Culture

The first fully biodegradable coronary artery stent implanted in humans proved safe in a 10-year study published in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal.

Stents are mesh tubes inserted into coronary arteries to help prop them open and allow for blood flow to the heart muscle.

HOUSTON - More than one third of patients with invasive cancer are undertreated for their pain, with minorities twice as likely to not receive analgesics, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The study, published in Journal of Clinical Oncology, is the largest prospective evaluation of cancer pain and related symptoms ever conducted in an outpatient setting.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Cardiologists have long grappled with how to best manage patients with coronary artery disease who report skin hypersensitivity to nickel or other metal components found in stents -- small tubes placed in narrowed or weakened arteries to help improve blood flow to the heart. But new Mayo Clinic research, published in the April 16, 2012, issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, may help allay these concerns.

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Startling new statistics from Bowling Green State University's National Center for Family and Marriage Research (NCFMR) paint a bleak future for the largest generation in history, the baby boomers, as they cross into old age.

Sarah Moore says that if you want your memorable family resort vacation to stay memorable, move away from the keyboard. Seriously.

Consumers are increasingly using MP3 players in their vehicles, and auto makers have responded: Data show that 90% of new vehicles sold in the United States have MP3 connectivity. Makers of aftermarket MP3 controllers are also responding with devices that have claimed to decrease driver distraction. But according to human factors/ergonomics researcher John D. Lee and colleagues, MP3 players might increase distraction risk, depending on which devices drivers use and how long they look away from the road while searching for their favorite song.

When a large item and a small one are packaged together, consumers often perceive the overall value to be less than that of the large item, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. This applies to information as well as products and gifts.

"People who evaluate a bundle follow an averaging strategy, which leads to less favorable judgments when mildly favorable pieces are added to highly favorable pieces," write authors Kimberlee Weaver (Virginia Tech), Stephen M. Garcia, and Norbert Schwarz (both University of Michigan).

The pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is a precious resource. With limited number of beds and resource-intensive services, it is a key component of patient flow. A new study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine reveals that while a large PICU observed for the study delivered critical care services most of the time, periods of non-critical care services represented a barrier to access for new patients. At times when a bed was needed for a new patient, the PICU had beds being used for patients who could have been in other settings.

Luis Carlos Álvaro, a clinical neurologist at the Hospital of Basurto (Bilbao) and lecturer at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), has had an article published on the capacity of patients with dementia to make decisions. It is entitled Competencia: conceptos generales y aplicación en la demencia (Competence: general concepts and application in dementia), and has been published in the journal Neurología.

Among the research presented by University of Cincinnati faculty and students at the April 18-22 Society for American Archaeology meeting will be an examination of early agriculture in southern Europe in the 7th century B.C., research on the role of volcanic activity in the rise and fall of the Mayan metropolis of Tikal, and study of hunting dogs in small-scale societies. See more below.

WITH AGE COMES GREATER SUCCESS AMONG HUNTING DOGS

University of Cincinnati research is revealing early farming in a former wetlands region that was largely cut off from Western researchers until recently. The UC collaboration with the Southern Albania Neolithic Archaeological Project (SANAP) will be presented April 20 at the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA).

To relieve pain, arthritis sufferers are prescribed medications that may include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors, both of which can irritate the digestive tract. At times additional drugs are co-prescribed with NSAIDs or COX-2 inhibitors to prevent adverse gastrointestinal (GI) effects.

VANCOUVER -- An Indiana University study presented on Friday at the American Educational Research Association meeting in Vancouver shows that race continues to be an important factor in determining who receives out-of-school suspension and expulsion, and that racial disparities in school discipline are most likely due more to school characteristics than to the characteristics of behaviors or students.

More than 30% of the one million heart attack victims in the United States each year die before seeking medical attention. Although widespread education campaigns describe the warning signs of a heart attack, the average time from the onset of symptoms to arrival at the hospital has remained at 3 hours for more than 10 years. In their upcoming Ergonomics in Design article, "'This is your heart speaking.

University of British Columbia research comparing traditional bullying with cyberbullying finds that the dynamics of online bullying are different, suggesting that anti-bullying programs need specific interventions to target online aggression.