Irvine, Calif., Aug. 20, 2024 — A team of researchers led by the University of California, Irvine has discovered that an antioxidant found in rosemary extract can reduce volitional intakes of cocaine by moderating the brain’s reward response, offering a new therapeutic target for treating addiction.   The study, recently published online in the journal Neuron, describes team members’ focus on a region of the brain called the globus pallidus externus, which acts as a gatekeeper that regulates how we react to cocaine. ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Researchers in Purdue University’s colleges of Agriculture and Science have received an additional $95,000 from the Trask Innovation Fund to develop patent-pending drought-resistant soybean plants and novel arthritis treatments. The fund is managed by the Purdue Innovates Incubator, which provides programming for the Purdue University community to ideate, refine and support their solutions. Funding recipients can receive up to $50,000 for their initial project; ...

AUSTIN, Texas — During the past decade, auditors have found a booming new business: reviewing reports on companies’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities. ESG reporting among S&P 500 companies grew 80% from 2010 to 2020, with nearly half the companies hiring auditors to give seals of approval. But while ESG reporting brings new opportunities to auditors, it can also bring new headaches, according to a new study from Texas McCombs. Test subjects who engaged auditors to review their ESG reports often pressured them to be more lenient on their financial reports — and auditors ...

August 20, 2024 — Among patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion, the presence of Modic changes is associated with differences in microbial diversity and metabolites in the lumbar cartilaginous endplates (LCEPs), reports a study in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.  "These findings suggest that changes in the microbiota may disrupt unsaturated fatty acid metabolism within the LCEP microenvironment, potentially influencing the onset and progression of Modic changes [MCs]," according to the new research ...

Atul Malhotra, MD, Peter C. Farrell Presidential Endowed Chair in Pulmonary Medicine at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and pulmonologist at UC San Diego Health, has been named recipient of the 2024 Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Thoracic Society. The award is given annually to honor the career of an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of sleep or respiratory neurobiology in terms of both scientific and scholarly advances, as well as in mentoring, teaching and advocacy to advance public health. Recipients are recognized for achievement in scholarship over the course of an entire ...

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, have used artificial intelligence tools to accelerate the understanding of the risk of specific cardiac arrhythmias when various parts of the heart are exposed to different thresholds of radiation as part of a treatment plan for lung cancer. Their results are published in JACC: CardioOncology. “Radiation exposure to the heart during lung cancer treatment can have very serious and immediate effects on a patient’s cardiovascular ...

ATLANTA — Researchers using Georgia State University’s Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array have identified new details about the size and appearance of the North Star, also known as Polaris. The new research is published in The Astrophysical Journal. Earth’s North Pole points to a direction in space marked by the North Star. Polaris is both a navigation aid and a remarkable star in its own right. It is the brightest member of a triple-star system and is a pulsating variable star. Polaris gets brighter and fainter periodically as the star’s diameter ...

University of Louisville researchers have received $3.6 million in new grant funding to study the role of arsenic exposure in causing cancer and other major health concerns. And, they think there’s a simple, off-the-shelf solution — zinc — that could help prevent some of its worst effects.  Arsenic is highly poisonous and occurs naturally in some rocks and soil. As a result, the most common source of exposure is drinking contaminated water, particularly ground water from private wells. More than 43 million people in the U.S. alone get their water from private wells, including many in areas of Kentucky that may be contaminated ...

The last two decades have been fraught for the policing profession, with police facing internal and external challenges to their public safety and legitimacy mandates. Much more research, analysis, and insights into policing are needed to inform policy, practice, and reforms in law enforcement and to achieve evidence-based policing. To move toward these goals, the current Editors-In-Chief of Criminology & Public Policy have published a second special issue on policing practice and policy, following their first special issue in 2020. This issue features thought-provoking and timely studies from leading researchers in the field on a variety of challenges facing ...

Researchers at the University of British Columbia have shown for the first time how and why the depletion of microbes in a newborn's gut by antibiotics can lead to lifelong respiratory allergies. In a study published today in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, a research team from the school of biomedical engineering (SBME) has identified a specific cascade of events that lead to allergies and asthma. In doing so, they have opened many new avenues for exploring potential preventions and treatments. "Our research finally shows how the gut bacteria and antibiotics shape a newborn's immune system to make them more prone to allergies," said ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Politician and businessman Nelson Rockefeller was seen as a moderate or liberal Republican even as he embraced conservative policies as the Republican Party shifted to the right in the 1960s and ‘70s. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign history professor Marsha Barrett uses the political career of Rockefeller — the four-time New York governor and vice president to Gerald Ford — as a lens to explore the evolution of the Republican party and the ascendancy of conservatism in her new book, “Nelson Rockefeller’s Dilemma: The Fight to Save Moderate Republicanism.” ...

The review and writing sessions, held from July 22-25, 2024, gathered specialists from South and North America, Australia, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Participants brought expertise in the disciplines of water management, environmental data and modelling, crop nutrition including nitrogen and carbon, and farmer-centric agronomy. “The strategic task for this group was to focus its attention on whether our understanding of landscape relationships between terrain, water, carbon, and changing farming objectives provides opportunities ...

Esophageal cancer, a highly aggressive malignancy originating in the esophageal epithelium, poses significant public health challenges in China, where it ranks sixth in incidence and fifth in mortality among cancers. The country's large population contributes to over half of the global cases and deaths from esophageal cancer. This cancer's poor prognosis is often due to late diagnosis, as early-stage esophageal cancer is typically asymptomatic, leading to diagnoses at more advanced stages. The geographical distribution of high-risk areas in China, such as the southern side of the ...

Nakkash & Griffin Engaging Virginia Youth & Community In Designing LGBTQ+ Inclusive Vaping Prevention Interventions Rima Nakkash, Professor, Global and Community Health, College of Public Health, and Kenneth Griffin, Professor, Global and Community Health, College of Public Health, received funding for the project: “Engaging Virginia youth and community in designing LGBTQ+ Inclusive Vaping Prevention Interventions.” The researchers are developing evidence-based vaping prevention interventions tailored for LGBTQ+ youth in Virginia, informed by input from youth and stakeholders in this community.  Nakkash and Griffin ...

Cuellar Examining Negotiated Rates For Behavioral Health & Primary Care Providers Alison Cuellar, Associate Dean of Research, College of Public Health; Professor, Health Administration and Policy, received funding for the project: “Examining Negotiated Rates for Behavioral Health and Primary Care Providers.” The goal of the study is to inform future Medicaid policy by examining differences in how much payers reimburse for medical services in Virginia.  Cuellar is a Co-Investigator on the project with ...

Bottom Line: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening and routine supplementation for iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia in pregnant persons to prevent adverse maternal and infant health outcomes. Iron deficiency is the leading cause of anemia during pregnancy. According to survey data from 1999 to 2006, overall estimated prevalence of iron deficiency during pregnancy is near 18% and increases across the three trimesters of pregnancy. An estimated 5% of pregnant ...

Serous effusion, defined as the excessive accumulation of fluid in body cavities such as the pleural, pericardial, and peritoneal spaces, is a critical diagnostic challenge in pathology. Cytological evaluation of serous fluids provides vital information for detecting underlying etiologies, such as malignancy, and helps in evaluating tumor stages and customizing treatment plans. To address inconsistencies in the diagnostic criteria and nomenclature used in fluid cytology reporting, the International Academy of Cytology and the American Society of Cytopathology introduced The International ...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2024 – Statistical analysis of classic literature has shown that the way punctuation breaks up text obeys certain universal mathematical relationships. James Joyce’s tome “Finnegans Wake,” however, famously breaks the rules of normal prose through its unusual, dreamlike stream of consciousness. New work in chaos theory, published in the journal Chaos, from AIP Publishing, takes a closer look at how Joyce’s challenging novel stands out, mathematically. Researchers have compared the distribution of punctuation marks in various experimental novels to determine the underlying order of “Finnegans Wake.” ...

About The Study: In this disproportionality study of an adverse drug reaction database, researchers identified a disproportionality signal of suicidal ideation with semaglutide, but not for liraglutide, particularly among patients with co-reported antidepressant use, a proxy for affective disorders (a notable exclusion criteria of premarketing clinical trials). A detected signal of semaglutide-associated suicidal ideation warrants urgent clarification.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Georgios Schoretsanitis, ...

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, approximately 50% of cancer survivors experienced cancer-related financial hardship, with a disproportionate number of survivors who were younger, were Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries, were socioeconomically disadvantaged, and had advanced disease. Social vulnerability was independently associated with increasing levels of financial hardship, emphasizing the central role one’s community may play in cancer survivorship and the compounding financial detriments of residing in a socially vulnerable community.  Corresponding ...

Patients who overdose on opioids and have a pulse are often given naloxone (Narcan) by first responders, a common life-saving measure. However, emergency medical service (EMS) agencies have different protocols for administering naloxone, so there is little evidence to support its use in patients without a pulse who experienced opioid-associated out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). A recent study by UC Davis Health researchers set out to assess the effects of giving naloxone administration by paramedics to patients with OHCA.  The study, published in Jama Network Open, ...

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian found that a self-guided cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) app, called Maya, significantly reduced anxiety in young adults struggling with mental health challenges. The decrease in anxiety symptoms was clinically and statistically significant at six weeks and continued at the 12-week follow-up period with improvement levels similar to anxiety medication studies. The study, published Aug. 20 in JAMA Network Open, looked at how young adults ages ...

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology announced today the winners of its annual awards. Colleagues and other leaders in the field nominated the winners for making significant contributions to biochemistry and molecular biology as well as to the training and support of emerging scientists.  The recipients will give talks about their work at the society’s 2025 annual meeting slated for April 12–15 in Chicago.  In addition to cash prizes ranging from $2,000 to $35,000, each awardee will receive a plaque and transportation expenses to the annual meeting.  Learn more about the ASBMB awards.  Herbert Tabor ...

The rise in the incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCCs) linked to human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 infection has become notable, surpassing cervical high-risk HPV infections by 2019. HPV-associated OPSCCs present a better prognosis compared to traditional oropharyngeal malignancies, largely due to lower correlations with chronic tobacco and alcohol use. Despite the sexually transmitted nature of HPV-associated OPSCCs, data on sexual behaviors is sparse in cancer registries, complicating correlation studies. Notably, high-risk factors in men include recent ...

Quantum simulation enables scientists to simulate and study complex systems that are challenging or even impossible using classical computers across various fields, including financial modelling, cybersecurity, pharmaceutical discoveries, AI and machine learning. For instance, exploring molecular vibronic spectra is critical in understanding the molecular properties in molecular design and analysis. However, it remains a long-standing computationally difficult problem that cannot be efficiently solved using traditional super-computers. Researchers are diligently working on quantum computers and algorithms to ...