Body

Bethesda, MD (March 1, 2009) – Previous studies have raised questions regarding differences in quality of care for patients hospitalized on a weekend compared to weekdays. In fact, a growing body of health services research has demonstrated an association between admission to hospitals on the weekend and increased mortality. This "weekend effect" has been attributed to reduced hospital staffing and access to specific intensive treatments and procedures.

Alexandria, VA – Young children are especially vulnerable to severe dog bites in the head and neck areas, and there is a correlation between cases of dog bites and rising temperatures, according to new research published in the March 2009 issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Compounds extracted from green vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage could be a potent drug against melanoma, according to cancer researchers. Tests on mice suggest that these compounds, when combined with selenium, target tumors more safely and effectively than conventional therapy.

March 1, 2009, St. Louis, MO – Micronutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and vitamin C play essential roles in maintaining health. As older adults tend to reduce their food intake as they age, there is concern that deficits in these micronutrients lead to medical problems. In a study published in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers examined how well different ethnic groups met the recommended daily allowances (RDAs) through food intake and supplement consumption.

Bethesda, MD (March 1, 2009) – Although the relationship between alcohol and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is well established, studies investigating the association between alcohol intake and reflux esophagitis (RE), Barrett's esophagus (BE) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) have reported inconsistent findings. Furthermore, little is known regarding the effect of alcohol on BE, especially related to alcohol types.

Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. -- A key item in the developmental agenda of a plant leaf is the establishment of an axis that makes a leaf's top half distinct from its bottom half. This asymmetry is crucial for the leaf's function: it ensures that the leaf develops a flattened blade that is optimized for photosynthesis, with a top surface specialized for light harvesting and a bottom surface containing tiny pores that serve as locales for gas exchange.

LAS VEGAS, NV – New research presented at the 2009 American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine Specialty Day in Las Vegas suggests that elbow ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction prior to selection in the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft does not increase the risk of future injury or affect the rate of professional advancement.

LAS VEGAS, NV - Patients who underwent a rotator cuff repair surgery experienced pain relief and improved shoulder function, even after a tear recurrence, according to a new study presented at the 2009 American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine Specialty Day in Las Vegas. Rotator cuff tears can be caused by a traumatic event to the shoulder, such as a fall, or over a period of time due to wear and tear, which is more common in athletic individuals. The study evaluated a group of 15 patients approximately eight years after they received rotator cuff repair.

Vaccines against H5N1 influenza will be critical in countering a possible future pandemic. Yet public health experts agree that the current method of growing seasonal influenza vaccines in chicken eggs is slow and inefficient.

Scientists at the Emory Vaccine Center have developed an alternative: virus-like particles, empty shells that look like viruses but don't replicate. Mice immunized by nose drops with the virus-like particles (VLPs) were protected for months against an otherwise lethal H5N1 infection.

HOUSTON-A receptor known to be active in bone metastases, but previously unexplored in primary bone tumors, is a potential therapeutic target in osteosarcoma, investigators from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the March 1 issue of Cancer Research.

LA JOLLA, CA — Ever since insects developed a taste for vegetation, plants have faced the same dilemma: use limited resources to out-compete their neighbors for light to grow, or, invest directly in defense against hungry insects. Now, an international team of scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Institute of Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agronomía (IFEVA) has discovered how plants weigh the tradeoffs and redirect their energies accordingly.

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New York – February 26, 2009 – Contrary to conventional medical wisdom, a new study by NYU Langone Medical Center researchers shows that healthy elderly patients with severe to profound hearing loss can undergo a surgical procedure to receive cochlear implants with minimal risk.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) adapts so well to the body's defense system that any successful AIDS vaccine must keep pace with the ever-changing immunological profile of the virus, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the University of Oxford in England.

A new study better describes HIV's ability to adapt by spelling out at least 14 different "escape mutations" that help keep the virus alive after it interacts genetically with immunity molecules that normally attack HIV.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – New findings from the nation's largest study of diabetes in youth paint an alarming picture of disease on the rise among every racial and ethnic group studied. Five articles appearing in the March supplement of Diabetes Care provide a comprehensive picture of diabetes in children and adolescents from five ethnic and racial groups in the United States, including non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics, blacks, Asian/Pacific Islanders and American Indians/Navajo Nation.