Tech

Cardiologists from the Cardiac & Vascular Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center presented new research findings at the American College of Cardiology 60th Annual Scientific Session held April 2-5, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Significant research findings presented by NYU Langone cardiologists included:

April 4, 2011– For women, having a male partner who exhibits controlling behaviors such as limiting contact with friends and insisting on knowing one's whereabouts at all times, may be associated with increased physical and sexual relationship violence. However, young women experiencing these behaviors are more hesitant to answer questions about relationship violence—a fact that presents challenges for healthcare providers and others seeking to assist woman who are at risk.

Washington, D.C. (April 5, 2011) -- Using minute graphite particles 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, mechanical engineers at Arizona State University hope to boost the efficiency—and profitability—of solar power plants.

Research by McGill Sociology Professor Eran Shor, working in collaboration with researchers from Stony Brook University, has revealed that unemployment increases the risk of premature mortality by 63 per cent. Shor reached these conclusions by surveying existing research covering 20 million people in 15 (mainly western) countries, over the last 40 years.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Monitoring oxygen levels in water has applications for oil spills, fish farming, brewing beer and more – and a professor at Michigan State University is poised to help supply that need.

The concept of oxygen sensors isn't new. The challenge, however, has been manufacturing one that can withstand fluctuations in temperature, salinity, carbon dioxide, phosphates and biological wastes. Ruby Ghosh, associate professor of physics, was able to overcome those obstacles as well as build one that provides real-time data and is relatively inexpensive.

A live broadcast from the University of Southampton today (4 April 2011) highlighted the effectiveness of antimicrobial copper in preventing the spread of antibiotic-resistant organisms, such as MRSA, in hospitals.

Tying in with the theme of this week's World Health Day – 'Antimicrobial resistance and its global spread' – a live experiment from a laboratory at the University of Southampton used state-of-the-art fluorescent microscopy to show copper eradicating an exceptionally high challenge of MRSA bacteria – one of the notorious antibiotic-resistant superbugs – within minutes.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Women with ovarian cancer who have the BRCA2 gene mutation are more likely to survive the malignancy than women with the BRCA1 mutation, or women without either mutation.

In results presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6, Kelly Bolton, a fellow at the National Cancer Institute, said the findings describe the effect of these mutations in ovarian cancer survival.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Among people with AIDS, the risk of stomach and esophageal malignancies is higher than among the general population, according to study results presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Heavy beer drinkers who have a specific genetic variant in the cluster of three genes that metabolize alcohol are at significantly higher risk of developing non-cardia gastric cancer, according to research presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

Study results also showed that the same risk is also elevated (but not as significantly) for heavy beer drinkers who do not have the variant, known as rs1230025, and for non-drinkers who have rs1230025 or rs283411.

Lighter, more economical, more reasonably priced – that is the motto. If possible, equipped with electric drive, too. Carmakers have lots of demands to meet. Researchers at the Fraunhofer AutoMOBILE Production Alliance help carmakers meet these demands, and the developments they are working on include lightweight car components. They are presenting the results of their work at the Hannover Messe in the form of a "glass car."

A car door made of magnesium

Winston-Salem, N.C. – A new polymer-based solar-thermal device is the first to generate power from both heat and visible sunlight – an advance that could shave the cost of heating a home by as much as 40 percent.

Geothermal add-ons for heat pumps on the market today collect heat from the air or the ground. This new device uses a fluid that flows through a roof-mounted module to collect heat from the sun while an integrated solar cell generates electricity from the sun's visible light.

New Orleans - Psoriasis is a common inflammatory skin disease, and if severe, has been demonstrated to be a risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) disease. However, the degree to which psoriasis is associated with major adverse cardiac events (MACE), such as heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular death has not been defined. Now, new research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has revealed an increased incidence of MACE in patients with severe psoriasis.

In conventional optical instruments, light cannot be focused to spot sizes smaller than half the wavelength because of diffraction effects. An important approach to beat this diffraction limit is based on optical antennas, their name being an allusion to their radiofrequency counterparts. They have the ability to concentrate (focus) light to tiny spots of nanometer-scale dimensions, which are orders of magnitude smaller than what conventional lenses can achieve.

A novel class of amphiphilic dendronized homopolymers has been reported by The Department of Polymer Materials, Shanghai University. By tuning the structures, these polymers can show thermoresponsive properties and adopt ordered secondary structures or self-assemble into ordered porous films. The study is reported in Issue 12 (December 2010) of SCIENCE CHINA Chem because of its significant research value.