Scottsdale, Ariz., February 20, 2014—Oropharyngeal cancer patients treated with combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy reported a decrease in their voice and speech quality (VSQ) for up to one year after the completion of treatment, according to research presented today at the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. The study further shows that limiting the dose of radiation to the glottic larynx (GL) to less than 20 Gy resulted in a decrease in post-treatment VSQ problems, and that patient-reported VSQ indicated more adverse effects from treatment compared ...

Scottsdale, Ariz., February 20, 2014—For head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy, a reduction in the amount of radiation treatment volume to the submandibular (level IB) lymph nodes resulted in better patient-reported salivary function, according to research presented today at the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. The study results also found significant reductions in radiation dose to the salivary organs, and good local regional control. Researchers evaluated 125 patients with node-positive oropharyngeal cancer who received chemoradiation ...

Scottsdale, Ariz., February 20, 2014—Limiting radiation therapy to lymph nodes on one side of the neck for advanced tonsil cancer resulted in good local regional control and no cancer recurrence on the untreated side, according to research presented today at the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. Additionally, the study results indicate that primary tumor location, rather than the amount of lymph node involvement on the tumor side of the neck, dictates the risk for disease in the opposite side of the neck. The study focused on 46 out of 153 total patients ...

Scottsdale, Ariz., February 20, 2014—Evaluating next-generation sequencing (NGS) data and associated clinical records of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients from several institutions, made available through The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), showed that combining Mutant-Allele Tumor Heterogeneity (MATH) as a biomarker with the patient's HPV status provides an effective indicator of improved patient outcome, according to research presented today at the 2014 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. The TCGA data available for HNSCC patients included ...

The increased demand for primary care services expected to result from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may be felt strongly in rural areas. While studies have found that the quality of care delivered to rural patients is as good or better than that available in urban areas, the belief persists that top-quality primary care is only available in big cities. But a new study appearing in the National Rural Health Association's Journal of Rural Health finds few meaningful differences between rural and urban primary care physicians on key measures of professionalism, including ...

HUNTSVILLE, TX (2/20/14) -- Conflicts between work and family life were the most significant issues that affect work stress and job satisfaction among correctional officers, a new study by the Correctional Management Institute of Texas at Sam Houston State University found. In a study of 441 correctional officers from adult prisons in the South, the most significant work-home issues experienced by correctional officers were demands and tensions from work that impact their home life; an incompatibility between the officer's role at work and at home; and family circumstances ...

Speed dating, in which potential lovers size each other up in brief 10 minute encounters before moving on to the next person, can be an awkward and time-wasting affair. Finding the perfect research partnership is often just as tough. Speed dating-style techniques are increasingly used at academics conferences, but can be equally frustrating - with busy academics being pushed into too many pointless encounters. But now a group of scientists led by geneticist Rafael Carazo Salas have constructed a system that could revolutionise conference speed dating - by treating scientists ...

BOSTON (February 20, 2014)—An editorial in a February issue of American Family Physician proposes a simple way for physicians to communicate with patients about the best treatments for diabetes. The "lending a hand" illustration reprioritizes treatment goals, based on research on mortality reduction, to convey that glycemic control is no longer the primary intervention. In order of benefit, to improve length and quality of life, patients with type 2 diabetes benefit from these interventions, starting with smoking cessation: "Glycemic control is stuck in people's minds ...

New Rochelle, NY, February 20, 2014—Children exhibit a range of responses to traumatic events such as natural disasters, with some suffering acute traumatic reactions that resolve over time and others experiencing long-term symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Identifying factors that may help predict which youths are at greater risk of more serious disorders and which are likely to be more resilient following a traumatic event can help determine the care and services needed, according to an article in Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology (JCAP), a peer-reviewed ...

During very strong El Niño events, sea level drops abruptly in the tropical western Pacific and tides remain below normal for up to a year in the South Pacific, especially around Samoa. The Samoans call the wet stench of coral die-offs arising from the low sea levels "taimasa" (pronounced [kai' ma'sa]). Studying the climate effects of this particular variation of El Niño and how it may change in the future is a team of scientists at the International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa and at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Two El ...

Using a telescope installed at the driest place on earth - Ridge A in Antarctica – a UNSW-led team of researchers has identified a giant gas cloud which appears to be in an early stage of formation. Giant clouds of molecular gas – the most massive objects in our galaxy – are the birthplaces of stars. "This newly discovered gas cloud is shaped like a very long filament, about 200 light years in extent and ten light years across, with a mass about 50,000 times that of our sun," says team leader, Professor Michael Burton, an astronomer at UNSW Australia. "The evidence suggests ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — From Ethiopia to Nicaragua, countries that go through civil war are much less likely to become democratic if the winning side gets help from rival nations, a Michigan State University political scientist argues. In a new study examining democratization after civil wars since World War II, Michael Colaresi found the majority of groups that eventually took power failed to establish democratic governments if those groups took money or weapons from a foreign enemy during the war. Receiving such aid can create mistrust among the nation's citizens and ...

Nowadays, humanity faces many challenges; the most serious are poverty, the growing demand for resources and the deterioration of the environment. In order to satisfy the growing demand for wood, forestry in many countries has to be intensified. The forests of the Russian Federation are the world's largest reserve of wood for different purposes. Intensification of forestry in Russia will result in increasing availability of wood for material and energy uses. A doctoral dissertation completed at the University of Eastern Finland analysed the potential of energy wood resources ...

This news release is available in German. Numerous German companies are operating globally these days: They develop products domestically, but production is done in other countries like China, Brazil or the Czech Republic. If maintenance or repair work is needed, the engineers who had designed the complex production plants frequently have to travel from Germany. A novel approach by computer scientists in the research group of professor Thorsten Herfet from the Chair of Telecommunications at Saarland University could provide a solution: a platform that brings together ...

Establishing and maintaining relationships online is becoming ever more important in the expanding global knowledge economy. But what happens to the relationship between business and consumer when a user "unfriends"? Writing in the International Journal of the Business Environment, Christopher Sibona and Steven Walczak of The Business School, at the University of Colorado Denver, USA, have found that there are many online and offline reasons why a person might "unfriend" another party. The team has examined these factors and offer insights into how virtual business relationships ...

Philadelphia, PA, February 20, 2014 – Schizophrenia has long been known to be highly heritable and is present in approximately 1% of the population. Researchers have been following two paths in their pursuit of identifying schizophrenia risk genes. Initially, they studied common gene variants that, individually, only increase the risk for schizophrenia by a few percent, perhaps increasing the likelihood of developing schizophrenia from a 10 out of a 1000 chance to an 11 or 12 out of a 1000 chance. More recently, research has identified gene variants that are rare in ...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2014 — Their research may lead to a new generation of renewable fuels, medical devices and safer home products. The American Chemical Society (ACS) is continuing its celebration of Black History Month with a new video featuring several African-American chemists and chemical engineers doing cutting edge research today. The video is available at http://youtu.be/v0PmKbJNAQI. The video, produced with the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), highlights the efforts of Kristala Prather, ...

Washington, D.C.--High prices for fresh fruits and vegetables are associated with higher Body Mass Index (BMI) in young children in low- and middle-income households, according to American University researchers in the journal Pediatrics. "There is a small, but significant, association between the prices of fruit and vegetables and higher child BMI," said Taryn Morrissey, the study's lead author and assistant professor of public administration and policy at AU's School of Public Affairs (SPA). Morrissey said that when the prices of fruits and vegetables go up, families ...

LIVERPOOL, UK – 17 February 2014: Research at the University of Liverpool has explained how cells behave when placed in a low oxygen environment, a development that could have implications for cancer patients and other serious illnesses. The research opens up the possibility of controlling the signals that keep cells alive, preventing the damages caused by ischemia – a restriction of blood supply to tissues. It could also work to help destroy cancer cells. When the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply it is known as hypoxia and can cause the death of cells. This ...

Researchers at UCL have studied the behaviour of the Sun's coronal mass ejections, explaining for the first time the details of how these huge eruptions behave as they fall back onto the Sun's surface. In the process, they have discovered that coronal mass ejections have a surprising twin in the depths of space: the tendrils of gas in the Crab Nebula, which lie 6500 light-years away and are millions of times larger. On 7 June 2011, the biggest ejection of material ever observed erupted from the surface of the Sun. Over the days that followed, the plasma belched out ...

A study looking at the data of thousands of patients who suffered heart attacks has suggested treatment with high-potency statins offers a significantly improved chance of survival compared to those taking normal statins. The study, led by the University of Dundee, also found a combination of statins and the drug ezetimibe showed no improved survival rate, although researchers caution this finding needs further testing. "There is presently a lot of interest in ezetimibe as a potential treatment for heart patients," said Professor Chim Lang, from the Division of Cardiovascular ...

Boulder, Colo., USA – GSA Bulletin postings for February cover the sculpting of Earth's surface as seen in the Pyrenees; facies architecture in Washington State, USA; atmospheric circulation recorded in the Permian Maroon Formation; preglacial fluvial gorges and valleys; banded iron formations; paleosols in Wapadsberg Pass, South Africa; Ediacaran fossils from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland; geologic forensics and sedimentary fingerprints; catastrophic outburst floods recorded in the Tibetan Plateau; the Sudbury impact structure, Canada; and observations at the Sanctuary ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study of how men approach their golden years found that how happy individuals are remains relatively stable for some 80 percent of the population, but perceptions of unhappiness – or dealing with "hassles" – tends to get worse once you are about 65-70 years old. The reasons vary, researchers say, but may be because of health issues, cognitive decline or the loss of a spouse or friends. "In general, life gets better as you age in the sense that older adults on average have fewer hassles – and respond to them better – than younger adults," said ...

Scientists using the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's (CSIRO) Parkes telescope and another telescope in South Africa have found evidence that a tiny star called PSR J0738-4042 is being pounded by asteroids — large lumps of rock from space. "One of these rocks seems to have had a mass of about a billion tonnes," CSIRO astronomer and member of the research team Dr Ryan Shannon said. PSR J0738-4042 lies 37,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Puppis. The environment around this star is especially harsh, full of radiation ...

Peru's treasured Manu National Park is the world's top biodiversity hotspot for reptiles and amphibians, according to a new survey published last week by biologists from the University of California, Berkeley, Southern Illinois University in Carbondale (SIU-Carbondale) and Illinois Wesleyan University. The park, which encompasses lowland Amazonian rain forest, high-altitude cloud forest and Andean grassland east of Cuzco, is well known for its huge variety of bird life, which attracts ecotourists from around the globe. More than 1,000 species of birds, about 10 percent ...