Body

'Post-hospital syndrome' found to be a risk factor for elective surgery

MAYWOOD, Ill. - A condition known as "post hospital syndrome" (PHS) is a significant risk factor for patients who undergo elective outpatient surgery, a Loyola study has found.

PHS is defined as having been hospitalized during the previous 90 days. The first-of-its-kind study found that among patients with PHS, 7.6 percent had to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of undergoing elective outpatient hernia surgery. By comparison, only 1.6 percent of non-PHS patients had to be readmitted following hernia surgery.

Controlling levels of specific gut bacteria could help prevent severe diarrhea

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Everyone has suffered from it. It's ranged from mild to severe. It's a condition that's most-often described in a whisper.

Diarrhea.

Severe cases of diarrhea, however, are no joking matter. Research led by Michigan State University and published in a recent issue of the journal Microbiome may offer patients suffering from acute cases new treatments that focus on intestinal microbial communities to prevent the disease.

Research points to development of single vaccine for Chikungunya, related viruses

What if a single vaccine could protect people from infection by many different viruses? That concept is a step closer to reality.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louishave identified "broadly neutralizing" antibodies that protect against infection by multiple, distantly related alphaviruses - including Chikungunya virus - that cause fever and debilitating joint pain. The discovery, in mice, lays the groundwork for a single vaccine or antibody-based treatment against many different alphaviruses.

Pitt study: Chronic arsenic exposure can impair ability of muscle to heal after injury

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 10, 2015 - Chronic exposure to arsenic can lead to stem cell dysfunction that impairs muscle healing and regeneration, according to an animal study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine and Graduate School of Public Health. In a report published online in STEM CELLS, they noted that inhibiting a certain protein in an inflammatory pathway can reverse the harmful effects and that environmental exposures might explain why some people don't recover easily after injury or surgery.

Coronavirus breakthrough by INRS researchers

Quebec researchers have discovered that a mutation in a coronavirus protein slows the spread of the virus in the central nervous system and reduces its neurovirulence. It is the first time that this phenomenon has been observed in the coronavirus family, which is responsible for one-third of common colds and is also suspected of being associated with the development or aggravation of neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and encephalitis.

Using copper to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses

New research from the University of Southampton has found that copper can effectively help to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, which are linked to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

Animal coronaviruses that 'host jump' to humans, such as SARS and MERS, result in severe infections with high mortality. The Southampton researchers found that a closely-related human coronavirus - 229E - can remain infectious on common surface materials for several days, but is rapidly destroyed on copper.

Dengue: Asymptomatic people transmit the virus to mosquitoes

Scientists at the Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, the Institut Pasteur in Paris and the CNRS provided proof that people infected by dengue virus but showing no clinical symptoms can actually infect mosquitoes that bite them. It appears that these asymptomatic people - who, together with mildly symptomatic patients, represent three-quarters of all dengue infections - could be involved in the transmission chain of the virus. These findings, published in the journal PNAS, on the 9 of November, question established theories concerning the epidemiology of dengue.

New SARS-like virus can jump directly from bats to humans, no treatment available

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered a new bat SARS-like virus that can jump directly from its bat hosts to humans without mutation. However, researchers point out that if the SARS-like virus did jump, it is still unclear whether it could spread from human to human.

Early maternal loss has lifelong effects on chimpanzees

Wild-caught chimpanzees, who were orphaned and imported from Africa in their early infancy, exhibit an impaired social behaviour also as adults. So far long-term effects of early traumatic experiences on social behaviour were known only for humans and socially isolated chimpanzees. An Austrian-Dutch research team led by Elfriede Kalcher-Sommersguter and Jorg Massen published these results in the scientific journal Scientific Reports.

Participatory breeding program assists organic tomato growers

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - Organic tomato production is growing rapidly in Midwestern states in the US, as evidenced by a USDA study that found certified organic tomato production increased more than 277% in the region from 2007-2011. The authors of a report in the September 2015 issue of HortScience say that to keep up with high consumer demand, organic tomato growers need to identify cultivars that are well-adapted to local conditions, are viable under organic management practices, and have the quality characteristics that consumers want.

Sugar molecules lose their 'Cinderella' status

Carbohydrates are often considered the 'Cinderella' molecules of biology yet they are a feature of an increasing number of medicines, from small molecule drugs to protein therapeutics or vaccines.

This presents challenges for medicine and science because carbohydrates are often ignored or are poorly defined in the databases on which the modern world relies for scientific and medical development.

Highly sensitive sensors successfully map electrical patterns of embryonic heart

Highly sensitive sensors have been successfully used to map the electrical activity of the developing heart in embryos, in a University of Sussex study published today (10 November 2015).

The study could lead to new insight into how heart rhythm abnormalities develop, the researchers say.

The team fine-tuned patented Electric Potential Sensing (EPS) technology, developed at the University, to detect the electrical signals of zebrafish embryos from just three days after fertilization. The findings have been published in the scientific journal Applied Physics Letters.

Immaculate white: New moth species preferring dry habitats is a rare case for Florida

Spreading its wings over the sandhills and scrub of peninsular Florida, a moth species with immaculately white wings has remained unnoticed by science until Mr. Terhune Dickel brought it to the attention of Dr. James Hayden of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Novel double dagger anti-cancer agent

JERUSALEM (November 10, 2015)--Cancer is a highly complex disease in which the tumor recruits its surrounding tissue, as well as the immune system to support and promote its own growth. This realization explains why tumor therapy has been difficult for physicians. Researchers now realize that not only does the tumor need to be targeted, but also its microenvironment and the immune system, which is subverted by the tumor to support it.

Evidence shows low energy sweeteners help reduce energy intake and body weight

Use of low energy sweeteners (LES) in place of sugar, in children and adults, leads to reduced calorie intake and body weight - and possibly also when comparing LES beverages to water - according to a review led by researchers at the University of Bristol published in the International Journal of Obesity today.