Practice makes perfect in cancer surgery

Queen's researchers determine higher hospital and surgeon volume lead to better outcomes when treating bladder cancer patients

2014-11-07

(Press-News.org) In a new, in-depth research project, Queen's professors Rob Siemens (Urology) and Christopher Booth (Cancer Care and Epidemiology) investigated what affect higher volume hospitals and surgeons had on the outcomes of patients undergoing a radical cystectomy for bladder cancer in Ontario. Using data provided by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) the investigators studied 2,802 patients who underwent the procedure between 1994 and 2008 in Ontario and found that higher volume hospital and surgeons were associated with less post-operative complications and better overall survival. "These results are intriguing and will undoubtedly lead to some controversy in their interpretation," says Dr. Siemens. "We wondered if the processes and interactions that lead to better outcomes for patients treated by higher volume providers can be studied and identified, perhaps leading to improved outcomes for all if adopted by lower volume hospitals and surgeons." The recent study explored a number of different aspects of bladder cancer care to better understand how quality surgical care is delivered for patients with advanced bladder cancer. The explanations for this volume-outcome relationship still remain mostly unidentified which could be a research project in the future. "This research has only been able to illuminate a small fraction of the factors that explain the improved outcomes of higher volume providers," says Dr. Siemens. "Some would interpret this as a call to more aggressively support a policy of centralizing care at higher volume hospitals for complex medical/surgical diseases."INFORMATION: The research was recently published in Urology.

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Preschoolers eat healthy when parents set rules about food, UB study finds

2014-11-07

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Preschoolers whose parents have rules about what their children can and cannot eat have healthier eating habits than those raised without such rules, according to a new study by pediatrics researchers at the University at Buffalo. The study also provides new information on how toddlers' ability to self-regulate, or control, their emotional and behavioral impulses influences their eating habits two years later, depending on the presence or absence of parental food rules. The research is being presented on Nov. 7 at ObesityWeek 2014 in Boston. ObesityWeek ...

Iodide protects against dangerous reperfusion injury after heart attack

2014-11-07

As if having a heart attack isn't bad enough, cardiologists know that the worst damage may actually occur after it's over. Blocked arteries are typically the trigger, stopping the flow of blood and starving the heart muscle of oxygen. But when the blockage is removed and the blood comes rushing back, it wreaks havoc of its own. The result is called reperfusion injury, a life-threatening flood of inflammation and cellular destruction that has stumped scientists for 40 years. Now, however, a potentially groundbreaking study by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center scientists, ...

UTSA professor studies cell phone habits of college students in US and South Korea

2014-11-07

Seok Kang, associate professor in the UTSA Department of Communication, collaborated with Korean researcher Jaemin Jung to study the smartphone habits of college students in the United States and South Korea. The researchers were particularly interested in the type and amount of information college students from both countries disclose. The study was published in Computers in Human Behavior. The two countries were selected due to the high rates of smartphone ownership among their young adults. Eighty percent of Americans own smartphones while the ownership rate in Korea ...

CCNY-led discovery may help breast cancer treatment

2014-11-07

Researchers led by Dr. Debra Auguste, associate professor, biomedical engineering, in the Grove School of Engineering at The City College of New York, have identified a molecule that could lead to developing treatment for one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. Triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs) have a high mortality rate owing to aggressive proliferation and metastasis and a lack of effective therapeutic options. However, Professor Auguste's team, discovered the overexpression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in human TNBC cell lines and tissues, ...

Office stress? Workers may wait before acting out, SF State study finds

2014-11-07

Employers know that dramatic changes in the workplace, such as the start of the "busy season" or a new, more demanding boss, can cause employees to act out in ways that hurt the bottom line. But a new study suggests that companies may be underestimating the impact of such behavior because they assume it only happens immediately after a stressful change. The research from SF State organizational psychologist Kevin Eschleman shows that many employees wait weeks or months before engaging in "counterproductive work behaviors," like taking a longer lunch or stealing office ...

Mars spacecraft, including MAVEN, reveal comet flyby effects on Martian atmosphere

2014-11-07

Two NASA and one European spacecraft, including NASA's MAVEN mission led by the University of Colorado Boulder, have gathered new information about the basic properties of a wayward comet that buzzed by Mars Oct. 19, directly detecting its effects on the Martian atmosphere. Data from observations carried out by MAVEN, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft revealed that debris from the comet, known officially as Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring, caused an intense meteor shower and added a new layer of ions, or charged ...

NFL TV ratings: Bandwagon is everyone's second-favorite team

2014-11-07

A new study by Brigham Young University and the Fox affiliate in Salt Lake City shows that choosing to broadcast a local favorite isn't always the smartest ratings decision. The new study shows how TV execs should decide which games to air when the home-town team isn't playing - or in markets like Utah that don't have their own team. Traditionally the most popular teams in Utah have been the Broncos, Cowboys and 49ers. "When you look at the difference between the average team effect, like say the Miami Dolphins, and the next top tier after the Denver Broncos, the results ...

Reprogrammed cells grow into new blood vessels

2014-11-07

HOUSTON -- ( Nov. 7, 2014 ) -- By transforming human scar cells into blood vessel cells, scientists at Houston Methodist may have discovered a new way to repair damaged tissue. The method, described in an upcoming issue of Circulation (early online), appeared to improve blood flow, oxygenation, and nutrition to areas in need. Cardiovascular scientists at Houston Methodist, with colleagues at Stanford University and Cincinnati Children's Hospital, learned that fibroblasts -- cells that causes scarring and are plentiful throughout the human body -- can be coaxed into becoming ...

Research shows easy-to-walk communities can blunt cognitive decline

2014-11-07

LAWRENCE -- New study results from the University of Kansas to be presented this weekend at the Gerontological Society of America's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., bolster the adage that "heart healthy is brain healthy." The investigation shows neighborhoods that motivate walking can stave off cognitive decline in older adults. "People can walk either to get somewhere or for leisure," said Amber Watts, assistant professor of clinical psychology, who will share her findings at a symposium Sunday, Nov. 9, in Liberty Salon K at the Washington Marriott Marquis. "Depending ...

Cybersecurity experts discover lapses in Heartbleed bug fix

2014-11-07

A detailed analysis by cybersecurity experts from the University of Maryland found that website administrators nationwide tasked with patching security holes exploited by the Heartbleed bug may not have done enough. First disclosed in April 2014, Heartbleed presents a serious vulnerability to the popular OpenSSL (Secure Sockets Layer) software, allowing anyone on the Internet to read the memory of systems that are compromised by the malicious bug. Assistant Research Scientist Dave Levin and Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Tudor Dumitras were ...

Practice makes perfect in cancer surgery

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