Tech

Study shows no-till's benefits for Pacific Northwest wheat growers

Wheat farmers in eastern Oregon and Washington who use no-till production systems can substantially stem soil erosion and enhance efforts to protect water quality, according to research by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.

Boy toddlers need extra help dealing with negative emotions

URBANA – The way you react to your two-year-old's temper tantrums or clinginess may lead to anxiety, withdrawal and behavior problems down the road, and the effect is more pronounced if the child is a boy who often displays such negative emotions as anger and social fearfulness, reports a new University of Illinois study.

How long does a tuning fork ring?

Ultrafast laser 'scribing' technique to cut cost, hike efficiency of solar cells

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers are developing a technology that aims to help make solar cells more affordable and efficient by using a new manufacturing method that employs an ultrafast pulsing laser.

The innovation may help to overcome two major obstacles that hinder widespread adoption of solar cells: the need to reduce manufacturing costs and increase the efficiency of converting sunlight into an electric current, said Yung Shin, a professor of mechanical engineering and director of Purdue University's Center for Laser-Based Manufacturing.

Chronic disease care poorer in nursing and residential homes under GP target scheme

The quality of chronic disease care under the GP pay for performance system is poorer for residents of care homes than those living in the community, according to a study published on bmj.com today.

The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) for general practice is a voluntary system of financial incentives, which has been in place since 2004. Part of the programme includes specific targets for GPs to demonstrate high quality care for patients with chronic diseases.

Health Bill unlikely to improve children's health services, warn child health experts

The coalition government's Health and Social Care Bill is a missed opportunity to deliver the improvements in children's health services in England that are urgently needed, warn experts in a paper published on bmj.com today.

Ingrid Wolfe and some of the country's leading experts in child health propose a fundamentally different way of delivering children's health care that is long overdue in the UK.

Academic performance of UK doctors and medical students varies by ethnicity

UK trained doctors and medical students from minority ethnic groups tend to underperform academically compared with their white counterparts, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

This attainment gap has persisted for many years and must be tackled to ensure a fair and just method of training and assessing current and future doctors, say the authors.

Trauma patients have higher rate of death for several years following injury

In a study that included more than 120,000 adults who were treated for trauma, 16 percent of these patients died within 3 years of their injury, compared to an expected population mortality rate of about 6 percent, according to a study in the March 9 issue of JAMA. The researchers also found that trauma patients who were discharged to a skilled nursing facility had a significantly increased risk of death compared with patients discharged home without assistance.

Ultrafast laser 'scribing' technique to cut cost, hike efficiency of solar cells

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers are developing a technology that aims to help make solar cells more affordable and efficient by using a new manufacturing method that employs an ultrafast pulsing laser.

The innovation may help to overcome two major obstacles that hinder widespread adoption of solar cells: the need to reduce manufacturing costs and increase the efficiency of converting sunlight into an electric current, said Yung Shin, a professor of mechanical engineering and director of Purdue University's Center for Laser-Based Manufacturing.

How long does a tuning fork ring?

Study shows no-till's benefits for Pacific Northwest wheat growers

Wheat farmers in eastern Oregon and Washington who use no-till production systems can substantially stem soil erosion and enhance efforts to protect water quality, according to research by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.

Boy toddlers need extra help dealing with negative emotions

URBANA – The way you react to your two-year-old's temper tantrums or clinginess may lead to anxiety, withdrawal and behavior problems down the road, and the effect is more pronounced if the child is a boy who often displays such negative emotions as anger and social fearfulness, reports a new University of Illinois study.

Aging with grace: In-home assessments lead to better care, lower health costs

INDIANAPOLIS – The March 2011 issue of the journal Heath Affairs highlights an evidence-based model of geriatric care management developed, implemented and tested by researchers and clinicians from Indiana University, the Regenstrief Institute and Wishard Health Services.

Boston researchers create 'SMArt' platform architecture, launch $5,000 health app competition

Boston, Mass. – Through a grant from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School have developed a first-of-its kind platform architecture to support a flexible health information technology (IT) environment and promote innovation.

How nuclear submarines can help archeology

According to rough estimates, there are some 20,000 undiscovered archaeological sites in Israel waiting to be explored. Currently buried under highways or beneath cities, some could reveal historic monuments from the biblical past and give us clues to the expansion and settlement of modern man as he made his way through the Fertile Crescent.