Tech

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a unique new computer model called the Virtual StreamLab, designed to help restore real streams to a healthier state. The Virtual StreamLab, which demonstrates the physics of natural water flows at an unprecedented level of detail and realism, was unveiled for the first time this week at the 2009 American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics meeting in Minneapolis, one of the largest conferences in fluid dynamics with more than 1,500 attendees from around the world.

Patients with an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who received intravenous (IV) drug administration during treatment, recommended in life support guidelines, had higher rates of short term survival but no statistically significant improvement in survival to hospital discharge or long-term survival, compared to patients who did not receive IV drug administration, according to a study in the November 25 issue of JAMA.

Tulane University School of Medicine surgeon Dr. Emad Kandil is one of the first in the country to perform a new form of endoscopic surgery that uses a small incision under the arm to remove all or a portion of the thyroid or parathyroid glands without leaving a scar on the neck.

INDIANAPOLIS – Involving family members of pediatric cancer and hematology patients in medical rounds benefits both the family and the medical team, according to a new Indiana University School of Medicine study.

Riley Hospital for Children, where the study was conducted, is now one of only a small number of hospitals nationwide routinely offering the parents of pediatric cancer and hematology patients the opportunity to join their child's medical team as active participants in the discussion and planning of their son's or daughter's care.

Rocket science is opening new doors to understanding how sounds associated with Navy sonar might affect the hearing of a marine mammal – or if they hear it at all.

Researchers from the University of Michigan determined that only 663,000 of the approximately 3.9 million Americans with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection received antiviral therapy between 2002 and 2007. Treatment rates appear to be declining, in part because only half of the patients know they are infected. If this disturbing trend continues, by 2030 less than 15% of liver-related deaths from HCV will be prevented by antiviral therapy.

A recent metobolomics study by researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond found that impaired peroxisomal oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) is associated with the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The study also found significantly higher plasma monounsaturated fatty acids in the blood of patients with NAFL and NASH.

Patients whose hypertension is managed by a physician-pharmacist team have lower blood pressure levels and are more likely to reach goals for blood pressure control than those treated without this collaborative approach, according to a report in the November 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — You can think of it as origami – very high-tech origami.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a technique for fabricating three-dimensional, single-crystalline silicon structures from thin films by coupling photolithography and a self-folding process driven by capillary interactions.

The films, only a few microns thick, offer mechanical bendability that is not possible with thicker pieces of the same material.

Cambridge, Mass. – November 23, 2009 – Applied mathematicians dissected the morphology of the plantain lily (Hosta lancifolia), a characteristic long leaf with a saddle-like arc midsection and closely packed ripples along the edges. The simple cause of the lily's fan-like shape—elastic relaxation resulting from bending during differential growth—was revealed by using an equally simple technique, stretching foam ribbons.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Richer nations with competitive crop production and few trade barriers would fare the best if climate change, weather events or other factors cause yields of grain and oilseed crops to become more volatile, a new study has found.

By these criteria, the United States is poised to do well, but France would come out on top, according to the study of 21 countries conducted by economists at Oregon State University.

Finding a permanent home for children and youth who are in the care of welfare agencies should be a priority for all Canadians, write Laura Eggertson, Dr. Noni MacDonald, Cindy Baldassi and Dr. Paul Hébert in an editorial http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj091968.pdf in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca . Governments do not make good parents and children in care need to be adopted into families who can give them stable, permanent homes.

November 23, 2009 -- Exposure shortly after birth to ambient metals from residential heating oil combustion and particles from diesel emissions are associated with respiratory symptoms in young inner city children, according to a new study by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The study is the first to analyze the effects of exposure to airborne metals in this very young population and the findings could have important public health implications.

Influenza, particularly H1N1, has understandably captured the attention of public health officials, the media and the public. However, an analysis from Children's Hospital Boston, based on patients seen in its emergency department (ED) during several recent flu seasons, shows that another virus – respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) -- takes a substantially greater disease toll among young children than does seasonal flu.