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

Estimates of anthropogenic nitrogen in the ocean may be high

2014-12-01
(Press-News.org) Inundation of nitrogen into the atmosphere and terrestrial environments, through fossil fuel combustion and extensive fertilization, has risen tenfold since preindustrial times according to research published in Global Biogeochemical Cycles. Excess nitrogen can infiltrate water tables and can trigger extensive algal blooms that deplete aquatic environments of oxygen, among other damaging effects.

Although scientists have extensively studied the effects of excess nitrogen in terrestrial habitats, the effect on the open ocean remains unknown. Altieri et al. point out that it is incredibly important to understand where excess nitrogen is ending up so that scientists can better quantify the human impact on the Earth's biogeochemical processes.

To investigate the origin of nitrogen that reaches the open ocean, the authors analyzed rain samples from Bermuda. The authors specifically looked at the different isotopes of nitrogen found in the rainwater's ammonium molecules, which indicates whether the nitrogen originated from anthropogenic sources, from land, or from the ocean.

Using a model that described sources and sinks of the nitrogen, the authors found that certain nitrogen isotopes likely represent ammonium recycled from the ocean, rather than ammonium inputted from an external source, such as pollution from human activities. The authors note that although these findings imply that the anthropogenic contribution of ammonium to the open ocean could be smaller than previously thought, further research is needed on a larger scale to fully understand nitrogen transfer in the marine atmosphere.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Blocking blood-brain barrier proteins may improve ALS drugs' effectiveness

2014-12-01
Through research in mice, scientists have found that proteins at the blood-brain barrier pump out riluzole, the only FDA-approved drug for ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, limiting the drug's effectiveness. However, when the investigators blocked these proteins, the effectiveness of riluzole increased and the animals experienced improved muscle function, slower disease progression, and prolonged survival. The findings suggest that blocking these transporter proteins at the blood-brain barrier might improve delivery, and ultimately, efficacy, of drugs used to treat ALS and ...

Lung treatment may help patients with severe emphysema

2014-12-01
The first long-term clinical trial on the use of Lung Volume Reduction (LVR-) Coil treatment in patients with severe emphysema has found that the minimally-invasive therapy, which enables the lung to function more effectively, is safe over a 3-year period. The results are published in Respirology. The trial revealed that half of the patients continued to improve their lung function capacity, feelings of breathlessness, and overall quality of life after 3 years, with no unexpected safety issues. "This trial reports only the first ever treated patients in the world with ...

Skipping college makes young people more likely to abuse pain pills

2014-12-01
December 1, 2014 -- A study just released by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health compared the use of prescription opioids and stimulants among high school graduates, non-graduates, and their college-attending peers, and found that young adults who do not attend college are at particularly high risk for nonmedical prescription opioid use and disorder. In contrast, the nonmedical use of prescription stimulants is higher among college-educated young adults. Results of the study are published online in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. Non-medical ...

Sophisticated HIV diagnostics adapted for remote areas

Sophisticated HIV diagnostics adapted for remote areas
2014-12-01
Diagnosing HIV and other infectious diseases presents unique challenges in remote locations that lack electric power, refrigeration, and appropriately trained health care staff. To address these issues, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed a low-cost, electricity-free device capable of detecting the DNA of infectious pathogens, including HIV-1. The device uses a small scale chemical reaction, rather than electric power, to provide the heat needed to amplify and detect the DNA or RNA of pathogens present in blood samples obtained ...

Some people may be genetically susceptible to UV tanning dependence

2014-12-01
Researchers have found a possible underlying genetic susceptibility to being dependent on UV tanning. After interviewing young people about their indoor and outdoor tanning history and using questionnaires to classify people as being dependent on UV tanning or not, the investigators conducted a large scale scan of approximately 319,000 rare and common genetic variants in the participants' genomes. "We observed that inherited variation in one gene - known as patched domain containing 2 (PTCHD2) - was significantly associated with whether or not young people, all of ...

Experts question aspects of certain Ebola guidelines

2014-12-01
Various guidelines for caring for patients infected with Ebola virus are being issued from different national and state public health authorities, professional societies, and individual hospitals. Experts are questioning aspects of some of the guidelines that go beyond current CDC recommendations, especially those that call for suspending certain routine lab tests. The authors of a Transfusion commentary note that most individuals with suspected Ebola virus disease will have a fever due to another cause, and forgoing such testing may compromise patients' health more ...

How terrorist attack survivors view their interactions with the media

2014-12-01
Among survivors of the 2011 Utøya Island terrorist attack in Norway, most perceived contact with media as a positive experience. Among those who allowed themselves to be interviewed by the media, 13% found the experience distressing and 11% regretted participating. Taking part in media interviews was not associated with post-traumatic stress reactions among survivors, but negative evaluations and regrets about participation were. "Media representatives need to understand that they may add to the burden of survivors if they are not sufficiently careful, and clinicians ...

Study: Cheaper private health care prices mean more medicare spending

2014-12-01
When private prices for health care services decrease, Medicare spending increases, according to a new study. The finding raises the possibility that physicians and hospitals may be shifting some services to Medicare when they stand to make more money by doing so -- though further research will be needed to clearly identify the cause, according to the study's authors. The study, conducted by the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, is the first in a series of attempts to mine reams of health care spending data gathered by the Institute of Medicine ...

Penn research shows way to design 'digital' metamaterials

Penn research shows way to design digital metamaterials
2014-12-01
VIDEO: Nader Engheta, the H. Nedwill Ramsey professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science, explains the basic premise behind metamaterials, and how they achieve... Click here for more information. Metamaterials, precisely designed composite materials that have properties not found in natural ones, could be used to make light-bending invisibility cloaks, flat lenses and other otherwise impossible devices. Figuring out the ...

Scientists identify most ancient pinworm yet found

Scientists identify most ancient pinworm yet found
2014-12-01
An egg much smaller than a common grain of sand and found in a tiny piece of fossilized dung has helped scientists identify a pinworm that lived 240 million years ago. It is believed to be the most ancient pinworm yet found in the fossil record. The discovery confirms that herbivorous cynodonts -- the ancestors of mammals -- were infected with the parasitic nematodes. It also makes it even more likely that herbivorous dinosaurs carried pinworms. Scott Gardner, a parasitologist and director of the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

Healthy nutrition and physical lifestyle choices lower cancer mortality risk for survivors, new ACS study finds

[Press-News.org] Estimates of anthropogenic nitrogen in the ocean may be high