Tech

New York, NY, October 20, 2009 – Depression, anxiety disorders and sexual trauma have all been implicated as risk factors in lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) such as incontinence and overactive bladder. The exact nature of these associations is unknown. In a study published online in The Journal of Urology, researchers from the Division of Urology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and the Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Hospital, Richmond, Virginia, explored the possible association of LUTS with those factors.

Waltham, MA—As the national conversation about healthcare reform engages millions of Americans, a new Brandeis study sheds light on the values of medical faculty who train the nation's physicians and lead in health care and research in the U.S. The study, published this week in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, shows that faculty values regarding clinical care, education, community service and research correlate well with the stated missions of their institutions, but that in some instances, the institutions fall short of "practicing what they preach."

A new computerised approach to airport operations is being developed that will reduce delays, speed up baggage handling and decrease pollution.

The project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and led by researchers at The University of Nottingham.

Philadelphia, October 17, 2009 – Data presented at the 73rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology highlight effects of baseline characteristics on achievement of serum uric acid (sUA) levels to <6.0 mg/dL and the frequency of flares with ULORIC® (febuxostat) treatment.

A subset of subjects from the CONFIRMS trial who received prior urate-lowering therapy for up to five years achieved sUA <6.0 mg/dL more often, and had a lower rate of acute gout flares than patients who had not received prior long-term urate-lowering therapy.

Most of the technology needed to shift the world from fossil fuel to clean, renewable energy already exists. Implementing that technology requires overcoming obstacles in planning and politics, but doing so could result in a 30 percent decrease in global power demand, say Stanford civil and environmental engineering Professor Mark Z. Jacobson and University of California-Davis researcher Mark Delucchi.

At one of its installations in the Bizkaia Technology Park, TECNALIA Technology Corporation has inaugurated an innovative prototype for vehicle body panels, within the remit of the European PROFORM research Project.

The aim of this research initiative is to develop a new concept of manufacture of body parts for the car, based on variable profiling together with forming operations, laser cutting and electromagnetic forming (non-continuous localised details along the length of the part), reducing time and cost of manufacture.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Applying a small mechanical force to embryonic stem cells could be a new way of coaxing them into a specific direction of differentiation, researchers at the University of Illinois report. Applications for force-directed cell differentiation include therapeutic cloning and regenerative medicine.

Fuel cells are often touted as one method to help decrease society's addiction to fossil fuels. But there is still a lot of work to be done before fuel cells will be ready for mass market to be used in transportation, home heating and portable power for emergencies.

According to a new study by Hospital for Special Surgery investigators presented at the American College of Rheumatology meeting on October 21 in Philadelphia, most lupus patients are not aware that their condition puts them at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and a counseling program is a valuable way to promote education and lifestyle change.

Based on computer forecast models, the residents of southern and central Baja California should prepare over the weekend for now Tropical Storm Rick. Rick formed late yesterday, October 15, and is expected to become a major hurricane over the weekend. NASA satellite imagery captured the storm this morning as a strong tropical storm off the western Mexican coast. NASA infrared satellite imagery suggests an eyewall forming indicating the storm is powering up.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic clinicians and designers, along with colleagues from other institutions, have developed and tested a tool to involve patients more in their diabetes treatment and medication choices. The tool, a set of decision aid cards, could help patients make decisions involving their disease and perhaps lead to better outcomes. The results of this randomized trial are in September's issue of Archives of Internal Medicine (http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/169/17/1560).

AUSTIN, Texas–Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have conducted a basic chemistry experiment in what is perhaps the world's smallest test tube, measuring a thousandth the diameter of a human hair.

The nano-scale test tube is so small that a high-power electron microscope was required to see the experiment.

Made from a thin shell of carbon, the test tube was stuffed with a thread-like crystal (a nanowire) of germanium with a tiny particle of gold at its tip.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In the quest for smaller, faster computer chips, researchers are increasingly turning to quantum mechanics -- the exotic physics of the small.

The problem: the manufacturing techniques required to make quantum devices have been equally exotic.

That is, until now.

Researchers at Ohio State University have discovered a way to make quantum devices using technology common to the chip-making industry today.

People are more likely to wash their hands when they have been shamed into it, according to a study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, looked at responses to electronic hygiene messages displayed in UK service station toilets.

(Boston)—The clinical course of advanced dementia, including uncomfortable symptoms such as pain and high mortality, is similar to that experienced by patients of other terminal conditions, according to scientists at the Institute for Aging Research of Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School.