A new SFU-led study finds that less than half of media stories in early 2020 featuring COVID-19 "preprint" research--research that has not yet been peer-reviewed--accurately framed the studies as being preprints or unverified research. SFU PhD student Alice Fleerackers, a researcher in the Scholarly Communications Lab, and publishing program professor Juan Pablo Alperin collaborated with an international team of researchers to analyze more than 500 mentions in over 450 stories from digital news outlets covering preprint COVID-19 research. The study was published this week in Health Communication. Their analysis ...

As the largest orogenic plateau on earth, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was caused by a complex crustal deformation process during the continuous collision and compression process between the Indian and Eurasian continents starting at least 60-50 Ma ago. The formation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau records the collision of the two continents and the deformation process and mechanism within the continents. Therefore, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is considered as a natural ideal laboratory for the study of continent-continent collision and dynamics. At present, the continuous collision between Eurasia and Indian continents is still ongoing, ...

Osaka, Japan - Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), frequently seen in patients with liver cirrhosis caused by alcohol abuse or chronic viral hepatitis, is the most common form of liver cancer worldwide. As such, it is the third-most common cause of cancer-related death and has a notoriously poor prognosis. At present, surgery is the most effective treatment for HCC, but is only successful in the 10%-20% of cases where cancer cells have not spread beyond the liver. Given the lack of treatment options for HCC, a group of researchers led by Osaka University decided to focus on specific cells and processes that occur in the area around liver tumors in the hope of finding a novel target for drug development. The results of their study were published in a recent issue of Gastroenterology. "Hepatic ...

Given a list of cities and the distances between each pair of cities, how do you determine the shortest route that visits each city exactly once and returns to the starting location? This famous problem is called the "traveling salesman problem" and is an example of a combinatorial optimization problem. Solving these problems using conventional computers can be very time-consuming, and special devices called "quantum annealers" have been created for this purpose. Quantum annealers are designed to find the lowest energy state (or "ground state") of what's known as an "Ising model." Such models are abstract representations of a quantum mechanical system involving interacting spins that are also influenced by external magnetic ...

The world has experienced dramatic urbanization in recent decades. According to the latest report from the United Nations (UN), the global population in 2018 was 7.6 billion and the urban population was 4.2 billion. By 2050, the global population is expected to soar to 9.7 billion, with 68% of the population living in urban areas. (Note 1) In the first-ever study on the characteristics of urbanization in large cities around the world, researchers at the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) analyzed cities' urban built-up areas (BUAs) expansion, population growth and greening BUA changes, and revealed a hugely uneven ...

A new advanced computing technique using routine medical scans to enable doctors to take fewer, more accurate tumour biopsies, has been developed by cancer researchers at the University of Cambridge. This is an important step towards precision tissue sampling for cancer patients to help select the best treatment. In future the technique could even replace clinical biopsies with 'virtual biopsies', sparing patients invasive procedures. The research published in European Radiology shows that combining computed tomography (CT) scans with ultrasound images creates a visual guide for doctors to ensure they sample the full complexity of ...

In the future, the Antarctic could become a greener place and be colonised by new species. At the same time, some species will likely disappear. 25 researchers recently presented these and many other findings in a major international project, in which they analysed hundreds of articles on the Antarctic published in the past ten years. By doing so, the team have provided an exceptionally comprehensive assessment of the status quo and future of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean that surrounds it. Never before have researchers arrived at so many new findings on the biological and biochemical processes at work in the Antarctic than in the past ten years. Now 25 experts, led by the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), have analysed and compiled these ...

Smoking is associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 symptoms and smokers are more likely to attend hospital than non-smokers, a study has found. The study published today in Thorax, by researchers from King's College London, investigates the association between smoking and the severity of the COVID-19. Researchers analysed data from the ZOE COVID Symptom Study App. Of the participants of the app, 11% were smokers. This is a lower proportion than the overall UK population of 14.7%, however, it reflects the demographics of the self-selected sample of the ZOE COVID Symptom Study. While more than a third of users reported not feeling physically well during the period of study (24th March and April 2020), current smokers were 14% more likely to develop the classic triad of ...

DALLAS, Jan. 6, 2021 -- Statins, common cholesterol-lowering medications, may protect women's hearts from damage caused during chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association. "Two types of cancer medications, anthracyclines and trastuzumab, are effective treatments for many women with breast cancer, however, the risk of heart muscle damage has limited their use, particularly in women who are at higher risk for heart problems because of their age or other medical issues," said Husam Abdel-Qadir, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto's ...

Toronto - New research from UHN's Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (PMCC) shows statins, commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, may also protect the heart from damaging side-effects of early breast cancer treatment. Published Jan. 6, 2021 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an observational study found women already taking statins and treated with either anthracyclines or trastuzumab were half as likely to be hospitalized or visit an Emergency Department for heart failure within five years after chemotherapy. "Our job is to protect the heart and ensure it has the greatest fighting chance to get through chemotherapy," says Dr. Husam Abdel-Qadir, lead author of the paper and a cardiologist at the PMCC and Women's College ...

Separating infants and their mothers after a Caesarean section delivery is common. A new study published in END ...

A reduced sense of smell, or olfactory dysfunction, is one of the most common symptoms of COVID-19. A recent study published the END ...

As children undergo treatment for cancer, they may miss school and risk falling behind in their education. An analysis published in END ...

From 2007 to 2016, food insecurity--or limited access to nutritious foods because of a lack of financial resources--increased significantly from 5.5% to 12.4% among older US adults, and the increase was more pronounced among individuals with lower income. The findings come from a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society. The study, which drew from data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, also found that older adults who had food insecurity tended to have lower quality diets. "Our results provide further evidence that food insecurity is a serious health concern among older adults. Continued investment in public health programs and policies are needed to simultaneously ...

The antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine is frequently prescribed to treat symptoms of the autoimmune disease lupus. In addition to decreasing disease flares, the drug can also prevent blood clots, which are a major problem in individuals with lupus. A new study in Arthritis & Rheumatology shows that monitoring patients' blood levels of hydroxychloroquine can predict their clotting risk. In 739 patients, clotting occurred in 38 patients (5.1%). Average hydroxychloroquine blood levels were lower in patients who developed clots, and clotting rates were reduced by 12% for every 200 ng/mL increase in the most recent hydroxychloroquine blood level. The finding may help clinicians determine the optimal dosing of hydroxychloroquine ...

Individuals face a higher risk of dying following hip fractures. A new study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research has found that living alone after experiencing a hip fracture may further elevate this risk. For the study, researchers examined information on hip fractures from all hospitals in Norway from 2002 to 2013, and they combined the data with the 2001 National Population and Housing Census. During 12.8 years of follow-up in 12,770 men and 22,067 women with hip fractures at ages 50 to 79 years, higher rates of death were seen in both men and women living alone versus those living with a partner (a 37% higher risk in men and a 23% higher risk in women). INFORMATION: ...

Findings from a recent study of individuals with depression suggest that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) can improve how patients feel about themselves in difficult situations in ways that may help protect against relapse of depressive symptoms. The findings are published in Counselling and Psychotherapy Research. For the study, 68 individuals were randomized the MBCT or a waiting list. Patients who received MBCT were more likely to experience reductions in feelings of self-inadequacy and improvements in self-reassurance. Also, individuals with improvements in self-reassurance were less likely to experience depressive relapse within 2 years after the MBCT intervention. "Self-criticism makes people vulnerable to depression. This study ...

By late fall, much of the Midwest is a pleasing landscape of dry, harvested corn fields. It makes for a bucolic rural scene on highway drives. But the corn litter that's left over doesn't seem useful, at least to untrained eyes. But to those in the know, that corn residue is a valuable resource. Scattered leaves, husks, kernels, and cobs can serve as food to grazing cattle. When managed well, corn residue can increase farm income, provide affordable food for cattle, and efficiently use the land to feed people. Morgan Grabau, a member of the American Society of Agronomy, studies ...

Researchers from University of Texas at San Antonio and University of Southern California published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines the difficult choices industry incumbents and new entrants face during times of potentially disruptive technological change. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled "Leapfrogging, Cannibalization, and Survival during Disruptive Technological Change: The Critical Role of Rate of Disengagement" and is authored by Deepa Chandrasekaran, Gerard Tellis, and Gareth James. In July 2020, Tesla became the world's most valuable automaker, surpassing Toyota in market value for the first time. Ironically, it was Toyota that in 1997 released the Prius, the world's first ...

Antibiotics are not necessary for patients after most routine endoscopic sinus surgeries despite the common practice to prescribe them, according to a team led by researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. In a new randomized controlled trial, patients who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery had no differences in outcomes including symptoms and infections whether they took an antibiotic or placebo after surgery. The only reported difference in outcomes was in side effects, with patients in the antibiotic group 10 times more likely to report symptoms like diarrhea. The ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A novel form of a drug used to treat osteoporosis that comes with the potential for fewer side effects may provide a new option for patients. The work is supported by the National Institutes of Health and is published in Biophysical Journal. Purdue University innovators developed a stabilized form of human calcitonin, which is a peptide drug already used for people with osteoporosis. Researchers at Purdue created a prodrug form of the peptide hormone to increase its effectiveness as an osteoporosis treatment. In humans, calcitonin is the hormone responsible for normal calcium homeostasis. When prescribed to osteoporosis patients, calcitonin inhibits bone resorption, ...

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California San Diego have broken down the genomic and life history traits of three classes of viruses that have caused endemic and global pandemics in the past and identify natural products - compounds produced in nature - with the potential to disrupt their spread. In a review appearing in the Journal of Natural Products, marine chemists Mitchell Christy, Yoshinori Uekusa, and William Gerwick, and immunologist Lena Gerwick describe the basic biology of three families of RNA viruses and how they infect human cells. These viruses use RNA instead of DNA to store their ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The human body is filled with friendly bacteria. However, some of these microorganisms, such as Veillonella parvula, may be too nice. These peaceful bacteria engage in a one-sided relationship with pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis, helping the germ multiply and cause gum disease, according to a new University at Buffalo-led study. The research sought to understand how P. gingivalis colonizes the mouth. The pathogen is unable to produce its own growth molecules until it achieves a large population in the oral microbiome (the community of microorganisms ...

The human papillomavirus infection, or HPV, is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HPV is associated with health problems including genital warts and cancers, but a vaccine has been available since 2006 to help stop the virus. The CDC reports more than 12 years of data supports the HPV vaccine is safe and effective, yet HPV vaccination rates across the U.S. still remain low. Social media has a history of being a popular place for sexual health discussions, and the HPV vaccine is one of the most discussed vaccines on the internet. Monique Luisi, an assistant professor in the University of Missouri School of Journalism, has studied more than 6,500 public HPV vaccine-related posts ...

While humanity is facing the COVID-19 pandemic, the citrus industry is trying to manage its own devastating disease, Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening disease. HLB is the most destructive citrus disease in the world. In the past decade, the disease has annihilated the Florida citrus industry, reducing orange production for juice and other products by 72%. Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) is the microbe associated with the disease. It resides in the phloem of the tree and, like many plant pathogens, is transmitted by insects during feeding events. Disease progression can be slow but catastrophic. Symptoms begin with blotchy leaves, yellow shoots, and stunting, ...