Tech

Researchers have discovered that a drug used to treat dialysis catheter malfunction in kidney dialysis patients may now also help prevent both malfunction as well as infections.

Cardiac arrests that can be treated by electric stimulation, also known as shockable arrests, were found at a higher frequency in public settings than in the home, according to a National Institutes of Health-funded study appearing in the Jan. 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Scientists are reporting development of a new approach for dealing with offensive household and other odors — one that doesn't simply mask odors like today's room fresheners, but eliminates them at the source. Their research found that a deodorant made from nanoparticles — hundreds of times smaller than peach fuzz — eliminates odors up to twice as effectively as today's gold standard. A report on these next-generation odor-fighters appears in ACS' Langmuir, a bi-weekly journal.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Parents who share caregiving for their preschool children may experience more conflict than those in which the mother is the primary caregiver, according to a new study.

Results showed that couples had a stronger, more supportive co-parenting relationship when the father spent more time playing with their child. But when the father participated more in caregiving, like preparing meals for the child or giving baths, the couples were more likely to display less supportive and more undermining co-parenting behavior toward each other.

Everybody who has been aboard a ship has heard the advice: if you feel unsteady, look at the horizon. For a study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, researchers measured how much people sway on land and at sea and found there's truth in that advice; people aboard a ship are steadier if they fix their eyes on the horizon.

A recent study confirmed that low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with higher risk of depressive symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Statistically significant differences in race, public versus tertiary-care hospital, disability and medications were found between depressed and non-depressed patients. Study findings are reported in the February issue of Arthritis Care & Research, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

CHICAGO (January 26, 2011) – A first of its kind surgical quality improvement program for children has the potential to identify outcomes of children's surgical care that can be targeted for quality improvement efforts to prevent complications and save lives. The results of a study of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-Pediatric (ACS NSQIP Peds) phase 1 pilot were published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

As many as ten to 20 per cent of nurses and nursing students may have substance abuse and addiction problems, but the key to tackling this difficult issue - and protecting public safety - is support and treatment, not punishment. That is the key message in a paper in the February issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

Researchers have recommended six key points that could be built into alternative-to-dismissal (ATD) strategies after reviewing the latest research and professional guidance from countries such as the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

Gallium nitride (GaN) and zinc oxide (ZnO) are among the most technologically relevant semiconducting materials. Gallium nitride is ubiquitous today in optoelectronic elements such as blue lasers (hence the blue-ray disc) and light-emitting-diodes (LEDs); zinc oxide also finds many uses in optoelectronics and sensors.

The researchers approached the conversion with the goal that by 2030, all new energy generation would come from wind, water and solar, and by 2050, all pre-existing energy production would be converted as well.

AUSTIN, Texas—Young staghorn coral that fluoresce redder are less likely to settle and develop into coral polyps than their greener peers, University of Texas at Austin biologists have discovered.

Targets set for GPs to improve the care of patients with high blood pressure have had no impact, according to a new study published on bmj.com today.

Researchers found that nationally set targets in the UK, that have financial rewards for GPs if they are met, have made no discernible difference to improving care and outcomes for patients with hypertension (high blood pressure).

Around half of people aged over 50 have hypertension, which is one of the most treatable, but undertreated cardiovascular risk factors.