New findings provide quantitative criteria for classifying social organizations in human history, together with potential explanatory variables that can be empirically measured for anthropology, history, and archaeology, according to a study published September 3, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS Complex Systems by Kenji Itao and Kunihiko Kaneko from the University of Tokyo, Japan and Copenhagen University, Denmark (Kaneko) and the RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Japan (Itao). Human societies have experienced transitions between different types of organizations, including bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and kingdoms. However, quantitative characterizations of the types and mechanisms of ...

The more centrally connected someone is within their social media network, the more likely that new words they use will become adopted into mainstream language, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Complex Systems by Louise Tarrade of École Normale Supérieure, France, and colleagues. Language evolves within a social context and variations in a language are always in competition with each other. In everyday language, words are constantly being created, but not all these words persist. In the new study, researchers analyzed more than 650 million tweets written in French between 2012 and 2014 to identify ...

In US community efforts to prevent childhood obesity, women leaders with more experience and connections have the greatest impact. #### In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS Complex Systems: https://journals.plos.org/complexsystems/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcsy.0000004   Article Title: Determinants and facilitators of community coalition diffusion of prevention efforts Author Countries: United States Funding: TM, MP, and CE received funding from the ...

After four years, a guidebook for the future of autonomous trucking has driven across the finish line. In 2020, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) and 17 partners were awarded a $7.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a concept of operations. The final report, published in July, includes best practices for the implementation of automated driving systems (ADS) in large trucks and policy issues for fleets to consider across eight topic areas. “We’re excited that the Federal Motor Carrier ...

A patient dozes off in a dental chair despite the anxiety of an impending procedure. A seemingly unremarkable act but — for dentists versed in the latest sleep research — this red flag hints at a life-threatening condition. In a research review published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, Rutgers Health researchers identified dentists as an unexpected player in the battle against life-threatening sleep disorders. The review suggests dental professionals have unique opportunities to screen for conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder that affects millions of Americans and is linked to serious health risks, including cardiovascular ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $125 million in funding for two Energy Innovation Hub teams to provide the scientific foundation needed to seed and accelerate next generation technologies beyond today’s generation of lithium (Li)-ion batteries. These multi-institution research teams, led by Argonne National Laboratory and Stanford University, will develop scientific concepts and understanding to impact decarbonization of transportation and incorporation of clean energy into the electricity grid. Rechargeable batteries, such as Li-ion and lead-acid batteries, have had a ...

The University of Ottawa has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence (ORF-RE) to support the “Secure, Intelligent and Trustworthy Ecosystems for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles” (SITE-CAV) project. Led by Burak Kantarci,Full Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, uOttawa’s Faculty of Engineering, the project aims to accelerate the development and integration of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs – or vehicles equipped with sensors and decision-making software that drives and controls it without direct ...

Today the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the creation of two new Energy Innovation Hubs. One of the national hubs, the Energy Storage Research Alliance (ESRA), is led by DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory and co-led by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). ESRA (pronounced ez-ruh) brings together nearly 50 world-class researchers from three national laboratories and 12 universities to provide the scientific ...

Anyone who’s researched ways to lower their environmental impact has likely heard they should eat less meat, particularly beef. Even at scale, cows are an inefficient way to feed people — it takes nearly four tons of water to recoup one ton of beef, and many farming practices emit greenhouse gasses and pollutants. University of Pittsburgh researchers are the first to trace one of those pollutants, nitrogen, along the U.S. beef supply chain at the county level. They found high spatial disconnect between where ...

Virtual reality (VR) video games that combine screen time with exercise are a great way to get fit, but game designers face a major challenge – like with regular exercise, adherence to ‘exergames’ is low, with most users dropping out once they start to feel uncomfortable or bored. Computer scientists at the University of Bath believe they’ve found a solution: create exergames that use sensors to continuously measure a person’s emotional state while they exercise, then tweak the game – for instance, making ...

New research from Bayes Business School (formerly Cass) finds that being on the cutting edge of technology is not enough to ensure success in the market, and managers must strategically time launches to create a source of opportunity and credibility for the firm. The study, led by Dr Thomas Robinson, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Bayes, with Dr Ela Veresiu, Associate Professor of Marketing at Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, develops a framework for guiding organisations on the best situations for a product launch. The research identifies four timing situations that can confront marketing managers. Knowing ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A team of Mayo Clinic researchers has developed an innovative computational tool that analyzes the gut microbiome, a complex ecosystem of trillions of bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microorganisms within the digestive system, to provide insights into overall well-being. In a new study published in Nature Communications, the tool demonstrated at least 80% accuracy in differentiating healthy individuals from those with any disease. The tool was developed by analyzing ...

Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) researchers elucidate the role of PQBP3 in stabilizing the nuclear membrane and its relationship to senescence and neurodegeneration Tokyo, Japan – Aging is the prime cause of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. But what exactly increases the prevalence of these brain disorders as one grows older? The molecular forces linking aging, cellular senescence, and the onset of these neurodegenerative conditions ...

Despite what we’ve been led to believe, the timing of evening screen use, rather than the activity itself, negatively impacts youth sleep, a University of Otago study has found.   Current sleep guidelines recommend no screen use in the hour or two before bed. However, the researchers found screen time in the two hours before bed had little impact on youth sleep, it was screen time once in bed that caused problems.   Lead author Dr Bradley Brosnan, of the Edgar Diabetes and Obesity Research Centre, says screen time is a mainstay in adolescents’ bedtime routines, and sleep guidelines need to be revaluated to better reflect modern life.   Published in JAMA Pediatrics, ...

Dr. Sadegh Torabi, Assistant Professor, Information Sciences and Technology, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), and Research Fellow at the Center for Secure Information Systems (CSIS), is set to receive funding for the project: “Collaborative Research: CISE MSI: RPEP: OAC: Macroscopic and Microscopic Inference and Analysis of Vulnerabilities within EV Charging-Management Systems.”  Via this project, Dr. Torabi and his partners will establish a collaborative ecosystem among academia, industry, and the public sector to bolster the resilience of the EV Charging Infrastructure (CI). The critical nature of EV CI has made them targets for malicious attacks, often state-sponsored, ...

Analyzing and simulating fluid flow is a challenging mathematical problem that impacts various scenarios, including video game engines, ocean current modeling and hurricane forecasting. The core of this challenge lies in solving the Navier–Stokes equations, a set of classical equations that describe fluid dynamics. Recently, deep learning has emerged as a powerful tool to accelerate equation solving. Using this technique, a team designed a novel approach that can provide accurate solutions 1,000 times faster than traditional equation solvers. The team’s study was published June 26 in Intelligent ...

Eating any amount of fish during pregnancy was associated with about a 20% lower likelihood of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis, particularly in females, and a slight reduction in autism-related traits in offspring, according to a new study funded by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program at the National Institutes of Health. However, researchers did not find the same association with supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids. Fish is an important source of omega-3 fatty acids, an essential nutrient during pregnancy for supporting maternal health and child neurodevelopment. A recent analysis of ECHO Cohort data revealed that about ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Leaders at three Michigan hospitals aiming to address equity issues for pediatric patients wanted to start with inspecting data key to identifying potential inequities. What they learned: much of those data are inaccurate. A study from the Michigan Child Health Equity Collaborative, or Mi-CHEC, found substantial errors across the three health systems in racial and ethnic designations in their electronic medical records. Accuracy of these designations are important to clinical care improvement ...

PHILADELPHIA— Taking the weight loss medication semaglutide did not increase the risk of depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts, or suicidal behavior in persons without known major mental health disorders, according to a new study led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine. Both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency are actively monitoring the psychiatric safety of semaglutide and similar medications after post marketing surveillance reports of depression, suicidal thoughts (ideation), ...

About The Study: This cohort study, including mostly patients with type 2 diabetes, does not show an association between use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and an increased risk of suicide death, self-harm, or incident depression and anxiety-related disorders. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Peter Ueda, MD, PhD, email peter.ueda@ki.se. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.4369) Editor’s ...

About The Study: The results of this post hoc analysis suggest that treatment with semaglutide, 2.4 mg, did not increase the risk of developing symptoms of depression or suicidal ideation/behavior vs placebo and was associated with a small but statistically significant reduction in depressive symptoms (not considered clinically meaningful). People with obesity should be monitored for mental health concerns so they can receive appropriate support and care.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Thomas A. Wadden, PhD, email wadden@pennmedicine.upenn.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.4346) Editor’s ...

Large study included 47,307 well-child visits at 30 clinics in Michigan and Colorado Almost 50% of clinicians receiving a prompt plus added support delivered a secure firearm storage program during well visits versus just 22% of doctors receiving prompt only Firearm-related injuries are the leading cause of death for young people in the U.S.  ‘We can save lives’ with a brief program to support parents in secure storage CHICAGO --- If it takes a pediatrician less than one minute per visit to talk to parents about how to securely store their firearms and offer a free cable lock, why do only 2% of doctors report routinely doing so? Turns out, they ...

There has been concern that common diabetes drugs could increase the risk of suicide and self-harm. In a new study, led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in Jama Internal Medicine, no such risk increase was observed. Drugs of the type GLP-1 analogues lower blood sugar levels and are used by millions of people worldwide. They are mainly used to treat diabetes, but drugs such as Ozempic have also been shown to be effective against obesity, which has increased their popularity. At the same time, both American and European drug authorities have warned that there may be risks associated with ...

An invasive, freshwater jellyfish is popping up in B.C. waters in the thousands and future sightings could increase rapidly, according to UBC research. The peach blossom jellyfish clones have been spotted in 34 places in B.C., its furthest northern range in North America, and a recent paper predicts sightings and the number of locations will increase by the end of the decade as climate change extends this range. Dr. Florian Lüskow, who completed the research during his postdoctoral fellowship ...

A new study using 10 years of data has provided the most comprehensive estimate of infertility rates to date in a threatened wild animal population Researchers from the University of Sheffield found infertility accounts for 17 per cent  of hatching failure in an endangered songbird, the hihi, with the majority of hatching failure being caused by embryo death This is the first study to find a link between small population size, sex ratio bias, and reduced fertilisation rates in wild animals By considering the impacts of population size and sex ratio on fertility, conservationists can better manage the numbers and composition of animals in populations ...