Culture | Page 2440 | Science Codex

ORNL experiments prove nanoscale metallic conductivity in ferroelectrics

OAK RIDGE, Tenn -- The prospect of electronics at the nanoscale may be even more promising with the first observation of metallic conductance in ferroelectric nanodomains by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Ferroelectric materials, which switch their polarization with the application of an electric field, have long been used in devices such as ultrasound machines and sensors. Now, discoveries about ferroelectrics' electronic properties are opening up possibilities of applications in nanoscale electronics and information storage.

Legionnaires' disease outbreak linked to hospital's decorative fountain

CHICAGO -- A 2010 outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Wisconsin has been linked to a decorative fountain in a hospital lobby, according to a study published in the February issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

Insulin therapy may help repair atherosclerotic lesions in diabetic patients

Philadelphia, PA, January 9, 2012 – New research reveals that insulin applied in therapeutic doses selectively stimulates the formation of new elastic fibers in cultures of human aortic smooth muscle cells. These results advance the understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of diabetic vascular disease. The study is published in the February issue of the American Journal of Pathology.

Investment risk tolerance affected by age, economic climate, MU study shows

COLUMBIA, Mo. – As the U.S. economy continues to lag, many investors remain wary about taking risks with the stock market. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have concluded that this attitude toward investment risk-taking is influenced by the age of the investor and the economic climate of the time period. Rui Yao, an assistant professor of personal financial planning in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at MU, found that willingness to take financial risks, or "risk tolerance," decreases as investors age.

Preventive hemophilia A treatment reduces annual bleeding events and frequency of infusions

A Rush University Medical Center led international research team has announced that a treatment to prevent bleeding episodes in children with hemophilia A also is effective for adolescents and adults.

Marijuana use associated with cyclic vomiting syndrome in young males

Researchers have found clear associations between marijuana use in young males and cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS), where patients experience episodes of vomiting separated by symptom free intervals.

The study, published in the January issue of Neurogastroenterology and Motility, looked at 226 patients seen at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, New York, USA, over a 13-year period.

New 'real-world' reassuring data from the SCAAR registry

A registry -which includes every patient in Sweden having percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for the treatment of acute and stable coronary artery disease- has found that PCI implantations using a new generation of drug-eluting stents is associated with lower rates of relapse (restenosis), stent thrombosis and subsequent mortality than older generation drug-eluting stents and bare-metal stents.(1)

A decade of research proves PET effectively detects dementia

Reston, Va. (December 28, 2011) – In a new review of imaging studies spanning more than ten years, scientists find that a method of positron emission tomography (PET) safely and accurately detects dementia, including the most common and devastating form among the elderly, Alzheimer's disease. This research is featured in the January issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Uninsured receive same quantity, value of imaging services as insured in hospital, in-patient setting

Insurance status doesn't affect the quantity (or value) of imaging services received by patients in a hospital, in-patient setting, according to a study in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Approximately 51 million Americans, or 16.7 percent of the population, were without health insurance for some or all of 2009. Lack of insurance is associated with less preventive care, delays in diagnosis and unnecessary deaths.

Shocker, if this is 1960: Tobacco company misrepresented danger from cigarettes

A new UCSF analysis of tobacco industry documents shows that Philip Morris USA manipulated data on the effects of additives in cigarettes, including menthol, obscuring actual toxicity levels and increasing the risk of heart, cancer and other diseases for smokers.

Tobacco industry information can't be taken at face value, the researchers conclude. They say their work provides evidence that hundreds of additives, including menthol, should be eliminated from cigarettes on public health grounds.

Added benefit of linagliptin is not proven

Linagliptin (trade name: Trajenta®) has been approved since August 2011 to improve blood glucose control ("glycaemic control") in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus whose elevated blood glucose levels are inadequately controlled by diet and exercise. It is an option for patients who do not tolerate or should not take the usual treatment with the drug metformin. Moreover, linagliptin can be added if treatment with metformin alone is not sufficient.

Abiraterone: Indication of considerable added benefit in certain patients

Abiraterone (trade name: Zytiga®) has been approved since September 2011 for men with metastatic prostate cancer that is no longer responsive to hormone therapy and progresses further during or after therapy with the cytostatic drug docetaxel. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the "Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products" (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether abiraterone offers an added benefit compared with the present standard therapy.

A large subgroup of mild-to-moderate asthma is persistently non-eosinophilic

A large percentage of patients with mild-to-moderate asthma have persistently non-eosinophilic disease which may not respond to currently available anti-inflammatory treatments, according to a new study.

Majority of Americans say research and development are key to building US economy

WASHINGTON – January 5, 2011 – The new edition of America Speaks, a compilation of public opinion polls commissioned by Research!America, demonstrates increasing public support for research and innovation to improve health, create jobs and boost the economy. However, nearly 60% of Americans don't believe we are making enough progress in medical research, and 54% don't believe the U.S. has the best health care system in the world.

School pupils learn about practical philosophy

Children could learn valuable lessons in responsible citizenship, such as making moral judgements and informed choices, through taking part in philosophical dialogue, according to researchers at the University of Strathclyde.