Tech

ORLANDO, Fla. — Scientists have confirmed that metabolic syndrome, a constellation of conditions that increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes, may also increase the risk of the two most common types of liver cancer, according to data presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

Dallas, TX (April 3, 2011) – A large, multi-year study of antibiotic use in Veterans Health Administration's acute care facilities demonstrates dramatically increased use of carbapenems, a powerful class of antibiotics, over the last five years. These drugs are often considered the last treatment option for severe infections with multi-drug resistant pathogens. The increased carbapenem use, which has also been described in non-VA facilities in the US, is alarming because carbapenem-resistant bacteria are becoming more common.

Boston, MA - Tiny particles only billionths of a meter in diameter—about two thousand would fit across the width of a human hair—could offer big hope in a small package to the many millions of people who are allergic to the nickel in everything from jewelry to coins and cell phones, say scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH).

In the April 3 online issue of Nature Nanotechnology, the team will report a new approach to preventing the common skin allergy.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — With the first observation of thermoelectric effects at graphene contacts, University of Illinois researchers found that graphene transistors have a nanoscale cooling effect that reduces their temperature.

Led by mechanical science and engineering professor William King and electrical and computer engineering professor Eric Pop, the team will publish its findings in the April 3 advance online edition of the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

WHAT: A special media phone briefing with leading infectious disease scientists and healthcare-associated infection experts who will headline the 2011 Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America's (SHEA) Annual Meeting

As part of the study, which will follow 40,000 UK households over a number of years, young people aged between 10 to 15 years have been asked how satisfied they are with their lives. The findings indicate that a mother's happiness in her partnership is more important to the child than the father's. The findings are based on a sample of 6,441 women, 5,384 men and 1,268 young people.

ORLANDO, Fla. — A new hedgehog pathway inhibitor demonstrated efficacy in preventing and treating basal cell cancer among patients with basal cell nevus syndrome, a rare inheritable disease, according to Phase II data presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.

Berlin, Germany, Saturday 02 April 2011: Thalidomide has shown potential to be used as the first adjuvant therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), according to data presented at the International Liver CongressTM 2011.1

A new study found thalidomide gave HCC patients who'd undergone grossly curative resection surgical removal of the cancerous part of the liver double the two-year disease free survival rate (65%) compared to placebo (33%).

CORDOBA, SPAIN—Irrigating agricultural crops places huge demands on water resources around the globe. In Spain for instance, where agriculture is a major contributor to the nation's economy, 85% of country's total water demand comes from the agricultural sector. The excessive use of irrigation water has resulted in serious environmental concerns in Mediterranean countries, where rising demand has deteriorated groundwater resources, depleted aquifers, and accelerated saltwater intrusion.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Engineers at Oregon State University have invented a new way to use surface-mount adhesives in the production of low-temperature, microchannel heat exchangers - an advance that will make this promising technology much less expensive for many commercial applications.

This type of technology will be needed, researchers say, in next-generation computers, lasers, consumer electronics, automobile cooling systems, fuel processors, miniature heat pumps and more.

Ants and termites have a significant positive impact on crop yields in dryland agriculture, according to a paper published today in the journal Nature Communications by scientists at CSIRO and the University of Sydney.

"Ants and termites perform the same ecosystem service functions in dryland agriculture that earthworms perform in cooler and wetter areas, but the potential for ants and termites to provide these benefits has received little attention until now," said CSIRO's Dr Theo Evans.

Planting short rotation energy crops on England's unused agricultural land could produce enough biomass to meet renewable energy targets without disrupting the food industry or the environment, according to research led by Professor Gail Taylor from the University of Southampton.

Economists from the Bank of Spain's Research Department have published a study on the direct, indirect and 'second time around' effects of oil prices on the economies of Spain and those of the European Monetary Union (EMU). The results show that Spanish inflation reflects oil prices than more directly inflation in the euro area overall.

SEATTLE – A landmark breast health care publication reveals a multitude of barriers that keep women of developing nations from being screened and treated for breast cancer – but offers tools to help countries improve their breast care programs.

Alexandria, VA — In recent years reimbursement for surgical services has declined, failing to keep up with inflation and economic growth. Financial incentives aimed at re-distributing reimbursement from procedural specialties to primary care specialties have been ineffective thus far, and the financial returns of being a physician continue to decrease, according to new research published in the April 2011 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.