In two studies published today in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, the risk factors for readmission to the hospital are examined based upon general medicine inpatients and those with at least two admissions in a six-month period. Alongside clinical factors such as having cancer, chronic diseases such as heart failure or lung disease, or being on high-risk medications, the studies identified other factors which increase the likelihood of a patient being readmitted which could help hospitalists focus in on these groups. In the first study, Nazima Allaudeen, MD, and colleagues ...

Freemake Video Converter (http://www.freemake.com/free_video_converter) has recently integrated CUDA technology that can speed up the conversion process by many times. Thus, the videos can be converted to AVI, iPod, iPhone, PSP, and Android devices in a few minutes instead of hours. Freemake Video Converter, version 1.2, features much higher conversion speed and significant gains in performance due to CUDA technology. Therefore, this free converter can be considered one of the pioneers among video tools. Now PC users can convert long videos to HD formats much faster ...

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Women with epilepsy may be more likely to experience infertility, according to new research published in the October 12, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study of women in India found that women with epilepsy experienced infertility at more than twice the rate of that found in the general population. The research also found that women who were taking multiple epilepsy drugs were more likely to be infertile than those taking fewer drugs or no drugs for epilepsy. The study involved 375 women ...

"You don't have to go out into the woods anymore," says tick expert Brian F. Allan, PhD, who just completed a postdoctoral appointment at Washington University in St. Louis. "The deer are bringing tick-borne disease to us." So, it stands to reason that anything deer like, might increase the risk of tick-borne disease for people. The invasive plant bush honeysuckle, for example. Yes, that leafy shrub with the lovely egg-shaped leaves on arching branches, fragrant white or yellow flowers and the dark red berries so attractive to birds. Called bush or Amur honeysuckle, ...

Some bacteria grow electrical hair that lets them link up in big biological circuits, according to a University of Southern California biophysicist and his collaborators. The finding suggests that microbial colonies may survive, communicate and share energy in part through electrically conducting hairs known as bacterial nanowires. "This is the first measurement of electron transport along biological nanowires produced by bacteria," said Mohamed El-Naggar, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. El-Naggar was ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Persistent exposure to light at night may lead to weight gain, even without changing physical activity or eating more food, according to new research in mice. Researchers found that mice exposed to a relatively dim light at night over eight weeks had a body mass gain that was about 50 percent more than other mice that lived in a standard light-dark cycle. "Although there were no differences in activity levels or daily consumption of food, the mice that lived with light at night were getting fatter than the others," said Laura Fonken, lead author of ...

BOULDER--Changes in population growth and composition, including aging and urbanization, could significantly affect global emissions of carbon dioxide over the next 40 years, according to a new study out next week. The research, appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), was conducted by an international team of scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. It was funded by a European Young Investigator's ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Scientists have long sought the ability to regenerate nerve cells, or neurons, which could offer a new way to treat spinal-cord damage as well as neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. Many chemicals can regenerate neurons grown in Petri dishes in the lab, but it's difficult and time-consuming to identify those chemicals that work in live animals, which is critical for developing drugs for humans. Engineers at MIT have now used a new microchip technology to rapidly test potential drugs on tiny worms called C. elegans, which are often ...

VIDEO: Gardeners could help maintain bumblebee populations by growing plants with red flowers or flowers with stripes along the veins, according to field observations of the common snapdragon, Antirrhinum majus, at... Click here for more information. Gardeners could help maintain bumblebee populations by growing plants with red flowers or flowers with stripes along the veins, according to field observations of the common snapdragon, Antirrhinum majus, at the John Innes Centre ...

Health care in the last six months of life has become progressively more expensive for patients with heart failure both among Medicare beneficiaries in the United States and older adults in Canada, with a high rate of hospitalizations in the final six months of life in both countries, according to two reports posted online today that will be published in the February 14 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. A third report finds that more men dying of prostate cancer are receiving hospice care, but that the timing of hospice referral ...

Use of estrogen therapy is associated with an increased risk of developing kidney stones in postmenopausal women, according to a report in the October 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Nephrolithiasis [kidney stones] is a common condition that affects 5 percent to 7 percent of postmenopausal women in the United States," according to background information in the article. "Because the process of kidney stone formation is influenced by a variety of lifestyle and other health-related factors, the true impact of estrogen therapy ...

Patients with cancer who experience pain or depression also have a high rate of physical symptoms, such as fatigue, dry mouth and nausea, according to a report in the October 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Having many physical, or somatic, symptoms is known to adversely affect patients in primary care settings and those with chronic medical conditions other than cancer, according to background information in the article. "Somatic symptoms account for more than half of all general medical visits, lack a definitive medical ...

Use of folic acid supplements appears to lower blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine—theorized to be a risk factor for heart and blood vessel disease—but does not appear to be associated with reduced rates of cardiovascular events, cancer or death over a five-year period, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies in the October 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Elevated plasma total homocysteine [an amino acid created by the body, usually as a byproduct of eating meat] has been suggested as a potentially ...

For patients with blockages in the carotid artery that supplies blood to the brain, carotid artery stenting (a non-surgical treatment) appears to be associated with an increased risk of both short- and long-term adverse outcomes when compared with surgical treatment (carotid endarterectomy), according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies that was posted online today and will appear in the February 2011 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Carotid artery stenting has emerged as an alternative to carotid endarterectomy ...

Insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin produced by the body becomes less effective in reducing blood glucose levels, appears to be associated with an increased risk of stroke in individuals without diabetes, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Insulin resistance originates from several factors, including genetics, a sedentary lifestyle and obesity, according to background information in the article. The condition contributes significantly to the risk of cardiovascular disease, but whether it ...

The number of Medicare recipients undergoing treatment for retinal conditions nearly doubled between 1997 and 2007, with significant shifts in the types of procedures most commonly performed, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Retinal disease is highly prevalent among older individuals, and both age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy account for more than half the irreversible blindness in older Americans. The prevalence of both macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy ...

Newer treatments for age-related macular degeneration (AMD)—including an intravitreous (into the eye) injection of a chemotherapy drug and use of a related compound approved for use against the eye disease—do not appear to be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular complications or death when compared with existing therapies, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "More than 1.5 million older Americans have age-related macular degeneration, the most common cause of irreversible vision loss ...

The Financial Markets Group at the London School of Economics carried out the research. It developed a life-cycle model to investigate how prices of housing (purchasing and renting), the overall economy and wealth distribution react to changes in technology and financial conditions. There were a number of conclusions from the investigation, including: stricter limitations on land development result in less residential building, which tends to push up rental and purchase prices; availability of land for residential development is more important than availability of capital ...

Adding topotecan to carboplatin plus paclitaxel, the standard treatment for ovarian cancer, does not improve progression-free survival in patients and leads to greater toxicity, according to a study published online October 11 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Cisplatin plus paclitaxel, and carboplatin plus paclitaxel, are the most widely accepted first-line regimens for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. Still, most women relapse and die from their disease. One possible solution is to add a third agent, such as topotecan, which has activity in the treatment ...

INDIANAPOLIS – Twenty-two physical symptoms associated with cancer – symptoms often unrecognized and undertreated – are prevalent in all types of cancers regardless of whether the patient is newly diagnosed, undergoing treatment or is a cancer survivor, according to researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University schools of medicine and nursing. Common symptoms include fatigue, pain, weakness, appetite loss, dry mouth, constipation, insomnia and nausea. These physical symptoms are associated with substantial functional impairment, disability and ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Much as an anthropologist can study populations of people to learn about their physical attributes, their environs and social structures, some marine microbiologists read the genome of microbes to glean information about the microbes themselves, their environments and lifestyles. Using a relatively new methodology called comparative population genomics, these scientists compare the entire genomes of different populations of the same microbe to see which genes are "housekeeping" or core genes essential to all populations and which are population-specific. ...

Comprehensive new guidelines from the Osteoporosis Canada aimed at preventing fragility fractures in women and men over the age of 50 are published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj100771.pdf. "Fragility fractures, the consequence of osteoporosis, are responsible for excess mortality, morbidity, chronic pain, institutionalization and economic costs," writes Dr. Alexandra Papaioannou, McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences with coauthors. "They represent 80% of all fractures in menopausal women ...

Hospital patients admitted with malnutrition or who don't eat for several days are at greater risk of a prolonged hospital stay, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj091977.pdf. The study, by Italian researchers, involved 1274 adults admitted to hospital for medical or surgical treatment. Patients who were bedridden, admitted for same-day surgery or procedure, or admitted for palliative care were excluded. Fifty-two patients died in hospital and 149 patients stayed less than ...

Having a family history of breast cancer can lead some people to wonder if their risk is out of their control. However, a study of more than 85,000 postmenopausal women observed that regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, and drinking less alcohol lowers breast cancer risk for women with, and without a family history of the disease. The University of Rochester Medical Center study, published online Oct. 12, 2010, by the journal Breast Cancer Research, is good news for women who have a close relative with breast cancer and thus fear that no matter what ...

Many countries now acknowledge the need to obtain their energy supply from renewable sources such as biomass. Prof. Verstraete will explain how his team have developed a new anaerobic digestion reactor which can generate as much electricity as 25 wind turbines. These reactors use a consortium of methanogenic (methane-producing) bacteria to degrade waste and energy crops to produce biogas (a mixture of methane and carbon) which is then converted to electricity using a turbine. We were reminded of the threat of pandemic infectious disease with the swine flu (Influenza ...