Culture | Page 2044 | Science Codex

Good diet boosts health but not wealth

The idea that a good diet means a healthy population with lower health costs only holds true when it comes to emergency care, a study shows.

Researchers from Monash University, the National Defense Medical Centre, Taiwan, and the National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan, found that although men and women aged over 65 years who ate healthily had shorter stays in hospital, they were strong users of other medical services. In fact, they tended to make greater use of outpatient services, preventive care and dental care than those who did not follow a healthy eating regime.

Finnish research improves the reliability of ice friction assessment

Sliding speed and ice temperature affect the surface friction of ice more than had previously been thought. The thermodynamic model developed by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland research scientists shows that under certain conditions ice warms and melts when an item of material slides across its surface. The ice then becomes more slippery. Conversely, the friction coefficient can rise a hundredfold when sliding speed reduces and the temperature drops.

Europium complexes emit red light at record efficiency

Researchers worldwide continue search for better luminescent materials for OLED manufacturing. Two new compounds with europium complexes developed at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw display in their class record high luminescence efficiencies in red, and their properties enable faster, low cost manufacturing of thin OLED films.

Scientists eager to participate in public discourse on environment

A survey of more than 500 researchers indicates that scientists have the desire to get more involved in public discussion and policy decisions regarding environmental issues, but have concerns about how their efforts might be perceived.

Ancient nomads spread earliest domestic grains along Silk Road, study finds

Charred grains of barley, millet and wheat deposited nearly 5,000 years ago at campsites in the high plains of Kazakhstan show that nomadic sheepherders played a surprisingly important role in the early spread of domesticated crops throughout a mountainous east-west corridor along the historic Silk Road, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

Care of heart failure patients falling short in the UK

Care of patients with heart failure in the UK is inadequate and has not changed in a decade, according to new research published in BMJ Open.

The findings by a team at Durham University and Darlington Memorial Hospital - and funded by national charity Heart Research UK - highlight inadequacies in heart failure care as well as an uncoordinated approach to diagnosis and management of the condition between primary and secondary care clinicians.

New dementia diagnosis targets will lead to overdiagnosis

The government is putting pressure on commissioners, and in turn general practitioners, to make more diagnoses of dementia, but no analysis has been done to assess the harm that these targets could cause.

Dr Martin Brunet, a GP from Surrey, says that "medicine depends on a fundamental, unspoken agreement between patients and doctors […] the only factor influencing the decision to diagnose should be the best interests of patients". He adds that the idea of doctors being motivated by self interest is "abhorrent and undermines the basis of the relationship".

Screening for liver cancer in patients with cirrhosis

In a systematic review and meta-analysis of 47 studies with 15,158 patients, Amit Singal (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center) and colleagues found that patients with cirrhosis who underwent surveillance (via liver ultrasound with or without measurement of serum alpha fetoprotein) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) had cancers detected at an earlier stage, were more likely to receive curative instead of palliative treatment, and had longer survival.

Adult tonsillectomy complications and health care expenses

A study released today of 36,210 adult tonsillectomy patients finds that 20 percent will have a complication, offering valuable new insights to a decades long discussion. The study, featured in the April 2014 issue of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, examines the prevalence of complications in adult tonsillectomies and the impact on health care expenditures.

Survey shows spine surgeons need to screen more patients for anxiety and depression

In a report published in the April edition of the Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques, a Johns Hopkins team says that only 10 percent of orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons follow professional guidelines recommending routine psychological screenings of patients prior to major surgery for severe back and leg pain.

Customers prefer restaurants that offer nutrition facts and healthful foods

Customers are more likely to frequent restaurants that provide both healthful foods and nutrition information, according to researchers at Penn State and the University of Tennessee.

Male-dominated societies are not more violent, study says

Conventional wisdom and scientific arguments have claimed that societies with more men than women, such as China, will become more violent, but a University of California, Davis, study has found that a male-biased sex ratio does not lead to more crime.

For most adolescents, popularity increases the risk of getting bullied

WASHINGTON, DC, March 26, 2014 — A new study suggests that for most adolescents, becoming more popular both increases their risk of getting bullied and worsens the negative consequences of being victimized.

Bullying happens to popular teens too

A new University of California, Davis, study suggests that for most adolescents, becoming more popular both increases their risk of getting bullied and worsens the negative consequences of being victimized, perhaps because they feel they have "farther to fall."

Bullying targets popular kids, not only those who are marginalized

Bullying affects more than just isolated and marginalized students, according to sociologists. In fact, researchers have found that relatively popular students are targeted and may actually suffer more from a single act of social aggression.

"We did find that students who are isolated do get bullied," said Diane Felmlee, professor of sociology, Penn State. "However, for most students, the likelihood of being targeted by aggressive acts increases as a student becomes more popular, with the exception of those at the very top."