Researchers have developed a pair of modules that gives a boost to the use of artificial neural networks to identify potentially cancerous growths in colonoscopy imagery, traditionally plagued by image noise resulting from the colonoscopy insertion and rotation process itself.   A paper describing the approach was published in the journal CAAI Artificial Intelligence Research on June 30.   Colonoscopy is the gold standard for detecting colorectal growths or ‘polyps’ in the inner lining of your colon, also known as the large intestine. ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In temperate climates, like North America and Europe, flu season starts in the fall, peaks in the winter and ends in the spring. While public health officials have generally assumed that influenza is also seasonal in tropical climates, new research led by Penn State has found little evidence of a repeatable pattern in influenza cases in Vietnam. The findings suggest that influenza is likely unpredictable throughout the tropics, posing substantial challenges for prevention and management of cases for the one-third of the global population living in tropical areas. “The World ...

About The Study: In this study of Massachusetts schools, the secondary attack rate for SARS-CoV-2 among school-based contacts was low during two periods, and factors associated with transmission risk varied over time. These findings suggest that ongoing surveillance efforts may be essential to ensure that both targeted resources and mitigation practices remain optimal and relevant for disease prevention.  Authors: Sandra B. Nelson, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, 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/jamahealthforum.2023.2310) Editor’s ...

About The Study: In this study of 230,000 persons with second primary cancers in the U.S., the Black population had a higher risk of death from both cancer and cardiovascular disease compared with the white population, whereas the Hispanic population had a higher risk of death from cancer. These results suggest that research priorities to address survival disparities in the growing population of survivors of multiple primary cancers are warranted.  Authors: Hyuna Sung, Ph.D., of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, is ...

ATLANTA, August 4, 2023 — In new findings from researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS), non-Hispanic Black individuals diagnosed with a second primary cancer (SPC) experienced 21% higher cancer-related death rates and 41% higher cardiovascular-related death rates compared with their non-Hispanic White counterparts. The study also showed that Hispanic individuals diagnosed with a second primary cancer also experienced 10% higher cancer-related death rates compared with their non-Hispanic White counterparts, but 10% lower cardiovascular-related death rates. The paper was published ...

Ishikawa, Japan -- Liquid metals (LM) such as pure gallium (Ga) and Ga-based alloys are a new class of materials with unique physicochemical properties. One of the most prominent applications of LMs is photothermal therapy against cancer, in which functional LM nanoparticles convert light energy to heat energy, thus killing cancerous cells. LM-based phototherapy is superior to traditional cancer therapy owing to its high specificity, repeatability, and low side effects. In a new cutting-edge study, Associate Professor Eijiro Miyako and his colleagues from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) synthesized multifunctional Ga-based nanoparticles that combine cancer ...

Breastfeeding for six months or more appears to reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems developing in mothers for at least three years after delivery, a new South Australian study has found.    The surprising cardio-metabolic benefit for maternal health is particularly important for women who experienced a complicated pregnancy, which can increase their chance of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) later in life.    The new results – published this month in the International Breastfeeding Journal by experts from the University of Adelaide ...

Patient-reported outcome (PRO) data are collected in oncology trials to determine patients' perspectives of cancer treatment - unfortunately often too briefly, for example only up to the point when an x-ray shows tumour growth and treatment is discontinued. As a result, it is not possible, for example, to reliably assess the impact on patients' lives of disease progression seen on X-rays or the long-term side effects of cancer treatment. The reasons given for this are organizational difficulties or patients’ lack of interest in long-term follow-up. ...

A subpolar species associated with Atlantic water expanded far into the Arctic Ocean during the Last Interglacial, analysis of microfossil content of sediment cores reveals. This implies that summers in the Arctic were ice free during this period. The findings are published in Nature Geoscience. Arctic sea ice, an important component of the Earth system, is disappearing fast under climate warming. Summer sea ice is anticipated to vanish entirely within this century. To gain a deeper understanding of the climate dynamics in a world without Arctic sea ice, researchers have turned to analogues from the geological past. ”The Last Interglacial, between ...

For several years now, women have been voting more left-wing than men. This trend first appeared in the 2017 German general election and intensified in 2021. This is shown by a study carried out by the sociologist Dr Ansgar Hudde from the Institute of Sociology and Social Psychology at the University of Cologne (UoC). The trend is most evident among the youngest voters aged 18 to 24: In this group, the Greens, the Left and the Social Democrats (SPD) are much more popular among women than among men; the radical right-wing AfD and, above all, the economically liberal FDP are much more popular among men. The Christian ...

Okazaki, Japan – Although you might never have consciously considered it, it’s very likely that when you receive a reward, part of the value that you place on it depends on what other people have received as similar rewards. In a recent study published in Nature Communications, Japanese researchers have identified an important brain circuit for this specific process. Although researchers have identified the brain regions that are important for deciding the value of a reward in relation to those of others (a process the authors termed ‘socially subjective reward valuation’), the connections between these regions have never been ...

On June 20, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology submitted public hearing testimony to the Department of Education expressing concerns about the growing burden of student loan debt. The society called for expanding debt-relief programs across all educational levels and allowing postdoctoral researchers to defer loan payments until after completion of their training. “We are in the midst of a student debt crisis, and it's hurting the research enterprise and more importantly, the next generation of scientists,” Sarina Neote, ASBMB public affairs director, said. “The average student ...

Azide compounds play a pivotal role for subsequent synthesis of organonitrogens such as amines and triazoles that are essential compounds in organic and materials chemistry. Triazoles that can be synthesized by the ‘click’ reaction have attracted attention in the development of pharmaceuticals and other industries. However, the azido groups are electrophilic and are susceptible to various nucleophiles such as carbanions. This poses a significant challenge for the synthesis of carbanions having azido groups. To this end, a team of researchers from Japan, led by Associate Professor Suguru ...

Telehealth Week @ TTUHSC, a conference about digital innovation, will offer an immersive experience in digital health using technology for access to care. The free conference, which takes place Sept. 19-21 at the TTUHSC Academic Event Center located at 3601 Fourth St., is open to all clinicians, administrators, health care providers and stakeholders.  The conference aims to demonstrate how digital health enhances access to care and solves rural health disparities. Three goals of the conference include: Exposing stakeholders to the broader goals of digital health at TTUHSC Motivating stakeholders to go beyond telehealth and embrace the fullness of digital ...

A multidisciplinary study led by scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) presents a new method for assessing the structural and electrophysiological changes, called atrial remodeling, produced in the heart of patients with atrial fibrillation, one of the most frequent forms of cardiac arrhythmia. The new diagnostic method is based on the simultaneous assessment of electrical and mechanical (contractile) activity in the heart atria during atrial fibrillation. The study is published in Nature Communications (DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-40196-y). Study leader David Filgueiras explained that, until now, “this was an unmet challenge,” because, on the one ...

A study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has shown that prenatal diagnosis, or diagnosis before a baby is born, is associated with earlier surgery for babies with congenital heart defects, the most common birth defects affecting nearly 1% of all live births. The association was demonstrated for critical defects (when heart surgery is required before the infant leaves the hospital) and certain types of noncritical defects, which constitute about 75% of all congenital heart defects. The benefits of prenatal ...

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London’s Precision Healthcare Research Institute (PHURI) and the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have identified the genetic causes of Raynaud’s phenomenon. Their findings, published today in Nature Communications, could lead to the first effective treatments for people with Raynaud’s. Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP) is a heritable condition that affects blood circulation. It’s a vasopastic condition, which means ...

Between 7% and 15% of people in North America, between 5% and 9% of people in Europe, and between 1% and 5% of people in Asia suffer from kidney stones. Common symptoms are severe pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, and bloody urine. But kidney stones don’t just reduce the quality of life: in the long run, they may lead to infections, swollen kidneys (hydronephrosis), renal insufficiency, and end-stage renal disease. Known risk factors for developing kidney stones include being an adult male, obesity, chronic diarrhea, dehydration, and having inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, or gout. Now, a ...

Obesity, a major risk factor for various lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension has become widespread worldwide, inherently demanding innovative solutions to combat it. A multi-institutional research group led by Associate Professor Akiko Kojima of the Graduate School of Human Life and Ecology at Osaka Metropolitan University, has made significant progress in the fight against obesity. The group had previously conducted a study on the effects of the extract of Mallotus furetianus (MFE), a tropical plant native to Hainan Island, China, on the prevention of fatty liver, but the antiobesity effects of MFE and its mechanisms had not been ...

In a study published today in Cell, one of the most prominent peer-reviewed scientific journals in the field of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Imperial College London have discovered a new way by which bacteria transmit their genes, enabling them to evolve much faster than previously understood. Led by Assistant Professor John Chen from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine), ...

Understanding the ionosphere high in the Earth's atmosphere is important due to its effects on communications systems, satellites and crucial chemical features including the ozone layer. New insights into the activity of high energy electrons have come from a simulation study led by geophysicist Yuto Katoh at Tohoku University, reported in the journal Earth, Planets and Space. "Our results clarify the unexpected role of the geomagnetic field surrounding the Earth in protecting the atmosphere from high energy electrons," says Katoh. The ionosphere is a wide region between roughly ...

Function and form are deeply intertwined in biology. Knowing how organisms grow, adapt and reproduce requires understanding their physical structures. Hence the transformative power of the microscope across the past four centuries of science. Microscopy, or the field of microscope use, can now reveal the tiniest of structures through techniques such as microcrystal electron diffraction, or MicroED. Instead of passing light through a cell like an optical microscope, MicroED bombards crystalline samples with a stream of electrons to produce detailed information about their atomic configuration. “The method was developed ...

Korean researchers have unveiled a novel signaling pathway that fosters aging-related chronic metabolic disorders.   A research team led by Professor Jong Kyoung Kim from the Department of Life Sciences at POSTECH along with Professor Seung-Hoi Koo from the Division of Life Sciences at Korea University and principal researcher Geum-Sook Hwang from Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI)   announced the discovery of a new mechanism where BCAA metabolic pathway becomes impaired due to aging, resulting in dysfunctions of adipose cells and chronic metabolic disorders. The research findings were published in Nature Aging (IF=16.6) ...

Leesburg, VA, August 4, 2023—An accepted manuscript published in the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR) found that deploying a radiomic-based model with T2-weighted MRI data could increase diagnostic accuracy for pediatric Crohn disease (CD). Noting that ileal-wall radiomic features were strongly predictive of CD—and that model performance improved when ensembled with clinical data—“a radiomic machine learning model predicted CD diagnosis with better performance than two of three expert radiologists,” wrote corresponding author and AJR Pediatric Imaging Section Editor Jonathan R. Dillman, MD, MSc. Dillman et al.’s manuscript ...

Childhood trauma, such as abuse, emotional neglect, and exposure to domestic violence, may heighten a woman’s subsequent risk of pregnancy complications, and of giving birth to a low birthweight or premature baby, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published in the open access journal BMJ Open.  The risks of pregnancy related diabetes, high blood pressure, depression/anxiety and of giving birth to underweight and or premature babies may all be significantly higher, the analysis suggests. While previously ...