Black men and women, as well as adolescent boys and girls, may react differently to perceived racial discrimination, with Black women and girls engaging in more exercise and better eating habits than Black men and boys when faced with discrimination, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. "In this study, Black women and girls didn't just survive in the face of racism, they actually responded in a positive manner, in terms of their health behavior," said lead researcher Frederick Gibbons, PhD, with the University of Connecticut. "This gives us some hope that despite the spike in racism across the country, some people are finding healthy ways to cope." ...

ADELPHI, Md. -- Army researchers reached a breakthrough in the nascent science of two-dimensional polymers thanks to a collaborative program that enlists the help of lead scientists and engineers across academia known as joint faculty appointments. Researchers from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, now known as DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory partnered with Prof. Steve Lustig, a joint faculty appointment at Northeastern University, to accelerate the development of 2D polymers for military applications. The collaboration with ARL Northeast led to a groundbreaking study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Macromolecules. Editors featured the research in a cover article. "2D polymers have been studied very seriously from a synthetic ...

Researchers have developed a tool to identify security and privacy risks associated with Covid-19 contact tracing apps. COVIDGuardian, the first automated security and privacy assessment tool, tests contact tracing apps for potential threats such as malware, embedded trackers and private information leakage. Using the COVIDGuardian tool, cybersecurity experts assessed 40 Covid-19 contact tracing apps that have been employed worldwide for potential privacy and security threats. Their findings include that: 72.5 per cent of the apps use at least one insecure cryptographic ...

Medical researchers have long understood that a pregnant mother's diet has a profound impact on her developing fetus's immune system and that babies -- especially those born prematurely -- who are fed breast milk have a more robust ability to fight disease, suggesting that even after childbirth, a mother's diet matters. However, the biological mechanisms underlying these connections have remained unclear. Now, in a study published Feb. 15, 2021, in the journal Nature Communications, a Johns Hopkins Medicine research team reports that pregnant mice fed a diet rich in a molecule found abundantly in cruciferous vegetables -- such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower -- gave birth to pups with stronger protection against necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). ...

Neurodegenerative diseases, such as various forms of senile dementia or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), have one thing in common: large amounts of certain RNA-protein complexes (snRNPs) are produced and deposited in the nerve cells of those affected - and this hinders the function of the cells. The overproduction is possibly caused by a malfunction in the assembly of the protein complexes. How the production of these protein complexes is regulated was unknown until now. Researchers from Martinsried and Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, have solved the puzzle and now report on it in the open access journal Nature Communications. They describe in detail a signaling pathway that prevents the overproduction of snRNPs when they are not needed. The results should ...

A diet rich in human food may be wreaking havoc on the health of urban coyotes, according to a new study by University of Alberta biologists. The research team from the Faculty of Science examined the stomach contents, gut microbiome and overall health of nearly 100 coyotes in Edmonton's capital region. Their results also show coyotes that consume more human food have more human-like gut bacteria--with potential impact on their nutrition, immune function and, based on similar findings in dogs, even behaviour. "If eating human food disturbs the 'natural' coyote gut bacteria, it is possible that eating human food has the potential to affect all ...

The answer to the age-old mystery of the evolutionary origins of vertebrate eyes may lie in hagfish, according to a new study by biologists at the University of Alberta. "Hagfish eyes can help us understand the origins of human vision by expanding our understanding of the early steps in vertebrate eye evolution," explained lead author Emily Dong, who conducted the research during her graduate studies with Ted Allison, a professor in the Faculty of Science and member of the U of A's Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute. "Our findings solidify the hagfish's place among vertebrates and open the door to further research to uncover the finer details ...

Blocking seizures after a head injury could slow or prevent the onset of dementia, according to new research by University of Alberta biologists. "Traumatic brain injury is a major risk factor for dementia, but the reason this is the case has remained mysterious," said Ted Allison, co-author and professor in the Department of Biological Sciences in the Faculty of Science. "Through this research, we have discovered one important way they are linked--namely, post-injury seizures." "There is currently no treatment for the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury, which includes developing dementia," added lead author Hadeel Alyenbaawi, who recently completed her PhD dissertation on this topic in the Department of Medical Genetics in the Faculty ...

INFORMS Journal Management Science Study Key Takeaways: Changing an employee's hours during their shift, typically by having them stay longer, hurts restaurant revenue. Checks for parties handled by servers who'd been asked to stay longer during their shift dropped by 4.4%, on average. Servers asked to stay longer reduced the effort spent on upselling and cross-selling additional menu items. CATONSVILLE, MD, February 25, 2021 - Short notice versus no advance notice makes a huge difference when it comes to employee scheduling in the restaurant industry. New research in the INFORMS journal Management Science finds checks for parties handled by servers who were asked (with ...

ITHACA, N.Y. - In many cases, unions in Europe have helped nonunionized workers whose jobs are precarious, according to new Cornell University research. In "Dualism or Solidarity? Conditions for Union Success in Regulating Precarious Work," published in December in the European Journal of Industrial Relations, the researchers surveyed academic articles to see how often they would find evidence of unions helping nonunionized workers or helping only their own members, and which conditions were associated with each outcome. The paper was co-authored by Laura Carver, M.S. 20, and Virginia Doellgast, associate ...

On a low-lying island in the Caribbean, the future of the critically endangered Bahama Oriole just got a shade brighter. A new study led by researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) estimates the population of these striking black and yellow birds at somewhere between 1300 and 2800 individuals in the region they surveyed, suggesting the overall population is likely several thousand. Older studies estimated the entire population at fewer than 300, so the new results indicate there are at least 10 times as many Bahama Orioles as previously understood. The research ...

A group of crustaceans called amphipods can accelerate as fast as a bullet--literally, according to a new study by biologists at the University of Alberta and Duke University. This study shows that a tiny and unusual species is responsible for making the fastest repeatable movements yet known for any animal in water. "The high speeds of these repeatable movements reach nearly 30 metres per second or more than 100 kilometres per hour," explained Richard Palmer, professor emeritus in the Department of Biological Sciences and co-author on the study. "They have the highest accelerations of any animal in water, reaching more than 0.5 million metres per second squared, which is close to the acceleration of ...

Glycomics researchers at the University of Alberta and CHU Sainte-Justine have reported a discovery that could lead to new treatments for cardiovascular disease. The researchers identified a new mechanism responsible for the buildup of plaque on artery walls, a process known as atherosclerosis. This plaque, made up of fats, cholesterol and other substances, can restrict blood flow and is a major factor in cardiovascular disease. "We identified a new mechanism underlying atherosclerosis," explained Chris Cairo, professor in the Department of Chemistry and co-lead author of the new study. "We also demonstrated that this can be addressed pharmacologically. Using inhibitors ...

Key takeaways Opioid prescribing guideline is unique, taking into account each patient's perception of pain, rather than prescribing opioids based on type of operation. Surgeons play a pivotal role in minimizing opioid use in their patients by setting expectations for pain management. Opioid disposal rates dramatically increased because surgeons told patients about specific FDA-compliant methods for pill disposal, the location of a convenient pharmacy drop box, and made a reminder phone call. CHICAGO (February 25, 2021): A prescribing guideline tailored to patients' specific needs reduced the number of opioid pills prescribed after major surgery with researchers reporting ...

Spring snowmelt in the Alps is occurring earlier in the year due to climate change and as a result triggering abrupt deviations in mountain ecosystems. These changes could negatively affect the functioning of these valuable ecosystems. New research has demonstrated that vitally important microbial communities within Alpine soils are under threat as a direct result of increasing global temperatures caused by ongoing climate change. These belowground microbes critically support aboveground life because they recycle the key nutrients upon which all animals and plants depend, ...

Smartphones could be used to scan people's eyes for early-warning signs of glaucoma - helping to prevent severe ocular diseases and blindness, a new study reveals. Some of the most common eye-related diseases are avoidable and display strong risk factors before onset, but it is much harder to pinpoint a group of people at risk from glaucoma. Glaucoma is associated with elevated levels of intraocular pressure (IOP) and an accurate, non-invasive way of monitoring an individual's IOP over an extended period would help to significantly increase their chances of maintaining their vision. Soundwaves used as a mobile measurement method would detect increasing values of ...

A safe, fast and cheap testing method that uses magnetic nanoparticles to detect viruses in both clinical and wastewater samples has been developed by KAUST researchers. The centrifuge-free approach is compatible with magnetic bead-based automated systems that are already used to process hundreds of samples. "Our silica magnetic nanoparticle-based workflow can be assembled from scratch by any researcher," says lead author Gerardo Ramos-Mandujano. "It rivals commercial viral-RNA extraction kits while lowering the risk of handling potentially infectious samples." To diagnose COVID-19, clinicians extract SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA from different types of clinical samples, such as nasopharyngeal swabs, and detect the virus using ...

Air pollution from fuel combustion is one of the greatest environmental problems, especially in urban environments. In densely populated cities, the presence of nitrogen oxides, very small carbon particles, and carbon monoxide (CO) in the air seriously harms the human health and increases mortality. A collaboration between researchers from the University of Barcelona and from the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk (Russia) opens the way for reducing emissions of automotive pollutants. In a recent study, the scientists ...

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is key to various fundamental biological processes. It transfers genetic information, translates it into proteins or supports gene regulation. To achieve a more detailed understanding of the precise functions it performs, researchers based at Heidelberg University and at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have devised a new fluorescence imaging method which enables live-cell RNA imaging with unprecedented resolution. The method is based on a novel molecular marker called Rhodamine-Binding Aptamer for Super-Resolution Imaging Techniques (RhoBAST). This RNA-based fluorescence marker is used in combination with the dye rhodamine. Due to their distinctive properties, marker and dye interact in a very specific way, which makes individual RNA molecules ...

Similar to the fact that a person would act differently when being alone, materials can also obtain unique qualities when being separated in atom-level, among which is the enhanced catalyzing ability. Single-atom catalysts have shown enormous catalyzing capability since its first appearance. By preparing 2-dimensional (2D) single-atom monolayer crystals, scientists can expect to get catalysts with high loading density of active sites as well as great stability. However, the question herein is that only the edge atoms in the 2D monolayer have shown this effect while most of the atoms are inside the basal plane, which is critically limiting the efficiency ...

One of the main culprits of global warming is the vast amount of carbon dioxide pumped out into the atmosphere mostly from burning fossil fuels and the production of steel and cement. In response, scientists have been trying out a process that can sequester waste carbon dioxide, transporting it into a storage site, and then depositing it at a place where it cannot enter the atmosphere. The problem is that capturing carbon from power plants and industrial emissions isn't very cost-effective. The main reason is that waste carbon dioxide isn't emitted pure, but is mixed with nitrogen and other gases, and extracting it from industrial emissions ...

NUI Galway study finds problem and non-problem gamblers differ in the gratifications they seek from mobile gambling Non problematic mobile gambling is associated with positive mood Advice for regulators and mobile gamblers on how to avoid gambling harms A study carried out by the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway has examined how the different gratifications sought from mobile gambling explain problematic versus non-problematic patterns in highly involved gamblers. For a subgroup of vulnerable individuals, gambling involvement can be pathological and reflects a personality disorder. ...

Previous research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has shown that people with anxiety disorders can benefit from two types of therapy. But in a new NTNU study, the same patients also exhibited major changes on a scientific personality test. The treatment resulted in patients scoring lower on the neuroticism personality trait, and thereby perhaps having a lower risk of relapse. In general, the patients' personality profiles also normalized. "Our findings might apply to treatment in general. The risk of relapse could be less if we manage to reduce patients' neuroticism," says Professor Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair at NTNU's Department of Psychology. Two effective methods People ...

PHILADELPHIA - Heart attack, kidney failure, stroke. These are just a few of the life-threatening complications that patients are at risk for following surgery. Now Jefferson researchers have developed an easy-to-use, web-based tool that predicts the risk of post-surgical complications such as kidney failure and stroke. The model may help medical professionals put preventive measures in place before the need for emergency intervention. "We need to be able to assess the risk of life-threatening, post-surgical complications so we can then come up with individualized ways to ...

Amsterdam, February 25, 2021 - COVID-19 has wrought havoc on the global economy and the world's public health systems. People with disabilities are more likely to suffer severe cases of the disease. Experts advocate in this special issue of the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation that vocational rehabilitation across the major life phases of health, work, and education must focus on access to technology and home-based employment and ensure people with disabilities are prepared for the new global workplace. To date, 500,000 Americans who have acquired COVID-19 have died, making it the current leading cause of death in the United States with over 2.4 million deaths worldwide. Individuals with some types of disabilities, especially those with multiple ...