Despite being a renewable energy source, the use of biofuel is controversial, as growing few, highly productive crops for fuel can lead to biodiversity loss in the cropping systems where biomass is produced. A cropping system refers to the crops, their sequence, and the management practices on a given field. Now, researchers in the US have compared ant communities in different types of bioenergy cropping systems to better understand how these systems shape biotic communities and their functions. The results were published in Frontiers ...

The global consumption of pharmaceuticals is growing rapidly every year, reaching 4 billion doses in 2020. As more and more pharmaceuticals are metabolized by the human body and enter sewage and wastewater treatment plants, the amount and types of trace substances found in them are also increasing. When these trace substances enter rivers and oceans and are used as water sources, they can have harmful effects on the environment and human health, including carcinogenesis and endocrine disruption. Therefore, technologies are needed to quickly ...

If the world is warming, why are our winters getting colder? Indeed, East Asia and North America have experienced frequent extreme weather events since the 2000s that defy average climate change projections. Many experts have blamed Arctic warming and a weakening jet stream due to declining Arctic sea ice, but climate model experiments have not adequately demonstrated their validity. The massive power outage in Texas in February 2021 was caused by an unusual cold snap, and climate models are needed to accurately predict the risk of extreme weather events in order to prevent massive socioeconomic damage. In particular, climate technology leaders have ...

High-power, high-energy ultrafast fiber lasers are indispensable tools in various fields, from basic and applied science research to industrial processing. However, due to thermal effects, nonlinear effects, there is always a limit to the power/energy expansion of a single fiber laser amplifier. Coherent Beam Combination (CBC) technology is an effective strategy to break through the limits of a single fiber laser amplifier and further achieve power/energy scaling. Under the conditions of mutual coherence and stable phase relationship, multiple laser beams can be superimposed and mutually interfere with each other. This approach allows for an ...

In standard cosmological models, the formation of cosmological structures begins with the emergence of small structures, which subsequently undergo hierarchical merging, leading to the formation of larger systems. As the Universe ages, massive galaxy groups and clusters, being the largest systems, tend to increase in mass and reach a more dynamically relaxed state. The motions of satellite galaxies around these groups and clusters provide valuable insights into their assembly status. The observations of such motion offer crucial clues about the age of the Universe. By using public data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), a research team led by Prof. GUO ...

Super-resolution (SR) fluorescence microscopy, through the use of fluorescent probes and specific excitation and emission procedures, surpasses the diffraction limit of resolution (200~300 nm) that was once a barrier. Most SR techniques are heavily reliant on image calculations and processing to retrieve SR information. However, factors such as fluorophores photophysics, sample's chemical environment, and optical setup situations can cause noise and distortions in raw images, potentially impacting the final ...

Integral imaging (II) display is one of the most promising near-eye displays (NEDs) due to its compact volume, full parallax, convenient full-color display, and, more importantly, true-3D and more realistic depth perception from eliminating the vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC). However, II displays based on the conventional optical architecture, such as microlens arrays, are limited in resolution, field of view, depth of field, etc. As micro-displays have increasingly higher pixel densities, conventional optical architecture is inadequate in ...

A UC San Francisco-led study has for the first time identified genetic variants that predict whether patients will respond to treatment for preterm birth, a condition that affects one in 10 infants born in the United States.  The findings are critical because no medication is available in the U.S. to treat preterm birth.  Last year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pulled the only approved therapy to help prevent this condition, a synthetic form of progesterone sold under the brand name Makena, from the market, citing ineffectiveness.  The new research found that pregnant individuals with high levels of mutations in certain genes ...

People suffering from Long COVID or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis /Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) could benefit from a coordinated treatment strategy, a new University of Otago study has found. The pilot study, published in Scientific Reports, a Nature journal, has confirmed what researchers have suspected for some time: the two conditions are closely related. Lead author Emeritus Professor Warren Tate says the research - the first comparative molecular study of the immune cell proteins of both conditions - “strongly affirms” the link between the two. “This means information from study of the pathophysiology ...

Now in its third year of operation, Direct to Open (D2O) is proud to announce that it has reached its full funding goal in 2024 and will open access to 79 new monographs and edited book collections this year. What makes this year noteworthy is that this is the first year in which D2O has been fully funded by its November 30 deadline and will not require an extension through the end of the fiscal year.   “Reaching our overall funding goal – in full and on time – is a major milestone in developing a sustainable open ...

Attending an NHS Health Check appointment — a preventative screening programme offered for free in the UK — is associated with both a decreased risk of dying and a decreased risk of several diseases, including dementia and liver cirrhosis. The results, published in BMC Medicine, suggest that the NHS Health Check and other similar preventative programmes can be effective at reducing a population’s overall risk of long-term disease. The NHS Health Check is a preventative screening programme designed to identify individuals at risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease. Healthy ...

Knocking back energy drinks is linked to poor quality sleep and insomnia among college students, finds a large Norwegian study published in the open access journal BMJ Open. And the higher the frequency of consumption, the fewer hours of nightly shut eye the students clocked up. But even just the occasional can—1-3 times a month—is linked to a heightened risk of disturbed sleep, the findings indicate. Energy drinks contain an average caffeine content of 150 mg per litre as well as sugar, vitamins, minerals and amino acids in varying quantities, note the researchers. Marketed as mental and physical pick-me-ups, ...

Men with inflammatory joint disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, are less likely to be childless and have more children than their healthy peers, suggests research published online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. As yet unknown factors associated with developing the disease and/or its treatment might influence fertility, suggest the researchers.  Autoimmune diseases are on the rise in the West, and impaired fertility has been reported in Norwegian women with inflammatory joint diseases. But only a few studies looking at the potential impact on men’s fertility have ...

The fastest and highest growth in the prevalence of childhood obesity in England has been among 11-15 year olds, rising from 30% in 1995 to 38% in 2019, finds a detailed analysis of national data, published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.   But the inequality gap in rates has deepened, driven primarily by differences in deprivation, gender, family structure, ethnicity and parental education, the analysis reveals. And the current cost of living crisis is set to aggravate these disparities, putting even more disadvantaged children at risk, warn the study authors. England is projected to have the highest prevalence of obesity in ...

TORONTO – An international research team led by Krembil Brain Institute Neurologist and Senior Scientist, Dr. Anthony Lang, has proposed a new model for classifying Parkinson’s disease (PD). In recent decades, researchers have uncovered several biological factors that underlie PD. Key factors include a build up of the protein α-synuclein in the brain, which leads to neuron degeneration, and genetic factors that increase one’s risk of developing the disease. They have also begun to develop reliable methods to test for these factors, called biomarkers, in living patients. Despite these advancements, ...

A team of international researchers, led by UC San Francisco, has completed the first large-scale study of posterior cortical atrophy, a baffling constellation of visuospatial symptoms that present as the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. These symptoms occur in up to 10% of cases of Alzheimer’s disease. The study includes data from more than 1,000 patients at 36 sites in 16 countries. It publishes in the Lancet Neurology on Jan. 22, 2024.  Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) overwhelmingly ...

The importance of moth caterpillars for common garden birds has been revealed in a new study. Researchers found that years when moth numbers were up resulted in increased population growth for the blue tit. The results, derived from 23 years worth of bird and insect population data, are published today (Tuesday, 23 January) in Ecology Letters. Dr Luke Evans, of the University of Reading, led the research. He said: "Insect abundance directly impacts songbird numbers from year to year. When moth caterpillars are large in number, blue tit parents can easily find food for their demanding chicks. When moth numbers crash it gets much harder for birds to find enough insects and raise ...

MADISON, WI.-- Cleft lip and palate are the most common craniofacial birth defects in humans, affecting more than 175,000 newborns around the world each year. Yet despite decades of research, it’s still not known what causes most cases or what can be done to prevent them. But a recent study from the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) has uncovered new information about orofacial development in mice that researchers believe could one day help reduce the risk of these birth defects in humans. Published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ...

Critical Path Institute’s (C-Path) Translational Therapeutics Accelerator (TRxA) today announced its 2024 global Request for Proposals for its Breakthrough Research and Innovation in Drug Development Grants, also known as BRIDGe. These BRIDGe awards are designed to support academic researchers in traversing the drug development valley of death by providing funding and defining optimal strategies for advancing new, cutting-edge therapeutics from the lab to patients. Maaike Everts, Ph.D., Executive Director of C-Path’s TRxA, expressed her enthusiasm for this next cycle of awards, stating, “The impactful ...

AUSTIN, Texas — More than half of all melanoma diagnoses among white Americans may be overdiagnosed, according to a new study led by a researcher at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. “Cases of cutaneous melanoma have risen significantly in the U.S. over the last 40 years, without an equivalent rise in mortality— which points to overdiagnosis,” said Ade Adamson, M.D., M.P.P., lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Dell Med. “Overdiagnosis happens when a melanoma is diagnosed that is actually harmless. That means the patient ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 22 January 2024   Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet    @Annalsofim   Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent.   ----------------------------   1. Older adults spend 3 weeks each year receiving ...

The study evaluated recent trends in primary care physicians’ (PCPs) electronic health record (EHR) workload. Prior to and early in the COVID-19 pandemic, PCPs spent more time in the EHR and received more messages than physicians in other specialties, but it is unclear if the pandemic further accelerated the growth of PCPs’ EHR workload. Researchers observed EHR usage of 141 academic PCPs practicing family medicine, internal medicine, and general pediatrics within the University of Wisconsin-Madison health system, which cares for nearly 300,000 primary care patients per year. This longitudinal study compared the amount of time participating ...

This study explored the perspectives of Black birthing people on how better communication with care teams may have improved their birth experiences. Researchers interviewed 30 non-Hispanic Black, English-language–proficient, low-income birthing people in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area, all of whom were insured by Medicaid. All gave birth to preterm infants before 34 weeks gestation, or before 36 weeks gestation to birthing people with a modifiable risk factor such as high blood pressure. The interviews uncovered three main themes regarding the quality of communication with their care teams and the effect on their experiences: ...

Precarious employment, defined by temporary contracts, unstable employment, or job insecurity, is increasingly common and is associated with inconsistent access to health insurance, lower incomes, and greater exposure to physical hazards and psychological stress. A team of researchers in Toronto, Canada, created and tested a new three-question screening tool to help primary care clinics identify these patients. The screener included the following three questions: 1) non-standard employment (Are you currently employed in a casual, short-term, or temporary position?); 2) violations of occupational health ...

This study considers the perspectives of primary care physicians (PCPs) and urologists on what facilitates and what creates barriers to active surveillance (AS) care for men with low-risk prostate cancer. Researchers conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 19 PCPs (9 female, 4 in community practices, 15 in academic medical centers) and 15 urologists (3 female, 5 in private practice, 3 in academic medical centers) between June 2020 and March 2021. Their goal was to assess interviewees’ knowledge of AS, what factors they felt influence adherence to follow-up ...