Tech

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 18 – Family caregivers who had not discussed life support measures with critically ill patients took nearly two weeks longer to decide to forego further medical intervention than those who had prior conversations about the issues, according to researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Public Health. They share their findings in a poster presentation at the Society of Critical Care Medicine congress this week in San Diego.

Serious traffic gridlocks, like the jam on Beijing's national expressway a few months ago which brought vehicles to a halt for days, are a real-world issue needing attention. Unfortunately, such standstills are not uncommon in Beijing, or in other cities around the world.

Researchers at Northwestern University have created a robotic fish that can move from swimming forward and backward to swimming vertically almost instantaneously by using a sophisticated, ribbon-like fin.

The robot -- created after observing and creating computer simulations of the black ghost knifefish -- could pave the way for nimble robots that could perform underwater recovery operations or long-term monitoring of coral reefs.

Convalescent plasma therapy—using plasma from patients who have recovered from an infection to treat those with the same infection—has been used to treat multiple diseases. However, the efficacy of this treatment in patients with severe 2009 H1N1 influenza is unknown. A study published in the February 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases suggests that convalescent plasma may reduce the death rate in patients severely ill with this type of influenza. (Please see below for a link to the embargoed study online.)

PHILADELPHIA (January 18, 2011) – Scientists from the Monell Center and collaborators report that a receptor known as TRPA1 is activated by two structurally unrelated anti-inflammatory compounds. The first, oleocanthal, is a natural polyphenolic anti-inflammatory agent uniquely found in extra virgin olive oil; while the second, ibuprofen, is an over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).

Despite the wide endorsement of and support for eHealth technologies, such as electronic patient records and e-prescribing, the scientific basis of its benefits—which are repeatedly made and often uncritically accepted—remains to be firmly established.

RICHMOND, Va. (Jan. 19, 2011) – Personal health records have great potential to help patients manage their health, but technology needs to be designed with the patient in mind – which means doing more than helping patients access health information, according to an editorial by two Virginia Commonwealth University family medicine physicians published in the Jan.19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The newly released 2011 Thomson Reuters - HCPlexus National Physicians Survey (NPS) links doctors' fears that their pay will go down under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly called Healthcare Reform Act (HCRA), with their concerns that the quality of care will also deteriorate. The study includes responses from 2,958 doctors of varying specialties and practice types, from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.

CHICAGO --- When a traffic light at a busy intersection flashes the WALK sign, people with knee osteoarthritis worry they can't walk fast enough to make it across the street in time. New Northwestern Medicine research shows people with this common arthritis are more likely to walk fast enough if they lead physically active lives.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – While monogamy is often touted as a way to protect against disease, young couples who say they have discussed monogamy can't seem to agree on what they decided. And a significant percentage of those couples who at least agreed that they would be monogamous weren't.

A new study of 434 young heterosexual couples ages 18-25 found that, in 40 percent of couples, only one partner says the couple agreed to be sexually exclusive. The other partner said there was no agreement.

You are six times more likely to end up at the doctors with an acute respiratory infection (ARI) if you have recently used a bus or tram — but those who use buses or trams daily might well be somewhat protected compared with more occasional users.

These are the findings of a study carried out by experts at The University of Nottingham into the relationship between public transport and the risk of catching an ARI. Their findings have been published in the online Journal BMC Infectious Diseases.

A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research explores why people reject things that can make them safer.

"People rely on airbags, smoke detectors, and vaccines to make them safe," write authors Andrew D. Gershoff (University of Texas at Austin) and Johnathan J. Koehler (Northwestern University School of Law). "Unfortunately, vaccines do sometimes cause disease and airbags sometimes injure or kill. But just because these devices aren't perfect doesn't mean consumers should reject them outright."

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Many suburbanites remember a time when they were once city dwellers. For a time many returned to the city for dining, cultural and entertainment purposes. But over time the suburbs and "the city" seemed much farther apart thereby resulting in less frequent trips.

A new Northwestern University study is the first to show that something may be happening cognitively that leads people to gradually become more biased, and at the same time more accurate, when it comes to their spatial memory as they become more familiar with a particular area.