Culture

Patients who are evaluated for liver diseases such as hepatitis C (HCV) are typically recommended for liver biopsy to determine the extent of disease progression. For patients who question whether less invasive testing is available, clinicians now have alternatives options to consider. Elastography and serum markers are two such diagnostic options reviewed in an editorial published in the June issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mathematical models analyzing how a cholera outbreak spread in Zimbabwe are providing new insights into the most effective vaccination strategies for preventing future cholera epidemics, according to University of Florida researchers.

The mathematical models employed to analyze a large cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe in 2008-2009 suggest that mass vaccinations deployed strategically could prevent future cholera epidemics in that country and others.

WASHINGTON, DC, June 2, 2011 — A common reading of the recent subprime mortgage crisis pins the blame on bankers and loan brokers who extended mortgages to those who could not afford them, thereby inflating a housing bubble that was destined to burst.

Hip strengthening exercises performed by female runners not only significantly reduced patellofemoral pain -- a common knee pain experienced by runners -- but they also improved the runners' gaits, according to Indiana University motion analysis expert Tracy Dierks.

The first study of the social and ethical issues associated with a provocative approach to treatment for ulcerative colitis has found that the majority of potential patients are eager for what is now called "fecal microbiota transplantation" to become available, although many have concerns about donor selection, screening, and methods of delivery.

WASHINGTON, DC, May 25, 2011 — Black and Mexican American doctors and lawyers aren't any more likely to play "high-status" sports such as golf or tennis than less educated people within their racial-ethnic groups, and more educated blacks may actually be less inclined to do so, suggests a new study in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior

A new study published in the journal Clinical Cardiology reveals that in men with chronic heart failure, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) improves patients' libido, erectile dysfunction, and sexual performance.

Chronic heart failure (HF) is a common, complex clinical syndrome characterized by fatigue and exercise intolerance. HF patients experience decreased libido and erectile dysfunction (ED). CRT, which is a type of pacemaker that paces the right and left ventricle, is used to treat patients with HF.

Afficionados of modern poured-concrete design were in for a rude awakening last month when they heard NJIT Assistant Professor Matt Burgermaster's presentation at the 64th annual meeting of the Society of Architectural Historians. "Edison's 'Single-Pour System: Inventing Seamless Architecture" which illustrated how, in 1917, Thomas Edison invented and patented an innovative construction system to mass produce prefabricated and seamless concrete houses.

So far, ranging and residence patterns amongst early hominins have been indirectly inferred from morphology, stone tool sourcing, comparison to living primates and phylogenetic models.

Intense distress and fear of dying, which many people experience when suffering the symptoms of a heart attack, are not only fairly common emotional responses but are also linked to biological changes that occur during the event, according to new research published online today in the European Heart Journal [1]. These changes, in turn, are associated with other biological processes during the following weeks that can predict a worse outcome for patients.

Long emergency department waiting times are associated with an increased risk of hospital admission or death within seven days among non-admitted patients, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

The findings support policies to reduce the time patients wait and call into question government plans to abandon the 4-hour A&E target in England for lack of "clinical justification."

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – With 2.3 million people behind bars and an estimated 10 million Americans cycling in and out of correctional facilities each year, the United States is in the midst of an "epidemic of mass incarceration," say researchers from the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights, a collaboration of The Miriam Hospital and Brown University.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Physicians can help their patients follow prescribed treatments and achieve healthier results – particularly in chronic disease management – by using a three-pronged strategy developed by a team of researchers from the University of California, Riverside, Texas State University-San Marcos, and La Sierra University in Riverside, Calif.

(CHICAGO) -- Genetic analysis of the tumors from patients with advanced melanoma can clue researchers in to how well patients will respond to a therapy that targets the growth-promoting protein called BRAF, a researcher from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania will report on Monday, June 6 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The males of two bipedal hominid species that roamed the South African savannah more than a million years ago were stay-at-home kind of guys when compared to the gadabout gals, says a new high-tech study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.