Ozone depletion is a major climate driver in the southern hemisphere
2014-12-01
(Press-News.org) When people hear about the dangers of the ozone hole, they often think of sunburns and associated health risks, but new research shows that ozone depletion changes atmospheric and oceanic circulation with potentially devastating effects on weather in the Southern Hemisphere weather.
These could include increased incidence of extreme events, resulting in costly floods, drought, wildfires, and serious environmental damage. The ecosystem impacts documented so far include changes to growth rates of South American and New Zealand trees, decreased growth of Antarctic mosses, and changing biodiversity in Antarctic lakes.
"The ozone hole changes Southern Hemisphere summer rainfall and wind patterns, and we need to consider what that means for natural ecosystems, food security and human health" said Dr. Sharon Robinson, lead author of the Global Change Biology article.
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2014-12-01
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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.
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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 ...
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 ...
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.
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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.
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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 ...
2014-12-01
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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...
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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 ...
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[Press-News.org] Ozone depletion is a major climate driver in the southern hemisphere
