'Top 100' papers in lumbar spine surgery reflect trends in low back pain treatment
2015-05-11
May 11, 2015 - What are the most influential studies on surgery of the lower (lumbar) spine? The "top 100" research papers in lumbar spine are counted down in a special review in the May 15 issue of Spine, published by Wolters Kluwer.
Dr. Samuel K. Cho and colleagues of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, performed a literature review to analyze and quantify the most important research papers on lumbar spine surgery. Their results raise some interesting "questions, trends and observations"--including the finding that the two most-cited studies ...
Water fleas genetically adapt to climate change
2015-05-11
The water flea has genetically adapted to climate change. Biologists from KU Leuven, Belgium, compared 'resurrected' water fleas -- hatched from 40-year-old eggs -- with more recent specimens. The project was coordinated by Professor Luc De Meester from the Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation.
The water flea has genetically adapted to climate change. Biologists from KU Leuven, Belgium, compared 'resurrected' water fleas - hatched from forty-year-old eggs - with more recent specimens. The project was coordinated by Professor Luc De Meester from the ...
Space lab to elucidate how liquid cocktails mix
2015-05-11
What does space experimentation have in common with liquid cocktails? Both help in understanding what happens when multiple fluids are mixed together and subjected to temperature change - a phenomenon ubiquitous in nature and industrial applications such as oil fluids contained in natural reservoirs. The latest experimental data performed in zero gravity on the International Space Station is now available in the newly published Topical Issue of EPJ E. The results constitute the first set of highly accurate and broadly validated data on the thermodiffusion effects that occur ...
A turning point in the physics of blood
2015-05-11
MADISON -- Mike Graham knows that fluid dynamics can reveal much about how the flow of blood helps and hinders individual blood cells as they go about their work.
Graham, the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and Harvey D. Spangler Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at UW-Madison, established a theoretical basis for these ideas by creating complex computer stimulations that show how relatively stiff white blood cells and platelets interact with more flexible red blood cells. As the different cells collide during blood flow, white cells tend to be ...
Noise produces volcanic seismicity, akin to a drumbeat
2015-05-11
Volcanoes are considered chaotic systems. They are difficult to model because the geophysical and chemical parameters in volcanic eruptions exhibit high levels of uncertainty. Now, Dmitri V. Alexandrov and colleagues from the Ural Federal University in Ekaterinburg, in the Russian Federation, have further extended an eruption model -- previously developed by other scientists -- to the friction force at work between the volcanic plug and volcanic conduit surface. The results, published in EPJ B, provide evidence that volcanic activity can be induced by external noises that ...
First beef with the goodness of fish
2015-05-11
Chinese scientists have reared beef rich in the beneficial fatty acids associated with fish oils. The study in Springer's journal Biotechnology Letters also highlights the scientific challenges that remain.
The team from Northwest A&F University and the National Beef Cattle Improvement Centre, both in Yangling (Shaanxi), successfully introduced a gene into foetal cells from Luxi Yellow cattle, a Chinese breed with a high beef yield. The fat1 gene, isolated from a nematode worm, codes for desaturase enzymes that are involved in the conversion of n-6 to n-3 polyunsaturated ...
Dine with a light eater if you want to consume less
2015-05-11
How much food your dining companion eats can have a big influence on how much you consume, a UNSW Australia-led study concludes.
This psychological effect, known as social modelling, leads people to eat less than they normally would if alone when their companion consumes a small amount of food.
Study lead author, Associate Professor Lenny Vartanian of the UNSW School of Psychology, says that in social situations the appropriate amount of food to eat can be unclear.
"Internal signals like hunger and feeling full can often be unreliable guides. In these situations people ...
Leicester research team identifies potential new targets for cancer treatments
2015-05-11
An international consortium of scientists led by a group from the University of Leicester has announced a new advance in understanding the mechanisms of cancer and how to target it more effectively with new treatments.
Two papers published in the same issue of the world-leading Journal of Cell Biology have arisen from research work led by Professor Andrew Fry at the University of Leicester. Both papers suggest that new understanding of the mechanics of cell division can reveal new targets for cancer therapy.
Professor Fry, who is Director of Research in the College ...
The origins and future of Lake Eyre and the Murray-Darling Basin
2015-05-11
Geoscientists have, for the first time, discovered the origins of Australia's two largest basins: Lake Eyre and the Murray-Darling Basin. The research also implies that in 30 million years' time both basins will cease to exist.
Monash University geoscientist Associate Professor Wouter Schellart, and his colleague Professor Wim Spakman from Utrecht University, have discovered how the floor of an entire ocean basin that was destroyed 70 to 50 million years ago off the North coast of New Guinea is currently located at 800-1200km depth below Central and South-eastern Australia.
Using ...
Advanced MRI scans could help predict people at risk of schizophrenia
2015-05-11
New scanning methods which map the wiring of the brain could provide a valuable new tool to predict people at risk of schizophrenia, according to a new study.
Scientists have long known that the symptoms of schizophrenia are partly explained by disordered connectivity in the brain.
Now, a team of scientists from Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London and the University of Bristol, have, for the first time, used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to identify how the ...
New study finds short-sightedness is becoming more common across Europe
2015-05-11
Myopia or short-sightedness is becoming more common across Europe, according to a new study led by King's College London. The meta-analysis of findings from 15 studies by the European Eye Epidemiology Consortium found that around a quarter of the European population is short-sighted but it is nearly twice as common in younger people, with almost half (47 per cent) of the group aged between 25 and 29 years affected.
The analysis of studies covering over 60,000 people, which was published today in the journal Ophthalmology, also found a strong link between myopia and level ...
Researchers examine the dangers bubbling up from hookah steam stones
2015-05-11
New research suggests the use of hookah steam stones - commonly considered a safer alternative to cigarette smoking - could be leaving users with a dangerous, false sense of security. The findings out of the University of Cincinnati/Agilent Technologies Metallomics Center of the Americas are published this month in the Microchemical Journal.
An analysis led by Amberlie Clutterbuck, a doctoral student in the UC Department of Chemistry, found residues of toxic metals that included chromium, arsenic and cadmium following several simulated hookah/steam stones smoking scenarios.
Clutterbuck's ...
Dopamine signals the value of delayed rewards
2015-05-11
Philadelphia, PA, May 11, 2015 -- Dopamine is the chemical messenger in the brain most closely associated with pleasure and reward. Recent scientific advances now shed light on precise roles for dopamine in the reward process.
A new paper published in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry implicates dopamine in a person's ability to be motivated by delayed rewards.
People like immediate reinforcement and tend to devalue rewards that are substantially delayed in time. As a result, people will often opt for smaller immediate rewards as opposed to larger delayed rewards ...
Advanced viral gene therapy eradicates prostate cancer in preclinical experiments
2015-05-11
Even with the best available treatments, the median survival of patients with metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer is only two to three years. Driven by the need for more effective therapies for these patients, researchers at VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM) have developed a unique approach that uses microscopic gas bubbles to deliver directly to the cancer a viral gene therapy in combination with an experimental drug that targets a specific gene driving the cancer's growth.
Recently published in the journal Oncotarget, ...
New method developed to assess cancer risk of pollutants
2015-05-11
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Scientists at Oregon State University have developed a faster, more accurate method to assess cancer risk from certain common environmental pollutants.
Researchers found that they could analyze the immediate genetic responses of the skin cells of exposed mice and apply statistical approaches to determine whether or not those cells would eventually become cancerous.
The study focused on an important class of pollutants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, that commonly occur in the environment as mixtures such as diesel exhaust and cigarette ...
How cancer tricks the lymphatic system into spreading tumors
2015-05-11
Swollen lymph nodes are often the earliest sign of metastatic spread of cancer cells. Now cancer researchers and immunologists at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet have discovered how cancer cells can infiltrate the lymphatic system by 'disguising' themselves as immune cells (white blood cells). The researchers hope that this finding, which is published in the scientific journal Oncogene, will inform the development of new drugs.
The main reason why people die of cancer is that the cancer cells spread to form daughter tumours, or metastases, in vital organs, such as the ...
Nurses cut stress 40 percent with relaxation steps at work
2015-05-11
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A study by researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found that a workplace mindfulness-based intervention reduced stress levels of employees exposed to a highly stressful occupational environment.
Members of a surgical intensive care unit at the large academic medical center were randomized to a stress-reduction intervention or a control group. The 8-week group mindfulness-based intervention included mindfulness, gentle stretching, yoga, meditation and music conducted in the workplace. Psychological and biological markers of stress ...
Certain treatments for childhood cancer may increase obesity risk later in life
2015-05-11
Individuals who had cancer as a child may be at increased risk of being obese due to the therapies they received during their youth. The finding comes from a new study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results suggest the need for effective counseling and weight loss interventions for certain childhood cancer survivors.
Previous research has shown that obesity rates are elevated in childhood cancer survivors who were exposed to cranial radiation, which is used to prevent or delay the spread of cancer ...
First-in-class antibody mixture shows clinical activity against Tx-resistant, advanced CRC
2015-05-11
Patients with advanced colorectal tumors without mutations in the RAS genes derive substantial benefit from anti-EGFR therapies; however, the disease eventually progresses, leaving these patients with few alternative therapeutic options. Over the last decade, some of the mechanisms driving resistance have been identified, but despite intensive research, treatment options available for patients have not improved, Tabernero said.
Sym004 is a 1:1 mixture in the same infusion bag of two antibodies that bind to different regions of the extracellular domain of EGFR, according ...
World first survey uncovers widespread homophobia at UK sports events
2015-05-10
The world's first international study on homophobia in sport, "Out on the Fields," has found widespread homophobia in UK sport, prompting calls for a zero tolerance approach towards discrimination and better training for coaches, teachers and officials.
The research, on behalf of the Bingham Cup (the world cup of gay rugby) and affiliated sports groups, was conducted by the global sports market research firm Repucom and overseen by a panel of seven academics from six universities, including Brunel University London.
Participants were from the United Kingdom, Ireland, ...
New tool helps researchers, managers plan for sea scallop fishery in the future
2015-05-08
Sea scallops, one of the most valuable commercial fisheries in the United States, are a well managed and monitored fishery, yet little is known about how changing ocean temperatures and ocean chemistry and other environmental factors could impact the fishery. A new study published May 6 in PLOS ONE describes a new computer model to help inform scallop management discussions and decisions in the coming decades.
Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), NOAA Fisheries' Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), and Ocean Conservancy developed an ...
What would Optimus Prime do? New research taps Transformers to shed light on business leadership
2015-05-08
BINGHAMTON, NY -According to new research co-authored by Binghamton University's Seth Spain, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to the impact of Saturday morning cartoons.
The research examines how fantasy-based stories, in particular the popular 1980s cartoon series The Transformers, can shape children's perceptions of what behaviors are associated with effective leadership. It also could provide a basis for workplace-training programs.
"We believe that Transformers presents three key lessons about leadership," said Spain, an assistant professor of organizational ...
Thirty-day wait before tubal sterilization is unjust, say ob/gyn experts
2015-05-08
Philadelphia, PA, May 7, 2015 - Current U.S. health policy requires Medicaid beneficiaries to wait 30 days before tubal sterilization. Ob/gyn experts argue that this violates health care justice as elective tubal sterilization is readily available to women with a private source of payment. Writing in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, they urge obstetricians to advocate for change to eliminate health care injustice in women's access to elective tubal sterilization.
One of the most common forms of contraception in the U.S. is tubal sterilization after childbirth, ...
New study analyzes 'thinspiration' images of women on social media sites
2015-05-08
Some of the most popular social media sites are filled with images of extremely thin women that might be harmful to those who view them -- whether they are seeking them or not, according to research from the University of California, Davis. The images were often cropped to remove heads or focus on just a few body parts.
Doctoral candidate Jannath Ghaznavi and associate professor Laramie Taylor in the Department of Communication examined about 300 photographs from Twitter and Pinterest postings that used the terms "thinspiration" and/or "thinspo" to tag images and ideas ...
Food and fuel: A model for bioenergy feedstock/vegetable double-cropping systems
2015-05-08
URBANA, Ill. - Much attention has been given to dedicated, perennial bioenergy crops to meet the revised Renewable Fuel Standard mandating production of 36 billion gallons of biofuel by the year 2022. Even so, concern remains over the impending need to convert as much as 30 million acres of U.S. crop land, which would include food crops, to land for perennial energy crops in order to meet that demand.
Researchers realize that biomass feedstocks will need to come from many different sources, including crop residues, forest residues, and municipal waste, for example, said ...
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