Body

Certain brands have personalities that can actually change the way some people feel about themselves, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

(Washington, DC) – A recent study of an ancient language provides new insights into the nature of linguistic evolution, with potential applications for today's world. The study, "Dvandvas, Blocking, and the Associative: The Bumpy Ride from Phrase to Word," to be published in the June 2010 issue of the scholarly journal Language, is authored by Paul Kiparsky of Stanford University. A preprint version is available on line at:http://lsadc.org/info/documents/2010/press-releases/kiparsky.pdf

Male fish are taking longer to be "feminized" by chemical contaminants that act as hormone disrupters in Colorado's Boulder Creek following the upgrade of a wastewater treatment plant in Boulder in 2008, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Women who experience early menopause appear to have more than twice the risk of having a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular disease event later in life than do women who do not go through early menopause, a new study indicates. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

Early menopause was defined as going through menopause before age 46, either naturally or surgically through removal of both ovaries.

Irvine, Calif., June 21, 2010 — UC Irvine researchers have developed the first "plastic antibodies" successfully employed in live organisms – stopping the spread of bee venom through the bloodstream of mice.

Tiny polymeric particles – just 1/50,000th the width of a human hair – were designed to match and encase melittin, a peptide in bee venom that causes cells to rupture, releasing their contents. Large quantities of melittin can lead to organ failure and death.

Male fish that used to be feminized after chemicals, such as the pharmaceutical ethinylestradiol, made it through the Boulder, Colo., Wastewater Treatment Plant and into Boulder Creek, are taking longer to become feminized after a plant upgrade to an activated sludge process, according to a new study. The results will be presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

Adults with newly diagnosed diabetes are at higher long-term risk of serious liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver failure, according to a research article published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj092144.pdf.

The negative impact of diabetes on the eye, kidney and blood vessels is well-known, but little is known about its effect on the liver.

Under the principles of reasonable apprehension of bias, the appointment of Dr. Bernard Prigent to the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) may be considered untenable, states an analysis article published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj100307.pdf.

Chimpanzees have long been known to kill their neighbors, and now researchers reporting in the June 22 issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, think they have a motive. It appears that chimps, and especially small packs of males on patrol, kill one another to gain territory.

"The take-home is clear and simple," said John Mitani of the University of Michigan. "Chimpanzees kill each other. They kill their neighbors. Up until now, we have not known why. Our observations indicate that they do so to expand their territories at the expense of their victims."

CHICAGO (June 21, 2010) – At the beginning of 2010, as many as 17 percent of children in the United States were reported as having special health care needs. Behavioral issues, developmental disorders, cognitive disorders, genetic disorders and systemic diseases may increase a child's risk of developing oral disease, according to an article published in the May/June 2010 issue of General Dentistry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD).

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease, marked by shortness of breath and fatigue which can be fatal if untreated. Increased pressure in the pulmonary artery and its branches is associated with dysfunctional growth control of endothelial and smooth muscle cells leading to excessive thickening of the blood vessel wall, obliteration of the lumen and right heart failure.

Standard radiography (X-rays) can help physicians diagnose laparoscopic adjustable gastric band slippage, a known complication of adjustable gastric banding surgery, according to a study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org). Adjustable gastric banding surgery is a widely used bariatric surgical procedure to induce weight loss in morbidly obese individuals.

A newly adapted low-dose computed tomography (CT) technique called adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) can help radiologists reduce the already low radiation dose delivered during CT colonography (CTC) by another 50 percent, according to a study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org).

A large, academic medical center implemented an imaging algorithm that allowed radiologists to successfully reduce the cumulative radiation exposure and number of computed tomography (CT) angiography (CTA) and CT perfusion studies performed on patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhages (a form of stroke), according to a study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org).