Cost of caring for a child with special needs varies from state to state
Therapies, rehabilitation and specialty medical care are just a few of the extra costs parents face when raising children with special needs. In a new study published in Pediatrics, Paul T. Shattuck, Ph.D., professor of social work, found that families with similar demographics and nature of their children’s special needs have different out-of-pocket health expenditures depending on the state in which they live.
U.S. policy of ‘overpromising’ support for Georgia helped fuel Russian conflict, expert suggests
James WertschAmbiguous U.S. policies toward emerging democracies in former Soviet states may have set the stage for the brutal military conflict that erupted this week between Russia and its neighboring Republic of Georgia, suggests James V. Wertsch, an expert on post-Soviet democracy movements at Washington University in St. Louis.
Back-to-school
Your kid just got beat up by the fifth-grade bully. Or perhaps you aren’t sure the lunches are healthy enough for your child to be eating. Maybe you’ve even noticed a change in your child’s behavior after returning to school. Washington University has several experts that can comment on any one of these concerns, as well as many others that arise when children are going … back to school, whether it’s kindergarten, high school or college.
High food and fuel prices could affect school lunches this year
DiekmanWith food and fuel costs far above what they were a year ago, school children can expect to see some changes in menu offerings this academic year, says a nutrition expert at Washington University in St. Louis.
Bush regulatory spending breaks records
After eight years in office, President Bush is on track to be one of the biggest regulatory budget spending presidents in history, according to a new study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis.
Nerve reconstruction surgeon aims to help more veterans injured in combat
WUSM surgeon Susan Mackinnon, a pioneer of the surgical procedure known as peripheral nerve transfer, hopes to share the technique with more Veterans Affairs hospitals this year. The advanced form of nerve reconstruction Mackinnon performs can help injured soldiers regain the use of severely damaged limbs.
Parents shape whether their children learn to eat fruits and vegetables
Providing fruits for snacks and serving vegetables at dinner can shape a preschooler’s eating patterns for his or her lifetime. To combat the increasing problem of childhood obesity, researchers are studying how to get preschoolers to eat more fruits and vegetables. According to researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, one way is early home interventions — teaching parents how to create an environment where children reach for a banana instead of potato chips.
Computer scientist aims for a better-networked military
Image courtesy U.S. ArmyWUSTL’s Patrick Crowley is proposing a novel network for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to manage information better simultaneously in real-time.Patrick Crowley, a WUSTL computer architect, intends to design a new kind of network for the Department of Defense (DoD) to facilitate real-time information in the field so that every foot soldier, commander, tank and transport vehicle is networked. Crowley will use the WUSTL programmable network platform that can scale real-time information sharing over several orders of magnitude, from a handful of interconnected platforms to thousands and tens of thousands. He hopes to facilitate better information sharing in the military.
Parents shape whether their children learn to eat fruits and vegetables
Providing fruits for snacks and serving vegetables at dinner can shape a preschooler’s eating patterns for his or her lifetime. To combat the increasing problem of childhood obesity, researchers are studying how to get preschoolers to eat more fruits and vegetables. According to researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, one way is early home interventions — teaching parents how to create an environment where children reach for a banana instead of potato chips.
Military use of robots increases
WUSTL computer scientists who work on robots say the machines still need the human touch.War casualties are typically kept behind tightly closed doors, but one company keeps the mangled pieces of its first casualty on display. This is no ordinary soldier, though — it is Packbot from iRobot Corporation. Robots in the military are no longer the stuff of science fiction, and WUSTL’s Doug Few and Bill Smart are on the cutting edge of this new wave of technology. Few and Smart report that the military goal is to have approximately 30% of the Army comprised of robotic forces by approximately 2020.
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