Use or non-use of beta blockers provides clues for improving healthcare quality in hospitals
.... "While industry has made substantial advances in measuring and improving the quality of its products, these lessons are not easily translated into the complex healthcare environment," said Harlan Krumholz, M.D., senior author of the study and associate professor of internal medicine and cardiology at Yale Sc...Human brain has unsuspected oxygen reserve, challenging previous theories
... critical tool for exploring the brain at work. By measuring changes in blood flow during different tasks, researchers can see which areas of the brain spring into action when, for example, individuals read or memorize words. Because blood supplies cells with oxygen, they assumed that blood flow increases when...USC study shows teens with type 1 diabetes already face clogging arteries
...g adults without diabetes, running blood tests and measuring the thickness of their neck arteries through ultrasound.Researchers found that the intima-media thickness (IMT)a measure of the innermost layer of the artery wallwas significantly greater in the teens with diabetes. They also found that those with g...Optical technique studies brain activity without surgery on skull
... UI professor of physics. "Our technique works by measuring the blood flow and oxygen consumption in the brain... and extract information about brain activity. "By measuring the scattering, we can also determine where the neurons are firing," Gratton said. "This means we c...Contrast agents enhance optical coherence tomography
...ght (like that used in CD players) into tissue and measuring the intensity and position of the resulting reflections. To make OCT work better, UI researchers have developed injectable contrast agents that will help identify tumors early in their growth.OCT is a relatively new technology that is just beginning...Fluids, electrolytes key to good health for firefighters
...h a team of researchers at the Institute, has been measuring and studying various physiological responses among firefighters. Is it part of continuing stress over time that leads to these incidences? Petruzzellos not sure, but he says long-term research may eventually prove such a link. What is known at thi...UNC to share in $34 million study of what happens to cancer patients
...to participate in a new $34 million national study measuring the quality of care cancer patients receive across the United States and how patients do following treatment. "This project, which is being funded by the National Cancer Institute after a stiff nationwide competition, will involve UNC and five other...Bangladesh flood and drought forecasting could bring farmers, cholera victims relief
...nd Atmospheric Administration ship, the Ron Brown, measuring water temperature and salinity gradients to depths exceeding 1,500 feet. The team also used radar, weather balloons and satellites to determine the Indian Ocean monsoon season has three active periods and three calm periods. The El Nio-like conditio...Women with higher education have less risk of heart disease
...lectron beam tomography, a non-invasive method for measuring the formation of calcium in the arteries. The analysis showed an inverse linear trend between calcium deposits and education level. In general, women with advanced degrees had the least calcification, while high school graduates and high school dropo...Testing for alcohol problems in the workplace
... the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and measuring levels of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin in serum - were particularly helpful in detecting different levels of alcohol use. Previous studies have shown that problem drinkers and alcoholics have higher rates of sickness-related absence from the w...Neuroscientists searching for roots of empathy find brain regions involved in learning by imitation
...) to explore the neural mechanisms of imitation by measuring increases in blood flow in the brain. In the first study the researchers look at imitation from the point of view of a teacher (the person demonstrating a task) versus the point of view of a student (the person learning the task). Eighteen right-ha...Blood sugar control partially a function of beliefs
...uestionnaires. Blood sugar control was assessed by measuring blood levels of HbA1c, an indicator of blood sugar levels over the previous three months, at the studys beginning and at three-month intervals during the following year. The results reveal that young adults with high self-efficacy tend to have the be...IUD still on the shelf for most women, survey shows
...nter researcher concludes. In a first-ever survey measuring the use of IUDs in clinical practice among a national sample of obstetricians-gynecologists, Nancy Stanwood, M.D., M.P.H., and her co-authors report that 20 percent of the respondents had not inserted an IUD in the past year and of those who did, 79 ...Road skills hint at 'motion blindness' of Alzheimer's
...lity to stay in ones lane becomes part of any test measuring Alzheimers disease. The doctors and scientists are using the work to launch an array of studies. One goal is a laboratory test that could pinpoint those patients who will have a problem driving, which would allow other patients to continue driving w...Brief exercise improves mental performance in people with chronic lung disease
... exercise performance - determined by measuring each subject's heart rate and breathing rate throughout the session. In a separate session, the participants were asked to watch a video on the benefits of exercise and cholesterol reductio...'Use it or lose it?' study suggests mentally stimulating activities may reduce Alzheimer's risk
...ers from several groups across the U.S. On a scale measuring cognitive activity -- with higher scores indicating more frequent activity -- a one-point increase in cognitive activity corresponded with a 33 percent reduction in the risk of AD. The examination of cognitively stimulating activities and risk of AD ...Sky-is-the-limit challenges have strongest effect on the heart
...0 seconds. The researchers were also interested in measuring how the participants are motivated by status. They...on. Wright and colleagues were also interested in measuring how these participants were motivated by financial reward. They told half of the women they could ea...Studies suggest new headache treatment is more effective than medication
...emonstrated this link in a multi-centered study by measuring the temperature and palpating for tenderness of the area above the upper molars. In patients with unilateral migraine or tension-type headaches, the temperature and tenderness of the area on the symptomatic side was consistently higher (37 of 40) an...Cancer patients emotional needs often undetected by oncologists
...rs responded. Each patient also answered questions measuring their satisfaction with the consultation and their anxiety before and after the consultation. The patients, who ranged in age from 18 to 83 years, had genitourinary, breast, gastrointestinal, skin or other cancers. During the medical consultations,...Brookhaven lab scientist wins Glenn T. Seaborg Award for Nuclear Chemistry
...oxyglucose [FDG], a radiotracer used worldwide for measuring brain function and for diagnosing cancer; and for the development of tracers for monoamine oxidase [MAO] found to be reduced in the brains of smokers. PET is a research and diagnostic tool that enables researchers to see images of the brain as it fu...