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Medicine 2023-03-08

Analyzing child firearm assault injuries by race, ethnicity during pandemic

About The Study: Child firearm assaults increased substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic in four major U.S. cities, according to the results of this study. Racial and ethnic disparities increased, as Hispanic, Asian, and especially Black children experienced disproportionate shares of the increased violence.  Authors: Jonathan Jay, Dr.P.H., J.D., of the Boston University School of Public Health 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/jamanetworkopen.2023.3125) Editor’s ...
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eDNA holds the key to safeguarding pollinators amid global declines: Study
Medicine 2023-03-08

eDNA holds the key to safeguarding pollinators amid global declines: Study

Curtin researchers have uncovered new evidence of western pygmy possums interacting with native flowers, providing the first eDNA study to simultaneously detect mammal, insect and bird DNA on flowers. The new research, published today in Environmental DNA, examined DNA traces left by animal pollinators on native flora and detected both insect and animal pollinators from multiple flowering plant species at once - a game changer in the face of declining animal pollinators globally. In North America, some pollinator species have fallen by more than 95 per cent while ...
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Technology 2023-03-08

SIAM Conference on Computational Geometric Design (GD23)

The 2023 SIAM Conference on Computational Geometric Design, organized by the SIAM Activity Group on Geometric Design, is part of the International Geometry Summit bringing together the Symposium on Physical and Solid Modeling 2023, Shape Modeling International 2023, EG Symposium on Geometry Processing 2023, and Geometric Modeling and Processing 2023. The 2023 SIAM Conference on Computational Geometric Design seeks high quality, original research contributions that strive to advance all aspects ...
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Medicine 2023-03-08

Study associates long COVID with physical inactivity

The link between symptoms of COVID-19 and physical inactivity is increasingly evident. An article recently published in the journal Scientific Reports by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil describes a study in which COVID-19 survivors with at least one persistent symptom of the disease were 57% more likely to be sedentary, and the presence of five or more post-acute sequelae of infection by SARS-CoV-2 increased the odds of physical inactivity by 138%. “Although this was a cross-sectional study, the findings underscore the importance of discussing and encouraging physical activity at all times, including during the pandemic,” ...
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Scientists uncover the unexpected identity of mezcal worms
Science 2023-03-08

Scientists uncover the unexpected identity of mezcal worms

Mezcal is a distilled alcohol made from the boiled and fermented sap of agave plants. Most mezcal beverages — including all brands of tequila — are sold as pure distillates, but a few have an added stowaway bottled inside: worms.   Called gusanos de maguey (Spanish for agave worms), these odd organic chasers aren’t actually worms, but instead a type of insect larva, and their addition to mezcal is a recent one. Mezcal production has a storied history, dating back to the first Spanish inhabitants of Mexico, but larvae were only added to the drink in ...
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Science 2023-03-08

AERA announces 2023 fellows

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2023—The American Educational Research Association (AERA) has announced the selection of 24 exemplary scholars as 2023 AERA Fellows. The AERA Fellows Program honors scholars for their exceptional contributions to, and excellence in, education research. Nominated by their peers, the 2023 Fellows were selected by the Fellows Committee and approved by the AERA Council, the association’s elected governing body. They will be inducted during a ceremony at the 2023 Annual Meeting in Chicago on April 14. They join a total of 714 AERA Fellows. “AERA Fellows demonstrate the highest standards ...
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A better way to produce fertilizers
Science 2023-03-08

A better way to produce fertilizers

Fertilizers are one of the main reasons that we are able to grow enough crops to feed the almost 8 billion humans living on Earth. Modern agriculture depends largely on nitrogen-based fertilizers, which significantly increase the yield of crops. Unfortunately, a great portion of these fertilizers are produced at an industrial level, consuming fossil fuel energy and causing nitrogen pollution. One attractive way to minimize our use of industrially produced fertilizers is to harness the power of nitrogenases. ...
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Social Science 2023-03-08

University of Cincinnati study finds little federal funding for incarceration-related research

Research from the University of Cincinnati finds a lack of federal funding for incarceration-related research. The study looked at data from the Department of Justice, National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation, some of which dated back to 1985. The study was published recently in the journal JAMA Network Open. “We have very little evidence-based research on how and when to intervene with children and families when someone is removed from the home due to incarceration, especially on how to ...
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Environment 2023-03-08

How nanoplastics can influence metabolism

PET, the plastic used to make bottles, for example, is ubiquitous in our natural environment. In a joint study, scientists from Leipzig University and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) investigated the negative effects that tiny plastic PET particles can have on the metabolism and development of an organism. Their findings have now been published in the journal Scientific Reports. The increasing use of plastic is threatening ecosystems around the world. One of the big concerns is the presence of plastics in the form of small particles, also called microplastics and nanoplastics. ...
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Virginia Tech researchers study PTSD effects on bystanders
Science 2023-03-08

Virginia Tech researchers study PTSD effects on bystanders

The traditional line of thought is that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is caused by directly experiencing the traumatic event. However, about 10 percent of diagnosed PTSD occurs when people witness these events versus experiencing it directly themselves. Little is known about these cases of PTSD, but that’s something that Tim Jarome, an associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences School of Animal Sciences, is aiming to change with a $430,000 grant from the National Institute ...
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Medicine 2023-03-08

New pain medications are still widely inaccessible to individuals living with sickle cell disease

(WASHINGTON, March 8, 2023) – Sickle cell disease (SCD), a rare chronic, progressive, life-threatening, inherited blood disorder, often affects individuals with chronic pain that can be debilitating to their quality of life. Yet less than 4% of people living with SCD who experience chronic pain episodes have prescriptions for newer FDA-approved pain-relieving drugs, including l-glutamine, voxelotor, and crizanlizumab, according to a new study published in Blood Advances. Further, researchers found that less than a third of patients with pain episodes have prescriptions for hydroxyurea, ...
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Two-pronged immunotherapy eliminates metastatic breast cancer in mice
Medicine 2023-03-08

Two-pronged immunotherapy eliminates metastatic breast cancer in mice

Metastatic breast cancer has no cure and has proven stubbornly resistant to one of the most innovative and promising new cancer treatments: immunotherapy. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a way to treat the area surrounding breast tumors that have spread to bone so that such tumors become vulnerable to attack by the body’s immune system. When the researchers boosted the activity of certain immune cells, called T cells and macrophages, these immune cells worked together to clear metastatic breast tumors that had spread to the bones of mice, and continued to eliminate tumor cells ...
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Researchers take a step towards turning interactions that normally ruin quantum information into a way of protecting it
Technology 2023-03-08

Researchers take a step towards turning interactions that normally ruin quantum information into a way of protecting it

Researchers have found a way to predict the behavior of many-body quantum systems coupled to their environment. The work represents a way to protect quantum information in quantum devices, which is crucial for real-world applications of quantum technology. In a study published in Physical Review Letters, researchers at Aalto University in Finland and IAS Tsinghua University in China report a new way to predict how quantum systems, such as groups of particles, behave when they are connected to the external environment. ...
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Medicine 2023-03-08

Long-term exposure to nitrate in drinking water may be a risk factor for prostate cancer

The nitrate ingested over the course of a person’s adult lifetime through the consumption of tap water and bottled water could be a risk factor for prostate cancer, particularly in the case of aggressive tumours and in younger men. This is the conclusion of a study conducted in Spain and led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the ”la Caixa” Foundation. The findings have been published in Environmental Health Perspectives.   The study also suggests that diet plays an important role. The researchers found that eating plenty of fibre, fruit/vegetables and vitamin C could reduce the negative effect ...
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UNIST receives generous gift from BNK Kyongnam Bank
Science 2023-03-08

UNIST receives generous gift from BNK Kyongnam Bank

UNIST and BNK Kyongnam Bank recently held a donation agreement ceremony in pursuit of creating a beautiful, biodiverse, and sustainable kitchen garden on UNIST campus. A ceremony to commemorate and display gratitude for BNK Kyongnam Bank also took place on Friday, February 24, 2023. As part of its Carbon Neutral Campus Project, UNIST has been implementing a number of projects to improve sustainability on campus and in the surrounding community, including the creation of an ecological garden that ...
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Science 2023-03-08

Seeking leukemia’s Achilles heel

A team of researchers has discovered a potential therapeutic that can synergize with existing drugs to more effectively kill certain leukemia cells. The authors published their results on Jan. 19 in the journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.   Acute myeloid leukemia is a cancer of developing immune cells. It can manifest in all individuals, including the elderly and children. Only 30% of patients survive beyond five years of diagnosis Unlike cancers of solid organs, AML is found in bodily fluids, such as blood. Like passengers ...
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Men over 65 are at greater risk than women of skull fractures from falls
Science 2023-03-08

Men over 65 are at greater risk than women of skull fractures from falls

Each year, more than 3 million people ages 65 and older are treated in emergency departments for fall injuries. Head trauma is the leading cause of serious injury with skull fractures being reported as a serious outcome. According to the 2016 National Trauma Database annual report, females account for 58 percent of these falls. Because geriatric females have an increased rate of falls and facial fractures, determining if they also are at an increased risk of skull fractures is crucial. Currently, research ...
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Medicine 2023-03-08

Highlight facts or appeal to feelings? The psychology of persuading individuals to contribute to a collective goal

Researchers from Fudan University, China Europe International Business School, and Peking University published a new Journal of Marketing article that examines how marketers can use different messaging to persuade individuals to contribute to a collective goal. The study addresses the specific question of the type of message—fact-based vs. affected-based—that is more effective in eliciting participation based on how near the goal is to completion. The study, forthcoming in the Journal ...
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Science 2023-03-08

Just add water: How diluting ouzo liquor could lead to better emulsions

It sounds like a party trick: Add water to the clear, licorice-flavored ouzo liquor, and watch it turn cloudy. This “ouzo effect” is an example of an easy way to make highly stable emulsions — or mixtures of liquids that don’t like being together, like vinaigrettes — but nobody has yet fully understood how it works. Now, researchers report in ACS Central Science that the secret may lie in the unique structure of the emulsion’s droplets. Ouzo is a popular liquor enjoyed throughout Greece, ...
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Paving a smoother path to manuscript publication
Science 2023-03-08

Paving a smoother path to manuscript publication

Shane Harper, DMS, PA-C, knows how difficult it is to launch a medical research journal and get it into the orbit of the scientific community. In 2022 he became the founding editor-in-chief for the West Texas Journal of Medicine, which published its inaugural issue in December. By establishing a medical research publication, Harper and the journal’s editorial board seek to provide an online publication that distributes original medical and health sciences-related research in a forum free of common predatory publication practices to ...
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Paleontologists flip the script on anemone fossils
Environment 2023-03-08

Paleontologists flip the script on anemone fossils

Billions of sea anemones adorn the bottom of the Earth’s oceans — yet they are among the rarest of fossils because their squishy bodies lack easily fossilized hard parts. Now a team of paleontologists has discovered that countless sea anemone fossils have been hiding in plain sight for nearly 50 years. In a newly published paper in the journal Papers in Palaeontology, University of Illinois Chicago’s Roy Plotnick and colleagues report that fossils long-interpreted ...
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Mezcal worm in a bottle: DNA evidence suggests a single moth species
Medicine 2023-03-08

Mezcal worm in a bottle: DNA evidence suggests a single moth species

A new study published in PeerJ Life & Environment looked to identify the species of larva found in bottles of Mezcal. Mezcal is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave.  Are people consuming larvae of the skipper butterfly Aegiale hesperiaris, or the larva of the moth Comadia redtenbacheri, the latter which is thought to be declining in numbers in recent years? Or is the worm the larva of a weevil, or another unidentified insect species? Researchers used DNA-based identification analysis of larvae inside 21 commercially ...
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New device for lower extremity rehabilitation receives FDA approval!
Science 2023-03-08

New device for lower extremity rehabilitation receives FDA approval!

COTRAS Co., Ltd. (hereon referred to as COTRAS), an innovative medical-device firm focused on rehabilitation products, has secured approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for MOBILISE, a medical device to help degenerative knee arthritis patients. MOBILISE has been promoted among UNIST (Professor Sang Hoon Kang), COTRAS Co., Ltd. (hereon referred to as COTRAS), Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUH). The aim is to further develop the original technology created by UNIST ...
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Medicine 2023-03-08

First nasal monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 shows promise for treating virus, other diseases

In a pilot trial and clinical sample-based investigations, the drug Foralumab decreased inflammatory markers in patients with COVID-19 Similar reduction in inflammatory markers were seen when given to patients with multiple sclerosis A pilot trial by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, tested the nasal administration of the drug Foralumab, an anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody. Investigators found evidence that the drug dampened the inflammatory T cell response and decreased lung inflammation in patients with COVID-19. Further analysis showed the same gene expression modulation in patients ...
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Scientists show how gene expression controls synaptic plasticity in the aging human brain
Medicine 2023-03-08

Scientists show how gene expression controls synaptic plasticity in the aging human brain

Scientific evidence shows how the cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is caused by the buildup of amyloid beta proteins, which promote synaptic malfunction. One of the neuropathological features in the brains of patients with AD is the degeneration of the basal forebrain cholinergic neurons, leading to a decrease in the number of cholinergic projections to the hippocampus. As a symptomatic treatment of AD, cholinergic neurotransmission is enhanced by the use of certain drugs, known as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. For better prevention and treatment of cognitive disorders like AD and schizophrenia, it is necessary to understand how acetylcholine regulates synaptic transmissions.   Higher ...
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