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Results of RIBS IV trial reported at TCT 2014

WASHINGTON, DC – September 14, 2014 – A new clinical trial comparing the use of everolimus-eluting stents (EES) and drug-eluting balloons (DEB) in treating in-stent restenosis (ISR) from drug-eluting stents found that EES provided superior late angiographic results and better late clinical outcomes.

Findings were reported today at the 26th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine.

Benefit of endocrine therapy in elderly women with low risk hormone receptor positive breast cancer?

Treatment with endocrine therapy and radiation therapy as part of breast conservation is the current standard of care for women with hormone-receptor positive (HR+) invasive breast cancer. A new study by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center, however, shows that combination may not be necessary for all patient populations with the disease.

Nanoribbon film keeps glass ice-free

Rice University scientists who created a deicing film for radar domes have now refined the technology to work as a transparent coating for glass.

The new work by Rice chemist James Tour and his colleagues could keep glass surfaces from windshields to skyscrapers free of ice and fog while retaining their transparency to radio frequencies (RF).

The technology was introduced this month in the American Chemical Society journal Applied Materials and Interfaces.

Patients waiting too long to see doctor? Try 'just-in-time' management methods, researchers urge

Using a pain clinic as a testing ground, researchers at Johns Hopkins have shown that a management process first popularized by Toyota in Japan can substantially reduce patient wait times and possibly improve the teaching of interns and residents.

In a report on the pilot study, published online Sept. 9, in Pain Medicine, the researchers adopted the so-called "Just-in-Time" training and inventory process used now by many manufacturers and service industries to stem waste and keep complicated operations from bottlenecking.

Ebola outbreak 'out of all proportion' and severity cannot be predicated

A mathematical model that replicates Ebola outbreaks can no longer be used to ascertain the eventual scale of the current epidemic, finds research conducted by the University of Warwick.

Dr Thomas House, of the University's Warwick Mathematics Institute, developed a model that incorporated data from past outbreaks that successfully replicated their eventual scale.

Pairing social networks with social motives to close the science gap

Scientists make discoveries everyday, but that doesn't mean the findings are put into common practice.

In India, for example, the neonatal mortality rate is 10 times higher than in the developed world. While clinical trials found that applying an inexpensive topical solution of chlorhexidine to cleanse a newborn's umbilical cord reduced the neonatal mortality rate by 24 percent, many Indian parents did not receive or follow this information.

Politics divide coastal residents' views of environment, UNH research finds

DURHAM, N.H. – From the salmon-rich waters of Southeast Alaska to the white sand beaches of Florida's Gulf Coast to Downeast Maine's lobster, lumber and tourist towns, coastal residents around the U.S. share a common characteristic: their views about coastal environments divide along political lines. That's a primary finding of a new study by University of New Hampshire sociologists published this month in the journal Society & Natural Resources.

Cancer patients with malignant spinal cord compression have preserved mobility

San Francisco, September 15, 2014—Mobility is equally preserved in cancer patients suffering from malignant spinal cord compression (MSCC) who receive a single dose of 10 Gy of radiation therapy (RT), compared to patients who receive five daily doses of 4 Gy of RT each, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 56th Annual Meeting.

Scientists create therapy-grade stem cells using new cocktail to reprogram adult cells

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed a new cocktail that is highly effective at coaxing adult cells to become quality pluripotent stem cells.

Regenerative medicine is a new and expanding area that aims to replace lost or damaged cells, tissues or organs through cellular transplantation. Because stem cells derived from human embryos can trigger ethical concerns, a good solution is reprogramming adult cells back to an embryo-like state using a combination of reprogramming factors.

Prostate cancer patients who receive hypofractionated RT report consistent QoL

San Francisco, September 15, 2014—Prostate cancer patients who received hypofractionated (HPFX) radiation therapy (RT) reported that their quality of life, as well as bladder and bowel function were at similar levels before and after RT, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 56th Annual Meeting. Additionally, results indicate that parallel quality of life outcomes occurred between groups of patients who receive different regimens of HPFX RT.

Single fraction RT as effective as multiple fraction RT for bone metastases

San Francisco, September 15, 2014—A prospective study that compared patient-reported outcomes of a broad set of cancer patients with bone metastases demonstrates that single fraction radiation therapy (SFRT) is equally as effective as multiple fraction radiation therapy (MFRT) when pain, function and quality of life are considered, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 56th Annual Meeting.

Do you always get what you pay for? How consumers mispredict product quality

Consumers are willing to spend thousands of dollars for luxury brand watches such as Rolex and Cartier because they are synonymous with high quality. But does this mean that inexpensive watches made by low-cost rivals must always be low quality? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, consumers mistakenly predict product quality based on quality consistency in other price ranges.

Can consumers use an easy trick to extend wonderful experiences and shorten bad ones?

Many experiences rarely seem to last the right amount of time. Vacations feel too short, meetings seem too long, and bad dates never seem to end. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research finds that simply categorizing experiences can help consumers extend good experiences and shorten the bad ones.

Sam Houston State study examines use of GIS in policing

HUNTSVILLE, TX (9/16/14) -- Police agencies are using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for mapping crime, identifying crime "hot spots," assigning officers, and profiling offenders, but little research has been done about the effectiveness of the technology in curbing crime, according to a study at Sam Houston State University (SHSU).

Measuring defensive medicine costs on 3 hospital services

Bottom Line: About 28 percent of the orders for three services at three hospitals were judged to be at least partially defensive by the physicians who ordered them.

Author: Michael B. Rothberg, M.D., M.P.H., of the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues.

Background: The overuse of medical tests and procedures driven by a fear of malpractice lawsuits, commonly known as defensive medicine, has been estimated to cost $46 billion annually in the U.S., although those costs have been measured indirectly.