Open surgery appears to be associated with an increased risk of small-bowel obstructions compared to laparoscopic procedures. This is shown by a new study at the Sahlgrenska Academy, at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. In many cases, the surgical technique is the most important factor when it comes to adhesive small-bowel obstruction, even when taking factors such as age, previous operations and other health conditions into account. This is shown by a study carried out at the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy, which reviewed 108,141 operations carried ...

Type 1 diabetes is caused by autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells. Over 250,000 patients suffer from type 1 diabetes in Germany who are treated with daily insulin injections to maintain glucose metabolism. Replacement of the destroyed beta cells by transplantation of either a complete pancreas organ or isolated human beta cells is the only effective way to cure the disease. However, due to the shortage of organ donors this method can be offered to only few patients. As an alternative approach researchers are exploring xenotransplantation, i.e. transplantation ...

AURORA, Colo. (April 23, 2012) A CU School of Medicine researcher who suffers from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and had to "fix it" before she could go to work one day was using a maneuver to treat herself that only made her sicker. "So I sat down and thought about it and figured out an alternate way to do it. Then I fixed myself and went in to work" and discovered a new treatment for this type of vertigo. More than seven million people in the U.S. can expect to have benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, a common vertigo disorder, especially as they ...

The super low profile septic tank, or Epurbloc as they are known, have just been released in the UK. These septic tanks are fantastic new technology, the iPad of the sewage world. The tanks are short, which means no more deep excavations. They can be installed with little or no knowledge within 3-4 hours with a mini digger. They require no concrete base or blanket, and only need emptying once every 7 years.The Septic Tank Shop is the UK's largest supplier of septic tanks. For free advice or sales please contact us on 0800 907 0051. Alternatively please visit www.theseptictankshop.co.uk. ...

A bacterium historically associated with cat scratch fever and transmitted predominately by fleas may also play a role in human rheumatoid illnesses such as arthritis, according to new research from North Carolina State University. Bartonella is a bacterium that is maintained in nature by fleas, ticks and other biting insects. It can be transmitted to humans both by these parasites as well as by bites or scratches from infected cats and dogs. The most commonly known Bartonella-related illness is cat scratch disease, caused by B. henselae, a species of Bartonella that ...

Tampa, Fla. (April. 23, 2012) –When laboratory mice were modeled with colitis and treated with human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal cells, the cells homed in on the inflamed colon and effectively ameliorated colitis, reported a study published in a recent issue of Cell Transplantation (20:9), now freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/. According to study corresponding author Dr. Zhong Chao Han of the Institute of Hematology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Peking Union of Medical Sciences, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - New research confirms an association between smoking and a reduced risk for a rare benign tumor near the brain, but the addition of smokeless tobacco to the analysis suggests nicotine is not the protective substance. The study using Swedish data suggests that men who currently smoke are almost 60 percent less likely than people who have never smoked to develop this tumor, called an acoustic neuroma. But men in the study who used snuff, which produces roughly the same amount of nicotine in the blood as smoking, had no reduced risk of tumor development. "We ...

Tampa, Fla. (April. 23, 2012) – Researchers interested in determining the direct effects of a high saturated fat and high cholesterol (HFHC) diet on implanted fetal hippocampal tissues have found that in middle-aged laboratory rats the HFHC diet elevated microglial activation and reduced neuronal development. While the resulting damage was due to an inflammatory response in the central nervous system, they found that the effects of the HFHC diet were alleviated by the interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist IL-1Ra, leading them to conclude that IL-Ra has potential use in ...

WASHINGTON, April 23—Whether surgeons slice with a traditional scalpel or cut away with a surgical laser, most medical operations end up removing some healthy tissue, along with the bad. This means that for delicate areas like the brain, throat, and digestive tract, physicians and patients have to balance the benefits of treatment against possible collateral damage. To help shift this balance in the patient's favor, a team of researchers from the University of Texas at Austin has developed a small, flexible endoscopic medical device fitted with a femtosecond laser "scalpel" ...

As militaries develop autonomous robotic warriors to replace humans on the battlefield, new ethical questions emerge. If a robot in combat has a hardware malfunction or programming glitch that causes it to kill civilians, do we blame the robot, or the humans who created and deployed it? Some argue that robots do not have free will and therefore cannot be held morally accountable for their actions. But University of Washington psychologists are finding that people don't have such a clear-cut view of humanoid robots. The researchers' latest results show that humans apply ...

KATHMANDU, NEPAL (24 April 2012)—Today, recognizing the knowledge gap between the existing evidence of climate change and adaptation on the ground, researchers in Asia launched a novel learning platform to improve agricultural resilience to changing weather patterns, and to reduce emissions footprint. The Climate Smart Agriculture Learning Platform for South Asia, established by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), will improve communication between scientists, government officials, civil society and farmers on best "climate ...

A dirty bomb attack centered on downtown Los Angeles' financial district could severely impact the region's economy to the tune of nearly $16 billion, fueled primarily by psychological effects that could persist for a decade. The study, published by a team of internationally recognized economists and decision scientists in the current issue of Risk Analysis, monetized the effects of fear and risk perception and incorporated them into a state-of-the-art macroeconomic model. "We decided to study a terrorist attack on Los Angeles not to scare people, but to alert policymakers ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- In the limited time of an office visit, how can a primary care physician make the case to parents that their child should be vaccinated? During National Infant Immunization Week, a Mayo Clinic vaccine expert and a pediatrician offer suggestions for refuting three of the most common myths about child vaccine safety. Their article, The Clinician's Guide to the Anti-Vaccinationists' Galaxy, is published online this month in the journal Human Immunology. "Thousands of children are at increased risk because of under-vaccination, and outbreaks of highly ...

Montreal, April 23, 2012 — Most people go through life setting goals for themselves. But what happens when a life-altering experience makes those goals become unachievable or even unhealthy? A new collaborative study published in Psycho-Oncology by Carsten Wrosch of Concordia University's Department of Psychology and Centre for Research in Human Development and Catherine Sabiston of McGill's Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education and the Health Behaviour and Emotion Lab found that breast cancer survivors who were able to let go of old goals and set new ones ...

Alexandria, Va., USA – The International and American Associations for Dental Research have published two studies about dental caries in children. These articles, titled "Hypoplasia-Associated Severe Early Childhood Caries – A Proposed Definition" (lead author Page Caufield, New York University College of Dentistry) and "Deciduous Molar Hypomineralization and Molar Incisor Hypomineralization" (lead author M.E.C. Elfrink, Academic Centre for Dentistry, Amsterdam) discuss the definitions of dental caries susceptibility to the hypomineralization and hypoplasia. The study ...

INDONESIA (23 April 2012) — The importance of collaboration among all research partners in agroforestry was recently emphasised at a historic workshop to develop a national strategy on agroforestry research in Indonesia. During the meeting, five key challenges facing agroforestry in Indonesia were also identified. The first challenge mentioned was the Government's partial approach to research, which translates into low adoption of research recommendations. Second, land tenure insecurity, particularly in State forest areas, leads to social conflict and degradation of ...

Identifying diseases at an early, presymptomatic stage may offer the best chance for establishing proper treatment and improving patient outcomes. A new technique known as immunosignaturing harnesses the human immune system as an early warning sentry—one acutely sensitive to changes in the body that may be harbingers of illness. Now, Brian Andrew Chase and Barten Legutki, under the guidance of Stephen Albert Johnston, director of the Center for Innovations in Medicine at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute have shown that these immunosignatures are not only ...

John Martin, founder and CEO of BeyondRecognition, LLC, announced today that BeyondRecognition ("BR") has developed software to cluster like documents based on an analysis of document images and to then quickly build cluster-specific, location-based data extraction rules. Those rules combined with BR's innovative glyph-clustering text recognition process permit the extraction of fields of data about a document's attributes or contents. Martin predicted, "Image-based document clustering and the graphical interface for the rapid development of cluster-specific ...

Today at Experimental Biology 2012, Dr. Blake Rasmussen and colleagues presented a new and first-of-its-kind clinical study: "Effect of Protein Blend vs. Whey Protein Ingestion on Muscle Protein Synthesis Following Resistance Exercise." The results of this study suggest that a protein blend (combination of soy, whey and casein) may be best to consume post-workout for building muscle. Specifically, the blend of proteins in this study showed an increase in a person's "anabolic window" (the amount of time it takes for building muscle to occur post exercise). "This study ...

Miami - A research team, led by John Guy, M.D., professor of ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has pioneered a novel technological treatment for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), an inherited genetic defect that causes rapid, permanent, and bilateral loss of vision in people of all ages, but primarily males ages 20-40. Genetic mutations in the mitochondria (part of the cell that produces energy) cause the disorder. Currently, there is no cure for LHON. However, Guy and his team have successfully ...

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- In a world of changing weather and rainfall patterns, engineers face challenges when designing stormwater management systems. A Kansas State University team is researching how climate change is affecting rainfall and weather patterns throughout Kansas to help with future adaptation and mitigation strategies. The research team, led by Stacy Hutchinson, associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering, is updating rainfall distribution data to ensure current stormwater management systems can handle future weather changes. "We are looking ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A study from Purdue and Stanford university researchers predicts that future climate scenarios may cause significantly greater volatility in corn prices, which would be intensified by the federal biofuels mandate. The findings, published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change, show that severely hot conditions in corn-growing regions and extreme climate events that are expected to impact supply would cause swings in corn prices. When coupled with federal mandates for biofuel production, the price volatility could increase by about 50 percent ...

Researchers from Norway and the United Kingdom have developed a new instrument to measure work addiction: The Bergen Work Addiction Scale. The new instrument is based on core elements of addiction that are recognised as diagnostic criteria for several addictions. Some people seem to be driven to work excessively and compulsively. These are denoted as work addicts – or workaholics. In the wake of globalisation, new technology and blurred boundaries between work and private life, we are witnessing an increase in work addiction, Doctor Cecilie Schou Andreassen from the ...

Chicago – (April 23, 2012) – For years, fiber intake among the global population has been extremely low, setting the stage for potentially serious, long-term public health implications.(1) New research commissioned by Tate & Lyle and presented at the 2012 Experimental Biology conference in San Diego adds to the body of emerging research on fibers, including additional support for the role of soluble corn fiber in bone health. "Years of research point to the health benefits of fiber for cardiovascular health, blood glucose control, digestion and gut health, yet average ...

PULLMAN, Wash.—A Washington State University astrobiologist is leading a group of 20 scientists in calling for a mission to Mars with "a strong and comprehensive life detection component." At the heart of their proposal is a small fleet of sensor packages that can punch into the Martian soil and run a range of tests for signs of ancient or existing life. They call the mission BOLD. It's both an acronym for Biological Oxidant and Life Detection and a nod to the proposal's chutzpah. The proposal, which comes as NASA is reevaluating its Mars exploration program, appears ...