Tuesday 4 June 2019

Mortality rate 'weekend effect' not a reliable measure of care quality in hospitals

The higher mortality rate for weekend hospital admissions should not be used as an indicator of quality of care due to the lack of data preceding patient admission and on the severity of their illness, a new study conducted at the University of Warwick Medical School has concluded.

* This article was originally published here

Solving the sun's super-heating mystery with Parker Solar Probe

It's one of the greatest and longest-running mysteries surrounding, quite literally, our sun—why is its outer atmosphere hotter than its fiery surface?

* This article was originally published here

Policy changes proposed to meet projected need for palliative care

(HealthDay)—Policies to support team-based palliative care are urgently needed to meet the growing demand for specialty palliative care, according to a study published in the June issue of Health Affairs.

* This article was originally published here

Agent Unicorn headset for ADHD children may make understanding easier

The quest for a better understanding among scientists of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) goes on.

* This article was originally published here

Security and privacy rarely considered before buying IoT devices

In today's often-precarious security and privacy landscape, you'd think consumers would be taking security and privacy risks into serious consideration when purchasing new IoT devices. And you'd be wrong.

* This article was originally published here

Bees can link symbols to numbers, study finds

We've learned bees can understand zero and do basic math, and now a new study shows their tiny insect brains may be capable of connecting symbols to numbers.

* This article was originally published here

Deaths from falls among older Americans are on the rise

New research shows fatal falls have nearly tripled in older Americans in recent years, rising to more than 25,000 deaths yearly.

* This article was originally published here

Female cannabis users underrepresented in health research, study reveals

Research at the University of York has shown that women are underrepresented in research into links between cannabis and psychosis, which could limit understanding of the impact of the drug.

* This article was originally published here

Best practices of nucleic acid amplification tests for the diagnosis of clostridioides (clostridium)

A new review looks at the challenges of testing for Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection (CDI) and recommendations for newer diagnostic tests. Accurate diagnosis of CDI is critical for effective patient management and implementation of infection control measures to prevent transmission. The research is published this week in the Clinical Microbiology Reviews.

* This article was originally published here

Functional limitations persist one year after mild TBI

(HealthDay)—Many patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) report persistent functional limitations one year after injury, according to a study published online June 3 in JAMA Neurology.

* This article was originally published here

App to improve communication for aphasia diagnosis, treatment

An app being developed by Media School assistant professor John Velez and a team from Texas Tech University will help people with a communication impairment better understand their diagnosis and the treatment needed.

* This article was originally published here

Most older adults would have to liquidate assets for home care

(HealthDay)—The oldest and sickest Americans are least likely to be able to afford home care, according to a study published online June 3 in Health Affairs.

* This article was originally published here

Using a simulation framework to study spine behaviors of quadruped robots

Researchers at the Robert Bosch center for cyber physical systems in Bangalore, India, have recently proposed a simulation framework to systematically study the effects of spinal joint actuation on the locomotion performance of quadruped robots. In their study, outlined in a paper pre-published on arXiv, they used this framework to investigate the spine behaviors of a quadruped robot called Stoch 2 and their effects on its bounding performance.

* This article was originally published here

Nailing digital fakes with AI-learned artifacts

We see the imaginative feats of photo fakery; now we have to figure out what to do about them. Being able to tell fake from real is the goal, but how to get there? Forensics is the key tool to hunt down fake photos and it does not appear to be an easy task in getting that tool to perform well.

* This article was originally published here

US gears up for antitrust battles with Big Tech

The US administration is stepping up scrutiny of Big Tech firms, which could result in a series of drawn-out legal battles aimed at reining in—and potentially breaking up—giants such as Google, Amazon and Facebook.

* This article was originally published here

Cracking open the black box of automated machine learning

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have developed an interactive tool that, for the first time, lets users see and control how automated machine-learning systems work. The aim is to build confidence in these systems and find ways to improve them.

* This article was originally published here