WASHINGTON – A new paper by Environmental Working Group scientists proposes an intriguing concept: Humans can serve as a valuable resource for understanding the impact on other animal species of the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.  “PFAS pollution is not just a problem for humans,” said David Andrews, Ph.D., senior scientist at EWG. “It’s a problem for species across the globe. This new paper delves into how humans serve as an early warning system ...

Redwoods and oaks that thrive on California’s coastline and coastal mountains might soon start finding it harder to survive. Human-caused climate change is altering the temperatures and rainfall patterns to which those and other trees are accustomed, and many have already been pushed close to the edge of what they can endure. Identifying suitable new habitats will soon become a matter of life or death for some California native species, according to Lawren Sack, a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. But if those trees could talk, where would they tell scientists they wanted to live? In a new study, a team led by Sack and other UCLA biologists ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Macrophages are a type of white blood cell that are among the body's first line of defense against infection. In addition to killing harmful microorganisms, macrophages typically can initiate a response against tumors. However, macrophages, like other cells, can enter a state called senescence, which is linked to aging, disease and multiple physiological problems. When cells become senescent, they stop dividing, but they do not die and are not always eliminated from the body. They can linger and accumulate in tissues and may ...

The effective use of data storytelling could positively impact public library managers' approaches to data collection and their advocacy for libraries, according to Kate McDowell, associate professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. However, cultural roadblocks to data storytelling must be addressed for the process to be successful, McDowell discovered in a recently completed study. McDowell discusses her findings in the Public Library Quarterly article, "Library Data Storytelling: Obstacles and Paths Forward." This work is the result of her research project, "Data ...

The proportion of people dying before their time (under the age of 75) is set to rise by nearly 6.5%---30 extra deaths/100,000 of the population annually—with those in the most deprived households experiencing a rate 4 times that of the least deprived. In recent years, the UK has experienced levels of inflation not seen since the 1970s as a result of the war in Ukraine, COVID-19, Brexit and fiscal policy, note the researchers. Poorer households have borne the brunt as they spend a larger proportion of their income on energy, the cost of which has soared. In a bid to mitigate the impact, the UK government introduced a universal Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) and a series of more targeted ...

Overly broad definitions, a lack of appropriate, or any, comparison groups, among other things, in studies looking at the incidence, prevalence, and control of the condition—epidemiology—have distorted the risks, say the researchers. This is further compounded by inclusion of poorly conducted studies into systematic reviews and pooled data analyses that end up overstating the risk yet again, they add.  The likely consequences of this include, but aren’t limited to, increased public anxiety and healthcare spend; misdiagnoses; ...

The findings confound predictions in some quarters that disadvantaged children, who had worse mental health to start with, would be hardest hit. But even if child mental health has become more equal, it worsened, overall, following the pandemic, emphasise the researchers. There is some evidence that declines in mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic may have been greatest among younger people, say the researchers, but the impact on inequalities in child mental health isn’t clear. To explore this further, they analysed 16,361 parental observations of 9272 children in the nationally ...

Autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or aHSCT for short, is usually used to treat blood cancers, and involves harvesting stem cells from the person’s own bone marrow or blood followed by chemotherapy and antibody treatment. Emerging evidence indicates that it is suitable for treating relapsing-remitting MS— characterised by distinct inflammatory episodes that cause varying degrees of residual disability. But aHSCT has yet to be included in most national clinical guidelines.  The researchers therefore ...

The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) marked the completion of an important step on the path to spacecraft assembly, test, and launch operations this week at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland. The IMAP team met with a review panel to evaluate the plan for integrating all systems onto the spacecraft, such as the scientific instrumentation, electrical and communication systems, and navigation systems. Successful completion of this System Integration Review (SIR) means that the project can proceed with assembling and testing the spacecraft in preparation ...

Over the past 22 years, wildfires in the United States have caused damages exceeding $100 billion, and as climate change continues to intensify wildfire frequency and severity, research is essential to protect lives, property, and ecosystems—and to help communities adapt to these changing conditions. To this end, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has added Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to its Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center (WIRC), a collaboration between universities and industry. Supported by a three-year, $450,000 grant with additional direct funding from industry partners, WPI will build upon its longstanding expertise ...

Doctor and Pharmacist Revamp Standard Processes for Ordering and Documenting Mifepristone Use Clinical researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School partnered with the university health system’s compliance department to create standard processes for ordering and documenting mifepristone administration, which adhere to the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) requirements. They established a single prescriber account to represent all system prescribers who met REMS requirements, ...

Screening for Adverse Childhood Experience Can Improve Trauma-Informed Care, Though Time Constraints and Limited Referral Resources Present Challenges Researchers conducted a qualitative evaluation in five clinics in Los Angeles County to understand physician and clinical staff perspectives on the implementation of routine Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) screening in pediatric primary care. The researchers employed focus group discussions with 125 clinic staff involved in ACE screening, including frontline staff who administer ...

Understanding Parents’ Care Expectations for a Child With Gastroenteritis Could Prevent After-Hours Care Requests Researchers from the Netherlands conducted a qualitative study to explore parental motivations, expectations, and experiences of off-hours primary care contacts for children with acute gastroenteritis. They conducted 14 semistructured interviews with parents who contacted primary care physicians outside of normal operating hours seeking medical attention for their children. Parents were more likely to contact their primary care physician after hours when their ...

Learning Collaborative Promotes Mifepristone Education and Utilization Training in Federally Qualified Health Centers Researchers created a learning collaborative that included implementing an intervention titled, “Excellence in Providing Access to New Directions in Mifepristone Use (ExPAND Mifepristone)” in two Chicago-area Federally Qualified Health Centers with a focus on enhancing educational and training support services for primary care doctors and staff to use mifepristone for miscarriage management and abortion provision. Prior to program implementation, clinicians and staff had little knowledge of mifepristone. After program ...

Men Who Trust Their Doctors, Receive Adequate Time and General Information About Prostate Cancer Screening Are More Likely to Have Productive Discussions Members of the University of Ottawa Department of Family Medicine conducted a scoping review to understand men’s communication preferences when they discuss prostate cancer screening with their doctors. Researchers analyzed a total of 29 studies and identified four main themes: men preferred that their doctors use everyday language; men wanted more information; men wanted the doctor to spend adequate time with them to explain prostate cancer; and desired a trusting and respectful relationship with their doctor. Three additional themes ...

Study Identifies Patient and Clinician-Level Characteristics Associated With Sexual History Screening Administration Researchers conducted a mixed methods study that investigated patient- and clinician-level characteristics associated with a sexual history screening (SHS). Participants included 53,246 patients and 56 clinicians from 13 clinical sites. Less than half (42.41%) of patients had any SHS documentation. Gay and lesbian patients; patients who were cisgender women; and patients whose doctors were cisgender women had significantly higher odds of having any SHS documented in their medical chart. Conversely, older patients; patients whose doctors have more patients on their ...

Researchers Identify Important Strategies for Diabetes Care and Quality Improvements in the Primary Care Setting This qualitative study considers how the strategies used by high-performing primary care practices to improve diabetes care might play a role in successfully managing practice change. The research team conducted semistructured interviews at 10 Minnesota primary care practices (rural and urban) ranked in the top quartile of diabetes care improvement per their Optimal Diabetes Care (ODC) scores. (Minnesota’s ODC scores are calculated based on mandatory ...

Attentiveness to Resting Leg Cramps May Afford Greater Insight Into Advancing Age and Declining Health Researchers developed and conducted a cross-sectional survey to examine the prevalence and characteristics of leg cramps in 294 primary care patients (with a mean age of 46.5 years), with 51.7% reporting leg cramps. Patients who experience resting or exercise-induced leg cramps were more likely to be older (mean age 49.1 years) and female (which comprised 69% of surveyed participants and 72% of the ...

Researchers aimed to identify factors leading primary care practice personnel to decline participation in quality improvement (QI) projects, and strategies to improve the feasibility and attractiveness of QI projects in the future. Representatives from 31 practices agreed to participate in the study. Overwhelmingly, respondents said that staff turnover, staffing shortages, and general time constraints, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, prevented participation in QI projects. Challenges with electronic health records (EHR); an expectation for greater financial compensation for participation; and confidence in the practices’ current care ...

Primary Care Investigators, Clinicians, Patients and Community Members Reflect on NAPCRG’s 50 Years of Leadership and Service A team of primary care investigators, clinicians, learners, patients, and community members reflected on the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) as it passed a 50-year milestone at its 2022 meeting. NAPCRG was started in 1972 by a small group of general practice researchers in the US, Canada, and the UK. It has evolved into an international, interprofessional, interdisciplinary, and intergenerational group devoted to improving health and health care through primary care research. The authors of the special report write that NAPCRG provides ...

Transgender Persons Face Challenges When Seeking Clinical Care, Including Decisions About What Information to Disclose and Risk of Substandard Care Researchers conducted a qualitative study to investigate transgender people’s experiences with sharing health information in clinical encounters. They held seven qualitative focus groups with 30 transgender adults living in North America. Four themes emerged: 1) Transgender people often perceive clinicians’ questions as voyeuristic, stigmatizing, or self-protective; 2) Patients describe being pathologized, denied, given substandard care, or harmed when clinicians ...

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have discovered that radiation therapy combined with two types of immunotherapy—one that boosts T cells, and another that boosts dendritic cells—can control tumors in preclinical models of triple negative breast cancer, a cancer type that’s typically resistant to immunotherapy alone. Immunotherapy activates the body’s own immune system to fight cancer but isn’t effective for difficult-to-treat “cold” tumors, like this. The findings were published Aug. 24 in Nature Communications. Though radiation therapy has previously been combined with T-cell boosting immunotherapy, it rarely succeeds ...

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools have received a lot of attention recently, with the majority of discussions focusing on proper use. However, this technology has a wide range of practical applications, from predicting natural disasters to addressing racial inequalities and now, assisting in cancer surgery. A new clinical and research partnership between the UNC Department of Surgery, the Joint UNC-NCSU Department of Biomedical Engineering, and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has created an AI model that can predict whether or not cancerous ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — In a recent Mayo Clinic study, researchers found that most patients prescribed fewer opioids after surgery were able to maintain satisfactory comfort levels without requiring more prescription refills later. Under new evidence-based guidelines, patients undergoing various surgeries received fewer opioid pills, and 88% reported feeling "very" or "somewhat" satisfied with their pain management. Researchers worked with the Mayo Clinic Survey Research Center to survey patients undergoing a range of elective surgeries. The survey investigated their post-surgery experiences, overall pain management approach and opioid use. The study’s ...

Irvine, Calif., Sept. 25, 2023 — Wildfires in California, exacerbated by human-driven climate change, are getting more severe. To better manage them, there’s a growing need to know exactly what fuels the blazes after they ignite. In a study published in Environmental Research Letters, Earth system scientists at the University of California, Irvine report that one of the chief fuels of wildfires in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains is the decades-old remains of large trees.    “Our findings support the idea that large-diameter fuel build-up is ...