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Medicine22 Aug 2023

A calculator to predict benefit from adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer of the liver and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with China accounting for over half of the global annual cases and deaths. Hepatectomy is the standard curative-intent treatment option for appropriately selected patients with localized HCC. However, the high postoperative recurrence rate causes many patients to have a poor prognosis and a high incidence of cancer-specific death. This occurs in especially early recurrence within the first year after surgery, which is most likely due to occult micro-metastasis from the original tumor. Given that survival among patients with recurrence is markedly ...

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Social Science22 Aug 2023

Paired liver exchange developed by Boston College economists results in first four-way liver exchange

Chestnut Hill, Mass. (8/22/2023) – In a breakthrough in liver transplantation that may lead to the ability to connect more living donors and patients, a new matching system designed by a team led by Boston College economists enabled the world’s first four-way liver exchange and a cascade of additional matches, researchers reported recently in the American Journal of Transplantation. The results show that expanding the capacity of the donor-patient matching mechanism beyond the traditional 2-way change – matching two patients with two donors – can increase the number of ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Understanding river alteration via shifting flow regime

Researchers at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT, President Kim Byung-suk) published their findings on the drastic short-term alterations in rivers accompanied by shifts in vegetation and geomorphology drawn from actual on-site investigation and analyses and not from model simulations. The alteration processes from a 'white river,' characterized by riverbeds with no vegetation including bare sandbars, to a densely vegetated 'green river' with grass and trees, have been ...

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Social Science22 Aug 2023

Want to increase resiliency in kids? Teach creativity

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Train elementary school students how to be creative and you can help increase their resilience in the face of real-life problems, new research suggests. In a small study, researchers trained third, fourth and fifth graders to use literary techniques such as perspective shifting, counter-factual (what if) thinking and causal (why) thinking to improve creativity in dealing with difficulties. The techniques helped kids come up with new, creative and practical ways to solve problems, said Angus Fletcher, lead author of the study and a professor of English at The Ohio State University and member of the university’s Project ...

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Medicine22 Aug 2023

Many older adults want RSV vaccine, poll shows

The first Americans over age 60 just started rolling up their sleeves to get vaccinated against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, now that brand-new vaccines have started to arrive at pharmacies and clinics. Millions more older adults may do the same in coming weeks and months, a new University of Michigan poll suggests, as they seek protection against a virus that is especially good at infecting older lungs. But nearly half of older adults do not know about the new RSV vaccines that received approval earlier this year, the poll finds. And some groups of older adults show much less interest in getting ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

New test chamber created to find better ways to keep people cool

PULLMAN, Wash. — A shipping container that can test passive cooling systems could help researchers and builders find carbon-free ways to keep people cool in extreme temperatures. Washington State University researchers created the 60 square-foot chamber to test passive systems that use wind towers along with water evaporation instead of electricity to cool spaces. Finding cooling methods that don’t require putting more greenhouse gases into the air is crucial to helping a growing population adapt to climate change, said Omar Al-Hassawi lead author of the study in the journal, Energies. “Cooling is ...

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Environment22 Aug 2023

Delineating the pathways of warm water towards East Antarctica’s Totten Glacier

One of the most feared effects of global warming is the rise in sea level caused by the melting of polar continental ice. In fact, polar researchers have been working towards raising the awareness of this impending threat. The scientific fraternity relies on sampling the remote regions of Artic and the Antarctic continental shelves to estimate these risks. They can then use these measurements to model and understand the processes that drive the melting of ice at these locations and determine the extent of meltwater that will eventually flow ...

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Environment22 Aug 2023

Hundreds of Andean bird species at risk due to deforestation: New research shows how to protect them

Birds native to the tropical Andes, many of which cannot be found anywhere else, are threatened by increasing agricultural development in the region. A new study details how the resulting habitat loss affects specific species and lays out possible ways to protect birds from human-driven disturbance. The researchers combined a meta-analysis of papers on birds across the Andes with five years of fieldwork in Peru, revealing that open farmlands result in up to a 60% decline in the number of species in an area. Before this work, there was little data on which species were declining or by how much. “The vast majority ...

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Environment22 Aug 2023

Pacific coral reef shows historic increase in climate resistance

Coral reefs in one part of the Pacific Ocean have likely adjusted to higher ocean temperatures which could reduce future bleaching impacts of climate change, new research reveals. A Newcastle University-led study focused on the Pacific Island nation of Palau and has shown that historic increases in the thermal tolerance of coral reefs are possible. The results demonstrate how this capacity could reduce future bleaching impacts if global carbon emissions are cut down. Drawing on decades of field observations, the scientists modelled many possible future coral bleaching trajectories for Palauan reefs, ...

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Medicine22 Aug 2023

Researchers extract ancient DNA from a 2,900-year-old clay brick, revealing a time capsule of plant life

For the first time, a group of researchers have successfully extracted ancient DNA from a 2,900-year-old clay brick. The analysis provides a fascinating insight into the diversity of plant species cultivated at that time and place, and could open the way to similar studies on clay material from other sites and time periods. The results are published today in Nature Scientific Reports. Currently housed at the National Museum of Denmark, the clay brick originates from the palace of Neo-Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II, in the ancient city of Kalhu. Known today as the North-West palace in Nimrud (modern-day northern Iraq), its construction began around 879 BCE. ...

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Technology22 Aug 2023

Exascale revolution: Supercomputers unleash a new era in biophysics discovery

In a recently published article featured on the cover of the Biophysical Journal, Dr. Rafael Bernardi, assistant professor of biophysics at the Department of Physics at Auburn University, and Dr. Marcelo Melo, a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Bernardi's group, shed light on the transformative capabilities of the next generation of supercomputers in reshaping the landscape of biophysics. The researchers at Auburn delve into the harmonious fusion of computational modeling and experimental biophysics, providing a perspective for a future in which discoveries ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Origins of coronary arteries

Coronary arteries are a vital part of the human heart, providing it with oxygen-rich blood so that it can work. By comparing the hearts of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and frogs, a multi-institutional team of researchers appears to have found evidence that the structure of our hearts evolved in a stepwise process from fish, through amphibians to reptiles to mammals. When animals evolved from living in the water to living on land, a significant remodeling of the blood vessels to the heart occurred, enabling survival without gills. Understanding ...

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Medicine22 Aug 2023

Novel research reveals existence of altered mesocortical connectivity in obesity

ROCKVILLE, Md.—For the first time, researchers have discovered that the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brain—a key structure involved in motivation and reward appreciation has altered connectivity patterns with specific brain regions in patients with obesity. Individuals with obesity have hyper-connectivity of the VTA with part of the ventral occipitotemporal cortex (visual processing for food images) and hypo-connectivity with the left inferior frontal gyrus (associated with cognitive control), according to a new study in Obesity, ...

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Medicine22 Aug 2023

Study confirms long-term benefits of weight loss surgery in the prevention of cancer

ROCKVILLE, Md.—After adding follow-up years, increased sample sizes and examining multiple surgical procedures, new research shows bariatric surgery is associated with lower all-cancer and obesity-related cancer incidence among females. The research also found that cancer mortality was significantly lower among female surgical patients compared to non-surgical subjects, according to a new study in Obesity, The Obesity Society’s (TOS) flagship journal. Although population studies have established a positive association between body mass index and cancer incidence, less clear is whether voluntary ...

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Medicine22 Aug 2023

Heart attack patients should take aspirin to avoid a new heart attack, stroke and death

Amsterdam, Netherlands – 22 Aug 2023: Heart attack patients who do not take daily aspirin have an elevated likelihood of recurrent myocardial infarction, stroke or death compared with those who consistently take the drug, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2023.1 “Our findings suggest that not taking aspirin as prescribed after a heart attack is linked to a higher risk of having another heart attack, a stroke or dying,” said study author Dr. Anna Meta Kristensen of Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital. Frederiksberg, Denmark. ...

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Medicine22 Aug 2023

Heart attack victims who recognise symptoms are less likely to die in hospital

Amsterdam, Netherlands – 22 Aug 2023: Recognising and acting on heart attack symptoms is linked with faster life-saving treatment, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2023.1 “Patients with a repeat heart attack were more likely to know the symptoms than first-time sufferers, but recognition was low in both groups,” said study author Dr. Kyehwan Kim of Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju, Republic of Korea. “Most patients could identify chest pain but less than one-third knew the other symptoms.” Heart attack symptoms can include chest pain, radiating pain to the arms, jaw and neck, dizziness, ...

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Medicine22 Aug 2023

Keep fit to avoid heart rhythm disorder and stroke

Amsterdam, Netherlands – 22 Aug 2023: A study in more than 15,000 people has found that physical fitness is linked with a lower likelihood of developing atrial fibrillation and stroke. The research is presented at ESC Congress 2023.1 Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder, affecting more than 40 million people worldwide.2 It is estimated that one in three Europeans will develop atrial fibrillation in their lifetime. Patients with the condition have a five-fold higher risk of stroke ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

City-living may make male song sparrows more doting ‘super’ fathers

When animals settle in new environments, or when their natural habitats are rapidly changed by human influence, their behaviors change. One such behavioral change that has been observed in several bird species that settled in cities is increased aggression, born out of the need to defend territories. City-living sparrows have, due to lower species density, fewer encounters with their kin than in the countryside. Yet, urban song sparrows have been shown to be consistently more aggressive in defending their territories. Now, a team of researchers in the US has investigated the effects of urbanization and the associated ...

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Energy22 Aug 2023

Topology's role in decoding energy of amorphous systems

Osaka, Japan – How is a donut similar to a coffee cup? This question often serves as an illustrative example to explain the concept of topology. Topology is a field of mathematics that examines the properties of objects that remain consistent even when they are stretched or deformed—provided they are not torn or stitched together. For instance, both a donut and a coffee cup have a single hole. This means, theoretically, if either were pliable enough, it could be reshaped into the other. This ...

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Environment22 Aug 2023

Small urban greening projects can dramatically increase number of insect species in cities

By increasing the diversity of indigenous plants in urban areas, researchers from the University of Melbourne have seen a seven times increase in the number of insect species in just three years, confirming the ecological benefits of urban greening projects. The findings are published in the British Ecological Society journal, Ecological Solutions and Evidence. The study, conducted in a small greenspace in the City of Melbourne, found that an increase in the diversity and complexity of plant communities leads to a large increase in insect biodiversity, a greater ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Which is easier to remember, symbols or words?

Everyday symbols like &?!#@$ are highly memorable, according to new research. The new study led by the University of Waterloo aimed to investigate how well symbols are remembered compared to words with the same meaning. “Our work is ground-breaking as it highlights how humans remember graphic symbols and logos,” said Myra Fernandes, co-author and professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Waterloo. “Symbols are particularly useful as they can be used as logos in advertising, as well as offer a faster ...

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Energy22 Aug 2023

Study finds no effect of LEED certification on federal buildings’ energy efficiency

In 2010, the U.S. government announced a multi-billion-dollar plan to improve the energy efficiency of its buildings, including a focus on LEED certification. Used worldwide, LEED—Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design—is a system that rates buildings on energy efficiency. A new study examined the effects of LEED certification on energy efficiency in federal buildings. The study found no effect on average energy consumption, primarily because many other factors come into play when rating energy. The study, by researchers ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Water harvesting in Death Valley: Conquering the arid wilderness

Korea is regarded as a “water-stressed nation.” Although the country receives an annual precipitation of approximately 1,300mm, it is characterized by concentrated periods and specific regions, thereby giving rise to challenges stemming from water scarcity. The lack of drinking water extends beyond mere inconvenience, posing life-threatening implications for certain individuals. In March 2023, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a report highlighting the plight of roughly 190 million children in Africa who suffer from an absence of safe water, resulting in the tragic daily loss of 1,000 children under the age of five. Nations across the globe ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Driverless cars are no place to relax, new study shows

Early data on activities that will be unsafe to undertake in automated vehicles has been released. From doing work to watching the world, from social media to resting – preliminary results are in. Research led by RMIT University looked at what happens if a driver is suddenly required to take control of an automated vehicle, such as in an emergency. The series of papers examines how experience and three types of distractions (work, social media and rest) impacted on the driver’s ability to respond. Study lead author in the School of Engineering, Dr Neng Zhang, said ...

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Medicine22 Aug 2023

CORRECTION: MRI scans improve prostate cancer diagnosis in screening trial

The REIMAGINE study, published today in BMJ Oncology, is the first study to use MRI scans with prostate specific antigen (PSA) density to assess the need for further standard NHS tests. Of the 29 participants found to have serious prostate cancer, 15 had a ‘low’ PSA score that would have meant they were not referred for further investigation under the current system. Currently, men over 50 in the UK can ask for a PSA test if they are experiencing symptoms or are concerned about prostate cancer. ...

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