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

The extent of toxin accumulation in birds off the coast of Canada

2015-05-19
(Press-News.org) Toxins known as perfluoroalkyl substances have become virtually ubiquitous throughout the environment, and various national and international voluntary phase-outs and restrictions on these compounds have been implemented over the last 10 to 15 years.

Investigators who examined trends in the accumulation of these toxins in the eggs of four species of aquatic birds from the Pacific coast of Canada from the early 1990s to 2011 report that the concentrations of some of these compounds are decreasing in line with manufacturing phase-outs, while others continue to increase in the oceanic environment. Concentrations of different perfluoroalkyl substances also varied between offshore and coastal species of birds. The findings are published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Anti-smoking commercials burn out over time

2015-05-19
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (May 18,2015) -- The massive, federally funded anti-smoking campaign "Tips From Former Smokers" -- "Tips" for short -- fizzled more than it popped. That's the conclusion behind research published this week in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine by San Diego State University public health researcher John W. Ayers, along with a team of investigators at the Santa Fe Institute and University of Illinois Chicago. In the new study the team was able to look at the first two years of the campaign for the first time by monitoring the nation's internet ...

Computer-assisted sedation reduces patient recovery time by almost 20 percent

2015-05-19
Washington, DC (May 19, 2015) -- Use of computer-assisted propofol sedation for routine upper endoscopy and colonoscopy reduced recovery room time by almost 20 percent, according to a study (abstract 1054) released today at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2015. The study, conducted by researchers at Virginia Mason Medical (VMMC) Center, Seattle, WA, showed the process yielded a better recovery experience than the commonly used combination of midazolam and fentanyl. "Some patients do not respond well to sedation with midazolam and fentanyl, and others find that these ...

Giant panda gut bacteria can't efficiently digest bamboo

2015-05-19
WASHINGTON, DC -- May 19, 2015 -- It's no wonder that giant pandas are always chewing and eating, say Chinese researchers: their gut bacteria are not the type for efficiently digesting bamboo. The bamboo-eating giant panda actually harbors a carnivore-like gut microbiota predominated by bacteria such as Escherichia/Shigella and Streptococcus, according to new research published this week in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. "Unlike other plant-eating animals that have successfully evolved, anatomically specialized digestive ...

Awe may promote altruistic behavior

2015-05-19
WASHINGTON - Inducing a sense of awe in people can promote altruistic, helpful and positive social behavior according to research published by the American Psychological Association. "Our investigation indicates that awe, although often fleeting and hard to describe, serves a vital social function. By diminishing the emphasis on the individual self, awe may encourage people to forgo strict self-interest to improve the welfare of others," said Paul Piff, PhD, assistant professor of psychology and social behavior at the University of California, Irvine. He was lead author ...

EuroPCR 2015: TAVI, safe and effective as surgical valves at 2 years in lower risk patients

2015-05-19
(PARIS, FRANCE) -- Two year outcomes in a study comparing implantation of transcatheter and surgical bioprosthestic aortic valves shows that the less invasive procedure is safe and effective, and comparable to the gold standard, surgical valve replacement, in patients whose operational risk was lower than that of patients studied in the pivotal randomized trials for these new devices. Dr. Lars Søndergaard from the Heart Center, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark presented the results of the Nordic Aortic Valve Intervention (NOTION) trial here ...

HIV reservoirs remain obstacles to cure

2015-05-19
WHAT: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has proven lifesaving for people infected with HIV; however, the medications are a lifelong necessity for most HIV-infected individuals and present practical, logistical, economic and health-related challenges. A primary research goal is to find an HIV cure that either clears the virus from an infected person's body or enables HIV-infected individuals to suppress virus levels and replication to extremely low levels without the need for daily ART. In a new perspective article, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) ...

Apremilast in plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: No added benefit can be derived

2015-05-19
Apremilast (trade name: Otezla) has been available since January 2015 for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis or active psoriatic arthritis in adult patients in whom certain pretreatments are not sufficiently effective or unsuitable. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined in two dossier assessments whether this drug offers an added benefit over the respective appropriate comparator therapy. Such an added benefit cannot be derived from any of the dossiers however, because they contain no relevant data. Manufacturer ...

New action plan to save world's rarest primate

2015-05-19
An international team of more than 100 scientists, policy makers and community representatives, led by international conservation charity the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), today published a new report outlining the vital steps needed to save the Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) from extinction. With only 25 individuals remaining in less than 20 square kilometres of forest in China's Hainan Island, the Critically Endangered Hainan gibbon is one of the rarest animals in the world. The last surviving Hainan gibbon population contains only three social groups, in ...

Stress levels linked to risk of liver disease death, study shows

2015-05-19
Suffering from anxiety or depression could carry an increased risk of death from liver disease, a study suggests. The study is the first to identify a possible link between high levels of psychological distress and deaths resulting from a variety of liver diseases. Reasons for this are unclear as the biological links between psychological distress and liver disease are not well understood, researchers say. Previous research suggests mental distress can put people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. At the same time, risk factors for cardiovascular disease ...

EuroPCR 2015: Advances in mechanical thrombectomy warrant call to action in acute stroke

2015-05-19
(PARIS, FRANCE) -- Experts speaking at EuroPCR 2015 say the explosion of positive results for new-generation endovascular devices for the treatment of acute stroke warrant a call to action to ensure swifter implementation of this technology. Known as "stent-retrievers," mechanical thrombectomy devices use catheters introduced into a blocked cerebral artery to suck out or lyse a clot that is cutting off circulation to part of the brain. On Tuesday, EuroPCR 2015 featured a special breaking news session devoted to this rapidly evolving field to review the recent evidence ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Researchers advance understanding of female sexual anatomy to improve pelvic cancer radiotherapy

MLEDGE project proves federated learning can support real-world AI services

Lab-grown organoids reveal how glioblastoma outsmarts treatment

Insights from brain’s waste-flushing system may improve diagnosis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension

Tornado-forecast system can increase warning lead times, study finds

Dario Fiore receives ERC Proof of Concept to develop the VERIFHE Project

Broadband ultrasonic imaging shows defects in all types of concrete

Discovery challenges long-held beliefs on early human technology in East Asia

Medicaid expansion and overall mortality among women with breast cancer

Acupuncture for migraine without aura and connection-based efficacy prediction

Liverpool scientists discover graphene’s electronic properties in 3D material in boost for green computing

Xigou site discovery challenges long-held views on early human technology in East Asia

Tiny gold spheres could improve solar energy harvesting

A rich social environment is associated with better cognitive health outcomes for older adults, study finds

Electroencephalography enables continuous decoding of hand motion angles in polar coordinates

Call for pitches: Contribute to JMIR's News & Perspectives section

This flower evolved a new shape so that different birds could pollinate it. Then, it spread.

Scientists engineer unsinkable metal tubes

Used EVs currently offer car buyers lowest lifetime cost of ownership

Wild blueberries: New review explores benefits for heart, metabolism and the microbiome

New white paper on rebuilding trust at work amid AI-driven change and burnout published by University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies

How to motivate collective action on climate

Healing Hearts, Changing Minds awards $566,260 to seven projects to advance psychedelic-assisted end-of-life care

A novel rolling driving principle-enabled linear actuator for bidirectional smooth motion

Prognostic nutritional index predicts outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma treated with atezolizumab and bevacizumab

Mountain snow and water forecasting tool developed by WSU researchers

Training the next generation of translational virologists: Reflections from the 2025 Global Virus Network Short Course

Should companies replace human workers with robots? New study takes a closer look

New study proposes global framework to safeguard world’s most vulnerable regions amid climate crisis

Interventions that promote collective climate action

[Press-News.org] The extent of toxin accumulation in birds off the coast of Canada