Opening a clamshell of berries and seeing them coated in fuzzy mold is a downer. And it’s no small problem. Gray mold and other fungi, which cause fruit to rot, lead to significant economic losses and food waste. Now, researchers report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that compounds from sunflower crop waste prevented rotting in blueberries. They suggest the food industry could use these natural compounds to protect against postharvest diseases. Sunflowers are cultivated around the world for their seeds and oil, but the flower stems — known as receptacles — are generally considered to be a waste product. Noting that this crop is particularly ...

The Global Coalition for Adaptive Research (GCAR) in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC, on behalf of the REMAP-CAP Investigator Network, announce clinical trial results examining the use of vitamin C and simvastatin to treat severely ill patients with COVID-19. Published today in JAMA and NEJM, and presented at the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine in Milan, the studies are part of the ongoing Randomized Embedded Multifactorial Adaptive Platform for Community Acquired Pneumonia (REMAP-CAP) trial. Simvastatin, a widely available and inexpensive drug that is included on the WHO list of essential medicines, ...

About The Study: In hospitalized patients with COVID-19, vitamin C had low probability of improving the primary composite outcome of organ support–free days and hospital survival in two harmonized randomized clinical trials.  Authors: Neill K. J. Adhikari, M.D.C.M., M.Sc., of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, and Francois Lamontagne, M.D., M.Sc., of the Universite de Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Canada, are the corresponding authors. To access the embargoed study: ...

About The Study: In a randomized clinical trial including 524 trauma patients receiving mechanical ventilation with risk factors for developing acute respiratory distress syndrome, the addition of sigh breaths did not significantly increase ventilator-free days. Prespecified secondary outcome data suggest that sighs are well-tolerated and may improve clinical outcomes.  Authors: Richard K. Albert, M.D., of the University of Colorado, Denver, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2023.21739) Editor’s Note: Please see the ...

About The Study: The results of this randomized clinical trial involving 126 patients do not support the use of the very short-acting beta-blocker landiolol for managing patients with tachycardia treated with norepinephrine for established septic shock.  Authors: Tony Whitehouse, M.D., of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, United Kingdom, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2023.20134) Editor’s Note: Please ...

This is the conclusion of a multicentre study conducted by the University Hospital of Liège (CHU of Liège) in collaboration with 17 hospital intensive care departments in Belgium during the Covid-19 phases between October 2020 and March 2022. This is the first study to look specifically at the effect of administering convalescent plasma to these patients whose vital prognosis is severely compromised. It confirms the value of this method for inducing passive immunisation in these patients. The results are published in the leading medical journal The New England Journal of Medicine. In a study published in The New ...

Learning how to shoot a handgun at a Las Vegas gun convention had never been on Jennifer Hubbert’s bucket list. But last fall, the professor of anthropology and Asian studies found herself doing just that. “Given my research, it felt like something I needed to do,” she says. Hubbert is currently exploring a novel question regarding gun culture in the United States: “What does it mean to be a liberal gun owner?” The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has recently awarded Hubbert with a grant to support her research and book project: Gun Culture 4.0: Understanding the New Demographics of ...

CLEVELAND, OH—The Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence at Case Western Reserve University will award Dr. Anthony Fauci, a physician, immunologist, and infectious disease expert, with the 2024 Inamori Ethics Prize. “Dr. Fauci has cared not only for the nation’s health, but also the health of the world,” said Case Western Reserve President Eric W. Kaler. “As a scientist, research leader and public health advisor, his contributions to scientific discovery have truly improved lives. His leadership through one of the most challenging times in history—the COVID-19 pandemic—serves ...

Pork production is a societal concern on several fronts: antibiotics use, infectious disease, poor animal welfare and climate and environmental pressures. Even though the beef, coffee and chocolate industries are each major climate culprits, the world's total consumption of pork emits hundreds of millions of tons of CO2 every year. But are you willing to fork over extra cash for a more climate-friendly pork roast? Or, are there other considerations that would increase your willingness to pay more? And if so, how much of a premium would you be willing to pay? Researchers from the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Food and Resource Economics investigated ...

Studying the brain remains one of the most challenging endeavors in neuroscience. Researchers have explored various methods for live imaging and stimulation of deep brain activity. One such method is multiphoton excitation using pulsed infrared (IR) light. This type of light is weakly absorbed by tissues and can penetrate through the bone and deep into organs like the brain. However, it has its limitations to produce focused images and to control cellular activity with precision. To overcome this, scientists have been exploring three-photon excitation with ultrafast pulsed IR light, to achieve ...

New research from King’s College London has found that in the UK people with severe mental illness were at increased risk of death from all causes following COVID-19 infection compared to those without severe mental illness. Published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, the study investigated the extent to which having severe mental illness, which includes schizophrenia and psychosis, increased the risk of death during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) and ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health analysed data from over 660,000 ...

This significant lack of expertise means firms are not fully embracing the automation revolution, costing businesses valuable time and money. Intelligent Automation: Bridging the Gap between Business and Academia delves into how companies and universities can use intelligent automation to address the challenges preventing the workforce from prospering amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution.   (NEW YORK – October 16, 2023) The economic benefits of intelligent automation are vast, potentially totaling trillions of dollars in economic growth, according to research in a new book. Businesses and organizations ...

Research has shown that music might be a drug-free way to lower humans’ pain perception. This decreased sensitivity to pain – also known as hypoalgesia – can occur when pain stimuli are disrupted between their point of input and where they are recognized as pain by the conscious mind. In a new study, researchers in Canada have examined what type of music helps to dampen pain perception. “In our study, we show that favorite music chosen by study participants has a much larger effect on acute thermal pain reduction than unfamiliar relaxing music” said Darius Valevicius, a doctoral student at the Université ...

Osaka, Japan – Everybody knows the importance of warming up your muscles before a workout. But what is actually going on when we warm our muscles up, and are all muscles the same? You might be surprised to find out that the science behind this routine activity hasn’t always been clear. Now, in a study recently published in the Journal of General Physiology, a multi-institutional research team, led by Osaka University, The Jikei University School of Medicine and National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, has revealed how heating affects the contraction of different muscles, and how this might benefit populations in need of improved ...

Drs. SuDong Park, Byungki Ryu, and Jaywan Chung of the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) developed a new thermoelectric efficiency formalism and a high-efficiency multistage thermoelectric power generator module. This innovation can boost nuclear battery performance, crucial for space probes, and has attracted attention from the German Aerospace Research Institute. A Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG), known as a thermoelectric-based nuclear battery, is a dependable power ...

By Katharine Gammon    For many people, forgetting your keys or struggling to plan tasks can seem like a normal part of the aging process. But those lapses can actually be symptoms of something more serious: mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, which could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease.   Unfortunately, most people who have MCI don’t know it, so they’re unable to take advantage of preventive measures or new treatments, such as a recently approved drug for Alzheimer’s disease, that ...

GigXR, Inc., a global provider of holographic healthcare training, announced today its partnership with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), one of the world’s leading medical schools, to introduce a new gastrointestinal module for the award-winning HoloScenarios application. Created to better prepare medical and nursing students in diagnosing and treating acute gastrointestinal diseases, HoloScenarios: Gastrointestinal delivers evidence-based, robust clinical simulations that present hyperrealistic holographic simulated patients and medical equipment to be used in any physical learning environment, ...

Cancer Leadership Sylvester Leader Named BioFlorida’s ‘Researcher of Year’ Stephen D. Nimer, MD, Sylvester Cancer director, has been named Researcher of the Year by BioFlorida, an association for the state’s life sciences industry. BioFlorida represents 8,600 companies and research organizations in biopharmaceuticals, medical technology, digital and health systems. It honored Nimer for his groundbreaking research in adult leukemia which has contributed to transforming patient care. For details, visit the InventUM blog. Pioneering Sylvester Physician Elected to Neuro-Oncology Board Macarena de la Fuente, ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Physicist Barry C. Barish, a distinguished professor of physics and astronomy at UC Riverside, was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Joe Biden at a ceremony held at the White House today. Established in 1959 by the U.S. Congress, the National Medal of Science is the highest recognition the nation can bestow on scientists and engineers. The President’s National Medal of Science is given to individuals “deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions in biology, computer sciences, education sciences, engineering, geosciences, mathematical and physical sciences, and social, behavioral, and economic ...

Clocking up just 20-25 minutes of physical activity every day may be enough to offset the heightened risk of death from a highly sedentary lifestyle, suggests research published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. But higher daily tallies of physical activity are linked to a lower risk, irrespective of the amount of time spent seated every day, the findings show. In developed nations, adults spend an average of 9 to 10 hours every day sitting down—mostly during working hours. And a highly sedentary lifestyle is associated with a heightened risk of death, explain the researchers. Much of the ...

Extending the annual screen by a year for people in England considered to be at low risk of diabetic eye disease (diabetic retinopathy) could risk critical treatment delays and/or sight loss, suggests a large, real world data study, published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. Early treatment is vital to stave off blindness, say the researchers. A 2-yearly screen delayed hospital referral by 12 months among around half of those who developed serious diabetic eye disease, with those at either end of the age spectrum and of Black ethnicity most at risk, the findings indicate. A review and update of ...

Tai Chi, the Chinese martial art that involves sequences of very slow controlled movements, may curb the symptoms and complications of Parkinson’s disease for several years, reveals research, published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. Its practice was associated with slower disease progression and lower doses of required drugs over time, the findings show. Parkinson’s disease is a debilitating and progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterised by slowness of movement, resting tremor, and stiff and inflexible muscles. It is the fastest growing neurological ...

The findings of a foundational UK public dialogue on human embryo research are published today, Wednesday 25th October 2023, as part of the Wellcome-funded Human Developmental Biology Initiative (HDBI). The HDBI is an ambitious scientific endeavour to advance our understanding of human development. The dialogue project, which was co-funded by UKRI Sciencewise programme, engaged a diverse group of the public to consider how early human embryo research can be used to its fullest, the 14-day rule and the fast-paced field of stem cell-based embryo models. Headline findings include: Appetite for review of the 14-day rule: Participants recognised that extending the 14-day rule could open ...

NEW ORLEANS, La.— Ochsner Health radiologist Edward Bluth, MD, FACR, was recently awarded the 2023 Lawrence A. Mack Lifetime Achievement Award in Washington D.C. by the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound (SRU) for outstanding achievement in ultrasound research. The Lawrence A. Mack Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest annual award given to a SRU member. The SRU, comprised of radiologists with expertise in ultrasound, works towards advancing science, practice and teaching of the specialty of ultrasound to ensure the professional fulfillment of radiologists performing ultrasound ...

URBANA, Ill. — President Joe Biden announced Monday that the Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing Hub (iFAB) is among 31 designated Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs (Tech Hubs) by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) — recognizing Central Illinois as a globally competitive center for innovation and job creation in biomanufacturing. Led by the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the iFAB consortium includes 30 partner organizations ...