A congregation's beliefs about work attitudes and practices affect a churchgoer on the job — but how much depends in part on how involved that person is in the congregation, according to a Baylor University study funded by the National Science Foundation. "We already knew that about 60 percent of American adults are affiliated with congregations, but we wanted to delve into whether that carries over from weekend worship services to the work day," said Jerry Z. Park, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences. "It turns out it does make ...

Computed tomography scans are an accepted standard of care for diagnosing heart and lung conditions. But clinicians worry that the growing use of CT scans could be placing patients at a higher lifetime risk of cancer from radiation exposure. Beaumont Health System research, published in the June 20 online issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, found that the use of advanced CT scanning equipment is helping to address this important concern. The study, of 2,085 patients at nine centers in the U.S. and Middle East, found that using newer generation, ...

New Rochelle, NY, June 20, 2014—Spiral ganglion cells are essential for hearing and their irreversible degeneration in the inner ear is common in most types of hearing loss. Adult spiral ganglion cells are not able to regenerate. However, new evidence in a mouse model shows that spiral ganglion stem cells present in the inner ear are capable of self-renewal and can be grown and induced to differentiate into mature spiral ganglion cells as well as neurons and glial cells, as described in an article in BioResearch Open Access, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – In a study of South African men who drink alcohol in informal drinking environments or "shebeens," researchers from The Miriam Hospital have found a high prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) that directly correlates to unprotected sex. Findings support the need for interventions targeting both alcohol and HIV-risk behaviors among South African men who drink alcohol in alcohol-serving venues. The study and its findings are published in the July issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Lori A. Scott-Sheldon, Ph.D., lead author and researcher at The ...

Ottawa – June 20, 2014 – In a report published today in Nature Communications, an Ottawa-led team of researchers describe the role of a specific gene, called Snf2h, in the development of the cerebellum. Snf2h is required for the proper development of a healthy cerebellum, a master control centre in the brain for balance, fine motor control and complex physical movements. Athletes and artists perform their extraordinary feats relying on the cerebellum. As well, the cerebellum is critical for the everyday tasks and activities that we perform, such as walking, eating and ...

This news release is available in Portuguese. This news release is available in Portuguese. A research group led by Christen Mirth at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (Portugal) uncovered that the development of wings in fruit flies does not progress synchronously with the organism's development. Instead, it is coordinated with the whole body only at distinct 'milestones'. This study, published in the latest issue of the scientific journal PLOS Genetics*, helps explain how an organism facing environmental and physiological perturbations retains the ability to build ...

Yes, Virginia, there is greed. Greedy managers. Corporate greed. Greedy behavior. In fact, a web database search shows you can find such phrases in the business press over 18,000 times, confirming the subject's popularity in everyday media. But you need not fear greed, Virginia, because believe it or not, you can moderate it. In a forthcoming article in the top-ranked Journal of Management, new research by University of Delaware assistant professor Katalin Takacs Haynes examines the effects of greed on shareholder wealth and looks at whether various contextual factors, ...

DALLAS – June 20, 2014 – The Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) has identified a biomarker that enables researchers to accurately characterize the properties and function of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the body. MSCs are the focus of nearly 200 active clinical trials registered with the National Institutes of Health, targeting conditions such as bone fractures, cartilage injury, degenerative disc disease, and osteoarthritis. The finding, published in the journal Cell Stem Cell on June 19, significantly advances the field of MSC ...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs should track the outcomes of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) provided to service members and veterans and develop a coordinated and comprehensive strategy to do so, says a new congressionally mandated report from the Institute of Medicine. Without tracking outcomes, neither DOD nor VA knows whether it is providing effective or adequate PTSD care, for which they spent $294 million and more than $3 billion, respectively, in 2012. The report is the second of a two-phase ...

Amsterdam, NL, 20 June 2014 – Although significant progress has been made over the last 25 years to identify genetic abnormalities associated with congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS), many patients remain genetically undiagnosed. A report in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Neuromuscular Diseases identifies a gene defect in mitochondria, specifically the citrate carrier SLC25A1, that may underlie deficits in neuromuscular transmission seen in two siblings. "While mitochondrial gene defects can cause a myriad of neurological disorders including myopathies and neuropathies, ...

Researchers have discovered how a protein molecule in immune cells promotes the production of nitric oxide, a potent weapon in the cells' arsenal to defend the body from bacterial attack. The protein may offer a target for reining in the inflammatory response, which must be able to fight infection without damaging tissue. The study was published in the Journal of Innate Immunity. NFATc3 is one of several related protein molecules known to play a role in regulating genes in the T and B cells of the immune system. Ravi Ranjan, research scientist at the University of Illinois ...

VIDEO: IOM report out today demonstrates that the VA and US Department of Defense do not measure the effectiveness of treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Columbia University Mailman School of Public... Click here for more information. June 20, 2014 -- A report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) finds that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) do not measure the effectiveness of treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder ...

A new study led by the University of Minnesota offers new insights on the long-term future of emperor penguins by showing that the penguins may be behaving in ways that allow them to adapt to their changing environment better than we expected. Researchers have long thought that emperor penguins were philopatric, which means they would return to the same location to nest each year. The new research study used satellite images to show that penguins may not be faithful to previous nesting locations. Researchers involved in the new study found six instances in just three ...

June 20, 2014 – Patients with confirmed episodes of awareness during anesthesia and surgery don't seem to be at increased risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other problems with psychosocial well-being at long-term follow-up, reports a study in Anesthesia & Analgesia. "We found no indication that intraoperative awareness with recall had any long-term effects on patients' psychosocial outcome," concludes the new research by Dr Tanja Laukkala of the Centre for Military Medicine in Helsinki, Finland. Anesthesiologists "should respond to the findings…with a ...

This news release is available in German. In the past years, invisibility cloaks were developed for various senses. Objects can be hidden from light, heat or sound. However, hiding of an object from being touched still remained to be accomplished. KIT scientists have now succeeded in creating a volume in which an object can be hidden from touching similar to a pea under the mattress of a princess. The results are now presented in the renowned Nature Communications journal. Magicians and illusionists make things disappear by means of a skilled use of mental ...

Calling global mental health problems "acute and urgent," 37 leading medical authorities from 11 countries have published a joint declaration calling for basic mental health care in Africa. The experts also call for global mental health objectives to be included among the United Nations' post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, for a special UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on Mental Health by 2017, and for efforts to end the stigma and human rights violations inflicted on mental health patients. Published in the journal Global Health Action, the declaration was ...

Teens who use menthol cigarettes smoke more cigarettes per day than their peers who smoke non-menthols, says a new study. The findings from the Propel Centre for Population Health Impact at the University of Waterloo mark the first time that menthol cigarettes have been directly linked to elevated nicotine addiction among youth in Canada. "The appeal of menthol cigarettes among youth stems from the perception that they are less harmful than regular cigarettes. The minty taste helps mask the noxious properties, but the reality is that they are just as dangerous as any ...

New University of Minnesota research out this week is the first of its kind to show who is having early elective deliveries between 37 and 39 weeks gestation, and whether these deliveries happen following labor induction or cesarean. Labor induction or cesarean delivery without medical reason before a baby is considered full-term at 39 weeks, or an "early elective delivery," is associated with health problems for mothers and babies. The study, led by University of Minnesota School of Public Health Assistant Professor Katy Kozhimannil, Ph.D., M.P.A., in collaboration ...

New Rochelle, NY, June 20, 2014—The June issue of Monoclonal Antibodies in Immunodiagnosis and Immunotherapy is a special tribute issue for Hilary Koprowski, MD (1916-2013). The Festschrift papers are available online on the Monoclonal Antibodies in Immunodiagnosis and Immunotherapy website. An exclusive print copy of the Festschrift will be presented to all speakers at The Wistar Institute Symposium to honor Dr. Koprowski in Philadelphia on June 27, 2014, with support from CASIS™. "The contributors to this issue are internationally known scientists who were personally ...

Many pathogenic bacteria use special secretion systems to deliver toxic proteins into host cells. Researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have determined the structure of a crucial part of one of these systems – which are possible targets for novel antibiotics. Bacteria secrete a broad range of specific proteins that can affect the behavior or survival of cells in their environment. Among the specialized transport systems responsible for the export of such factors are so-called Type VI secretion systems. In collaboration with Axel Mogk of the Center ...

Sudden allergic reactions can be fatal. The most common triggers of such reactions, also known as anaphylaxis, are wasp and bee venoms, legumes (pulses), animal proteins, and analgesics (painkillers). The incidence of anaphylaxis is age-dependent. In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, Margitta Worm (Berlin) and her co-authors describe the causes and treatment methods for anaphylaxis, based on data from the anaphylaxis registry of the German-speaking countries (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2014; 111: 367�). Worm and co-authors analyzed the data from the ...

Shenzhen, June 15, 2014---An international team, composed of 11 institutions from six countries, including BGI, presented the whole-genome sequence of Trichuris suis, a parasitic worm in pig. Understanding the genetics mechanisms underlying the pig parasite may aid to modify the human immune response that could result in better treatments for autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and multiple sclerosis. The latest research was published online in Nature Genetics. The human whipworm (Trichuris) infects around 1 billion people worldwide and causes ...

Researchers from the Cochrane Infectious Disease Group, co-ordinated through the editorial base in LSTM, conducted an independent review into the effectiveness of rapid diagnostic tests in diagnosing patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL), published in The Cochrane Library today. VL (or kala-azar) is caused by a parasite and results in fever, a large spleen and other health problems. It occurs in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, east Africa, the Mediterranean region and Brazil. Without treatment it can be fatal, and proper treatment can result in cure, so diagnosis is ...

DETROIT — Recent research findings from Wayne State University show that the physical presence of romantic partners in intergroup friendships – friendships with different racial and ethnic groups, religious groups, or sexual orientations – positively influences interactions with people who are perceived to be different from themselves. The study, "Creating positive out-group attitudes through intergroup couple friendships and implications for compassionate love," currently available online in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, found that couples that interacted ...

Science has recently published a study carried out by researchers at ICFO in collaboration with the Institute for Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, which demonstrates the capability of detecting non-locality in many-body quantum systems by constructing multipartite Bell inequalities involving only two-body correlations. In Quantum Theory, interactions among particles create fascinating correlations that cannot be explained by any means known to the Classical World. These correlations, usually known to be nonlocal, prove that the Quantum and Classical Worlds ...