Tech

Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday 12 June 2009: Patients with rheumatic diseases want more information and better communication with healthcare professionals on the sexual issues related to their conditions, according to the results of a new study presented today at EULAR 2009, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Copenhagen, Denmark, Friday 12 June 2009: Three new studies have individually shown the anti-TNF (tumour necrosis factor) therapy etanercept to be effective, with a good safety profile, in children under four years of age with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), and associated with improved Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in a substantial proportion of children with JIA.

Researchers from the Canary Islands, basing their work on an analysis of 37 Spanish airports, have shown that the economic inefficiency of most of these is due to excessive decentralisation of airport services. "The majority of airport operators are more concerned with security parameters than with economic efficiency", Juan Carlos Martín, a professor in the Department of Applied Economic Analysis at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and one of the authors of the study that has recently been published in the Journal of Productivity Analysis, tells SINC.

Sophisticated sensors that measure leaf wetness, soil moisture and temperature are helping rehabilitate rainforest in the Springbrook World Heritage precinct in south-east Queensland.

The CSIRO sensors are being used to uncover the microclimatic conditions favourable for rapid natural regeneration of degraded rainforest environments.

A network of ten sensor nodes, connected wirelessly, has been sampling parameters such as rainfall, humidity, temperature, soil moisture and the amount of available light inside the forest every five minutes since May 2008.

This use of a leading-edge vortex to increase lift is remarkably similar to the trick employed by insects, bats, and hummingbirds when they sweep their wings back and forth to hover. The finding means that plants and animals have converged evolutionarily on an identical aerodynamic solution for improving their flight performance.

A modest reduction in the amount of carbohydrates eaten, without calorie restriction and weight loss, appears to increase a sense of fullness, which may help people eat less, a preliminary study found. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

CHICAGO (June 11, 2009) – New research published in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that a method used by air traffic controllers tracks patient data more effectively and with fewer errors compared with current hospital methods, primarily the use of clipboards.

CHICAGO (June 11, 2009) – New research published in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that a risk calculator developed by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) can help surgeons provide patients with more detailed and accurate preoperative information about the risk of death and complications following colorectal surgery. The tool will also allow surgeons to adjust risk probabilities for patients based on their hospital's performance during prior years.

CHICAGO (June 11, 2009) – New research published in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons reveals that in counties with the highest levels of segregation, an increase in the African-American or Hispanic population was associated with a decrease in the availability and use of surgical services and an increase in the number of emergency room visits.

HOUSTON - Four suspects often found at the scene of the crime in cancer are guilty of the initiation and progression of breast cancer in mice that are resistant to the disease, a team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the June edition of Cancer Cell.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Nintendo Wii may help treat symptoms of Parkinson's disease, including depression, a Medical College of Georgia researcher says.

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disease that impairs motor skills. Dr. Herz theorized that the popular computer game console, which simulates various sports and activities, could improve coordination, reflexes and other movement-related skills, but he found additional benefits as well.

Fear plays a major role in whether women decide to go for cancer screening or not, but healthcare providers underestimate how much women need to know and wrongly assume that they will ask for information if they want it.

Those are the two key findings from a study published in the June issue of the UK-based Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Bioremediation of industrial sites and petrochemical spillages often involves finding microbes that can gorge themselves on the toxic chemicals. This leaves behind a non-toxic residue or mineralized material. Writing in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution, researchers in China describe studies of a new microbe that can digest hydrocarbons.

CHICAGO --- If you are pregnant and your mate complains your frequent snoring is rattling the bedroom windows, you may have bigger problems than an annoyed, sleep-deprived partner.

A new study from researchers at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has found that women who reported frequent snoring during their pregnancy were more likely to develop gestational diabetes -- a condition than can cause health problems for the mother and baby. The study also found pregnancy increases the likelihood that a woman will snore.

WESTCHESTER, Ill. – Body Mass Index (BMI) varies as a function of habitual sleep duration, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Thursday, June 11, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

Results indicate that twins who slept between 7 and 8.9 hours each night had a lower mean BMI (25.0 kg/m2) compared to those who regularly slept either more (25.2 kg/m2) or less (26.4 kg/m2) per night. The relationship between sleep duration and BMI remained after controlling for genetics and shared environment.