Culture

The effect of movies featuring dogs on the popularity of dog breeds can last up to ten years and is correlated with the general success of the movies, according to new research from the University of Bristol, the City University of New York, and Western Carolina University.

The study, published today in PLOS ONE, also found that movies' influence was strongest in the early twentieth century and has declined since.

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 10, 2014 – Researchers at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh have created a new, 5- to 10-minute test that could be added to a clinician's concussion evaluation toolkit for a more comprehensive assessment of the injury.

September 10, 2014 – A study using motion capture technology provides new information on the spinal strain produced by various sexual positions—suggesting that one position commonly recommended for all men with low back pain is not actually the best choice, reports a study in the journal Spine.

PRINCETON, N.J.—America's unemployment rate — most recently reported as 6.1 percent — has long been used to gauge the country's economic well-being. But a new working paper released by Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs highlights the difficulty in estimating the exact unemployment rate, though changes in the official measure still signal important movements in the economy.

Vitiligo (depigmentation of the skin) and alopecia areata (AA, patchy or complete hair loss) in patients with chronic graft-vs-host disease (GvHD) following a stem cell transplant appear to be associated with having a female donor and the sex mismatch of a female donor and male recipient.

Social networking programs designed to help people lose weight could play a role in the global fight against obesity, according to research.

Analysis by researchers from Imperial College London combining the results of 12 previous studies shows that such programs have achieved modest but significant results in helping participants lose weight.

The paper is one of 10 reports on global healthcare policy written for the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), an initiative of Qatar Foundation, and published today in the journal Health Affairs.

Women who have difficulty accepting the fact that they can't have children following unsuccessful fertility treatment have worse long-term mental health than women who are able to let go of their desire for children, according to new research.

A host of previously unknown archaeological monuments have been discovered around Stonehenge as part of an unprecedented digital mapping project that will transform our knowledge of this iconic landscape – including remarkable new findings on the world's largest 'super henge', Durrington Walls.

The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project, led by the University of Birmingham in conjunction with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology, is the largest project of its kind.

PHILADELPHIA - Hoping to encourage sufficient investments by pharmaceutical companies in expensive gene therapies, which often consist of a single treatment, a Penn researcher and the chief medical officer of CVS Health outline an alternative payment model in this month's issue of Nature Biotechnology. They suggest annuity payments over a defined period of time and contingent on evidence that the treatment remains effective. The approach would replace the current practice of single, usually large, at-point-of-service payments.

CHICAGO --- Northwestern Medicine® scientists have discovered a novel cause of glaucoma in an animal model, and related to their findings, are now developing an eye drop aimed at curing the disease. They believe their findings will be important to human glaucoma.

A cure for glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness in the U.S., has been elusive because the basis of the disease is poorly understood.

Although only a small number of reanalyses of data from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have been published, an examination of those that have been conducted finds that about one-third led to changes in findings that implied conclusions different from those of the original article regarding the types and number of patients who should be treated, according to a study in the September 10 issue of JAMA.

As a heart fails, losing its ability to squeeze blood through the circulatory system, the body releases a neurohormone that interferes with the heart's best chance to improve contractility, a team of Temple University School of Medicine researchers show in a study published September 9th in the American Heart Association journal, Circulation.

As the amount of time employees spend at their desks increases, so does musculoskeletal discomfort and other health issues associated with the office environment. Although office ergonomics training programs have been shown to improve employee well-being and productivity, in many cases training occurs only after complaints are logged. New research to be presented at the HFES 2014 Annual Meeting in Chicago demonstrates that a comprehensive and proactive workplace ergonomics program can help to prevent discomfort and injury.

Experiencing discrimination because of their race or health condition can influence just how much trust people put into the health profession. In fact, having these experiences was associated with a 53-percent increase in the chances that someone suffering from sickle cell disease will not follow their doctors' orders, says Carlton Haywood Jr. of the Berman Institute of Bioethics and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the US.

An evolutionary analysis of public health data during a major disease outbreak, such as bird flu, E. coli contamination of food or the current Ebola outbreak could help the emergency services plan their response and contain the disease more effectively. Details are reported in the International Journal of Innovative Computing and Applications.