Ottawa, ON (20 August 2013) -- Contrary to popular belief, winter plays a significant role in farming. The ground beneath that seemingly peaceful blanket of snow is not idle during the long, cold winter months and researchers want to know what is going on. Historically, studies have focused on times of the year when data can be easily gathered. However, winter's freeze-thaw cycles, nutrient run-off and the effect of snow cover - or lack of snow cover - on soil are of great concern and can have significant impacts. Inspired by a session at the 2011 joint Canadian Soil ...

Philadelphia, Pa. (August 20, 2013) – A combined technique of liposuction and tummy tuck—designed to reduce surgical trauma—provides excellent patient outcomes with a low complication rate, reports a study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery-Global Open®, the official open-access medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). ASPS Member Surgeon Dr. Eric Swanson, a plastic surgeon in private practice in Leawood, Kan., presents an in-depth report on his experience with a combined technique of liposuction and abdominoplasty in a large series of patients ...

Philadelphia, PA—One of the lesser known concerns about commercial aircraft is their stability on the ground during taxiing, takeoff, and landing. During these processes, planes must maintain stability under various operating conditions. However, in some situations, the aircraft landing gear displays unwanted oscillations, which are referred to as shimmy oscillations. In a paper published last month in the SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems, authors Chris Howcroft, Bernd Krauskopf, Mark Lowenberg, and Simon Neild study the dynamics of aircraft landing gear using ...

Cambridge, Mass. – August 20, 2013 – Applied physicists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have demonstrated that they can change the intensity, phase, and polarization of light rays using a hologram-like design decorated with nanoscale structures. As a proof of principle, the researchers have used it to create an unusual state of light called a radially polarized beam, which—because it can be focused very tightly—is important for applications like high-resolution lithography and for trapping and manipulating tiny particles like viruses. This ...

People with severe encephalitis — inflammation of the brain — are much more likely to die if they develop severe swelling in the brain, intractable seizures or low blood platelet counts, regardless of the cause of their illness, according to new Johns Hopkins research. The Johns Hopkins investigators say the findings suggest that if physicians are on the lookout for these potentially reversible conditions and treat them aggressively at the first sign of trouble, patients are more likely to survive. "The factors most associated with death in these patients are things ...

Alzheimer's disease has proven to be a difficult enemy to defeat. After all, aging is the No. 1 risk factor for the disorder, and there's no stopping that. Most researchers believe the disease is caused by one of two proteins, one called tau, the other beta-amyloid. As we age, most scientists say, these proteins either disrupt signaling between neurons or simply kill them. Now, a new UCLA study suggests a third possible cause: iron accumulation. Dr. George Bartzokis, a professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA ...

The use of LSD, magic mushrooms, or peyote does not increase a person's risk of developing mental health problems, according to an analysis of information from more than 130,000 randomly chosen people, including 22,000 people who had used psychedelics at least once. Researcher Teri Krebs and clinical psychologist Pål-Ørjan Johansen, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) Department of Neuroscience, used data from a US national health survey to see what association there was, if any, between psychedelic drug use and mental health problems. The ...

When University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers set out to study Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, they faced a daunting challenge. The deadly virus requires biosafety level 4 containment, and it's carried by ticks. That meant that if scientists wanted to study the transmission of the virus, they had to do something that had never been done before: find a way to work safely with the tiny, tough bugs in a maximum containment "spacesuit lab." "It was completely new territory for us," said UTMB assistant professor Dennis Bente, senior author of a ...

In patients with early Alzheimer's disease, disruptions in brain networks emerge about the same time as chemical markers of the disease appear in the spinal fluid, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown. While two chemical markers in the spinal fluid are regarded as reliable indicators of early disease, the new study, published in JAMA Neurology, is among the first to show that scans of brain networks may be an equally effective and less invasive way to detect early disease. "Tracking damage to these brain networks may also help ...

DURHAM, N.H. – Dunking in a tub of ice water after exercise – a surprisingly popular post-workout regimen used by athletes to reduce inflammation and speed recovery – is time consuming and bone-achingly painful. New research from the University of New Hampshire finds that it may not be effective, either. In a study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers report that research subjects who engaged in post-exercise cryotheraphy, or ice baths, showed no mitigation of post-exercise strength loss or decreased soreness compared to a control group. "It ...

Researchers from Tel Aviv University have unearthed the remains of massive ancient fortifications built around an Iron-Age Assyrian harbor in present-day Israel. At the heart of the well-preserved fortifications is a mud-brick wall up to more than 12 feet wide and 15 feet high. The wall is covered in layers of mud and sand that stretch for hundreds of feet on either side. When they were built in the eighth century B.C.E., the fortifications formed a daunting crescent-shaped defense for an inland area covering more than 17 acres. The finding comes at the end of the first ...

Reservoirs of silica-rich magma – the kind that causes the most explosive volcanic eruptions – can persist in Earth's upper crust for hundreds of thousands of years without triggering an eruption, according to new University of Washington modeling research. That means an area known to have experienced a massive volcanic eruption in the past, such as Yellowstone National Park, could have a large pool of magma festering beneath it and still not be close to going off as it did 600,000 years ago. "You might expect to see a stewing magma chamber for a long period of time ...

Several fires are currently raging in central and northern California. These fires can be seen in this natural-color Terra satellite image taken by the MODIS instrument on August 18, 2013. The American wildfire began August 10, 2013 and the cause of the fire is still under investigation. To date over 13,000 acres have been affected. The growth potential for this fire is high due to terrain and weather patterns. Thunderstorms predicted over the next few days may bring additional complexity and increase the potential for new starts. The National Weather Service has ...

Spaces built to keep children safe after an emergency or conflict can also help them recover from trauma, new Columbia University and World Vision research launched today shows. The research, conducted with the support of UNICEF, measured the impact of Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) on Congolese children who have fled fighting and sought refuge in western Uganda. The publication reveals the spaces were widely used; 73 percent of children in the Rwamwanja camp attended them at some stage. "We use Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) to support and protect children, give them somewhere ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- A pending component of health care reform would require restaurants and vending machines to list calorie information on menus to help fight obesity. But there's little evidence to date that it's an effective way to prevent overeating. A new Duke University study suggests a better approach might be for restaurants to expand and improve calorie listings on their websites and mobile apps, so customers can come better prepared to order a healthier menu item. "If consumers wait until they enter restaurants to make purchasing decisions, it might be too ...

Ann Arbor, Mich. — Children who have higher levels of Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical previously used in many products for kids, like baby bottle and plastic toys, had a higher odds of obesity and adverse levels of body fat, according to a new study from University of Michigan researchers. The U-M team studied the levels of BPA found in children's urine and then measured body fat, waist circumference, and cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors, in a study published today in Pediatrics. BPA was previously widely used in the manufacturing of polycarbonate and epoxy ...

Boulder, Colo., USA – Six new Gesophere articles, posted online on 14 Aug. 2013, offer insight into a variety of geologic problems, from the minute to the massive. Authors investigate inclusion and porosity patterns in a 23-carat carbonado diamond; sea-level change offshore of New Jersey (USA); a new age for Sierra Nevada faulting; a reconstruction of the dimensions and shape of the Great Basin over the past 500 million years; and deep-water perspectives on Hawaiian volcano growth. Abstracts for these and other Geosphere papers are available at http://geosphere.gsapubs.org/. ...

Amsterdam, NL, August 19, 2013 – A new study published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience demonstrates that Chinese herbal medicine Ji-Sui-Kang (JSK), given systemically for three weeks after injury in rats, improved locomotor function, reduced tissue damage, and preserved the structure of neural cells compared to control rats. The report also includes data showing that JSK may first act to reduce inflammation and cell apoptosis and death, and boost local oxygen supply while, later on, it appears to restore function and promote tissue regeneration. Although Chinese ...

Live in a large city like New York, London, Beijing or Mumbai, and you are likely exposed to more air pollution than people in smaller cities in surrounding areas. But exactly how a city's pollution relates to the size of its population has never been measured, until now. Using satellite observations, NASA scientists directly measured air pollution's dependence on population in four of the planet's major air pollution regions: the United States, Europe, China and India. The study shows that the pollution-population relationship varies by region. For example, a city ...

NASA has accepted ownership of its newest Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) from Boeing after successfully completing in orbit testing. TDRS-K, will be renamed TDRS-11 upon entry into service. "This is a major step in replenishing an aging TDRS fleet which is essential in providing communications to support space exploration," said Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator for Space Communications and Navigation at NASA Headquarters. "We look forward to the launch of two additional satellites in the next few years to complete the replenishment program." The ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Based on data from a multi-site imaging trial involving more than 2,600 women, researchers say breast lesions categorized as 'probably benign' on supplemental screening ultrasound could be re-evaluated with imaging in 12 months, reducing patient anxiety, follow-up exams and unnecessary biopsies. Results of the study are published online in the journal Radiology. In the study, a team of researchers analyzed data from the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) trial 6666, in which both annual mammography and ultrasound screenings were performed ...

University of Iowa researchers have discovered what causes the lethal effects of staphylococcal infective endocarditis - a serious bacterial infection of heart valves that kills approximately 20,000 Americans each year. According to the UI study, the culprits are superantigens -- toxins produced in large quantities by Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria - which disrupt the immune system, turning it from friend to foe. "The function of a superantigen is to 'mess' with the immune system," says Patrick Schlievert, Ph.D., UI professor and chair of microbiology at the ...

The bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa needs iron to establish and maintain a biofilm in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients, and therapies have been proposed to deprive the bacteria of this necessary element. However, these techniques may not work, according to a new study published in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, because they only target one of the two types of iron that are available in the lung. Current therapies focus on removing ferric iron [Fe(III)] but leave plenty of ferrous iron [Fe(II)] behind for the bacteria ...

DURHAM, N.H. – People in end-stage kidney failure in need of a kidney transplant are much less likely to be placed on a waiting list for a new kidney or to actually receive a new kidney once on the list if they are unemployed or work part time, according to new collaborative research from the University of New Hampshire. "There is a strong negative association between a patient's unemployment and the likelihood of being placed on a waiting list for a kidney transplant, and once on the waiting list, the likelihood of receiving a transplant," says Robert Woodward, the Forrest ...

Small prey fish can grow a bigger 'eye' on their rear fins as a way of distracting predators and dramatically boosting their chances of survival, new scientific research has found. Researchers from Australia's ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS) have made a world-first discovery that, when constantly threatened with being eaten, small damsel fish not only grow a larger false 'eye spot' near their tail – but also reduce the size of their real eyes. The result is a fish that looks like it is heading in the opposite direction – potentially confusing ...