A survey of almost 22,000 admitted patients at the University of Chicago Medical Center found patient preference to participate in decision making concerning their care was associated with a longer length of stay and higher total hospitalization costs, according to a report published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. Hyo Jung Tak, Ph.D., and colleagues examined the relationship between patient preferences for participation in medical decision making and health care utilization among patients hospitalized between July 1, 2003 and August 31, 2011 by asking patients to ...

A national survey sample of adults who had discussions with their physicians in the preceding two years about common medical tests, medications and procedures often did not reflect a high level of shared decision making, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. Floyd J. Fowler, Jr., Ph.D., from the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation and the University of Massachusetts, Boston, conducted a 2011 survey of a cross section of U.S. adults 40 years or older and asked them to indicate whether they reported making one of 10 medical decisions and ...

In a research letter, Harlan M. Krumholz, M.D., S.M., from Yale University School of Medicine and colleagues, "sought to investigate preferences for participation in the decision-making process among individuals hospitalized with an acute myocardial infarction ([AMI] or heart attack)." The researchers combined data from two similar AMI registries (TRIUMPH and PREMIER) which resulted in 6,636 patients in the study sample who were asked about who should make decisions on treatment options. "More than two-thirds of patients with AMI indicated a preference to play an active ...

Following modification of drug enforcement laws for possession of marijuana in Colorado, there was an apparent increase in unintentional marijuana ingestions by young children, according to a report and accompanying editorials published Online First by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication. Several states and Washington, D.C. have enacted laws to decriminalize medical marijuana and two states, Colorado and Washington, have passed amendments to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. In late 2009, the Justice Department issued a policy instructing federal prosecutors ...

RICHLAND, Wash. -- For the first time, researchers have found a particular kind of molecular switch in the food poisoning bacteria Salmonella Typhimurium under infection-like conditions. This switch, using a process called S-thiolation, appears to be used by the bacteria to respond to changes in the environment during infection and might protect it from harm, researchers report this week online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition. S-thiolation protects proteins from irreversible chemical changes when a cell is stressed. The newly discovered ...

An analysis of top box-office movies released in the United States indicated tobacco brand producer placements in movies have declined since implementation of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), but alcohol placements, which are subject only to industry self-regulation, have increased in movies rated acceptable for youth audiences, according to a study published Online First by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication. There is growing evidence that movies influence substance use behaviors during adolescence. Children's exposure to movie imagery of tobacco and alcohol ...

Snail shells coil in response to an lopsided protein gradient across their shell mantles, finds research in BioMed Central's open access journal EvoDevo. In contrast the shell mantle of limpets, whose shells do not coil, have a symmetrical pattern of the protein Decapentaplegic (Dpp). There are many hundreds of different kinds of gastropods (slugs snail and limpets) - second only in number of species to insects. They have adapted to live on land as well as in fresh water and marine environments, and have altered their physiology to survive in different habitats and to ...

A simple lab-based skin test which eliminates the risk of adverse reactions to new drugs, cosmetics and household chemicals has been developed by a Newcastle University, UK team. It uses real human skin and immune cells to show any reaction such as a rash or blistering indicating a wider immune response within the body. The development is timely as it offers a reliable alternative for the cosmetic industry as a ban on the sale of any cosmetic product tested on animals came into effect across Europe in March. Professor Anne Dickinson from the Institute of Cellular ...

PITTSBURGH, May 27, 2013 – An epilepsy drug shows promise in an animal model at preventing tinnitus from developing after exposure to loud noise, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings, reported this week in the early online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveal for the first time the reason the chronic and sometimes debilitating condition occurs. An estimated 5 to 15 percent of Americans hear whistling, clicking, roaring and other phantom sounds of tinnitus, which typically ...

(Lebanon, NH, 5/27/2013) —Researchers at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center have found that current constraints on advertising for alcohol products in movies that adolescents watch are not effective. The study, "Trends in Tobacco and Alcohol Brand Placements in Popular US movies, 1996 through 2009,"was published online in the May 27, 2013 JAMA Pediatrics. Studies have shown that movies influence smoking and drinking during adolescence: A 2012 Surgeon General's report noted a causal relationship between the initiation of smoking in adolescents and depictions of smoking ...

AURORA, Colo. (May 27, 2013) – A new study shows the relaxation of marijuana laws in Colorado has caused a significant spike in the number of young children treated for accidentally eating marijuana-laced cookies, candies, brownies and beverages. "We have seen an increase in unintentional ingestions of marijuana by children since the modification of drugs laws in Colorado," said George Wang, MD, lead author of the study and clinical instructor in pediatrics at Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "We need to educate marijuana ...

LEMONT, ILL. --- In a move that would make the Alchemists of King Arthur's time green with envy, scientists have unraveled the formula for turning liquid cement into liquid metal. This makes cement a semi-conductor and opens up its use in the profitable consumer electronics marketplace for thin films, protective coatings, and computer chips. "This new material has lots of applications including as thin-film resistors used in liquid-crystal displays, basically the flat panel computer monitor that you are probably reading this from at the moment," said Chris Benmore, a ...

Among men with prostate cancer, African Americans experience longer treatment delays after being diagnosed than Caucasians. That is the finding of an analysis published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study suggests that efforts are needed to reduce racial disparities in prostate cancer care in order to provide earlier treatment for African Americans. To see if there is a difference in the time from cancer diagnosis to initiation of treatment for African American men compared with Caucasian men with prostate cancer, ...

Philadelphia, Pa. (May 28, 2013) - Perceptual learning techniques may provide a useful new approach to rehabilitation in patients with central vision loss—taking advantage of visual plasticity that persists even in old age, according to a special article in the June issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. The paper by Susana T.L. Chung, OD, PhD, FAAO, 2012 recipient of the prestigious Glenn A. Fry Lecture Award, presents new ...

San Francisco, CA. (May 28, 2013) – For patients with uncontrolled pain from terminal cancer, a new approach to calculating initial dosage may allow a quicker start of spinal analgesia—and less time in the hospital, according to a study in the June issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS). Led by Dr Vivek Tim Malhotra of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, the researchers developed a set of equations for estimating the initial dose of intrathecal spinal pain relievers, thus avoiding the need ...

Titan Factory Direct responds to the tornado victims today with heart, hope, and help. "I left our model center today when the tornado was about a mile away. Before we got back we already had a game plan in place with our factories to help the families that had been hit by the tornado," said Richard Krebs, Executive Vice President of Titan Factory Direct. Titan has committed to giving disaster victims top priority in receiving homes from Champion Homes three factories out of Texas. "We'll do whatever it takes to help these families recover. We are committed ...

If you have driven around certain parts of Cartersville lately you may have seen the signs "We Buy Houses." These signs belong to Georgia House Buyers LLC that buys and fixes older dilapidated homes in Cartersville neighborhoods. Once an eyesore for the neighborhood these homes are now being renovated by Georgia House Buyers Inc. and sold to many first time homebuyers. Georgia House Buyers Inc. is run by, Steven Hale, a student and partner of Fortune Builders Mastery known better by the famed A&E TV program Flip This House. "We take pride in ...

Alsing, maker of musical accessories and other musical related items, has launched its most recent product for both serious and casual guitar players alike. The Alsing Guitar Stand is now available and is really a great, affordable, high-quality acoustic guitar stand for and acoustic, electric, or base guitar. For all those looking for a quality and reliable acoustic guitar stand, electric guitar stand, or base guitar stand, the Alsing Guitar Stand is really a new offering that meets most any need. It's sturdy and dependable enough for professional music artists, but ...

Lauren Winans, a singer-songwriter from West Virginia, can now celebrate her first major label cut. Her song "Carousel" is the first track on pop artist Jason Walker's latest EP "Keep Me Watching," which was released today by Word Entertainment (a company of Warner/Curb). Winans co-wrote the song back in 2012 with Walker who has had much success with placements on television shows Vampire Diaries and One Tree Hill, among others. "Jason & I wrote this song the first time we ever met & both knew right then and there that it was special" ...

With summer on the way, many Americans will be getting their BBQs ready for another season of frequent grilling. An essential tool for every outdoor barbecue enthusiast is a good wire grill brush. But what should you take into consideration when choosing which brush to buy? According to Joseph Lane, media contact for Alpha Grillers, there are three main things. 'First of all, you want a brush that does the job quickly and effectively. The problem with most traditional square shaped brushes is they cannot not properly clean the edges and corners of the grill and often ...

PushMon.com, a SaaS or "Software as a Service" monitoring application recently announced the release of its new and enhanced features for monitoring scripts, cron jobs and batches. The new features have been released in stages and batches to ensure the stability of each. Bienvenido David, PushMon's founder says with high confidence that the new features will provide more options and much easier user interface to all its users. All of these new improvements have made PushMon more powerful in effectively monitoring different programs and scripts created using ...

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and leading manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards, mini-PCs and accessories, today introduces the first GeForce 700-series graphics card. The new ZOTAC GeForce GTX 780 delivers a gaming evolution with insanely fast, smooth and whisper-quiet performance perfect for current and next-generation titles. "ZOTAC continues to refine the PC gaming experience. The new generation GeForce GTX 780 is our latest evolutionary upgrade that packs the massively powerful next-generation NVIDIA Kepler GPU into a dual-slot card that decimates ...

Cut-It-Out Communications, Inc. (http://www.cioediting.com), a full-service Westchester public relations agency, today announced it has released a video describing how to include your photo in the listing of your company's website on Google's search engine results pages. The video, at http://www.cioediting.com/photoinserps.asp, describes a process creating reciprocal links between the owner's Google Plus site and the company website using coding called a rich snippet. The snippet, "rel=author," can be tested in Google's rich snippet tester to ensure it is ...

Vicinity Manufacturing expresses our most sincere condolences for all those affected by the recent Oklahoma City tornado. Schools, Neighborhoods, Medical Centers, lives and entire communities were left destroyed and disrupted by the event. The team at Vicinity Manufacturing acknowledges and appreciates the efforts being made to help all the victims of this recent natural disaster and has made a donation to the American Red Cross on behalf of the Vicinity clients and their families who have been affected by the occurrence. Director of Development and Company Co-Founder ...

MaxiAids Products for Independent Living, industry-leading supplier of items for seniors, the blind and low vision, deaf and hard of hearing, and those with special needs, today announced they have been selected as distributor of a new, exclusive line of COIL brand magnifiers being manufactured in England. COIL UK Magnifiers are an assortment of illuminated handheld and illuminated stand magnifiers available in a full range of magnifying strengths that are custom-manufactured in the United Kingdom to the highest precision standards using premium grade materials. "We ...