Tech

As hooking up takes over from dating as a means of heterosexual interaction on university campuses, more women than men continue to prefer dating whereas more men than women rate hooking up above dating. Both genders however perceive similar benefits and risks to dating and hooking up. Carolyn Bradshaw from James Madison University in Virginia, US, and colleagues explored the reasons that motivate college men and women to hook up or to date, as well as the perceived relative benefits and costs of the two practices.

Ontario's universal influenza program reduces influenza attacks and deaths and is economically attractive

A universal program to provide free influenza vaccination to everyone in Ontario, Canada is economically attractive compared to vaccination programs in other Canadian provinces targeting people at high risk of influenza, according to an analysis published in PLoS Medicine this week.

In PLoS Medicine this week, Heiman Wertheim (Oxford University) and colleagues discuss a network that aims to improve infectious disease management through integrated, collaborative clinical research in South East Asia. The South East Asia Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network (SEAICRN) is a collaborative partnership of hospitals and institutions in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore.

The millions of dollars invested by the province of Ontario in its universal flu vaccine campaign saves lives and is a sensible investment, according to an economic analysis by a researcher at the University of Toronto and the University Health Network.

Four of every 10 people treated in a hospital for pain or other problems caused by sickle cell disease have to be readmitted for treatment again within 30 days, according to a new study published in the April 7 issue of JAMA. The study, the largest to date on the subject, also found that many sickle cell patients need emergency room care within 30 days of being discharged from a hospital. The study was conducted by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin; Children's Research Institute at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, both in Milwaukee; and the U.S.

Despite a concern that obese or overweight patients may receive lower quality of health care, an analysis of eight common outpatient quality measures from a sample of nearly 70,000 patients finds no evidence that obese or overweight patients receive inferior care when compared with normal-weight patients, and in fact may receive a higher rate of recommended care on several measures, according to a study in the April 7 issue of JAMA.

Patients with sickle cell disease average about 2.5 hospital visits per year, with 18- to 30-year old patients more likely to require acute care or rehospitalization, according to a study in the April 7 issue of JAMA.

Lignin is the double-edged sword of biofuels: if you are making cellulosic ethanol, you want less lignin because it blocks the breakdown of cellulose. If you are using pyrolytic methods, you want more lignin because lignin contains more energy than cellulose. Whether you wish to maximize or minimize lignin content, an understanding of lignin synthesis is essential and has proved elusive.

SEATTLE—Hopes are high that health information technology will support care between office visits, boost efficiency and convenience, and help patients lead healthier lives. An evaluation in the April Health Affairs suggests how to make the most of this new approach: Routinely ask patients how they like it and what they want.

PITTSBURGH, April 6 – Compared to women with uncomplicated pregnancies, women with preeclampsia have reduced numbers of special cells that are thought to help grow and maintain blood vessels, according to a study by researchers at the Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings are available online in Reproductive Sciences.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When doctors become invested in an outpatient surgery center, they perform on average twice as many surgeries as doctors with no such financial stake, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Health System.

"This computer vision technology will also enable the development of new automobile safety features, including systems that can allow cars to stay in their lane, avoid traffic and gracefully react to emergency situations – such as those where a driver has fallen asleep at the wheel, had a heart attack or gone into diabetic shock. This can help protect not only the car that has the safety feature, but other drivers on the road as well. That's a next generation of this research."

Alcohol-use disorders (AUDs), referring to both alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, affect nearly 8.5 percent of the American population, are associated with numerous medical, psychiatric, family, legal, and work-related problems, and cost an estimated $185 billion in 1998. A new study has found that oral naltrexone can reduce both alcohol- and non-alcohol-related healthcare costs for patients with AUDs.

Results will be published in the June 2010 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (April 5, 2010) – Socially deprived children removed from orphanages and placed in foster care appear to experience gains in growth and intelligence, catching up to their non-institutionalized peers on many measures, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the June print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.