Offer more human capital, skills
Cities in China not dominated by state-run industries are benefiting more from foreign investment than cities with a large number of state-controlled industries, find university researchers. “Cities that don’t have a large proportion of state-controlled industries appear to offer a better range of human capital and skills that would be attractive to foreign direct investment,” says University of Toronto economics professor Gordon Anderson, a
A new measurement tool called the computerized clinical vignette can help clinicians and policymakers assess and improve the quality of physician practice while potentially reducing costs, according to a study led by a researcher at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).
The vignette — which presents a simulated patient visit to the doctor via computer — is an accurate, inexpensive, and efficient way to measure how well physicians handle their clinical practice, the st
Sick days, disability, early retirement, and premature death of diabetic Americans born between 1931 and 1941 cost the country almost $133.5 billion by the year 2000, according to a new estimate by researchers with the University of Michigan (U-M) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This analysis is the first to identify the staggering financial impact of diabetes on the economy using a single, consistent source of data — the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a national longitudinal s
The largest population study ever done into the risk of cancer in families that fulfil the criteria for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing has confirmed that breast and ovarian cancers are the major concerns for geneticists and doctors counselling families. It has also verified that families eligible for BRCA1/2 mutation testing are at increased risk of pancreatic, prostate and stomach cancers.
One important conclusion of the study was that, in families with at least one woman with b
Driving with one hand on the wheel and another on a cell phone has led to legal restrictions and proposals to require drivers to use hands-free phones.
Hello?
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have tested the hands-free approach and found that drivers — young and old — struggled to see dangerous scenarios appearing in front of them.
The experiments, reported in the Fall 2004 issue of the journal Human Factors, were conducted
Attachment security has long been recognized as one of the hallmarks of adaptive social development in infancy and childhood, and is increasingly being recognized for its similar role in adolescence and adulthood. In adolescence, attachment security reflects the ability to openly and straightforwardly seek out and value close relationships while maintaining perspective and balance within those relationships.
Numerous studies have identified the importance of attachment security
Many families experience economic stress such as job loss and salary cuts. Such stress often has negative effects on marriages, parenting, and children’s developmental outcomes. Although all ethnic groups and social classes experience economic stress at some point in their lives, minority families are especially likely to suffer such economic problems. For instance, poverty rates for African-American and Hispanic-American families are three times higher than for non-Latino white families.
Although triplets are the fastest growing birth population in the Western world, and the number of triplet births has multiplied tenfold since 1980 in industrialized countries, no systematic research has studied the development of triplets across infancy.
Thus, we designed a study in which we followed 23 sets of triplets, 23 sets of twins, and 23 singletons (138 infants) from birth to 1 year. We matched groups for medical (e.g., gestational age, birthweight, medical risk) and en
Effect of SSRIs on bone accrual
A common class of drugs prescribed to children with depression may have an adverse effect on bone growth, according to a study published online in the journal Endocrinology by researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Researchers looked at the effect of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on bone accrual in growing mice. The findings showed a reduction in bone mass and size in the mice administered an SSRI.
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As the scientific community is seeking alternatives to antibiotic treatment, periodontal researchers found that photodynamic therapy (PDT) is advantageous for suppressing anaerobic bacteria that lead to periodontal diseases according to a recent study in the Journal of Periodontology.
“Although this study is still in its early phase, with the recent number of reports about bacterial strains becoming resistant to frequent doses of antibiotics, PDT could be an alternative to conve
A recent report on an unexpected sharp rise in atmospheric CO2 levels has raised the possibility of rapid global warming, but researchers at King’s College London warn that some UK businesses, government departments and voluntary sector organisations are better equipped than others to respond to an increased risk of flooding, storms and extreme temperatures.
According to the research, which was funded by ESRC, the key to an effective response to environmental crises lies in socia
Research at Saint Louis University finds that families who eat out are more likely to skimp on the fruits and vegetables.
“The more often parents eat out, the lower their intake of fruits and vegetables,” says Amanda Harrod, a researcher at Saint Louis University School of Public Health who is presenting her findings at the American Public Health Association conference this week.
Harrod studied young families who live in Missouri’s bootheel and found that about 73
Plastic surgeons respond to FDA concerns
Plastic surgeons can reduce breast implant re-operations in augmentation patients to 3 percent by following a new system of decision and management algorithms, according to a study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery® (PRS), the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). At the same time, these algorithms can raise patients’ safety and overall satisfaction, the study also found. During the U.S
University of Pittsburgh Researchers note particular risk for women with both metabolic cardiovascular and polycystic ovary syndromes
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a disorder characterized by metabolic and endocrine abnormalities, affects millions of women in the United States alone and endangers their hearts by causing early buildup of calcium in coronary arteries, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health report in the November is
A new study by a New York University professor suggests perceptual maturity in infants develops in the early months after birth as a result of piecing together fragments of the visual scene. The findings, published in the latest issue of Psychological Science, shed new light on our fundamental knowledge of how objects behave, giving weight to the scientific camp that argues such development is a “constructed” rather than an “innate” phenomenon.
Advocates of innate perception h
Brett Wong is on a mission to help uncover the mechanism that regulates our ability to withstand heat stress. The goal is to help improve survival rates among those who suffer the most during heat waves: the elderly and people with conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
The award-winning University of Oregon doctoral degree student’s research is the first to identify histamine receptors as contributing to increased blood flow during heat stress. Skin blood flow is a
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