PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Hybrid tugboat cuts emissions, University of California, Riverside study shows

UC Riverside scientists study what is believed to be the world’s only hybrid electric tugboat at Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

2010-11-23
(Press-News.org) RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) --A new study by University of California, Riverside scientists of what is believed to be the world's only hybrid electric tugboat found that the vessel is effective in reducing emissions at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Researchers at the UC Riverside College of Engineering Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) demonstrated the hybrid electric tugboat reduces emissions of soot by about 73 percent, oxides of nitrogen (which help cause smog) by 51 percent, and carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming, by 27 percent.

The findings are significant due to the heavy impact port pollution – caused largely by diesel-powered ship engines and, to a lesser extent, smaller harbor craft such as tugboats – has on regional air quality, according to the California Air Resources Board, which sponsored the study.

The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the largest contributors to air pollution in the South Coast Basin, which includes most of Southern California. Diesel pollution in particular can have devastating health impacts, including cancer and a host of respiratory and cardiovascular ailments.

CE-CERT has been investigating port emissions since 2003, first from locomotives and later drayage vehicles and equipment. More recently the center has also studied emissions from harbor craft, ferries and ocean going vessels.

Authors of the study were graduate student researchers Varalakshmi Jayaram, the principle author, and M. Yusuf Khan, research engineers J. Wayne Miller, William A. Welch and Kent Johnson, and David R Cocker, associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering.

The clean tug used in the study, the Carolyn Dorothy, runs on four diesel engines and 126 batteries. Built by Seattle-based Foss Maritime, it began working the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in January 2009 and is believed to be the first and only hybrid tug in the world.

### The study can be viewed online at: http://www.arb.ca.gov/ports/marinevess/harborcraft/documents/hybridreport1010.pdf

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Overweight primarily a problem among wealthier women in low- to middle-income countries

2010-11-23
Boston, MA – A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) finds that high body mass index (BMI) in developing countries remains primarily a problem of the rich. The findings suggest that the shift towards overweight and obesity among the poor that has already happened in wealthier countries has not yet happened in developing countries. The study appears in an advance online edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and will appear in an upcoming print edition. "Previous research on the increasing overweight and obesity burden in developing countries ...

Mayo Clinic study finds aggressive surgery is best for children with brain tumors

2010-11-23
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A new Mayo Clinic study (http://newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2008/12/03/brain-tumors-best-treatments-for-long-term-survival/) found that children with low-grade brain tumors (gliomas) (http://www.mayoclinic.org/brain-tumors/) who undergo aggressive surgery to completely remove the tumor have an increased chance of overall survival. If complete removal is not possible, adding radiation therapy to a less complete surgery provides patients with the same outcomes as a complete removal. This study was presented at the Society for NeuroOncology Annual Scientific ...

New American Chemical Society Prized Science video focuses on shrinking the computer chip

New American Chemical Society Prized Science video focuses on shrinking the computer chip
2010-11-23
WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2010 — The science that helped make today's smartphones and iPods smaller but more powerful than yesterday's desktop computers highlights the latest episode in the American Chemical Society (ACS) Prized Science video series. The new high-definition video, released today, focuses on IBM chemist Robert Miller, winner of the 2010 ACS Award for Chemistry of Materials. Miller developed materials that helped pack more transistors onto each computer chip, those postage stamp-size slivers of silicon that make up the brains of computers and other electronic ...

University of Minnesota engineering researcher finds new way to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria

2010-11-23
New findings by civil engineering researchers in the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering shows that treating municipal wastewater solids at higher temperatures may be an effective tool in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Heating the solid waste to 130 degrees Fahrenheit (55 degrees Celsius) was particularly effective in eliminating the genes that confer antibiotic resistance. These genes are used by bacteria to become resistant to multiple antibiotics, which are then known as "superbacteria" or "superbugs." The research paper ...

The not-so-sweet truth about sugar -- a risk choice?

The not-so-sweet truth about sugar -- a risk choice?
2010-11-23
More and more people have become aware of the dangers of excessive fructose in diet. A new review on fructose in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN) indicates just how dangerous this simple sugar may be. Richard J. Johnson, MD and Takahiko Nakagawa, MD (Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, University of Colorado) provide a concise overview of recent clinical and experimental studies to understand how excessive amounts of fructose, present in added sugars, may play a role in high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and ...

Perceptual training improves vision of the elderly

2010-11-23
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Elderly adults can improve their vision with perceptual training, according to a study from the University of California, Riverside and Boston University that has implications for the health and mobility of senior citizens. The study, "Perceptual learning, aging, and improved visual performance in early stages of visual processing," appears in the current online issue of the Journal of Vision. It was funded by a $3.5 million grant from the National Institute on Aging. UCR researchers G. John Andersen, professor of psychology; Rui Ni, formerly a postdoctoral ...

HIV drugs interfere with blood sugar, lead to insulin resistance

2010-11-23
The same powerful drugs that have extended the lives of countless people with HIV come with a price – insulin resistance that can lead to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have determined why that happens. Their research shows that HIV protease inhibitors directly interfere with the way blood sugar levels are controlled in the body. This leads to insulin resistance, a condition that occurs when the body produces enough insulin but doesn't use it properly. This confirmation provides the potential ...

Number of doctorates awarded continued to grow in 2009

2010-11-23
U.S. academic institutions awarded 49,562 research doctorate degrees in 2009, the highest number ever reported by the National Science Foundation's Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED), and a 1.6 percent increase over 2008's total of 48,802. The SED is an annual census of all individuals who receive a research doctorate from a U.S. academic institution in an academic year, which is July 1 through June 30 of the following year. The 2009 census covered individuals who earned doctorates in the academic year ending June 2009. NSF's Science Resources Statistics division compiled ...

AGU highlights: Nov. 22, 2010

2010-11-23
The following highlights summarize research papers that have been recently published in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Water Resources Research (WRR), and Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface (JGR-F). In this release: Changing winds can influence amounts of carbon dioxide the ocean holds Large methane release from ocean sediments during glacial periods? Magnetic island observed at Earth's magnetopause Understanding particle movement improves models of stream erosion and deposition New method for assessing uncertainty in groundwater models ...

Gene find could lead to healthier food, better biofuel production

2010-11-23
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University scientists have found the last undiscovered gene responsible for the production of the amino acid phenylalanine, a discovery that could lead to processes to control the amino acid to boost plants' nutritional values and produce better biofuel feedstocks. Natalia Dudareva, a distinguished professor of horticulture, and Hiroshi Maeda, a postdoctoral researcher in Dudareva's laboratory, determined that the gene is one of 10 responsible for phenylalanine production in plants. Understanding how the amino acid is produced could provide ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Safety of factor XI inhibition with abelacimab in atrial fibrillation by kidney function

Combination of mini-camera and AI predicts recurrent heart attack

Study Reveals Details of Overactive Immune System in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)

UTSA and UT Health San Antonio complete merger to become The University of Texas at San Antonio

Helicobacter pylori screening after acute myocardial infarction

Solar Orbiter traces superfast electrons back to Sun

GaN-based electron beam technology from Nagoya University startup poised to overcome critical semiconductor manufacturing challenges at KIOXIA

Circle versus rectangle: Finding ‘Earth 2.0’ may be easier using a new telescope shape

Metformin changes blood metal levels in humans

Long-term anticoagulation discontinuation after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation

Fractional flow reserve–guided complete vs culprit-only revascularization in non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction and multivessel disease

Participation of women in cardiovascular trials from 2017 to 2023

Semaglutide and tirzepatide in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Changes in biology of internal fat may be the leading cause of heart failure

Transcatheter or surgical treatment of patients with aortic stenosis at low to intermediate risk

Promising new drug for people with stubborn high blood pressure

One shot of RSV vaccine effective against hospitalization in older adults for two seasons

Bivalent RSV prefusion F protein–based vaccine for preventing cardiovascular hospitalizations in older adults

Clonal hematopoiesis and risk of new-onset myocarditis and pericarditis

Risk of myocarditis or pericarditis with high-dose vs standard-dose influenza vaccine

High-dose vs standard-dose influenza vaccine and cardiovascular outcomes in older adults

Prevalence, determinants, and time trends of cardiovascular health in the WHO African region

New study finds that, after a heart attack, women have worse prognosis when treated with beta-blockers

CNIC-led REBOOT clinical trial challenges 40-year-old standard of care for heart attack patients

Systolic blood pressure and microaxial flow pump–associated survival in infarct-related cardiogenic shock

Beta blockers, the standard treatment after a heart attack, may offer no benefit for heart attack patients and women can have worse outcomes

High Mountain Asia’s shrinking glaciers linked to monsoon changes

All DRII-ed up: How do plants recover after drought?

Research on stigma says to just ‘shake it off’

Scientists track lightning “pollution” in real time using NASA satellite

[Press-News.org] Hybrid tugboat cuts emissions, University of California, Riverside study shows
UC Riverside scientists study what is believed to be the world’s only hybrid electric tugboat at Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach