Wednesday 19 June 2019

Silver loading and switching: Unintended consequences of pulling health policy levers

A move by the White House in 2017—decried by many health policy analysts as an attempt to undercut the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—had unanticipated consequences that improved the affordability of health insurance for Marketplace enrollees, a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health-led analysis confirms.

* This article was originally published here

Study finds similar cardiovascular outcomes for generic, brand-name drugs for hypothyroidism

A new study by Mayo Clinic researchers may have broad implications for treatment of patients with predominantly benign thyroid disease and newly treated hypothyroidism.

* This article was originally published here

Groundwater pumping has significantly reduced US stream flows

Groundwater pumping in the last century has contributed as much as 50 percent to stream flow declines in some U.S. rivers, according to new research led by a University of Arizona hydrologist.

* This article was originally published here

This assistive robot is controlled via brain-computer interface

Researchers at the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, in Italy, have recently developed a cutting-edge architecture that enables the operation of an assistive robot via a P300-based brain computer interface (BCI). This architecture, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, could finally allow people with severe motion disabilities to perform manipulation tasks, thus simplifying their lives.

* This article was originally published here

New studies warn against complacency in efforts to tackle smoking

Three research papers published by The BMJ today examine smoking and efforts to deal with it, and highlight the importance of continued investment in international tobacco control, particularly in low and middle income countries.

* This article was originally published here

NVIDIA going full stack for ARM boosts supercomputing presence

NVIDIA and ARM make one power couple for supercomputing. NVIDIA has announced its chips will work with ARM processors. Outside observers got busy earlier this week assessing why this was a big deal to empower both companies and the effort to explain was not at all difficult.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers use biological evolution to inspire machine learning

As Charles Darwin wrote in at the end of his seminal 1859 book On the Origin of the Species, "whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." Scientists have since long believed that the diversity and range of forms of life on Earth provide evidence that biological evolution spontaneously innovates in an open-ended way, constantly inventing new things. However, attempts to construct artificial simulations of evolutionary systems tend to run into limits in the complexity and novelty which they can produce. This is sometimes referred to as "the problem of open-endedness." Because of this difficulty, to date, scientists can't easily make artificial systems capable of exhibiting the richness and diversity of biological systems.

* This article was originally published here

Even people with well-controlled epilepsy may be at risk for sudden death

People with epilepsy have a rare risk of sudden death. A new study shows that risk may apply even to people whose epilepsy is well-controlled, which is contrary to previous, smaller studies that showed the risk was highest among those with severe, difficult-to-treat epilepsy. The new study is published in the June 19, 2019, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

* This article was originally published here

State initiative to address disparities in mother's milk for very low birth weight infants

Researchers at Boston Medical Center initiated a statewide quality improvement imitative to increase mothers' ability to produce and provide milk for very low birth weight infants at their discharge, as well reduce the racial/ethnic disparities in milk production and provision to these infants. A new study, published June 18th in Pediatrics, indicates that the initiative yielded positive results on improving rates of prenatal human milk education, early milk expression and skin to skin care among mothers of very low birth weight infants during initial hospitalization, but did not lead to sustained improvement in mother's milk provision at hospital discharge.

* This article was originally published here

First-ever successful mind-controlled robotic arm without brain implants

A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, has made a breakthrough in the field of noninvasive robotic device control. Using a noninvasive brain-computer interface (BCI), researchers have developed the first-ever successful mind-controlled robotic arm exhibiting the ability to continuously track and follow a computer cursor.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers reproduce micro-scale 'Great Wave' painting with inkless technology

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849) is the titan of Japanese art, as revered in his homeland as are Da Vinci, Van Gogh and Rembrandt Van Rijn in the West. Of all his famed masterpieces, the "Great Wave" stands out as the ultimate testament to his artistic genius.

* This article was originally published here

Investigating coral and algal 'matchmaking' at the cellular level

What factors govern algae's success as "tenants" of their coral hosts both under optimal conditions and when oceanic temperatures rise? A Victoria University of Wellington-led team of experts that includes Carnegie's Arthur Grossman investigates this question.

* This article was originally published here

Pilots tell US Congress more training needed on 737 MAX

US pilots called Wednesday for enhanced pilot training on the Boeing 737 MAX before the aircraft is returned to service after being grounded worldwide following two deadly crashes.

* This article was originally published here

Motherhood can deliver body image boost—new study

New research indicates that perfectionism is related to breast size dissatisfaction, but only in non-mothers—suggesting that mothers are more comfortable with their bodies.

* This article was originally published here

Want to be healthy and happy? Choose a ⁠c⁠o⁠n⁠s⁠c⁠i⁠e⁠n⁠t⁠i⁠o⁠u⁠s⁠ ⁠p⁠a⁠r⁠t⁠n⁠e⁠r⁠

Y⁠o⁠u⁠r⁠ ⁠p⁠a⁠r⁠t⁠n⁠e⁠r⁠'⁠s⁠ ⁠p⁠e⁠r⁠s⁠o⁠n⁠a⁠l⁠i⁠t⁠y⁠ ⁠c⁠a⁠n⁠ ⁠i⁠n⁠f⁠l⁠u⁠e⁠n⁠c⁠e⁠ ⁠y⁠o⁠u⁠r⁠ ⁠l⁠i⁠f⁠e⁠ ⁠i⁠n⁠ ⁠a⁠l⁠l⁠ ⁠s⁠o⁠r⁠t⁠s⁠ ⁠o⁠f⁠ ⁠w⁠a⁠y⁠s⁠. For example, studies have shown that a conscientious partner i⁠s⁠ ⁠g⁠o⁠o⁠d⁠ ⁠f⁠o⁠r⁠ ⁠y⁠o⁠u⁠r⁠ ⁠h⁠e⁠a⁠l⁠t⁠h. Our latest study shows that they are also good for your quality of life.

* This article was originally published here

Summer is coming! Here's why you need to protect your children's eyes

Should we buy sunglasses for children? And if so, how do we choose a quality product?

* This article was originally published here

Kinshasa: Commuting hell in DR Congo's capital

Cities almost everywhere have transport problems—just ask people stuck in traffic jams or overcrowded trains for their opinion.

* This article was originally published here

No-cook summer recipes featuring cool, sweet fruit

(HealthDay)—Sweet summer fruits make a luscious ending to a meal, but there's no reason to limit them to dessert. Here are three fruity no-cook dishes that will please every palate.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers explore RAMBleed attack in pilfering data

Do you remember Rowhammer, where an attacker could flip bits in the memory space of other processes?

* This article was originally published here

New clues on tissue damage identified in rheumatoid arthritis and lupus

Research supported by the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) on Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (RA/SLE) provides new insights into tissue damage for these autoimmune conditions. Findings include the identification of novel molecular signatures related to immune system signaling in kidney cells that may reflect their active role in disease process; molecular targets, including specific white blood cells, for potential treatment in lupus nephritis; and specific types of fibroblasts and white blood cells that are involved in rheumatoid arthritis. These discoveries set the stage for uncovering potential drug target candidates that could advance to experimental treatments. Results of the studies were published today in three papers in Nature Immunology.

* This article was originally published here