Copenhagen, Denmark: Wearing a helmet can prevent brain injury and deaths in cyclists, yet many do not wear a helmet. New research presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress today (Tuesday) suggests that this is largely due to issues of convenience and comfort. [1]   The study also suggests that more adult cyclists would wear helmets if they were encouraged and incentivised to do so, for example if they were provided with a free helmet, education, and periodic reminders.   The research was presented by Dr Steven Friedman, an emergency doctor at Toronto General Hospital and associate professor at the University ...

Copenhagen, Denmark: Half of all patients with sepsis admitted to an emergency medical department died within two years, according to Danish researchers investigating factors that could predict outcomes for these patients.   Dr Finn E. Nielsen, a senior scientist in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, told the European Emergency Medicine Congress today (Tuesday) [1] that he and his colleagues examined deaths over a long follow-up period in a prospective study of 714 adult patients admitted to the emergency department with sepsis. Their findings ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 14 October 2024     @Annalsofim          Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent.     ...

St. Louis, MO (October 14, 2024) According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly 20% of children and teens are considered obese. Research shows it can have a dramatic impact on a variety of health conditions, including arthritis, heart conditions and other metabolic problems, and the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends early and intensive treatment to combat obesity. Over the last four years, Shriners Children’s St. Louis researchers have been working to develop a new way to prevent the effects of childhood obesity.    Using gene therapy, Shriners Children’s St. Louis Director of Research Dr. Farshid Guilak and Senior Scientist Dr. Ruhang Tang ...

About The Study: Mpox is a viral infection transmitted primarily through close skin to skin contact that typically causes a self-resolving illness but can result in severe illness and death in immunocompromised individuals. First-line therapy is supportive care, although patients with severe mpox infection may be treated with advanced therapeutics. Mpox vaccination is effective and, if available, should be offered to individuals at risk of exposure to mpox. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Jason Zucker, MD, MS, email Jz2700@cumc.columbia.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media ...

About The Study: Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use increased between 2013 and 2023, with generic tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) being the most frequently prescribed medication since 2021. Injectable PrEP use was low likely because of barriers such as the high cost of stocking this expensive medication in clinics. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Laura M. Mann, PhD, MPH, email lmann@cdc.gov. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2024.21493) Editor’s ...

About The Study: Most U.S. hospital websites explicitly included sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations in their nondiscrimination policies, but only a quarter of adult hospitals had an SGM-friendly clinician directory and provided information about SGM-related resources or hospital-based services. Pediatric hospitals more frequently posted SGM-related information than adult hospitals. Hospitals in states with more discriminatory policies were less likely to provide SGM-related information online. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Alex S. Keuroghlian, MD, MPH, email akeuroghlian@mgb.org. To ...

Study finds use of naloxone by Good Samaritans is up, but not nearly enough Ohio State and National Registry of EMTs research highlights importance of public’s help in opioid overdose response COLUMBUS, Ohio – Use of a lifesaving drug to reverse opioid drug overdoses is growing, but not fast enough. That’s according to new research in JAMA Network Open from The Ohio State University College of Medicine, College of Public Health and the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. In the first study of its kind, the research team looked at national use of naloxone by people without medical training to treat an opioid drug overdose.  “Naloxone ...

About The Study: In this study, adolescents with obesity prescribed a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP1R) had a lower incidence of suicidal ideation or attempts compared with matched patients not prescribed GLP1R who were treated with lifestyle intervention. These results suggest a favorable psychiatric safety profile of GLP1R in adolescents. The detected reduction in hazard ratios for suicidal ideation among adolescents with obesity prescribed GLP1R suggests potential avenues for future research. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Liya Kerem, MD, MSc, email liya.em@gmail.com. To access the ...

About The Study: In this retrospective cohort study of children and adolescents ages 10 to 19, the risk of an incident diagnosis of type 2 diabetes was greater following a COVID-19 diagnosis than in children diagnosed with other respiratory infections. Further study is required to determine whether diabetes persists or reverses later in life.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Pauline Terebuh, MD, MPH, email pdt@case.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.39444) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, ...

About The Study: This cross-sectional study of nationally representative registry data found that cancer incidence recovered meaningfully in 2021 following substantial disruptions in 2020. However, incidence rates need to recover further to address the substantial number of patients with undiagnosed cancer during the pandemic.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Uriel Kim, MD, PhD, MBA, email uxk13@case.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.39263) Editor’s Note: Please ...

Medicare could save up to 74% of the money lost from discarded Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab by the simple introduction of a new vial size that would reduce the amount of unused medication that is thrown away, new research suggests. The researchers on the study, to be published October 14 in the peer-reviewed JAMA Internal Medicine, estimate that Medicare could waste up to $336 million annually due to discarded medication. Administered dosages are based on each patient’s body weight. But because the drug is currently available ...

​When we inhale, airborne chemicals enter our nose, creating the "odor" we detect. These chemicals are then expelled when we exhale. Each breath lasts 3–5 seconds, which seems to limit how quickly we can perceive odors. Chemical changes that occur within a single breath appear to be combined into one odor. Because of this, our sense of smell, or olfaction, is often considered a slow sense. Now, however, researchers led by Dr. ZHOU Wen from the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have challenged this view. Their new study, ...

Leuven, 14 October 2024 - The human brain’s remarkably prolonged development is unique among mammals and is thought to contribute to our advanced learning abilities. Disruptions in this process may explain certain neurodevelopmental diseases. Now, a team of researchers led by Prof. Pierre Vanderhaeghen (VIB-KU Leuven), together with scientists of Columbia University and Ecole Normale Supérieure has discovered a link between two genes, present only in human DNA, and a key gene called SYNGAP1, which is mutated in intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorders. Their study, published in Neuron,  provides a surprisingly direct link between human brain ...

The future of wireless technology — from charging devices to boosting communication signals — relies on the antennas that transmit electromagnetic waves becoming increasingly versatile, durable and easy to manufacture. Researchers at Drexel University and the University of British Columbia believe kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of cutting and folding paper to create intricate three-dimensional designs, could provide a model for manufacturing the next generation of antennas. Recently published in the journal Nature Communications, research from the Drexel-UBC team showed how kirigami — a variation of origami — ...

Researchers from Peking University have conducted a comprehensive systematic review on the integration of machine learning into statistical methods for disease risk prediction models, shedding light on the potential of such integrated models in clinical diagnosis and screening practices. The study, led by Professor Feng Sun from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, has been published in Health Data Science. Disease risk prediction is crucial for early diagnosis and effective clinical decision-making. However, traditional statistical models, such as logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression, often ...

Some people believe that talking to your plants makes them thrive. While there’s limited scientific support for sound improving plant health, there’s a growing amount of evidence about the benefits of mechanical stimulation, like touch, wind or rain. Researchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry examined the impact of watering practices on tomato plants. They found that the size of the water droplets affected plant growth and resistance to pests and pathogens. Climate change threatens crop production as rising ...

Preeclampsia is a life-threatening pregnancy complication marked by persistent high blood pressure that is even more serious when it occurs early in the first trimester. The exact cause of early-onset preeclampsia is unknown, and it is difficult to predict, prevent and diagnose. Now, in ACS’ Journal of Proteome Research, researchers report on six proteins that could be used as targets to diagnose and treat the condition. Preeclampsia’s key symptom is high maternal blood pressure, and serious cases can lead to maternal organ failure, low infant birth weight, or maternal or fetal death. ...

Artificial intelligence can help people process and comprehend large amounts of data with precision, but the modern image recognition platforms and computer vision models that are built into AI frequently overlook an important back-end feature called the alpha channel, which controls the transparency of images, according to a new study. Researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) developed a proprietary attack called AlphaDog to study how hackers can exploit this oversight. Their findings are described in a paper written by Guenevere Chen, an assistant professor in the UTSA Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and her former ...

Freshwater crayfish, keystone species of aquatic ecosystems, are now at the center of a new tool that promises to revolutionize conservation efforts. World of Crayfish™ (WoC), a newly launched web platform, aims to provide real-time global mapping of freshwater crayfish and their pathogens, offering an invaluable resource for researchers, conservationists, and environmental stakeholders. Published in PeerJ Life and Environment, the article, World of Crayfish™: A web platform towards real-time global mapping of freshwater crayfish and their pathogens, highlights the urgent need for accurate, up-to-date data on ...

Biodiversity is in crisis. Human activities are driving species extinctions at unprecedented rates, but funding for conservation remains woefully inadequate. To address this gap, the concept of a Biodiversity Credit Market (BCM) has emerged, inspired by carbon credit systems that incentivize conservation and restoration efforts.  However, while the BCM holds promise, it risks falling into the same pitfalls as its carbon counterpart—especially if it fails to implement rigorous science-backed baselines, ...

DAEJEON, South Korea (October 14, 2024) – Qunova Computing, a developer of quantum software applications designed to bring quantum computing to the chemical, pharmaceutical and industrial engineering industries, today announces the results from a series of recent tests performed on three different NISQ era quantum computers, each with a different qubit count. In each demonstration, Qunova’s algorithm was able to produce results with accuracy below the threshold of 1.6 millihartrees required for real-world quantum chemistry applications, a level known as ‘chemical ...

Scientists have successfully bred corals to improve their heat tolerance A new study has shown that selective breeding can lead to a modest rise in coral heat tolerance. Led by experts at Newcastle University’s Coralassist Lab, the study documents the world’s first effort to selectively breed adult corals for enhanced heat tolerance, i.e. the ability of adult corals to survive intense marine heatwaves. The breeding effort was a success, showing that it is possible to improve the heat tolerance of adult coral offspring, even in a single generation. However, the improvement was modest in comparison ...

Seven of the most common forest trees in Europe have been shown to be able to shelter their genetic diversity from major shifts in environmental conditions. This is despite their ranges having shrunk and the number of trees having fallen sharply during ice age cycles. These are the findings of a study by a European consortium including Uppsala University, published in Nature Communications. “From a biodiversity perspective, this is very positive because these trees are keystone species on which many other species depend,” says Pascal Milesi, Associate Professor of Plant Ecology and Evolution at Uppsala University and first author of the study. The researchers aimed to investigate ...

A protein that is involved in determining which enzymes cut or unwind DNA during the replication process has been identified in a new study.   In a new paper published in Nature Communications, an international team of researchers have found that the protein USP50 supports the DNA replication process by helping to decide the proper use of nucleases or helicases. These enzymes are implemented during the DNA replication process to promote ongoing replication and where the copying machinery runs into problems ...