Tech

A multifaceted approach that addressed deficiencies in clinical knowledge, skills, motivation, resources, and the organization of care was associated with improvements in practice for high mortality conditions in young children in rural Kenya compared with less comprehensive approaches.

Using a cross-sectional study, Stefan Flasche and colleagues investigated the effects of the UK pneumococcal vaccination program on serotype-specific carriage and invasive pneumococcal disease.

An analysis of national prescribing patterns shows that more than half of patients who received an opioid prescription in 2009 had filled another opioid prescription within the previous 30 days. This report also suggested potential opportunities for intervention aimed at reducing abuse of prescription opioids.

Researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health, will publish results of this analysis in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

PHILADELPHIA – Two reports by addiction researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the National Institute on Drug Abuse show a drastic shift in prescribing patterns impacting the magnitude of opioid substance abuse in America. The reports, published in JAMA, recommend a comprehensive effort to reduce public health risks while improving patient care, including better training for prescribers, pain management treatment assessment, personal responsibility and public education.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Chemical changes in tree leaves subjected to warmer, drier conditions that could result from climate change may reduce the availability of soil nutrients, according to a Purdue University study.

Jeff Dukes, an associate professor of forestry and natural resources, found that red maple leaves accumulate about twice as much tannin when exposed to hot, droughtlike conditions. Those tannins, which defend leaves from herbivores and pathogens, were shown to interfere with the function of common enzymes in soil.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Soy food consumption did not increase the risk of cancer recurrence or death among survivors of breast cancer, according to the results of a study presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.

Researchers investigated the association between soy food intake and breast cancer outcomes among survivors, using data from a multi-institution collaborative study, the After Breast Cancer Pooling Project.

(Boston) - Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), including Yu Li, PhD, and other colleagues, have demonstrated that a nutrient sensing pathway is involved in the disruption of cellular lipid homeostasis in obese and insulin resistant mice fed a diet high in fat and sucrose. This nutrient sensing pathway, which is described in the current on-line issue of Cell Metabolism, may also have implications for the health benefits of polyphenols containing foods against fatty liver, hyperlipidemia, and atherosclerosis associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes.

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Companies looking to engineer an eco-friendly diesel fuel have more red lights in their path. According to Kansas State University researchers, making petroleum diesel completely green would not only bend the laws of physics, it would cost too much green.

"Fossil fuels are limited, and since we can't use more than what Earth offers, a lot of people are looking for alternative fuel sources like algae," said Peter Pfromm, professor of chemical engineering and member of a K-State interdisciplinary team that analyzed oil produced by algae as a source of biodiesel.

That the thyroid can be affected and that the kidneys in rare cases can be damaged are known side-effects of medication with lithium. Female patients who become pregnant are also advised against taking medicine containing lithium, as the substance can affect the foetus.

New Orleans – Each year, more than 100,000 patients in the U.S. undergo implantation of a new implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for heart rhythm abnormalities. This number constitutes a 20-fold increase over the last 15 years. Current medical guidelines advocate discussion of end of life care of these medical devices, including deactivation, but many patients may not understand their options.

New York / Heidelberg, 6 April 2011

A search team led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has located the wreckage of Air France Flight 447 some 3,900 meters, or nearly 2.5 miles, below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off Brazil's northeastern coast.

Devices which could be used to rehabilitate the arms and hands of people who have experienced a stroke have been developed by researchers at the University of Southampton.

In a paper to be presented this week (6 April) at the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Assisted Living Conference, Dr Geoff Merrett, a lecturer in electronic systems and devices, will describe the design and evaluation of three technologies which could help people who are affected by stroke to regain movement in their hand and arm.

Burgers, meat loaf and other lean ground beef favorites may be made from "trim," the meat that's left over after steaks and roasts have been carved from a side of beef. A study conducted several years ago to ensure that imported beef trim is safe to eat has led to an ongoing collaboration between U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists who conducted the research and colleagues from Uruguay, which exports this in-demand beef.