WASHINGTON -- A new congressionally mandated report from the National Academy of Sciences concludes that the overarching lesson learned from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident is that nuclear plant licensees and their regulators must actively seek out and act on new information about hazards with the potential to affect the safety of nuclear plants. The committee that wrote the report examined the causes of the Japan accident and identified findings and recommendations for improving nuclear plant safety and offsite emergency responses to nuclear plant accidents ...

Up to 5 percent of all prenatal ultrasounds uncover antenatal hydronephrosis, or enlarged kidneys, the most commonly detected prenatal abnormality in the United States. Many children with this abnormality are treated continually with preventive antibiotics for the first few years of life with the hopes of preventing the condition's associated urinary tract infections. Until recently, however, little evidence existed as to the benefits of this treatment, which involves considerable cost and inconvenience for families. But a study published this week in the Journal of Pediatric ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- To reduce fire hazard in the United States, wildland managers often utilize the silvicultural practice of mechanically cutting woody shrubs and suppressed trees (ladder fuels). These cuttings and other post-logging debris are then burned during periods of low fire danger in order to dispose of the material. To improve the burning and minimize hazardous air pollutants, managers often cover all or part of the debris pile with low-density polyethylene plastic, commonly referred to as agricultural plastic, in order to keep water out. A recent study published ...

(Boston)--The age at which girls reach sexual maturity is influenced by 'imprinted' genes, a small sub-set of genes whose activity differs depending on which parent passes on that gene, according to new research published today in the journal Nature. The findings come from an international study of more than 180,000 women involving scientists from 166 institutions worldwide, including Boston University School of Medicine. The researchers identified 123 genetic variations that were associated with the timing of when girls experienced their first menstrual cycle by analysing ...

NEWPORT, Ore. -- A comprehensive 15-year analysis of the movements of satellite-tagged blue whales off the West Coast of the United States found that their favored feeding areas are bisected by heavily used shipping lanes, increasing the threat of injury and mortality. The researchers note that moving the shipping lanes off Los Angeles and San Francisco to slightly different areas – at least, during summer and fall when blue whales are most abundant – could significantly decrease the probability of ships striking the whales. A similar relocation of shipping lanes in the ...

Bottom Line: Men and women who have served in the military have a higher prevalence of adverse childhood events (ACEs), suggesting that enlistment may be a way to escape adversity for some. Authors: John R. Blosnich, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, and colleagues. Background: The prevalence of ACEs among U.S. military members and veterans is largely unknown. ACEs can result in severe adult health consequences such as posttraumatic stress disorder, substance use and attempted suicide. How the Study Was Conducted: Authors compared ...

Bottom Line: An enhanced recovery program for patients after colorectal surgery appears to be feasible in a community hospital setting after having been shown to be successful in international and academic medical centers. Author: Cristina B. Geltzeiler, M.D., of Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, and colleagues. Background: The fundamental aspects of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs are guidelines that focus on patient education, optimal fluid management, minimal incision length, decreased use of tubes and drains, opioid-sparing analgesia, ...

Bottom Line: A postoperative pneumonia prevention program for patients in the surgical ward at a California Veterans Affairs hospital lowered the case rate for the condition, which can cause significant complications and increase the cost of care. Author: Hadiza S. Kazaure, M.D., of the Stanford University School of Medicine, California, and colleagues. Background: Pneumonia is a common infection that accounts for about 15 percent of all hospital-acquired infections and as much as 3.4 percent of complications among surgical patients. How the Study Was Conducted: The ...

Most research on human cancer genes have been focused on the regions of the coding genome (exons) that are to be translated in the form of amino acids thus proteins. But just before each gene, there is a regulatory region or activator which controls the expression and activity of the adjacent gene. Until now, very little was known of the role exerted such DNA fragment in tumor development. An article published today in Nature in collaboration with the group of Manel Esteller, Director of Epigenetics and Cancer Biology, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), ...

Security forces worldwide rely on sophisticated equipment, trained personnel, and detection dogs to safeguard airports and other public areas against terrorist attacks. A revolutionary new electronic chip with nano-sized chemical sensors is about to make their job much easier. The groundbreaking nanotechnology-inspired sensor, devised by Prof. Fernando Patolsky of Tel Aviv University 's School of Chemistry and Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and developed by the Herzliya company Tracense, picks up the scent of explosives molecules better than a detection dog's ...

Autopsies have shown that some high-profile athletes who suffered repeated blows to the head during their careers have unusual protein clumps in their brains. Those clumps suggest the athletes had a disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Now, scientists are working on tests that might be able to detect CTE in its earliest stages, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society. In the article, Lauren Wolf, a senior editor at C&EN, explains that many of these athletes struggled with ...

VIDEO: This image depicts Chrysomya megacephala larvae on decomposing fish. Click here for more information. Non-biting blow fly Chrysomya megacephala is commonly found in dead bodies and is used in forensic investigations to determine the time of death, referred to as the post mortem interval. A report of synanthropic derived form of C. megacephala from Tamil Nadu is provided for the first time based on morphological features and molecular characterization through generation ...

VIDEO: Duke Lemur Center had made 48 years of primate data available online. Click here for more information. DURHAM, N.C. -- A 48-year archive of life history data for the world's largest and most diverse collection of endangered primates is now digital and available online. The Duke Lemur Center database allows visitors to view and download data for more than 3600 animals representing 27 species of lemurs, lorises and galagos -- distant primate cousins who predate monkeys ...

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have mapped the mass within a galaxy cluster more precisely than ever before. Created using observations from Hubble's Frontier Fields observing programme, the map shows the amount and distribution of mass within MCS J0416.1-2403, a massive galaxy cluster found to be 160 trillion times the mass of the Sun. The detail in this mass map was made possible thanks to the unprecedented depth of data provided by new Hubble observations, and the cosmic phenomenon known as strong gravitational lensing. Measuring the amount and ...

Yushan Yan, Distinguished Professor of Engineering at the University of Delaware, is known worldwide for using nanomaterials to solve problems in energy engineering, environmental sustainability and electronics. His early academic work focused on zeolites, porous rock with a well-defined, crystalline structure. At the atomic scale, their pore size is so precisely decided that zeolites can separate molecules with size differences of merely a fraction of an angstrom (one-tenth of a nanometer), making them useful to the chemical and petroleum industries as molecular sieves ...

Parents, turn off the television when your children are with you. And when you do let them watch, make sure the programs stimulate their interest in learning. That's the advice arising from University of Iowa researchers who examined the impact of television and parenting on children's social and emotional development. The researchers found that background television—when the TV is on in a room where a child is doing something other than watching—can divert a child's attention from play and learning. It also found that non-educational programs can negatively affect children's ...

This news release is available in German. Home automation systems that control domestic lighting, heating, window blinds or door locks offer opportunities for third parties to intrude on the privacy of the inhabitants and gain considerable insight into their behavioral patterns. This is the conclusion reached by IT security expert Christoph Sorge and his research team at Saarland University. Even data transmitted from encrypted systems can provide information useful to potential burglars. Professor Sorge, who holds the juris Professorship in Legal Informatics ...

Radiotherapy for cancer involves exposing the patient or their tumor more directly to ionizing radiation, such as gamma rays or X-rays. The radiation damages the cancer cells irreparably. Unfortunately, such radiation is also harmful to healthy tissue, particularly the skin over the site of the tumor, which is then at risk of hair loss, dermatological problems and even skin cancer. As such finding ways to protect the overlying skin are keenly sought. Writing in the International Journal of Low Radiation, Faruck Lukmanul Hakkim of the University of Nizwa, Oman and Nagasaki ...

Most scientific literature devoted to the protein p53 refers to cancer biology, and the functions of this molecule as a tumour suppressor have been described in detail. Furthermore, also in cancer biology, it is known that p53 inhibits the metabolic pathways of tumour cells in order to block their metabolism and prevent their rapid growth and proliferation. The most innovative research on p53 attempts to unveil its functions in the management of energy stores and nutrients in healthy cells. Recent studies with cell cultures have demonstrated that p53 is activated in response ...

CINCINNATI -- Over half of patients being seen in the clinic for a diagnosed brain tumor have metastatic cancer, which has no treatment and detrimental outcomes in most cases. However, a Cincinnati Cancer Center (CCC) study, published in the advance online edition of the journal Oncotarget, provides hope that previously studied SapC-DOPS could be used for treatment of brain cancer that has spread. Xiaoyang Qi, PhD, member of the CCC, associate director and associate professor in the division of hematology oncology at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine ...

Attendances at emergency departments can be reduced by enabling patients to see the same GP every time they visit their doctor's surgery. This is just one of several recommendations made in a report published today, led by researchers at the University of Bristol. Called 'Primary care factors and unscheduled secondary care: a series of systematic reviews', the report has been compiled by researchers from the University's Centre for Academic Primary Care who looked at evidence from studies around the world. They found that patients who saw the same GP every time they attended ...

Toronto - Aristotle said, "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." Poetic as it is, thinking that you and your partner were made in heaven for each other can hurt your relationship, says a new study. Psychologists observe that people talk and think about love in apparently limitless ways but underlying such diversity are some common themes that frame how we think about relationships. For example, one popular frame considers love as perfect unity ("made for each other," "she's my other half"); in another frame, love is a journey ("look how far we've ...

Parts of the primordial soup in which life arose have been maintained in our cells today according to scientists at the University of East Anglia. Research published today in the Journal of Biological Chemistry reveals how cells in plants, yeast and very likely also in animals still perform ancient reactions thought to have been responsible for the origin of life – some four billion years ago. The primordial soup theory suggests that life began in a pond or ocean as a result of the combination of metals, gases from the atmosphere and some form of energy, such as a lightning ...

An international team of researchers led by the University of York has carried out the first assessment of community-led marine conservation in the Western Indian Ocean. The results, reported in the journal PLOS ONE, point to a revolution in the management of marine protected areas, with almost half of the sites – more than 11,000 km² – in the region now under local community stewardship. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are zones of the seas and coasts designed to protect wildlife from damage and disturbance and managed typically by governments rather than by local communities. ...

Traumatic brain injury can cause post-traumatic neurodegenerations with an increase in reactive oxygen species and reactive oxygen species-mediated lipid peroxidation. Melatonin, a non-enzymatic antioxidant and neuroprotective agent, has been shown to counteract oxidative stress-induced pathophysiologic conditions like cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, neuronal excitotoxicity and chronic inflammation. Therefore, the research team at the Neuroscience Research Center, University of Suleyman Demire, led by Prof. Mustafa Nazıroğlu, aimed to evaluate whether there ...