Tech

People with chronic pain face complex dilemmas and life-changing decisions

Coping with chronic pain can affect every aspect of a person's life and cause conflict between what their mind wants to achieve and what their body allows them to do, according to research in the December issue of the Journal of Nursing and Healthcare of Chronic Illness.

Perceived bad boys receive less pain medications

If you should find yourself running from the police, watch your step. If you fall and break an ankle, chances are you'll receive less pain medication when they take you to the ER for treatment.

That's one of the findings from a study by Case Western Reserve University sociologist Susan Hinze, and Joshua Tamayo-Sarver, who collected the data and is an emergency department doctor in California.

Surgeon-physician marriages can place stress on careers, emotional health

CHICAGO (November 30, 2010) – Surgeons married to physicians face more challenges in balancing their personal and professional lives than do surgeons whose partners work in a non-physician field or stay at home, according to new research findings focused on surgeon marriages published in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Study assesses nuclear power assumptions

Washington, D.C. (November 30, 2010) -- A broad review of current research on nuclear power economics has been published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy. The report concludes that nuclear power will continue to be a viable power source but that the current fuel cycle is not sustainable. Due to uncertainty about waste management, any projection of future costs must be built on basic assumptions that are not grounded in real data.

Chemistry for greenhouse gases

Chemistry for greenhouse gases

If fossil fuels burn completely, the end products are carbon dioxide and water. Today the carbon dioxide is a waste product, one that goes into the air — adding to global warming; or the oceans — acidifying them; or underground — with as yet unknown consequences.

Declining energy quality could be root cause of current recession

Declining energy quality could be root cause of current recession

An overlooked cause of the economic recession in the U.S. is a decade long decline in the quality of the nation's energy supply, often measured as the amount of energy we get out for a given energy input, says energy expert Carey King of The University of Texas at Austin.

Screening tool may better identify heart disease in African-Americans

CHICAGO – In a study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), researchers say they may have an explanation as to why African Americans, despite having lower amounts of coronary artery calcification, are at increased risk for heart attacks and other cardiovascular events compared with Caucasians.

How authentic is your pomegranate juice?

How authentic is your pomegranate juice?

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – You pick up a bottle of pomegranate juice at the store because you've learned that, although it costs more than most juices, it is replete with antioxidants that bring health benefits. But wait: Is the juice you've purchased really pomegranate juice? Or is the product label you have carefully read promising more than it delivers?

A 'USB' for medical diagnosis?

A 'USB' for medical diagnosis?

Biomedical engineers at UC Davis have developed a plug-in interface for the microfluidic chips that will form the basis of the next generation of compact medical devices. They hope that the "fit to flow" interface will become as ubiquitous as the USB interface for computer peripherals.

Broadening the base of publicly funded health care

Health care costs and expenditures are expected to rise over the next decade or two and governments need methods to publicly finance these costs, states an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj100999.pdf.

Please blow

Please blow

More lives saved with 24/7 enhanced staffing in medical ICU

In a first-of-its-kind study to measure the impact of the highest recommended specialist staffing levels in an intensive care unit, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that increased staffing by specially trained physicians and other health care professionals can enhance patient survival and enable patients to breathe sooner without assistance. The results of the study have been released online ahead of print in the journal Critical Care Medicine.

Subsurface scattering in point-based rendering

The Department of Computer Engineering, Sejong University in Korea and ETH Zurich in Switzerland have recently introduced a novel and simple framework for rendering subsurface scattering on surfaces represented by points. This is useful for realistically rendering a cloud of points representing translucent materials such as the human skin. This significant study is reported in Vol. 53, No. 5 of SCIENCE CHINA Information Sciences.

Prescriptions for teens and young adults on the rise

Adolescents and young adults are most likely to abuse prescription medications. Yet prescription rates for controlled medications, or drugs the Drug Enforcement Administration deems as having the potential for abuse, have nearly doubled for those age groups in the past 14 years, according to a recent study published in Pediatrics. Overall, a controlled medication was prescribed for young adults at approximately one out of every six visits and for young adult by adolescents one out of every nine encounters.

SOFC micro CHP plants to be climate-friendly power stations in homes

An SOFC fuel cell produces electricity and heat with a very high efficiency. That means less carbon emissions for each kW produced. Furthermore, the production of electricity happens with nearly no emissions of pollutants such as nitrogen and sulphur oxides. Thus, SOFC fuel cells are a strong card in the future climate-friendly energy supply. SOFC fuel cells are flat and thin as a piece of paper, providing a voltage of approx. 1 volt. They are put together in stacks to achieve the desired voltage and wattage.