Tech

BOSTON—The system for hospice admissions for patients with advanced dementia, which is a terminal illness, should be guided by patient and family preference for comfort, not estimated life expectancy, says a new study published in the Nov. 3 Journal of the American Medical Association by the Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

In a review of comprehensive primary care programs for older adults with multiple chronic conditions, authors identified three models that appear to have the greatest potential for improving quality of care and life for these patients, while reducing or not increasing the costs of their health care, according to an article in the November 3 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on aging.

SAN DIEGO -- A third of breast cancer survivors who received the breast-conserving treatments lumpectomy and radiation rate the appearance of their post-treatment breast as only "fair" or "poor" in comparison to their untreated breast, according to a new University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study that will be presented today at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in San Diego.

Oil and water don't mix, but add in some nanofibers and all bets are off.

A team of UCLA chemists and engineers has developed a new method for coating large surfaces with nanofiber thin films that are both transparent and electrically conductive. Their method involves the vigorous agitation of water, dense oil and polymer nanofibers. After this solution is sufficiently agitated it spreads over virtually any surface, creating a film.

Washington, November 1, 2010 – Elderly women are at high risk for inappropriate urinary catheter utilization in emergency departments, according to a new study in the November issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

Poor, minority and special needs children are more likely to be affected by toothache, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research suggests that the addition of ultraviolet light to the brushing and suction of a vacuum cleaner can almost double the removal of potentially infectious microorganisms from a carpet's surface when compared to vacuuming alone.

Researchers say the findings suggest that incorporating the germicidal properties of UV light into vacuuming might have promise in reducing allergens and pathogens from carpets, as well.

Inappropriate growth and survival signaling, which leads to the aberrant growth of cancer cells, is a driving force behind tumors. Much of current cancer research focuses on the kinase enzymes whose mutations are responsible for such disregulated signaling, and many successful molecularly targeted anti-cancer therapeutics are directed at inhibiting kinase activity.

MADISON – Nature's capacity to store carbon, the element at the heart of global climate woes, is steadily eroding as the world's farmers expand croplands at the expense of native ecosystem such as forests.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Money may not grow on trees, but energy could grow in grass. Researchers at the University of Illinois have completed the first extensive geographic yield and economic analysis of potential bioenergy grass crops in the Midwestern United States.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently released a study, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. The report calls for new and expanded roles for nurses in a redesigned health care system. It recommends improving education for all nurses and allowing nurses to practice to the full extent of their license and ability.

LAWRENCE, Kan. – A little self-awareness can help people struggling in the world of relationships, says Jeffrey Hall, assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas.

Hall recently completed a study into styles of flirting among dating adults, surveying more than 5,100 people regarding their methods of communicating romantic interest.

A team of scientists has, for the first time, completely characterized an important chemical reaction that is critical to the formation of ground-level ozone in urban areas. The team's results indicate that computer models may be underestimating ozone levels in urban areas during episodes of poor air quality (smoggy days) by as much as five to 10 percent.

CHICAGO (November 1, 2010) – According to a report published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, a grant-funded program tailored to provide advanced minimally invasive surgery skills to young, underrepresented minority surgeons, is helping address shortages of minority faculty members at US medical institutions.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 1, 2010 -- Race may not be as important as previously thought in determining who befriends whom, suggests a new study of American college students' habits on Facebook. The findings, by a pair of sociologists from Harvard University and UCLA, appear in the current issue of the American Journal of Sociology.

The strongest attraction, the researchers found, turned out to be old-fashioned social pressure. For the average student, the tendency to reciprocate a friendly overture is seven times stronger than the attraction of a shared racial background.