Cutting carbon dioxide helps prevent drying
2011-03-25
Washington, D.C.—Recent climate modeling has shown that reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would give the Earth a wetter climate in the short term. New research from Carnegie Global Ecology scientists Long Cao and Ken Caldeira offers a novel explanation for why climates are wetter when atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations are decreasing. Their findings, published online today by Geophysical Research Letters, show that cutting carbon dioxide concentrations could help prevent droughts caused by global warming.
Cao and Caldeira's new ...
Gambling problems are more common than drinking problems, according to first-of-its-kind study
2011-03-25
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- After age 21, problem gambling is considerably more common among U.S. adults than alcohol dependence, even though alcohol dependence has received much more attention, according to researchers at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions.
In results published this month in the Journal of Gambling Studies, John W. Welte, principal investigator on the study and a national expert on alcohol and gambling pathology, concluded that there is a distinct inconsistency between his research and much of the other research literature. Other research ...
A safer, more effective morphine may be possible with Indiana University discovery
2011-03-25
INDIANAPOLIS – An orphan drug originally used for HIV treatment has been found to short-circuit the process that results in additional sensitivity and pain from opioid use. The study by researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine is reported in the March 25, 2011 issue of Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
The researchers say the finding in animal models may ultimately make morphine a safer and more effective drug.
Traditionally opioids were used to relieve pain following surgery, from cancer and at the end of life. Today opioids are used widely for chronically ...
Online Gambling Portal Jackpot Finder Launches Innovative Online Casino Slots Search Engine
2011-03-25
JackpotFinder.com, a 2iventures website, just launched a new online casino slots finder to help players locate the perfect game. Jackpot Finder is a leading online gambling site directory designed to help players find trusted places to gamble on the Internet. The website first launched in 2003, and over the years it has grown to become one of the largest and most comprehensive guides to the world of online gambling. This new and improved slots section follows a major redesigning of the site, which introduced a number of comprehensive improvements.
The heart of Jackpot ...
First student-developed mission in which satellites orbit and communicate led by UT students
2011-03-25
Two satellites designed and constructed by students at the Cockrell School of Engineering successfully separated in space March 22, completing the most crucial goal of the mission since its Nov. 19 launch and making them the first student-developed mission in the world in which satellites orbit and communicate with each other in real-time.
The satellites separated March 22 at 6:35 a.m. Central Standard Time. Now that they're apart, the 60-plus pound, tire-sized satellites will be able to perform the main goals of the project and could pave the way for more complex satellite ...
New study quantifies total costs of fragility fractures in 6 major European countries
2011-03-25
Research presented today at the European Congress on Osteoporosis & Osteoarthritis by investigators from the UK and Sweden estimates that the economic burden of fragility fractures in five major European countries totals 31 billion Euro, with Germany bearing the highest costs. A majority of the economic burden is shown to be related to the costs incurred during the 1st year after the fracture, while pharmacological prevention and treatment management constitutes only a marginal share of the total economic cost.
Hip fractures contributed 56% to the overall costs, vertebral ...
Essential Healthcare Management Offers Expert Advice to Healthcare Suppliers Targeting New Accountable Care Organizations
2011-03-25
Set to launch in January as part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) may soon become a predominant option for integrating healthcare services for Medicare recipients, and Essential Healthcare Management (EHM), a healthcare business development firm, is leading the way in offering expertise, guidance and strategies for healthcare suppliers wanting to align their business with this new system.
An ACO is a network of medical caregivers - hospitals, doctors, nurses, suppliers, home healthcare specialists, health educators, nutritionists, ...
Animal welfare does not damage competitiveness
2011-03-25
EU farmers hold their own well in competition with the rest of the world, despite the comparatively high demands the EU places on agricultural production.
"We have investigated the connection between animal welfare regulation in the EU and competitiveness. We have seen that the impact on competitiveness and on trade is very minor, if it exists at all", says Anna Andersson, researcher at the AgriFood Economics Centre.
The aim of the report is to investigate whether trade barriers for certain products can be economically justified in order to protect a society's values. ...
ICUROS study finds international variations in quality of life loss after fracture
2011-03-25
A study presented today at the European Congress on Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis currently taking place in Valencia, Spain has found that the initial quality of life loss following an osteoporotic fracture is substantial, especially with regard to hip and vertebral fractures. The study found differences in quality of life loss between countries after correcting for other explanatory variables.
The quality of life (QoL) of patients who sustained a hip, wrist or vertebral fracture was examined for the four months following the fracture. The study is part of the International ...
Researchers: Sexually active teens need confidential health care
2011-03-25
After reviewing existing research regarding the common practices of health care providers who see adolescent patients across the country, Rebecca Allen, MD, MPH, a clinician and researcher at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, and her colleague, Michelle Forcier, MD, MPH, an adolescent medicine specialist at Hasbro Children's Hospital, asserted that the nation needs to offer more confidential care for teenagers who are sexually active.
This includes access to effective contraception, noted the doctors in the paper "Adolescent Sexuality and the Use of Contraception," ...
Military Personnel Caught With Spice and other 'Designer Drugs' Face Serious Consequences
2011-03-25
The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines are ramping up their efforts to go after military personnel using substances often called 'designer drugs.' In particular, the military Services are seeking to punish the use and trafficking in a chemical compound commonly referred to as Spice.
Marketed and sold as incense, Spice produces effects similar to marijuana when smoked. Until recently, the sale of Spice has been legal in all states. However, for those in the military, they must know that just because something is legally available for sale to civilians does not mean that ...
Uncertain future for Joshua trees projected with climate change
2011-03-25
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Temperature increases resulting from climate change in the Southwest will likely eliminate Joshua trees from 90 percent of their current range in 60 to 90 years, according to a new study led by U.S. Geological Survey ecologist Ken Cole.
The research team used models of future climate, an analysis of the climatic tolerances of the species in its current range, and the fossil record to project the future distribution of Joshua trees. The study concludes that the species could be restricted to the northernmost portion of its current range as early as the ...
Inclusion of falls history shown to enhance accuracy of fracture risk assessment models
2011-03-25
Researchers from the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit in Southampton, UK, have presented a new study that shows how the inclusion of falls history, in addition to clinical risk factors (CRFs) and bone mineral density (BMD) values, would greatly improve the accuracy of fracture prediction models. The research findings were presented today at the European Congress on Osteoporosis & Osteoarthritis in Valencia, Spain.
Using results from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study, the investigators examined the relative contributions of CRFs, BMD and falls history to fracture prediction. ...
RIT researchers help map tsunami and earthquake damage in Japan
2011-03-25
Japan needs maps. Not just any kind—detailed informational maps georegistered with latitude and longitude and annotated with simple, self-evident details: this bridge is out, this port is damaged, this farm field is scoured; this one is verdant.
Researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology are processing satellite imagery of regions in Japan affected by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that devastated sections of the country's east coast on March 11. The U.S. Geological Survey, a member of the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters," organized the ...
Changing Misconceptions About Immigration
2011-03-25
When French president Nicolas Sarkozy recently declared that France's efforts at "multiculturalism" were a failure, it reminded those of us in the United States that we're not the only country in the world grappling with issues related to foreign immigration. But while European countries have tended to focus on the cultural side of the immigration debate, Americans are often focused on the perceived economic problems of immigration. As it turns out, Americans have less to worry about on both fronts than the current rhetoric might lead one to believe.
Economically, immigrants ...
Study: Teachers unaware of growing gender gaps in classrooms
2011-03-25
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A gap in reading and math scores still exists in lower grades, with boys continuing to outpace girls in math, and girls ahead of boys in reading, two University of Illinois education professors say.
Using national longitudinal data to perform their analysis, Joseph P. Robinson and Sarah Lubienski investigated male and female achievement in math and reading, looking for when gender gaps first appeared and where in the distribution the gaps were most prevalent.
Except for kindergarteners in the 99th percentile, boys and girls generally start out on equal ...
ATVs Remain Dangerous and Prone to Accidents, Crashes
2011-03-25
A recent death of a 12 year old in Florida highlights the danger inherent in the operation of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). Since their introduction in the early 1980s, ATVs have resulted in thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of emergency room visits.
While the designs have changed from the original 3-wheel, tricycle layout of the first Honda ATV, what hasn't changed is the danger posed by using these recreational vehicles. Since 1982, Florida has reported 447 deaths in connection with ATVs.
Nationwide, in the same period, at least 10,000 people have died ...
Around 25 percent of health messages in Spanish text books are not based on scientific evidence
2011-03-25
Most school text books contain messages about health, but 24.6% of these are not based on any scientific evidence, according to a study by the Knowledge Management Unit at Baza Hospital (Granada), published in the journal BMC Public Health.
"We analysed a total of 844 health messages in primary and secondary school text books in order to identify the level of scientific evidence underpinning these texts, and we classified them into three categories – messages with a high, medium or low level of evidence, messages with an unknown level of evidence, and messages with no ...
A Motorcycle Helmet: Use It or Lose It?
2011-03-25
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently issued a press release putting mandatory motorcycle helmet use on its Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements.
It reported that from 1997 through 2008, the number of motorcycle fatalities more than doubled during a period when overall highway fatalities declined
The NTSB has recommended that everyone riding a motorcycle be required to wear a helmet. Currently, only 20 states, the District of Columbia and four territories have universal helmet laws that apply to all riders.
Twenty-seven states ...
Atlanta Airport Hotel Offers Nearby Lodging to Travelers Visiting Fernbank NatureQuest
2011-03-25
The Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta Airport Hotel (North I-85) offers nearby accommodations to travelers planning to visit the Fernbank Museum of Natural History near midtown Atlanta. The Museum recently launched a new permanent exhibition, Fernbank NatureQuest. Guests can climb trees and cross rope bridges to a working clubhouse, which sits atop giant trees. Tickets for Fernbank NatureQuest are included with Museum admission and free for all members.
Fernbank's other permanent exhibitions include:
- Dinosaur Entrance Plaza
- Giants of the Mesozoic
- A Walk through Time ...
BrainGate neural interface system reaches 1,000-day performance milestone
2011-03-25
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Demonstrating an important milestone for the longevity and utility of implanted brain-computer interfaces, a woman with tetraplegia using the investigational BrainGate* system continued to control a computer cursor accurately through neural activity alone more than 1,000 days after receiving the BrainGate implant, according to a team of physicians, scientists, and engineers developing and testing the technology at Brown University, the Providence VA Medical Center, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Results from five consecutive ...
Against the tide: Currents keep dolphins apart
2011-03-25
Conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the American Museum of Natural History, and other conservation and research groups have discovered that groups of dolphins in the western Indian Ocean do not mix freely with one another. In fact, dolphin populations are kept separate by currents and other unseen factors.
Specifically, the researchers have found that genetically distinct populations of the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin may be formed in part by currents, surface temperature differences, and other environmental barriers, a finding made possible by ...
Debenhams Launches Android & Nokia Apps for Shoppers on the Move
2011-03-25
Debenhams has launched its latest app for the professional shopper on Android and Nokia phones, making the retailer the first on the high street to offer apps for the three key smartphones.
The free-to-download, fully transactional apps follow the highly successful launch of the Debenhams iPhone app in October 2010. Designed to target the on-the-move shopper and enrich the in-store experience, the Debenhams iPhone app achieved 360,000 downloads and sales of nearly GBP1 million within five months of launch.
With the success of the iPhone app and sales on the Debenhams ...
Eskimo study suggests high consumption of omega-3s reduces obesity-related disease risk
2011-03-25
SEATTLE – A study of Yup'ik Eskimos in Alaska, who on average consume 20 times more omega-3 fats from fish than people in the lower 48 states, suggests that a high intake of these fats helps prevent obesity-related chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
The study, led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and conducted in collaboration with the Center for Alaska Native Health Research at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, was published online March 23 in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"Because Yup'ik Eskimos have a traditional ...
Data streaming in from Space Station to OSU lab
2011-03-25
CORVALLIS, Ore. – A prototype scanner aboard the international space station has been taking new images of Earth's coastal regions during the 16 months since it was launched, providing scientists with a new set of imaging tools that will help them monitor events from oil spills to plankton blooms.
The images and other data are now available to scientists from around the world through an online clearinghouse coordinated by Oregon State University.
Additional details of the project will be announced in a forthcoming issue of the American Geophysical Union journal, EOS, ...
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