a Photocatalytic biomass conversion is an ideal way of generating syngas (H2 and CO) via C-C bond cleavage, which is initiated by hydrogen abstraction of O/C-H bond. However, the lack of efficient electron-proton transfer limits its efficiency. Conversional gasification of biomass into syngas needs to be operated at high temperature (400-700 °C). Recently, a group led by Prof. WANG Feng from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with Prof. WANG Min from Dalian University of Technology, proposed a new method to realize photocatalytic conversion of biopolyols to syngas at room temperature with high efficiency. This study was published in Journal of the American Chemical ...

The Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) has announced the development of a fully-automated peak-picking method for cable monitoring. The developed method will improve reliability of the method. Such as Incheon Bridge in South Korea, Cable-stayed bridges have received significant attention as efficient structural systems worldwide. In this regard, newly developed cable monitoring systems have become an essential and efficient maintenance approach for cable-stayed bridges. As structural integrity for stay-cables, tension force and damping ratio have been widely utilized as efficient metrics. A research team in KICT, led by Dr. Seung-Seop Jin, has developed a fully-automated peak-picking ...

Moderate alcohol intake--defined as no more than one alcoholic drink for women and two for men per day--has been associated with a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease when compared with individuals who abstain from drinking or partake in excessive drinking, according to a new study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. It's also the first study to show that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol may be heart protective, in part, by reducing stress-related brain signals based on a subset of patients who underwent brain imaging. "We found that stress-related activity in the brain was higher in non-drinkers ...

Nearly 1 in 5 adults with high blood pressure, a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke, also take a medicine that could be elevating their blood pressure, according to new research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. The results underscore the need for patients to routinely review all of the medications they take with their care team, including those available over the counter, to make sure none could be interfering with blood pressure lowering efforts. Which are the most likely culprits? Based on the study findings, the three most common classes of medications were antidepressants; nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that include ibuprofen and naproxen; and oral ...

Among younger adults visiting the emergency department for chest pain, women may be getting the short end of the stick. Compared with men of similar age, women were triaged less urgently, waited longer to be seen, and were less likely to undergo basic tests or be hospitalized or admitted for observation to diagnose a heart attack, according to new research being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. The study is the first to examine emergency room management of chest pain specifically among younger adults (age 18-55 years). Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women and is becoming more common in younger adults. About one-third of women who were hospitalized ...

Young and middle-aged adults who reported severe psychological distress--such as depression or anxiety--after suffering a heart attack were more than twice as likely to suffer a second cardiac event within five years compared with those experiencing only mild distress, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. The study is the first to comprehensively assess how mental health influences the outlook for younger heart attack survivors, according to the researchers. The researchers also tracked ...

Social factors such as education, financial stability, food security and the neighborhood where someone resides were strongly correlated with whether or not individuals with heart disease adopted measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including wearing masks and working from home, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. The researchers say the findings draw attention to longstanding challenges related to social determinants of health. "Unless we look at COVID-19 through the lens of social determinants of health, we may not optimize our yield from interventions, and we might not be reaching ...

Middle Triassic ichthyosaurs are rare, and mostly small in size. The new Besanosaurus specimens described in the peer-reviewed journal PeerJ - the Journal of Life and Environmental Sciences - by Italian, Swiss, Dutch and Polish paleontologists provide new information on the anatomy of this fish-like ancient reptile, revealing its diet and exceptionally large adult size: up to 8 meters, a real record among all marine predators of this geological epoch. In fact, Besanosaurus is the earliest large-sized marine diapsid - the group to which lizards, snakes, crocodiles, and their extinct cousins belong to - with a long and narrow snout. Besanosaurus leptorhynchus was originally discovered near Besano (Italy) three decades ago, during systematic excavations led by the Natural ...

LUGANO, 6 May, 2021- Researchers have discovered a novel biomarker to identify male COVID-19 patients most at risk for ICU admission. The findings presented today at EADV's 2021 Spring Symposium, suggest that men with genetic characteristics (phenotypes) sensitive to the male sex hormone androgen, are more likely to experience severe COVID-19 disease. Researchers were driven to study the association between the androgen receptor (AR) gene and COVID-19, after observing the disproportionate number of men hospitalised with COVID-19 presenting with androgenetic alopecia (a common form of hair-loss) compared to the expected number in a similar age-matched population (79% vs. 31-53%). Androgenetic alopecia is known to be controlled by variations ...

LUGANO, 6 May, 2021- New research investigating for the first time the effects of modified intermittent fasting (MIF) on the skin of people with psoriasis has yielded promising results. Preliminary study findings presented today at the EADV Spring Symposium, show a significant reduction in scaling and thickness in patients with mild psoriasis after following a MIF 5:2 diet (eating normally for 5 days and restricting calorie intake on 2 non-consecutive days). Psoriasis is a chronic, systemic immune-mediated inflammatory disease that causes raised plaques and ...

A premature start in life can cause problems even into teenage years. A study by the University of Basel and the University Children's Hospital Basel (UKBB) indicates that training motor skills in these children helps even when they are older. Children that are born before the 37th week of pregnancy remain under close medical supervision while they are young. Any cognitive limitations often disappear after a few years. However, children who come into the world even before the 32nd week of gestation still exhibit differences even into their teenage years. In a new study, researchers led by Dr. Sebastian Ludyga ...

(MAY 6, 2021) New York, NY - With around 30 percent of the U.S. population now fully vaccinated, the rate of daily vaccinations has started to slow, raising concerns that greater efforts and investments may be needed to reach higher coverage levels. A study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases on May 6 shows the lives, hospitalizations, and costs that can be saved by even relatively small increases in vaccination coverage and reaching higher vaccination coverage levels sooner (e.g., by the end of the summer versus fall/winter). The study was led by researchers from PHICOR (Public Health Informatics, Computational, and Operations Research) at CUNY Graduate School of Public ...

Philadelphia, May 6, 2021 - Misunderstanding food date labeling is common and educational communications are needed to improve consumer understanding, according to a new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, published by Elsevier. Does it mean "spoiled - throw it out," or "might not taste as good as it could anymore?" Food date labels (e.g., "USE By August 16") can play an important role in helping consumers make informed decisions about food, and ultimately prevent unsafe consumption and waste of food. Researchers surveyed 2,607 adults in the United States to assess consumer understanding of the streamlined 2-date ...

PULLMAN, Wash. -- With state legislatures nationwide preparing for the once-a-decade redrawing of voting districts, a research team has developed a better computational method to help identify improper gerrymandering designed to favor specific candidates or political parties. In an article in the Harvard Data Science Review, the researchers describe the improved mathematical methodology of an open source tool called GerryChain. The tool can help observers detect gerrymandering in a voting district plan by creating a pool, or ensemble, of alternate maps that also meet legal voting criteria. This map ensemble can show ...

The identity of the skeletal remains of a member of the 1845 Franklin expedition has been confirmed using DNA and genealogical analyses by a team of researchers from the University of Waterloo, Lakehead University, and Trent University. This is the first member of the ill-fated expedition to be positively identified through DNA. DNA extracted from tooth and bone samples recovered in 2013 were confirmed to be the remains of Warrant Officer John Gregory, engineer aboard HMS Erebus. The results matched a DNA sample obtained from a direct descendant of Gregory. The remains of the officer were found on King William Island, Nunavut. "We now know that John Gregory was one of three expedition personnel who ...

A team of engineers recommends expanding fast-charging stations for electric vehicles as campuses and businesses start planning for a post-pandemic world. The recommendation is based on a study of charging patterns for electric vehicles on the University of California San Diego campus from early January to late May of 2020, after the university moved most of its operations online. Researchers say the findings can be applied to a broader range of settings. "Workplace charging is a critical enabler of carbon-free transportation as the electrons consumed primarily come from solar power plants, as opposed to at-home charging, which occurs at night and relies more on fossil ...

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 6, 2021 - One out of every six adult workers (16%) in the United States are staying in jobs they might otherwise leave out of fear of losing their employer-sponsored health insurance, according to a new West Health-Gallup survey of more than 3,800 U.S. adults. The survey finds the fear is even more pronounced among Black workers, who are 50% more likely to remain in an unwanted job than their White and Hispanic counterparts (21% to 14% and 16%, respectively). But the most likely to stay in a job they would rather leave are those workers in households earning less than $48,000 a year -- roughly 3 in 10 (28%) say they will not leave and risk losing their health benefits. Workers in lower income households are nearly ...

Sophia Antipolis, 6 May 2021: One in four heart attack patients have atypical symptoms such as breathing difficulties, extreme exhaustion, and abdominal pain, according to a study published today in European Heart Journal - Acute Cardiovascular Care, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 Patients with atypical symptoms were less likely to receive emergency help and more likely to die within 30 days compared to those with chest pain. "We found that atypical symptoms were most common among older people, especially women, who called a non-emergency helpline for assistance," said study author Ms. Amalie Lykkemark Møller, PhD student, Nordsjællands Hospital, ...

A large study from Denmark and Norway published by The BMJ today sheds more light on the risk of rare blood clots in adults receiving their first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine. The findings show slightly increased rates of vein blood clots including clots in the veins of the brain, compared with expected rates in the general population. However, the researchers stress that the risk of such adverse events is considered low. Cases of rare blood clots in people who have recently received their first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine have been reported. Whether these cases represent excess events above expected ...

The new Danish-Norwegian study is the first study to document possible adverse events in relation to the COVID-19 vaccine Vaxzevria? from AstraZeneca, in which all vaccine recipients have been followed systematically, as opposed to previous studies, which have relied primarily on reported adverse reactions. The new study was a cooperation between Danish and Norwegian research institutions. - In this study, we were able to identify all hospital contacts among vaccinated persons by utilising the unique Danish and Norwegian health registers. This ensures that we get a comprehensive of the rate of adverse reactions. ...

Some clinicians are concerned that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis has risen throughout Western society since the late 1980s. Is this correct? And if so, has the true incidence of PTSD really spiralled out of control, or has it simply become overdiagnosed? Experts debate the issue in The BMJ this week. PTSD is a serious and uncommon condition resulting from severe trauma, but it has unhelpfully become an umbrella term incorporating other disorders and normal reactions to stress, argue John Tully at the University of Nottingham and Dinesh Bhugra at King's College London's Institute for Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN). Estimates of lifetime population prevalence are now about 7% in the US (26 million cases) and 5% in other high income countries. ...

Admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with a small increased risk of future suicide or self-harm after discharge compared with non-ICU hospital admissions, finds a study published in The BMJ today. The findings are particularly relevant during the covid-19 pandemic, as the number of ICU admissions around the world reach all-time highs. The findings show that survivors of critical illness who later died by suicide or had self-harm events tended to be younger with a history of psychiatric illness, and had received invasive life support. The researchers stress that the overall risk is still very low, but say knowledge of these factors "might allow for earlier intervention to potentially reduce this important public health problem." Survival after ...

Israel is the first country to report national data on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, with observational analysis showing that two doses provide more than 95% protection against COVID-19 infection, hospitalisation, and death, including among the elderly, at a time when the B.1.1.7 variant was the dominant strain. A single dose of the vaccine was associated with 58% protection against infection, 76% against hospitalisation, and 77% against death, emphasising the importance of fully vaccinating adults. Challenges to controlling the pandemic remain, including uncertainty about ...

R21/Matrix-M becomes the second malaria vaccine candidate ever to start a phase III licensure trial This builds on the recent finding of high level efficacy of this vaccine in a phase IIb trial in children in Burkina Faso, published today in The Lancet The first phase III trial doses were administered by the team at the Malaria Research and Training Centre, Bamako, Mali, one of five trial sites across West and East Africa The malaria vaccine was designed at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, who have partnered with the Serum Institute of India for commercial development The annual death toll from ...

A new mutation found in a gene associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation poses a significantly increased risk for heart failure in Black people. The discovery, made by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago, could change current guidelines that recommend against genetic testing in people with atrial fibrillations, also known as AFib. "We found that this new variant confers a significantly increased risk in African Americans, and this mutation has a 50% chance of being passed on to offspring," said Dr. Dawood Darbar, UIC professor of medicine and pharmacology at the College of Medicine. "Since it increases risk for heart failure, it would be wise to test people with atrial fibrillation to see if ...