Links

Research shows pesticides influence bee learning and memory
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/bes-rsp071018.php


7,000 strokes prevented as GPs improve diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation
Around 7,000 strokes each year are being prevented thanks to GPs more than doubling the number of patients at high risk being prescribed with blood thinning drugs, University of Birmingham researchers have found.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/uob-7sp070918.php


Older people who have higher blood pressure may have more signs of brain disease, specifically brain lesions, according to a study published in the July 11, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers also found a link between higher blood pressure and more markers of Alzheimer's disease, tangles in the brain.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/aaon-hbp070618.php


High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attacks, heart failure and strokes. The researchers found that by age 55 years:
75.5 percent of black men,
75.7 percent of black women,
54.5 percent of white men, and
40.0 percent of white women developed high blood pressure.
The researchers found that higher body weight was associated with an increased risk for high blood pressure, regardless of race or gender, and those who adhered to the DASH-style diet, both blacks and whites, were at lower risk for hypertension. DASH style (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets are rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low or fat-free dairy, fish, poultry, beans, seeds and nuts and limited in red meat and salt.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/aha-mba070618.php


Immunotherapy doubles survival rates for patients with melanoma brain metastases
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/bawh-ids070618.php


A nationwide investigation of the prevalence and distribution of ticks and exposure to tick-borne diseases highlights the value of public participation in science.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/p-css070618.php


New compound discovered that halts some fibrotic diseases
Fibrosis - a progressive scarring and hardening of internal organs - is estimated to cause 35 to 40 percent of deaths in the world. Fibrotic diseases include diabetic kidney fibrosis, alcoholic liver cirrhosis, hepatitis C, pulmonary fibrosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which may lead to fibrosis of the liver, the leading cause of liver transplant.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/nu-wis071118.php


A new study has shown that people who regularly eat oranges are less likely to develop macular degeneration than people who do not eat oranges.
"We examined common foods that contain flavonoids such as tea, apples, red wine and oranges.
"Significantly, the data did not show a relationship between other food sources protecting the eyes against the disease," she said.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/wifm-aoa071118.php


When the Taiwanese authors looked at subjects who suffered severe herpes infection and who were treated aggressively with antiviral drugs, the relative risk of dementia was reduced by a factor of 10.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/uom-nsh071118.php


The more you smoke, the greater your risk of a heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/esoc-tmy071118.php


Democrats, who generally have a more liberal take on sexual matters, were least likely to use an adultery dating service, while members of the conservative Libertarian party had the greatest tendency to do so. This is according to an analysis of leaked user data from Ashley Madison, a website that connects married people who want to cheat on their partner. Greens and voters not registered to any party used the site more than Democrats, whereas Republicans used it more still, but less than Libertarians. The findings by Kodi Arfer of the University of California Los Angeles and Jason Jones of Stony Brook University, both in the US, are presented in Springer's journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.
Most polls about people's opinions on sexual matters, such as premarital sex, adultery and prostitution, are based on self-report questionnaires. However, there are often discrepancies between reported and actual behavior.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/s-vdn071218.php


The longer an individual waits for a reward, the less willing they will be to give up pursuit of the reward, a new study in mice, rats and humans reports. The findings suggest that many animals make decisions wrongly, based on irrecoverable investments, known as "sunk costs," rather than on expected future outcomes, given the potential gain.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/aaft-tii070918.php


perhaps an under-appreciated social change in recent decades – an increased separation of the classes. I don’t just mean geographic separation, though this is important. I mean separation in the workplace.
This now is now longer so much the case. Many of us are in occupations where we only meet folk of similar class. And thanks to a lack of social mobility, posh people are unlikely too meet many from a different class origin.
http://stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com/stumbling_and_mumbling/2018/07/on-class-separation.html


Three former employees of the famed Cato Institute say they were sexually harassed by Ed Crane, the 73-year-old co-founder and president emeritus of the think tank and one of the most recognizable figures in the libertarian movement.
http://www.thinktankwatch.com/2018/02/sex-scandal-rocks-cato-institute.html


While initial studies suggest a potential relationship between air pollution and both infertility and menstrual irregularity, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) believe more studies are needed to validate these findings in other populations.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/buso-msn071218.php


Parental controls do not stop teens from seeing pornography
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/uoo-pcd071218.php


Drinking heavily results in uncontrolled iron absorption into the body, putting strain on vital organs and increasing the risk of death, according to a new study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition.
Iron loading is when the regulation of iron in the body is compromised by alcohol consumption, leading to more of it being absorbed. It is known to cause health issues such as heart attacks, liver disease and diabetes.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/aru-sfp071218.php


Findings from the meta-analysis suggest that walnut-enriched diets may lead to significantly greater reductions in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and apolipoprotein B, compared to control diets.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/es-sre071218.php


Researchers at York University's Faculty of Health have found that patients who have metabolic healthy obesity, but no other metabolic risk factors, do not have an increased rate of mortality.
"This is in contrast with most of the literature and we think this is because most studies have defined metabolic healthy obesity as having up to one metabolic risk factor," says Kuk. "This is clearly problematic, as hypertension alone increases your mortality risk and past literature would have called these patients with obesity and hypertension, 'healthy'. This is likely why most studies have reported that 'healthy' obesity is still related with higher mortality risk."
Kuk's study showed that unlike dyslipidemia, hypertension or diabetes alone, which are related with a high mortality risk, this isn't the case for obesity alone.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/yu-so071218.php


Soccer players who head the ball may be more likely to experience short-term balance problems, suggesting that repetitive head impacts could have the potential to cause subtle neurological deficits not previously known
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/uod-hm071218.php


Supplementing a single protein found in the spinal cord could help prevent symptoms of Lou Gehrig's disease, according to a new study out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Researchers found high levels of the protein--called mitofusion 2 or Mfn2--prevented nerve degeneration, muscle atrophy, and paralysis in a mouse model of the disease. Since Mfn2 is often depleted during Lou Gehrig's, the new study suggests supplementing it could be a novel therapeutic approach for the disease.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/cwru-ntd071218.php


Prison employees experience PTSD on par with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, a new study from a Washington State University College of Nursing researcher found.
Working conditions in a prison can include regular exposure to violence and trauma, and threats of harm to the workers and their families. Previous studies have shown that prison workers have some of the highest rates of mental illness, sleep disorders and physical health issues of all U.S. workers. But the rate of PTSD among prison workers isn't well understood.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/wsu-pra071318.php