Tech

Research shows single-patient rooms reduce hospital infections in ICU

Montreal, January 10, 2011 – A research team from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University has demonstrated that private rooms in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) play a key role in reducing hospital infections like C-difficile. The study, published today in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, also suggests that length of stay would be shorter and this could lead to cost savings to the healthcare system.

New method for reporting solar data

Washington, D.C. (January 11, 2011) -- A straightforward new way to calculate, compile, and graphically present solar radiation measurements in a format that is accessible to decision makers and the general public has been developed by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin.

International first: Gas-phase carbonic acid isolated

 Gas-phase carbonic acid isolated

A team of chemists headed by Thomas Loerting from the University of Innsbruck and Hinrich Grothe from the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) in Austria have prepared and isolated gas-phase carbonic acid and have succeeded in characterizing the gas-phase molecules by using infrared spectroscopy. The results were published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

Nursing home closures concentrated in poorest areas

While wealthier people have chosen alternatives to urban nursing homes, the urban poor still depend on them for long-term care. A new study led by researchers at Brown University finds that option is nevertheless slipping away. Between 1999 and 2008, nursing home closures in the United States were concentrated disproportionately in poor, urban and predominantly minority neighborhoods.

Aggressive care raises Medicare costs in end-stage dementia

BOSTON—A large proportion of Medicare expenditures for nursing home residents with advanced dementia, a terminal illness, is spent on aggressive treatments that may be avoidable and of limited clinical benefit, according to a new study by the Institute for Aging Research, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, published in the online version of the Archives of Internal Medicine on Jan. 10, 2011.

Nursing home closures clustered in poor, minority areas

Nursing home closures eliminated about 5 percent of available beds between 1998 and 2008, with closures concentrated in minority and poor communities, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the May 9 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Implant appears effective for treating inflammatory disease within the eye

An implant that releases the medication dexamethasone within the eye appears safe and effective for the treatment of some types of uveitis (swelling and inflammation in the eye's middle layer), according to a report posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Bottle rockets can cause serious eye injuries in children

Bottle rockets can cause significant eye injuries in children, often leading to permanent loss of vision, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Abstinence, heavy drinking, binge drinking associated with increased risk of cognitive impairment

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, January 10, 2011 -- Previous research regarding the association between alcohol consumption and dementia or cognitive impairment in later life suggests that mild to moderate alcohol consumption might be protective of dementia. However, most of the research has been conducted on subjects already rather elderly at the start of the follow-up. A new study published in the December issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease addresses this problem with a follow-up of more than two decades.

Universities miss chance to identify depressed students

CHICAGO --- One out of every four or five students who visits a university health center for a routine cold or sore throat turns out to be depressed, but most centers miss the opportunity to identify these students because they don't screen for depression, according to new Northwestern Medicine research.

About 2 to 3 percent of these depressed students have had suicidal thoughts or are considering suicide, the study found.

Miscanthus has a fighting chance against weeds

Miscanthus has a fighting chance against weeds

University of Illinois research reports that several herbicides used on corn also have good selectivity to Miscanthus x giganteus (Giant Miscanthus), a potential bioenergy feedstock.

Debunking solar energy efficiency measurements

Debunking solar energy efficiency measurements

In recent years, developers have been investigating light-harvesting thin film solar panels made from nanotechnology –– and promoting efficiency metrics to make the technology marketable. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher is providing new evidence to challenge recent "charge" measurements for increasing solar panel efficiency.

Study estimates land available for biofuel crops

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Using detailed land analysis, Illinois researchers have found that biofuel crops cultivated on available land could produce up to half of the world's current fuel consumption – without affecting food crops or pastureland.

Published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, the study led by civil and environmental engineering professor Ximing Cai identified land around the globe available to produce grass crops for biofuels, with minimal impact on agriculture or the environment.

New glass tops steel in strength and toughness

New glass tops steel in strength and toughness

Earth: Finding new oil and gas frontiers

Alexandria, VA – Where to next in the search for oil and gas? EARTH examines several possible new frontiers - including the Arctic, the Falkland Islands, the Levant, Trinidad and Tobago and Sudan - where oil and gas exploration are starting to take hold. One of those places, Sudan, is in the news for other reasons: South Sudan voted yesterday on whether to secede from North Sudan.