Culture

A number of threatened species in the developing world are entirely dependent on human agriculture for their survival, according to new research by the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Published today in the journal Conservation Letters, the study concludes that many species, rather than just using farmland to supplement their natural habitat, would actually be driven to extinction without it. Species such as the White-shouldered Ibis in Cambodia, the Sociable Lapwing in Kazakhstan and the Liben Lark in Ethiopia rely on local people and their agriculture.

The active ingredient boceprevir has been available since the middle of 2011 as a treatment for chronic hepatitis C of genotype 1. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the "Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products" (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has now examined to establish whether boceprevir offers added benefit in comparison with the previous standard therapy.

Depressive symptoms and impaired physical function were common and long-lasting during the first two years following acute lung injury (ALI), according to a new study from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Depressive symptoms were an independent risk factor for impaired physical function.

The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis is significantly increased in mothers postpartum, suggesting a potential new population to target for screening, according to a new UK-wide cohort study.

Washington, DC (December 8, 2011) — Acute kidney injury (AKI), an abrupt or rapid decline in kidney function, is a serious and increasingly prevalent condition. Little information has been available about how common or how severe AKI is in military personnel who are injured during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. A new study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN) investigates this question in those burned during combat.

Washington, DC (December 8, 2011) — Most patients with an abrupt kidney injury that does not get better do not see a kidney specialist within a year, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The findings indicate that efforts are needed to identify and treat kidney injury patients who require subsequent care.

Washington, DC (December 8, 2011) — Two seemingly similar blood pressure–lowering drugs have different effects on the heart health of dialysis patients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results indicate that certain dialysis patients may benefit more from one drug while some should opt for the other.

Philadelphia, PA, December 8, 2011 – Children who suffer from persistent or recurring chronic pain may miss school, withdraw from social activities, and are at risk of developing internalizing symptoms such as anxiety, in response to their pain. In the first comprehensive review of chronic pain in children and adolescents in 20 years, a group of researchers found that more children now are suffering from chronic pain and that girls suffer more frequently from chronic pain than boys.

OTTAWA, ON – December 8, 2011 – De-identification of health data has been crucial for all types of health research, but recent articles in medical and scientific literature have suggested that de-identification methods do not sufficiently protect the identities of individuals and can be easily reversed. A recent review conducted by researchers at CHEO entitled "A Systematic Review of Re-identification Attacks on Health Data" and published in PLoS ONE, did not uncover evidence to support this.

A study sponsored by the National Science Foundation found that most respondents felt the evacuation of New Orleans residents to the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina was a "failure" and this opinion has shaped their willingness to accept shelter if offered in an emergency evacuation.

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Who gets the blame when a member of a group does something wrong—the individual or the group? The answer may depend on how cohesive the group is perceived to be.

Nurses working in hospitals around the world are reporting they are burned out and dissatisfied with their jobs, reported researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing's Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research in a study of 100,000 nurses in nine countries.

Between 20 to 60 percent of nurses reported symptoms of burnout according to the study, published in the International Journal for Quality in Health Care, which collected data from nurses in more than 1,400 hospitals to determine the effect of hospital work environments on hospital outcomes.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The health care system in the United States faces numerous challenges: how to bring innovation from the laboratory to the bedside, how to ensure more equitable use of medical services and, in a time of increasing financial strain, how to pay for that care.

Spam advertising of pharmaceutical products is leading patients to seek out information about prescription drugs online, according to a report to be published in the International Journal Business and Systems Research. If those drugs are not available to the internet user through their physician there is a risk that they may obtain such products via illicit means.

Using a new mathematical methodology, researchers at MIT have created a scientifically rigorous analogy that shows the similarities between the physical structure of spider silk and the sonic structure of a melody, proving that the structure of each relates to its function in an equivalent way.