New research reveals that metabolic syndrome—risk factors that can lead to heart disease and/or stroke—is common in liver transplant recipients, with rates highest at one year following the procedure. Findings published in Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society, indicate that exercise could reduce complications from metabolic disease in patients post-transplantation. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute suggests that obesity, physical inactivity, and insulin ...

Enhancing and manipulating the light emission of organic molecules is at heart of many important technological and scientific advances, including in the fields of organic light emitting devices, bio-imaging, bio-molecular detection. Researchers at MIT have now discovered a new platform that enables dramatic manipulation of the emission of organic molecules when simply suspended on top of a carefully designed planar slab with a periodic array of holes: so-called photonic crystal surface. Influenced by the fast and directional emission channels (called 'resonances') provided ...

BALTIMORE, MD (August 6, 2013)— For the first time scientists have been able to develop a completely vegetarian diet that works for marine fish raised in aquaculture, the key to making aquaculture a sustainable industry as the world's need for protein increases. The findings led by Aaron Watson and Allen Place at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Institute for Marine and Environmental Technology, are published in the August issue of the journal Lipids. "Aquaculture isn't sustainable because it takes more fish to feed fish than are being produced," ...

In some ways, granular material — such as a pile of sand — can behave much like a crystal, with its close-packed grains mimicking the precise, orderly arrangement of crystalline atoms. Now researchers at MIT have pushed that similarity to a new limit, creating two-dimensional arrays of micrograins that can funnel acoustic waves, much as specially designed crystals can control the passage of light or other waves. The researchers say the findings could lead to a new way of controlling frequencies in electronic devices such as cellphones, but with components that are only ...

A recent study by the RN Work Project found that newly licensed registered nurses (NLRNs) who were verbally abused by nursing colleagues reported lower job satisfaction, unfavorable perceptions of their work environment, and greater intent to leave their current jobs. Now, a new study by the same research team finds that high levels of physician verbal abuse are closely associated with more negative work environments. The RN Work Project is a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The study found that nurses who experienced high (more than five times in the last ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – The splash from rain hitting a windowpane or printer ink hitting paper all comes down to tiny droplets hitting a surface, and what each of those droplets does. Cornell University researchers have produced a high-resolution "photo album" of more than 30 shapes an oscillated drop of water can take. The results, a fundamental insight into how droplets behave, could have applications in everything from inkjet printing to microfluidics. Susan Daniel, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, led the study, to be published in Physical Review ...

NEW YORK—Patients with celiac disease who had persistent intestine damage (identified with repeat biopsy) had a higher risk of lymphoma than patients whose intestines healed, according to findings published in the August 6, 2013, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. Celiac disease is a common autoimmune disease, affecting approximately one percent of individuals in Western nations. It is characterized by damage to the lining of the small intestine that over time reduces the body's ability to absorb components of common foods. The damage is due to a reaction to eating ...

1. Poorly Controlled Celiac Disease Linked to Higher Risk for Lymphoma Patients with Celiac disease and persistent intestinal damage have a higher risk for lymphoproliferative malignancy (LPM) than patients whose intestines have healed. Celiac is an autoimmune disease in which a reaction to gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye) causes symptoms such as diarrhea, weight loss, and iron-deficiency anemia. Several studies have found an increased risk for LMP in patients with Celiac disease. The risk for LMP decreases over time after diagnosis, presumably from ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The small intestine employs more cells and mechanisms than scientists previously thought to absorb relatively large particles, such as those that could encapsulate protein-based therapeutics like insulin, according to a new study. The findings, published the week of Aug. 5, 2013, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, open another window for drug makers to increase absorption of medicines taken by mouth. Scientists at Brown University and Wayne State University worked with rats to quantify the intestinal absorption ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- UC Davis researchers have identified how and where in the genome a cancer chemotherapy agent acts on and 'un-silences' the epigenetically silenced gene that causes Angelman syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by severe intellectual disability, seizures, motor impairments, and laughing and smiling. The agent, Topotecan, is a topoisomerase inhibitor, part of a class of drugs that in earlier research has been found to un-silence the Angelman gene, suggesting that it might be therapeutic for the condition, which affects approximately ...

The onset of the Great Recession and, more generally, deteriorating economic conditions lead mothers to engage in harsh parenting, such as hitting or shouting at children, a team of researchers has found. But the effect is only found in mothers who carry a gene variation that makes them more likely to react to their environment. The study, conducted by scholars at New York University, Columbia University, Princeton University, and Pennsylvania State University's College of Medicine, appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). "It's ...

Organized mailing campaigns could substantially increase colorectal cancer screening among uninsured patients, a study published in the August 5 online edition of JAMA Internal Medicine reveals. The research also suggests that a non-invasive colorectal screening approach, such as a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) might be more effective in promoting participation in potentially life-saving colon cancer screening among underserved populations than a colonoscopy, a more expensive and invasive procedure. The study was led by Samir Gupta, MD, MSCS, an associate professor ...

EUGENE, Ore. -- (Aug. 5, 2013) – Addiction to smoking and other substances involves a particular set of brain areas related to self-control, according to numerous research. For a new study, researchers wondered if a training approach designed to influence this addiction pathway could influence smokers to reduce their tobacco use -- even if smokers did not intend to do so. It worked. The study, published online in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that smokers trained with a form of mindfulness meditation known as Integrative ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- The painful, red skin that comes from too much time in the sun is caused by a molecule abundant in the skin's epidermis, a new study shows. Blocking this molecule, called TRPV4, greatly protects against the painful effects of sunburn. The results were published the week of Aug. 5 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Early Edition online. The research, which was conducted in mouse models and human skin samples, could yield a way to combat sunburn and possibly several other causes of pain. "We have uncovered a novel explanation ...

SEATTLE – Older women who take certain types of medication to combat high blood pressure may be putting themselves at greater risk for developing breast cancer, according to a new study by a team of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center scientists led by Christopher Li, M.D., Ph.D. The study is the first to observe that long-term use of a class of antihypertensive drugs known as calcium-channel blockers in particular are associated with breast cancer risk. The team's findings will be published online Aug. 5 in JAMA Internal Medicine. Antihypertensive drugs are the most ...

Long-term use of a calcium-channel blocker to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) is associated with higher breast cancer risk, according to a report published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. Antihypertensive medications are the most commonly prescribed class of drugs in the United States and in 2010 totaled an estimated 678 million filled prescriptions, Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, and colleagues write in the study background. "Evidence regarding the relationship between different ...

Among underserved patients whose colorectal cancer (CRC) screening was not up to date, mailed outreach invitations appear to result in higher CRC screening compared with usual care, according to a study by Samir Gupta, M.D., M.S.C.S., of the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, and the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues. A total of 5,970 participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: 1,593 to fecal immunochemical test (FIT) outreach, 479 to colonoscopy outreach, and 3,898 to usual care. Researchers measured for screening participation ...

A study by Valentina Moskvina, Ph.D., of the Cardiff University School of Medicine, Wales, United Kingdom, and colleagues, examined the genetic overlap between Parkinson disease (PD) and Alzheimer disease (AD). Data sets from the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the United States were used to perform a combined genome-wide association analysis (GWA). The GWA study of AD included 3,177 patients with AD and 7,277 control patients, and the GWA analysis for PD included 5,333 patients with PD and 12,298 control patients. The gene-based analyses resulted in no significant ...

Honolulu, HI – Future warming from fossil fuel burning could be more intense and longer-lasting than previously thought. This prediction emerges from a new study by Richard Zeebe at the University of Hawai'i who includes insights from episodes of climate change in the geologic past to inform projections of man-made future climate change. The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Humans keep adding large amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, among them carbon dioxide (CO2), the most important man-made greenhouse gas. Over the ...

Consumer satisfaction surveys of nursing home residents and their families track closely with other quality of care measures. These results, which were published today in the journal Health Affairs, indicate that the surveys could be a valuable tool to both inform consumer choice and reward homes for quality of care. "Satisfaction scores are clearly an important indicator of the quality of care in nursing homes," said Yue Li, Ph.D., an associate professor in the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) Department of Public Health Sciences and lead author of the ...

DALLAS – Aug. 5, 2013 – A study of nearly 6,000 North Texas patients suggests sweeping changes be made to the standard of care strategy for colorectal screenings, finding that participation rates soared depending on the screening method offered and how patient outreach was done. The results also suggest that a noninvasive colorectal screening approach, such as a fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) might be more effective in prompting participation in potentially lifesaving colon cancer screening among underserved populations than a colonoscopy, a more expensive and invasive ...

Improving communication and strengthening teamwork among cardiac surgery teams are among recommendations for reducing preventable mistakes in the cardiac operating room, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association. The statement reviewed evidence-based research focused on communication within and between teams, the physical workspace and the organizational culture of the cardiac operating room and provides recommendations for improving patient safety. It is published in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association. Statement ...

When smoking was banned from casinos in Colorado, ambulance calls to casinos in Gilpin County dropped about 20 percent, according to research reported in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. The drop in calls from casinos was similar to drops in ambulance calls from elsewhere two years earlier when Colorado banned smoking everywhere but casinos. How did the smoking ban lead to a reduction in ambulance calls? Partially by eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke, said Stanton Glantz, Ph.D., the study's lead author. "Inhaling secondhand smoke increases ...

NEW YORK, NY (August 5, 2013) — A team of researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center has identified 18 new genes responsible for driving glioblastoma multiforme, the most common—and most aggressive—form of brain cancer in adults. The study was published August 5, 2013, in Nature Genetics. "Cancers rely on driver genes to remain cancers, and driver genes are the best targets for therapy," said Antonio Iavarone, MD, professor of pathology and neurology at Columbia University Medical Center and a principal author ...

NEW YORK, August 5, 2013 – With physicians facing increasing demands on their time, it can be extremely difficult to prioritize which preventive care methods should be used for their patients. Now, two researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have developed a mathematical model that will save time, lead to enhanced care, and potentially save lives. The two researchers, Glen Taksler, PhD and Scott Braithwaite, MD, MSc, have co-authored the lead article in the August 6th issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, entitled "Personalized Estimates of Benefit from Preventive Care ...