MADISON, WI November 8, 2010 -- Conversion of sorghum grass to ethanol has increased with the interest in renewable fuel sources. Researchers at Iowa State University examined 12 varieties of sorghum grass grown in single and double cropping systems. The experiment was designed to test the efficiency of double cropping sorghum grass to increase its yield for biofuel production. The author of the report, Ben Goff, found that using sorghum from a single-cropping system was more effective for the production of ethanol. Since most of the ethanol currently produced in the ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – There may be many similarities between the importance of large predators in marine and terrestrial environments, researchers concluded in a recent study, which examined the interactions between wolves and elk in the United States, as well as sharks and dugongs in Australia. In each case, the major predators help control the populations of their prey, scientists said. But through what's been called the "ecology of fear" they also affect the behavior of the prey, with ripple impacts on other aspects of the ecosystem and an ecological significance that ...

AURORA, Colo. (Nov. 10, 2010) – New research released today takes a look at birth outcomes and maternal smoking, building urgency for more states and cities to join the nationwide smoke-free trend that has accelerated in recent years. According to the new data, strong smoke-free policies can improve fetal outcomes by significantly reducing the prevalence of maternal smoking. The study, which was presented today at the American Public Health Association's 138th Annual Meeting & Exposition in Denver, compared maternal smoking prevalence in one Colorado city where a smoking ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. —A diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is not much better than a death sentence, given a survival rate averaging 4 to 6 years as the disease robs its victim of the ability to breathe. But researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered a receptor in the immune system that may serve as a marker for a rapidly progressing form of the disease, which causes the body to produce excess fibrous tissue in the lungs. More than just signaling which patients have the more aggressive form of IPF – a disease that claims about as many lives each year ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – In modern culture, it is not considered socially acceptable for married people to have extramarital sexual partners. However, in some Amazonian cultures, extramarital sexual affairs were common, and people believed that when a woman became pregnant, each of her sexual partners would be considered part-biological father. Now, a new University of Missouri study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that up to 70 percent of Amazonian cultures may have believed in the principle of multiple paternity. "In these cultures, ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The genes we possess not only determine the color of our eyes and hair and how our bodies grow, they might also influence the changes that occur in tumors when we develop cancer. A study by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) suggests that our normal genetic background – the genetic variations that we inherit – contributes to the kinds of DNA changes that occur in tumor cells as cancer develops. The researchers compared multiple ...

A novel project set in a rural community near Rochester, N.Y., to screen elderly people for unmet needs showed that, indeed, there is a great opportunity to match older adults with professional assistance. This new model of care for rural-dwelling adults is described this month in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The University of Rochester Medical Center, Livingston County Department of Health and Office for the Aging, and the Genesee Valley Health Partnership collaborated to create this program, called Livingston Help for Seniors. In one instance, ...

Despite lack of evidence about bed rest's effectiveness, doctors annually prescribe it for roughly 1 million pregnant women to delay preterm births. Judith Maloni, professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, said a comprehensive review of more than 70 evidence-based research articles challenges whether this is healthy for mothers — or their babies. She makes her report in the article, "Antepartum Bed Rest for Pregnancy Complications: Efficacy and Safety for Preventing Preterm Birth," in the special women's health issue ...

CINCINNATI—It's no surprise that being a physician is a very stressful job and carries a lot of responsibility with it. But two new studies from researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) indicate that the stressors arising from work in the clinic, where physicians are seeing patients one-on-one, can effectively be measured with hopes of improving patient care and physician job satisfaction. Ronnie Horner, PhD, and C. Jeff Jacobson, PhD, both researchers in the department of public health sciences, say their studies, published in online editions of the journal ...

An estimated 26 million people, 13% of the United States population, are living with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), and this number continues to grow. If current trends continue, there will not be enough doctors to serve this expanding patient population. To help address this crisis, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is convening a Summit on the Nephrology Workforce during its upcoming ASN Renal Week 2010 in Denver, Colorado, on November 17. Participants will discuss this crisis, its implications, and strategies to increase the number of kidney disease doctors in ...

The Halpin Foundation and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) proudly highlight the research advances in membranous nephropathy made possible by The Halpin Foundation-ASN Research Grant, created to help young faculty develop independent research careers. This award provides recipients transition funding toward successful application for an NIH RO1 grant. Elena Torban, PhD (McGill University Faculty of Medicine), the 2008 recipient of The Halpin Foundation-ASN Research Grant, recently explained, "The generous financial two-year support provided by The Halpin Foundation ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. ¬— Underage and heavy drinking on college campuses continue to be issues for college administrators. While some campuses, such as the University of Missouri, have made strides in efforts to reduce heavy drinking on campus, administrators are continually trying to educate students about the risks of excessive drinking. Now, two MU psychologists have found that students who viewed images of beer cans packaged and displayed in university colors believed that drinking beer was less dangerous than those students who saw images of regular beer cans. "In this research, ...

A team of international researchers led by physicists in the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering have made a significant breakthrough in an effort to understand the phenomenon of high-temperature superconductivity in complex copper-oxides—one of the most studied scientific topics in history. The University of Minnesota researchers and their international colleagues from Germany, France and China report the discovery of a novel type of magnetic wave involving oxygen atoms. The new findings could have implications for improving superconducting ...

WHAT: Newly published research by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, sheds light on a poorly understood, acute illness called Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS) that develops in some HIV-infected individuals soon after they begin antiretroviral therapy. IRIS affects certain HIV-infected individuals whose immune systems are heavily damaged by the virus and who have a treated or undiagnosed AIDS-associated infection. When these individuals start antiretroviral therapy and ...

Like a cosmic light bulb on a dimmer switch, Saturn emitted gradually less energy each year from 2005 to 2009, according to observations by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. But unlike an ordinary bulb, Saturn's southern hemisphere consistently emitted more energy than its northern one. On top of that, energy levels changed with the seasons and differed from the last time a spacecraft visited in the early 1980s. These never-before-seen trends came from an analysis of comprehensive data from the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS), an instrument built by NASA's Goddard Space ...

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – One of the biggest comet findings coming out of the amazing images and data taken by the University of Maryland-led EPOXI mission as it zipped past comet Hartley 2 last week is that dry ice is the 'jet' fuel for this comet and perhaps many others. Images from the flyby show spectacular jets of gas and particles bursting from many distinct spots on the surface of the comet. This is the first time images of a comet have been sharp enough to allow scientists to link jets of dust and gas with specific surface features. Analysis of the spectral signatures ...

CINCINNATI—Whether it's food or sex, pleasurable activity provides more than just pleasure, University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers say. It actually reduces stress by inhibiting anxiety responses in the brain. The findings were published online Nov. 8, 2010, ahead of print in PNAS, the official journal of the National Academy of Sciences. Experiments designed by Yvonne Ulrich-Lai, PhD, research assistant professor, James Herman, PhD, director of the Laboratory of Stress Neurobiology and professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at UC, and colleagues also ...

What factors contribute to poor people in developing countries lifting themselves out of poverty? A paper by economists Anan Pawasutipaisit of Thammasat University and Robert M. Townsend of MIT provides important insights into what kinds of households might be most effective at moving themselves out of poverty and how they are able do it. The paper, "Wealth Accumulation and Factors Accounting for Success" appears in the current issue of the Journal of Econometrics. It suggests that poor people who skillfully manage their assets are especially successful in improving ...

BOSTON -- A noninvasive electric stimulation technique administered to both sides of the brain can help stroke patients who have lost motor skills in their hands and arms, according to a new study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Described in today's Online Issue of the journal Neurology, the findings showed that stroke patients who received bihemispheric transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) coupled with a regimen of physical and occupational therapy had a three-fold greater improvement in motor function compared with patients ...

Diabetes experts at a meeting convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) took the next step in advancing efforts toward the development of an artificial pancreas: putting forth clinical recommendations to ensure the safe and effective testing of artificial pancreas technology in real-life situations. We are pleased at today's meeting there was a strong consensus among leading clinicians, researchers and industry leaders regarding the path toward outpatient studies for both low-glucose suspend and artificial pancreas ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Before the U.S. Census Bureau releases its official state-level population counts to Congress on Dec. 31, a University of Michigan demographer offers projections of likely state winners and losers. But she also cautions that there are likely to be plenty of surprises. According to Lisa Neidert, data services manager at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR) Population Studies Center, the most likely state winners---based on July 2009 population estimates from the Census Bureau---are Texas (3 seats), and Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South ...

Can a heart implanted micro robot operate permanently? Can cell phones and tiny robots implanted in the heart operate permanently without having their batteries charged? It might sound like science fiction, but these things seem to be possible in the near future. The team of Prof. Keon Jae Lee (KAIST, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering) and Prof. Zhong Lin Wang (Georgia Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering) has developed new forms of highly efficient, flexible nanogenerator technology using the freely bendable piezoelectric ceramic ...

OrangeHRM, Inc., a leader in the development of open-source human resources management (HRM) software, launched its on-site training programs to use its software. On-site training offer many value additions to the large user base of OrangeHRM around the world. Since the launch of this new program OrangeHRM has conducted many training courses in the USA, UAE, Singapore and hopes extend the services to Belize in South America and also Australia. OrangeHRM CEO & CO-founder Sujee Saparanadu said, "Companies around the world are looking for efficient and cost-effective ways ...

Murano Glass Store, one of the leading Murano glass accessories online stores, has just released a new Murano glass collection. The company is proud to announce the launching of a brand new impressive collection of Murano glass jewelry, which encompasses a very wide range of unique, boldly colorful and refined bracelets, bead necklaces and pendants. The Murano Glass Store has been in business for many years and has gotten to know what are peoples likes and dislikes when it comes to _a href="http://murano-glass-store.com"_Murano glass jewelry_/a_ or Murano glass accessories. ...

On 5th November 2010, a novel educational program, 'Spotlight on Hinduism' concluded successfully at the Drake Tech Centre in Fort Collins. On the occasion of the widely celebrated Hindu 'festival of lights', Diwali, many from Fort Collins and surrounding areas thronged to attend the 'Spotlight on Hinduism', a public event held to create awareness about Hinduism. The program received honorable attendance by the Fort Collins Mayor, Doug Hutchinson, who inaugurated the program in the tradition of Hinduism, with the lighting of the auspicious oil lamp. Hutchinson shared the ...