heart tissues.