The Yangtze River Valley (YRV) is one of the most densely populated and economically developed regions in China. Summer precipitation over this region shows considerable intraseasonal variability with a period of 10–90 days, which can induce extreme precipitation events and lead to massive economic losses and human casualties.   The Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation (BSISO) is the intraseasonal variability active in the tropical Indian Ocean and western Pacific region. Over the last three decades, scientists have studied the influence of the BSISO, because it is an essential predictability source in extended-range forecasts.   A new study published in Atmospheric ...

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) could deliver a major efficiency boost to the photocatalytic production of clean hydrogen. Chemical engineers have drafted a comprehensive overview of the state of their field and a plan for where it needs to focus.   Clean hydrogen production remains an energy-intensive and therefore costly proposition, inhibiting the battle against global warming. Metal organic frameworks—in effect tiny molecular ‘sponges’—look set to radically improve the efficiency of photocatalytic production of hydrogen due to their unique structural ...

The National Institutes of Health has provided $3.5 million for a large-scale clinical trial testing a radical new approach to managing type 2 diabetes that, in an earlier study, put almost 70% of participants in remission without weight loss or medication. The approach was developed by UVA Health’s Daniel J. Cox, PhD. It is built on the notion that educating people about how to make wise dietary and exercise choices can allow them to control their blood sugar and possibly even alter the course of the disease. “Instead of focusing on reducing weight with diets ...

A breakthrough in satellite observations has allowed scientists to obtain high spatial resolution ozone profiles, enhancing our understanding of ozone distribution and its impact on the atmosphere. The research, conducted by the research team led by Cheng Liu and Fei Zhao at the University of Science and Technology of China, utilized data from the Environmental Trace Gases Monitoring Instrument (EMI) on the Gaofen-5 satellite, the first Chinese ultraviolet-visible hyperspectral spectrometer. Ozone plays a crucial role in the atmosphere, and understanding its vertical distribution is key to comprehending its horizontal and vertical transport, as well as its physical and chemical ...

A long-lived monocarpic species of bamboo, Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis, only flowers once every 120 years before it dies. The upcoming flowering event for this species does not bode well for its continued long-term survival, as most flowers are not producing viable seeds. Flowering for some plants is a yearly occurrence, for others, it is a once-in-a-lifetime event. A widespread species of bamboo in Japan, Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis, takes this one-time flowering event and pushes it to the extreme: they flower once every 120 years before dying to make way for the next ...

Since its inception in 2009 with 13 founding institutions, the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has grown to more than 4,600 individual members worldwide from more than 300 U.S. and international colleges and universities, government agencies and non-profit research institutes. That growth continued recently when the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) added its name to the NAI membership roster. Lance R. McMahon, Ph.D., TTUHSC senior vice president for research and innovation, said the university’s new NAI membership and the appointment of several faculty members as senior members ...

80% of all patient data is unstructured. Notes from a conversation with a GP, the evaluation of a specialist in a university medical centre or even a recommendation from a pharmacist. While this 'unstructured’ data is no problem for the human eye, it presents an unsurmountable challenge to an AI-algorithm. One that is "preventing AI from reaching its full potential," in the view of Amsterdam UMC, Assistant Professor Iacer Calixto. To give AI the helping hand that it needs, Calixto is set to lead a project that will "tackle the important challenges ...

Fusion is the process of combining two light atomic nuclei to form a single heavier one while releasing massive amounts of energy. The Sun and all stars are powered through fusion, which makes it the universe's preferred method of producing energy. Recent breakthroughs in fusion research have led to the US government's Bold Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy and the remarkable growth of the global fusion industry. To accelerate the development of fusion-powered reactors on Earth, the US Department ...

‘Let us remember the lessons of the coronavirus to usher in a new era on a global scale with different personal and collective behaviour so that everyone, not just a few, enjoys the dignified life that is their due. We have to remember that we cannot go back to “pre-COVID”. We have to keep in mind that the circumstances before the pandemic most likely contributed in some way to the situation as have had to live it. A radical change of course is indispensable and urgent…” ~Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Former Director-General of UNESCO and Former Member of the European Parliament. Where did COVID-19 originate? Prof Angus Dalgleish ...

AUGUSTA, Ga. (Sept. 1, 2023) – A nationwide assessment of Obstetrics and Gynecology residency programs reveals the need for more training in how to provide the best care for women going through menopause, according to investigators at the Medical College of Georgia. “When you look at projections over the next few decades, by 2060, there will be around 90 million women in the US alone, who will be in the post-menopausal range,” says  Jennifer Allen, MD, associate professor and director of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program ...

Disadvantaged teenagers are at greater risk of email scams and need better protection, according to an international study published in the peer-reviewed British Journal of Educational Studies.    Findings based on more than 170,000 students aged 15 show that one in five from low-income families or deprived areas could fall victim to phishing. This is much higher than the probability for the age group overall. Email scams leave people vulnerable to identity theft, putting young people at risk of financial fraud and having their savings stripped.     The most vulnerable are those who also have poor learning skills according to the data from 38 countries including ...

Aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries are promising in electric grid storage due to their low cost and intrinsic safety. However, their practical implementation is hindered by poor reversibility of the zinc anode, primarily caused by the chaotic Zn deposition present as dendrite and side reactions. Recently, a research group led by Prof. YANG Weishen and Dr. ZHU Kaiyue from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has proposed a strategy of "ion ...

Simple strategies to strengthen your bones, implemented by the whole community not just those at higher risk, could lead to a substantial decrease in hip fractures, a new Australian study suggests. A hip fracture, particularly in the elderly, dramatically increases the risk of death. Around 37 per cent of men and 20 per cent of women die within one year of a hip fracture. It also causes significant pain and suffering, loss of mobility and independence, and increased healthcare costs. Distinguished Professor Tuan Nguyen, ...

FINDINGS People from socioeconomically distressed communities who underwent heart transplantation between 2004 and 2018 faced a 10% greater relative risk of experiencing graft failure and dying within five years compared to people from non-distressed communities. In addition, following implementation of the 2018 UNOS Heart Allocation policy, transplant recipients between 2018 and 2022 faced an approximately 20% increase in relative risk of dying or experiencing graft failure within three years compared with the pre-policy period. This is despite the ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Hydrogen spillover is exactly what it sounds like. Small metal nanoparticles anchored on a thermally stable oxide, like silica, comprise a major class of catalysts, which are substances used to accelerate chemical reactions without being consumed themselves. The catalytic reaction usually occurs on the reactive — and expensive — metal, but on some catalysts, hydrogen atom-like equivalents literally spill from the metal to the oxide. These hydrogen-on-oxide species are called "hydrogen ...

DETROIT – Neuroscience researchers at Wayne State University published a review article that confirms the usefulness of neurofilament light (NfL) blood levels to predict the likelihood and rate of progression of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease. Blood-based NfL is a minimally invasive and easily accessible biomarker, making it a useful clinical biomarker. Youjin Jung and Jessica Damoiseaux, Ph.D., analyzed existing literature to examine the association between serum or plasma NfL and ...

Cedars-Sinai investigators are leaders in the innovation and use of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with balloon-expandable valves. They now show that redo TAVR procedures are both safe and effective when compared with situations in which patients with similar risk profiles undergo the same procedure for the first time.    The novel findings, published today in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet, are significant because recent randomized clinical trials have shown that TAVR is a meaningful treatment option for both younger and lower-risk surgical ...

Research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has shown that higher levels of inflammation in the blood of patients with obesity undergoing bariatric surgery predicts poorer weight loss six months after the procedure. Published in Psychological Medicine and led by researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, this is the first study to investigate the links between depression and inflammation in patients with obesity before and after bariatric surgery. The analysis showed a strong relationship ...

*Note- this is an early release from the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) meeting in Hamburg, October 2-6. Please credit the meeting if you use this story* New research to be presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Hamburg, Germany (2-6 October) shows that use of low dose (100mg daily) aspirin among older adults aged 65 years and older is associated with a 15% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The authors, led by Professor Sophia Zoungas, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, ...

URBANA, Ill. — Love it or hate it, broccoli is chock-full of health-promoting chemicals linked to heart health, cancer prevention, immune function, weight management, and more. However,  some people are less efficient than others at unlocking those chemical benefits. A research team at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign suggests gut microbe communities may be responsible for the variation. With a new grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the team plans to identify which microbes maximize the benefits of broccoli and other brassica ...

In the intricate world of light, a journey through inhomogeneous media often leads to distortions in space, time, spectrum, and polarization. These distortions, detrimental to applications like optical manipulation, imaging, and communication, have long posed a challenge. Enter the art of wavefront shaping (WS) — a potent tool for correcting these wave maladies in linear optics. But that's not all. Nonlinearity adds a twist, finding purpose in fields from biological sensing to phototherapy. Now, picture combining these forces — ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have established the effectiveness of vaccines they developed to prevent the disfiguring skin disease leishmaniasis in animal studies, and Phase 1 human trial planning is in motion for the most promising candidate. But in new work, the research team has determined how these vaccine candidates, created using mutated disease-causing parasites, prompt molecular-level changes in host cells that have specific roles in helping generate the immune response. Despite using the same CRISPR ...

Since 2009, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness across the United States has shrunk by more than 50%, according to a 2022 Department of Housing report. With the support of a $150,000 grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the University of Missouri School of Law Veterans Clinic is aiming to continue this trend here at home with a new program designed to further empower veterans in taking steps out of homelessness. The Veterans Outreach Program will help attorneys connect with veterans experiencing homelessness with the goal of offering them the legal assistance ...

Although the COVID-19 pandemic was the first time most of humanity learned of the now infamous disease, the family of coronaviruses was first identified in the mid-1960s. In a new study, molecular biologist Steven Van Doren, a scientist in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, has uncovered unexpected actions of a key player in how the coronavirus infects its target — a discovery that could guide further vaccine development. Funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, Van Doren and his team studied the fusion peptide, an important feature of the spike protein that serves to bind the virus with ...

“To our knowledge, our study is the first to evaluate the specific function of Dectin-1 in the setting of aging and HIV-infection.” BUFFALO, NY- August 31, 2023 – A new research paper was published on the cover of Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 16, entitled, “Dectin-1 stimulation promotes a distinct inflammatory signature in the setting of HIV-infection and aging.” Dectin-1 is an innate immune receptor that recognizes and binds β-1, 3/1, 6 glucans on fungi. In this new study, researchers Archit Kumar, Jiawei Wang, Allen Esterly, Chris ...