Culture

(PHILADELPHIA) – Patients with asthma who are exposed to violence in their community are at an increased risk for an asthma-related hospitalization and emergency room visits for asthma or any cause, according to new research from the University Of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Exposure to community violence has been linked to more symptoms in pediatric asthma patients; however the new research adds to this finding with a longitudinal study showing a connection in an adult population and more than symptoms - actual emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations.

Spanish researchers have calculated the probability of dying in road accidents on the basis of the time taken for the emergency services to arrive. Their conclusions are clear – reducing the time between an accident taking place and the arrival of the emergency services from 25 to 15 minutes would cut the risk of death by one-third.

An antibacterial peptide developed by Laszlo Otvos, a research professor of biology in Temple's College of Science and Technology, looks to be a highly-effective therapy against infections in burn or blast wounds suffered by soldiers.

DARIEN, IL – Young adults who get fewer than eight hours of sleep per night have greater risks of psychological distress, a combination of high levels of depressive and anxious symptoms, according to a study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

An intervention that targeted modifiable stressors in the home of patients with dementia resulted in better outcomes for the patients and their caregivers at 4 months, but not at 9 months, although the caregivers perceived greater benefits, according to a study in the September 1 issue of JAMA.

More than eight of ten workers — 85 percent — rate workplace safety first in importance among labor standards, even ahead of family and maternity leave, minimum wage, paid sick days, overtime pay and the right to join a union, according to a new study from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

(Arlington, VA)— Influenza vaccination of healthcare personnel is a professional and ethical responsibility and non-compliance with healthcare facility policies regarding vaccination should not be tolerated, according to a position paper released today by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).

Given the impact of climatic extremes on agriculture and health in Spain, researchers at the University of Salamanca (USAL) have analysed the two factors most representative of these thermal extremes between 1950 and 2006 – warm days and cold nights. The results for mainland Spain show an increase in the number of warm days greater than that for the rest of the planet and a reduction in the number of cold nights.

BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, August 31, 2010 – A new study conducted by a Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researcher, together with a researcher from De-Paul University, reveals that women in the United States generally derive more happiness from religious participation than from shopping on Sundays.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — There's something beyond ignorance and topic avoidance that motivates Americans to believe President Obama is a Muslim, according to a study of 'smear' campaigns.

Being Muslim is a smear? Apparently so, though the people who are going to believe it despite his denial didn't vote for him anyway so the benefit is unclear. But it's all racial, the researchers say,and people are more likely to accept falsehoods when subtle clues remind them of ways in which Obama is different from them.

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Specifically asking young women during visits to family planning clinics whether their partners had attempted to force them to become pregnant — a type of intimate-partner violence called reproductive coercion — dramatically reduced the likelihood that the women would continue to experience such pressures, according to a new pilot study led by researchers at the UC Davis School of Medicine.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – When given a choice, older people prefer to read negative news, rather than positive news, about young adults, a new study suggests.

In fact, older readers who chose to read negative stories about young individuals actually get a small boost in their self-esteem, according to the results.

And what about younger people? Well, they just prefer not to read about older people.

MADISON, WI, August 30th, 2010 – Undergrads often take communication courses unrelated to their major or discipline. The Iowa State University Department of Horticulture teamed up with the Library and English Departments to develop a course section to teach students to research and understand literature searchers and incorporate them into papers and posters.

Many middle-aged and older adults with diabetes are sexually active according to a study of nearly 2,000 people aged 57 to 85 presented in the September 2010 issue of the journal Diabetes Care. Almost 70 percent of partnered men with diabetes and 62 percent of partnered women with diabetes engaged in sexual activity two or three times a month, comparable to those without diabetes, the study showed.