Many scenarios in business and communication require that two parties share information without either being sure if they can trust the other. Examples include secure auctions and identification at ATM machines. Exploiting the strange properties of the quantum world could be the answer to dealing with such distrust: researchers at the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT) at the National University of Singapore have used the quantum properties of light to perform the world's first demonstration of a 'secure bit commitment' technology. The work is described in Nature Communications. Secure ...

DARIEN, IL – A new study suggests that treatment of mild sleep-disordered breathing with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy in pregnant women with preeclampsia improves fetal activity levels, a marker of fetal well-being. Results show that the average number of fetal movements increased from 319 during a night without CPAP treatment to 592 during the subsequent night with CPAP therapy. During the course of the night without CPAP treatment, the number of fetal movements decreased steadily by 7.4 movements per hour. In contrast, the number of fetal movements ...

A team of international archaeologists including Christian Cloke of the University of Cincinnati is providing new insights into successful and extensive water management and agricultural production in and around the ancient desert city of Petra, located in present-day Jordan. Ongoing investigations, of which Cloke is a part, are led by Professor Susan Alcock of the Brown University Petra Archaeological Project (BUPAP). Using a variety of tools and techniques, including high-resolution satellite imagery and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of soils, Cloke, ...

By comparing reconstructions of atmospheric CO2 concentrations and sea level over the past 40 million years, researchers based at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton have found that greenhouse gas concentrations similar to the present (almost 400 parts per million) were systematically associated with sea levels at least nine metres above current levels. The study determined the 'natural equilibrium' sea level for CO2 concentrations ranging between ice-age values of 180 parts per million and ice-free values of more than 1,000 parts per million. It takes many ...

As Twelfth Night approaches and the Christmas decorations start to look increasingly congruous as the last crumbs of cake are swept away and the remnants of the turkey have finally been consumed, there is the perennial question as to what to do with the tree. Research published in the International Journal of Biomedical Nanoscience and Nanotechnology suggests that the needles of the plant Pseudotsuga menziesii, commonly known as the Douglas fir could be used to sterilize nano devices destined for medical applications. Chemist Poushpi Dwivedi of MNNIT in Allahabad, India, ...

Taking inspiration from Mother Nature, scientists are reporting an advance toward preventing the tooth sensitivity that affects millions of people around the world. Their report on development of the substance, similar to the adhesive that mussels use to attach to rocks and other surfaces in water, appears in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. Quan-Li Li, Chun Hung Chu and colleagues explain that about 3 out of every 4 people have teeth that are sensitive to hot, cold, sweet or sour foods and drinks. It occurs when the hard outer enamel layer on teeth and ...

Johns Hopkins researchers have uncovered strong evidence that mice have a specific set of nerve cells that signal itch but not pain, a finding that may settle a decades-long debate about these sensations, and, if confirmed in humans, help in developing treatments for chronic itch, including itch caused by life-saving medications. At the heart of their discovery is a type of sensory nerve cell whose endings receive information from the skin and relay it to other nerves in the spinal cord, which then coordinates a response to the stimulus. Published online Dec. 23 in Nature ...

Reston, Va. (January 2, 2013) – New research published in the January issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that 18F-fludeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging offers significant prognostic stratification information at initial staging for patients with locally advanced breast cancer. When compared to conventional imaging, 18F-FDG PET/CT more accurately showed lesions in the chest, abdomen and bones in a single session, changing management for more than 50 percent of the patients in the study. Guidelines from ...

Amid growing concern over the surprisingly large amount of greenhouse gas produced by the Internet and other telecommunications activities, researchers are reporting new models of emissions and energy consumption that could help reduce their carbon footprint. Their report appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology. Researchers from the Centre for Energy-Efficient Telecommunications (CEET) and Bell Labs explain that the information communications and technology (ICT) industry, which delivers Internet, video, voice and other cloud services, produces more ...

Medieval Afghanistan, Iran and the one-time Soviet Central Asian states were frontiers in flux as the Islamic Caliphate spread beyond the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh through 10th centuries. As such, different groups, such as the new Arab ruling class, the native landed gentry and local farmers, jockeyed for power, position and economic advantage over an approximately 300-year period as the Sasanian Empire collapsed and the Caliphate took its place. University of Cincinnati historian Robert Haug, assistant professor, will present his research on how social, cultural ...

Side effects are a major reason that drugs are taken off the market and a major reason why patients stop taking their medications, but scientists are now reporting the development of a new way to predict those adverse reactions ahead of time. The report on the method, which could save patients from severe side effects and save drug companies time and money, appears in ACS' Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling. Yoshihiro Yamanishi and colleagues explain that drug side effects are a major health problem — the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S. — which by ...

What were the most notable advances in the chemical world in 2012? Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society — the world's largest scientific society — considers this question in a package of cover stories on the year past in chemistry. It also provides a reality check on discoveries that seemed promising a decade ago. In "Research Year in Review," which focuses on 11 key developments, C&EN cites several advances in integrating man and machine in efforts to combine electronics with living tissue, developments that the ...

LSS Life Safety Services (LSS), a leader in passive fire protection inspection services, announced today that Kathy Clements has joined them as their new Controller. Kathy will lead LSS Life Safety Services' accounting department, as well as direct the financial plans of the business. Kathy brings with her valuable accounting, budgeting, and management experience. Her years as the President of a local Direct Mail Marketing company will allow her to further enhance the mission of LSS Life Safety Services by providing the LSS team with yet another strong member of the ...

DURHAM, N.C. – Patients who received an implantable heart defibrillator in everyday practice had survival benefits on par with those who received the same devices in carefully controlled clinical trials, according to a new study that highlights the value of defibrillators in typical medical settings. Led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute and published Jan. 2, 2013, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study used data from a large national Medicare registry to assess the survival of patients receiving defibrillators, which are commonly used to ...

CHICAGO – In an analysis of nearly 100 studies that included approximately 3 million adults, relative to normal weight, overall obesity (combining all grades) and higher levels of obesity were both associated with a significantly higher all-cause risk of death, while overweight was associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality, according to a study in the January 2 issue of JAMA. "Estimates of the relative mortality risks associated with normal weight, overweight, and obesity may help to inform decision making in the clinical setting," according to background ...

CHICAGO – In a study examining possible factors regarding the associations between fructose consumption and weight gain, brain magnetic resonance imaging of study participants indicated that ingestion of glucose but not fructose reduced cerebral blood flow and activity in brain regions that regulate appetite, and ingestion of glucose but not fructose produced increased ratings of satiety and fullness, according to a preliminary study published in the January 2 issue of JAMA. "Increases in fructose consumption have paralleled the increasing prevalence of obesity, and ...

CHICAGO – In a study that included nearly 30,000 women from Nordic countries who had filled a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prescription during pregnancy, researchers found no significant association between use of these medications during pregnancy and risk of stillbirth, neonatal death, or postneonatal death, after accounting for factors including maternal psychiatric disease, according to a study in the January 2 issue of JAMA. "Depression during pregnancy is common with prevalences ranging between 7 percent and 19 percent in economically developed ...

Babies only hours old are able to differentiate between sounds from their native language and a foreign language, scientists have discovered. The study indicates that babies begin absorbing language while still in the womb, earlier than previously thought. Sensory and brain mechanisms for hearing are developed at 30 weeks of gestational age, and the new study shows that unborn babies are listening to their mothers talk during the last 10 weeks of pregnancy and at birth can demonstrate what they've heard. "The mother has first dibs on influencing the child's brain," ...

SAN FRANCISCO – January 2, 2013 – A new study finds that certain changes in blood vessels in the eye's retina can be an early warning that a person is at increased risk for glaucoma, an eye disease that slowly robs people of their peripheral vision. Using diagnostic photos and other data from the Australian Blue Mountains Eye Study, the researchers showed that patients who had abnormally narrow retinal arteries when the study began were also those who were most likely to have glaucoma at its 10-year end point. If confirmed by future research, this finding could give ophthalmologists ...

Laura Floeck, President of the High Spirits Horse Ranch announced today the official opening of the High Spirits Horse Ranch in Roseburg Oregon. Floeck said today the facility is open and operational for limited horse boarding services, including full care pasture boarding and full care indoor stall boarding. New amenities are being planned and constructed presently to provide an array of training and management tools for various equine disiplines, Floeck said she expects most of these upgrades to be completed by Spring 2013. The High Spirits Horse Ranch is structured ...

The original release date of "When Darkness Calls", the new CD offering from Reverence, was in May 2012, however the exciting new promotions label at http://www.AllHardRock.com has brought this celebrated album to new heights. Entering 2013 with performance dates set and foreign shores chomping at the bit for more, Reverence now issues their CD with bonus features and added promotion. The Metal-Archives writes, "Imagine, if you will, a 1980's power metal base with touches of mid-period Metallica and a dash of Mercyful Fate. Reverence excels at creating ...

The Yosemite/Mariposa County Tourism Bureau (YMCTB) invites travelers to Mariposa County and Yosemite National Park to enter its 2012 Yosemite FunFoto Contest. The rules are simple: • Travel to Mariposa County along one of the following highways: o Highway 120 from Stockton/Manteca o Highway 132 from Modesto o Highway 140 from Merced o Highway 49 from Sonora o Highway 41 from Fresno • Once inside Mariposa County, take your best shot: It can be scenery, people, historical landmarks or anything showing the fun and experience of visiting Mariposa County, but it ...

LSS Life Safety Services (LSS), a leader in passive fire protection inspection services, announced today that Kathy Clements has joined them as their new Controller. Kathy will lead LSS Life Safety Services' accounting department, as well as direct the financial plans of the business. Kathy brings with her valuable accounting, budgeting, and management experience. Her years as the President of a local Direct Mail Marketing company will allow her to further enhance the mission of LSS Life Safety Services by providing the LSS team with yet another strong member of the ...

Inlanta Mortgage is pleased to announce 2012 was its best year for new hires, with a total of 77 new employees over the course of the year. In just the past month, Inlanta has added three sales and eight support staff. The Madison, Wis. office added Loan Officer Lupe Montes and the Augusta, Maine office hired Loan Officer Martha St. Pierre. Loan Officer Stephen Speer joined the Oak Brook, Ill. office and the Bloomington, Ill. office welcome Marketing Assistant Hillary Denham. The corporate office in Brookfield also saw a number of new hires this month. In the funding ...

Joyce Luhrs, president of the Leonia, New Jersey based marketing, public relations, grants and management solutions firm Luhrs & Associates, was named vice president on the board of trustees of the Hispanic Business Council Scholarship Foundation of NJ, Inc. (HBCSF). The HBCSF, a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization located in Teaneck, New Jersey, has a mission to advance the educational aspirations of Hispanic students throughout the state by providing scholarships for an undergraduate degree so that they may become professionals, leaders and valued citizens of the community. "In ...