Scientists at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in collaboration with researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), devised a method to improve perovskite solar cells, making them more efficient and reliable with higher reproducibility.
Culture
WASHINGTON (Aug. 9, 2016) -- George Washington University (GW) researchers published a Health Affairs study finding that the expansion of Medicaid insurance coverage in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) did not increase hospital emergency department visits, as was widely predicted by policymakers and researchers.
Volunteering in middle and older age is linked to good mental health/emotional wellbeing, finds a large study of British adults, published in the online journal BMJ Open.
But no such association was seen before the age of 40, suggesting that the link may be stronger at certain points of the life course, say the researchers.
Previous research has shown that volunteering in older age is associated with better mental and physical health, but it's unclear whether this extends to other age groups.
LOS ANGELES - With the use of intensive care units (ICUs) on the rise in many hospitals, researchers at LA BioMed and UCLA examined ICU usage and found patients who were admitted to these units underwent more costly and invasive procedures but didn't have better mortality rates than hospitalized patients with the same medical conditions who weren't admitted to the ICU.
A study of four common medical conditions suggests hospitals that used intensive care units (ICUs) more frequently were more likely to perform invasive procedures and have higher costs while showing no improvement in mortality, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.
Boston, MA - Two years after Medicaid coverage was expanded under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in their states, low-income adults in Kentucky and Arkansas received more primary and preventive care, made fewer emergency department visits, and reported higher quality care and improved health compared with low-income adults in Texas, which did not expand Medicaid, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The findings provide new evidence for states that are debating whether to expand or how to expand coverage to low-income adults.
DARIEN, IL - Today the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) released a new analysis, titled "Hidden health crisis costing America billions," that reveals the staggering cost of undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea. A companion report was also released , titled "In an age of constant activity, the solution to improving the nation's health may lie in helping it sleep better," which summarizes the results of an online survey completed by patients currently being treated for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
ATLANTA--Older adults in assisted-living facilities experience limits to their rights to sexual freedom because of a lack of policies regarding the issue and the actions of staff and administrators at these facilities, according to research conducted by the Gerontology Institute at Georgia State University.
Becoming a volunteer later on in life can result in good mental health and wellbeing, according to researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Birmingham.
However, the study which is published in the BMJ Open online, found these effects did not apply before the age of 40, suggesting that the association with volunteering may be stronger at certain points of the life course. The results also point to the need for further efforts to engage middle aged and older people in volunteering activities.
PHILADELPHIA - Programs aimed at helping patients adhere to prescription medication regimens have become an area of interest for researchers as nearly half of patients do not take medications as prescribed. In a new study, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Humana Inc. show that a refill synchronization program - in which patients were able to receive all refills at the same time - increased medication adherence by more than 10 percent in some patient subgroups. The results are published today in Health Affairs.
LOS ANGELES - With cardiovascular disease being the No. 1 cause of death in end-stage kidney disease patients on peritoneal dialysis, a new study examined two classes of medications commonly prescribed to prevent cardiovascular events in these patients and found no significant difference in outcomes.
The study, published online in the Journal of Nephrology, noted that the two classes of medications, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin-II receptor blockers (ARB), have slightly different mechanisms and could theoretically have differing outcomes.
An interdisciplinary, international group of researchers has found new biophysical markers that could help improve the understanding of treatments for sickle cell disease, a step toward developing better methods for treating the inherited blood disorder that affects an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 Americans each year.
Today Brain publishes a new study indicating that antiepileptic drugs designed to reduce seizures, may also induce psychotic disorders in some patients.
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders. People with epilepsy have increased vulnerability to psychiatric problems.
However, it is also possible that the drugs used by patients to control their seizures may increase the risk of psychotic symptoms in certain people.
Dr. Astha Singhal, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Health Services Research at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM), published a study that found a racial disparity in opioid prescriptions for emergency department visits for non-definitive pain-related conditions. Titled "Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Opioid Prescriptions at Emergency Department Visits for Conditions Commonly Associated with Prescription Drug Abuse," the paper was published in PLOS ONE on Aug 8th.
With a growing aging population in South Florida, a University of Miami geographer who specializes in public health teamed up with geriatricians and other geographers to conduct the first age-adjusted analysis of socially and medically vulnerable older adults in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.