Arlington, VA (July 13, 2021) -- Hospitals and other healthcare facilities should require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a consensus statement by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and six other leading organizations representing medical professionals working in infectious diseases, infection prevention, pharmacy, pediatrics, and long-term care. The paper specifies exemption for those with medical contraindications, and some others circumstances in compliance with federal and state laws. "The COVID-19 vaccines in use in the United States have been shown to be safe and ...

Ashalcha oilfield in Tatarstan is one of the most popular locations to study the extraction of heavy oils. In particular, Kazan Federal University's In-Situ Combustion Lab has been working there for a few years. Senior Research Associate Irek Mukhamatdinov explains, "On average, there are one sulfur and one nitrogen atom and five oxygen atoms per resin molecule. In the course of transformation under the action of a catalytic agent and a hydrogen donor, the content of heteroatoms (sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen) in a much larger number of structural blocks of resin molecules decreases. Resin molecules are mainly represented by mono- and two-block structures with a predominance of aromatic rings over naphthenic ones, with long paraffin chains." His ...

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is, unfortunately, a common gastrointestinal disorder. Affecting between 10 to 15% of the global population, IBS negatively impacts the lives of those who have it by frequently causing a variety of symptoms, including abdominal pain, bloating, and bouts of diarrhea or constipation. Despite the high worldwide prevalence of IBS, gastroenterologists still haven't pinpointed its causes, as there seems to be no obvious structural or biochemical abnormalities associated with the disorder. In a similar vein, there is still much debate on effective diagnostic criteria and treatment options. Considering it has been hard for scientists and doctors to reach a consensus on best practices regarding IBS, it's important that all the latest information that has been gathered ...

A blood test that quantifies the protein ACE2, the cellular protein which allows entry of the coronavirus into cells, as well as ACE2 fragments, produced as a result of interaction with the virus, could be a simple and effective method for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 infection, according to a study led by Javier Sáez-Valero, from the UMH-CSIC Neurosciences Institute in Alicante, published in FASEB Journal. This study, carried out during the first wave of the pandemic, found that patients with COVID-19, in the acute phase of infection, have significantly reduced plasma levels of the full-length ACE2 ...

Amsterdam, July 13, 2021 - Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the most common developmental movement disorders in children. It is associated with complex healthcare needs and impacts development and function. In this END ...

ITHACA, N.Y. - A Cornell University-led team has calculated that by the year 2050, vehicle electrification, driverless cars and ride sharing could slash U.S. petroleum consumption by 50% and carbon dioxide emissions by 75% while simultaneously preventing 5,500 premature deaths and saving $58 billion annually. The researchers projected vehicle stocks, distance traveled, energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions in the continental U.S. through 2050 and quantified the impacts of changing emissions on concentrations of fine particulate matter in the atmosphere, as well as ensuing health and economic benefits of populations in 10 major metropolitan areas. Their simulations ...

In the United States, massive volumes of individual-level data, called "big data," are used for a variety of reasons, including marketing, intelligence gathering and political campaigns. Big data are also vital to public health efforts, such as improving population health, informing personalized medicine and transforming biomedical research. However, it can be challenging to use big data for health applications due to laws and concerns about individual privacy. Federal and state data-protection laws exist to protect individual privacy, and they vary depending on the type of data, who is using it and the data's intended purpose. The complexity and differences in these data-protection laws can make it difficult for researchers to use big data ...

Researchers have conducted a global study on the effectiveness of recently established protected areas in preventing forest loss The study explores protected area performance by countries, with South Africa, Cambodia, Latvia, Guatemala, Uruguay, Brazil and New Zealand leading the way in the effectiveness of their protected areas The research team estimated that overall, protected areas established between 2000-2012 prevented 86,062 square kilometers of forest loss If all countries had protected areas that were as effective as their top-performing neighbor, then ...

A clinic to help transgender young people and their families receive quicker support has boosted mental health, family functioning and quality of life, according to a new study. The research, led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and published in Pediatrics, found the clinic in Melbourne led to lower levels of depression and anxiety due to transgender young people being able to access help 10 months sooner. The study involved 142 patients who completed questionnaires before and after attending the First Assessment Single Session Triage (FASST) clinic ...

A study conducted by researchers from the UPF Culture and Socio-Ecological Dynamics research group (CaSEs) and the University of Leicester (UK) has provided a highly dynamic image surrounding the use and importance of hitherto unknown wild plant resources at the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük (Anatolia, Turkey). The researchers carried out their work combining the analysis of microbotanical remains and use-wear traces in various stone implements recovered from the site, which in the past hosted one of mankind's first agricultural societies. The researchers carried out their work combining the analysis of microbotanical remains and use-wear traces in various stone implements recovered from ...

Topological semimetals are one of the major discoveries in condensed-matter physics in recent years. The magnetic Weyl semimetal, in which the Weyl nodes can be generated and modulated by magnetization, provides an ideal platform for the investigation of the magnetic field-tunable link between Weyl physics and magnetism. But due to the lack of appropriate or high quality specimens, most of the theoretically expected magnetic topological semimetals have not been experimentally confirmed. Therefore, exploration of new magnetic topological semimetals is of great importance. Recently, ...

The absorption of energy from laser light by free electrons in a liquid has been demonstrated for the first time. Until now, this process was observed only in the gas phase. The findings, led by Graz University of Technology, open new doors for ultra-fast electron microscopy. The investigation and development of materials crucially depends on the ability to observe smallest objects at fastest time scales. The necessary spatial resolution for investigations in the (sub-)atomic range can be achieved with electron microscopy. For the most rapid processes, ...

Artificial microswimmers have received much attention in recent years. By mimicking microbes which convert their surrounding energy into swimming motions, these particles could soon be exploited for many important applications. Yet before this can happen, researchers must develop methods to better control the trajectories of individual microswimmers in complex environments. In a new study published inEPJ E, Shubhadeep Mandal at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (India), and Marco Mazza at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organisation in Göttingen (Germany) and Loughborough University (UK), show how this control could be achieved using exotic materials named 'nematic liquid crystals' (LCs) - whose viscosity and elasticity can vary depending on the direction ...

A new model tracking the vertical movement of algae-covered microplastic particles offers hope in the fight against plastic waste in our oceans. Research led by Newcastle University's Dr Hannah Kreczak is the first to identify the processes that underpin the trajectories of microplastics below the ocean surface. Publishing their findings in the journal Limnology and Oceanography the authors analysed how biofouling - the accumulation of algae on the surface of microplastics, impacts the vertical movement of buoyant particles. The researchers found that particle properties ...

Informing people about how well the new COVID-19 vaccines work could boost uptake among doubters substantially, according to new research. The study, led by the University of Bristol and published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, shows the importance of raising awareness of vaccine efficacy, especially if it compares very favourably to another well-established vaccine. The research focused on adults who were unsure about being vaccinated against COVID-19. Those who were given information about the vaccine's efficacy scored 20 per cent higher on a measure ...

Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a computational method based on large-scale molecular dynamics simulations to predict the cell-membrane permeability of cyclic peptides using a supercomputer. Their protocol has exhibited promising accuracy and may become a useful tool for the design and discovery of cyclic peptide drugs, which could help us reach new therapeutic targets inside cells beyond the capabilities of conventional small-molecule drugs or antibody-based drugs. Cyclic peptide drugs have attracted the attention of major pharmaceutical companies around the world as promising alternatives to ...

Rescuing a member of their own social group, but not a stranger, triggers motivational and social reward centres in rats' brains, suggests a report published today in eLife. The study provides the first description of similar brain activity in both rats and humans underlying this socially biased behaviour. The findings add to our understanding of social biases and could help with developing ways to promote cooperation outside of an individual's social group. "Humans, as well as many other creatures, are biased toward helping other members of their social groups ...

Crenarchaeol is a large, closed-loop lipid that is present in the membranes of ammonium-oxidizing archaea, a unicellular life form that exists ubiquitously in the oceans. In comparison to other archaeal membrane lipids, crenarchaeol is very complex and, so far, attempts to confirm its structure by synthesizing the entire molecule have been unsuccessful. Organic chemists from the University of Groningen have taken up this challenge and discovered that the proposed structure for the molecule was largely, but not entirely, correct. Crenarchaeol contains 86 carbon atoms and is a 'macrocycle, a large closed loop. No fewer than 22 positions in the molecule are chiral. The molecule can be present in two forms that are each other's mirror image, like a left and a right hand. In the crenarchaeol ...

A new University of Iowa study suggests that metabolism of plant-based dietary substances by specific gut bacteria, which are lacking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), may provide protection against the disease. The study led by Ashutosh Mangalam, PhD, UI associate professor of pathology, shows that a diet rich in isoflavone, a phytoestrogen or plant-based compound that resembles estrogen, protects against multiple sclerosis-like symptoms in a mouse model of the disease. Importantly, the isoflavone diet was only protective when the mice had gut microbes capable of breaking ...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.--Just as helicopter traffic reporters use their "bird's eye view" to route drivers around roadblocks safely, radiation oncologists treating a variety of cancers can use new guidelines developed by a West Virginia University researcher to reduce mistakes in data transfer and more safely treat their patients. Ramon Alfredo Siochi--the director of medical physics at WVU--led a task group to help ensure the accuracy of data that dictates a cancer patient's radiation therapy. The measures he and his colleagues recommended in their new report safeguard against medical errors in a treatment that more than half of all cancer patients receive. "The most common mistake that happens in radiation oncology is the transfer of information from one system to another," Siochi, ...

How we sense texture has long been a mystery. It is known that nerves attached to the fingertip skin are responsible for sensing different surfaces, but how they do it is not well understood. Rodents perform texture sensing through their whiskers. Like human fingertips, whiskers perform multiple tasks, sensing proximity and shape of objects, as well as surface textures. Mathematicians from the University of Bristol's Department of Engineering Mathematics, worked with neuroscientists from the University of Tuebingen in Germany, to understand how the motion of a whisker across a surface translates texture information into neural signals that can be perceived by the brain. By carrying out high ...

Scientists have found new evidence of menopause in killer whales - raising fascinating questions about how and why it evolved. Most animals breed throughout their lives. Only humans and four whale species are known to experience menopause, and scientists have long been puzzled about why this occurs. Killer whales are a diverse species made up of multiple separate ecotypes (different types within a species) across the world's oceans that differ in their prey specialisation and patterns of social behaviour. Previous studies have found menopause in an ecotype called "resident" killer whales whose social structure appears to favour "grandmothering" (females using their energy and knowledge ...

When a doctor gives a patient antibiotics for a bacterial infection, they usually require them to finish the entire treatment, even when symptoms go away. This is to ensure the drugs kill off any remaining bacteria. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Visiting Scientist Raffaella Sordella investigated a similar problem that occurs in some lung cancers. Approximately 15% of non-small cell lung cancers have a mutation in a growth receptor called EGFR, causing tumor cells to grow uncontrollably. Researchers developed an effective drug that inhibits EGFR and ...

A Skoltech team has developed a model for assessing infection risks for supermarket customers. The researchers believe that their model will help formulate scientifically backed rules for safe shopping during the pandemic. The paper was published in PLOS One. The team included professor Maxim Fedorov, who serves as Skoltech's Vice President for Artificial Intelligence and Mathematical Modeling, and a research group led by professor Nikolai Brilliantov -- the Director of the Skoltech Center for Computational and Data-Intensive Science and Engineering (CDISE). The composite model presented in the paper incorporates ...

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 13, 2021) -- A recently published study co-authored by University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging researcher Justin Miller, Ph.D., identifies 11 rare candidate variants for Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found 19 different families in Utah that suffered from Alzheimer's disease more frequently than what is considered normal. Miller, an assistant professor in the UK College of Medicine, was a co-first author for the study published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia. The work was started at another university, however, some of the computational work was done after Miller arrived at UK in March. For the study, genetic sequencing was conducted on two cousins from each of the 19 families. Miller says they then identified genetic variants that were shared ...