ARGONNE, Ill. – Scientists at U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National laboratory are putting the pressure on metal-organic frameworks (MOF).
In MOF materials, metal ions can be connected by organic molecules to form scaffolding-like structures similar to a molecular Tinker toy. The struts that make up the framework structure do not fill space efficiently, in the way that Lego blocks might, leaving extra spaces in the structure which are capable of containing guest molecules.
Santa Barbara, CA – September 24, 2008 – Content analyses demonstrate that TV programming is highly saturated with sexual content and risky sexual behavior. A new study in the Journal of Communication shows that people with direct experience with such behavior are not influenced by its portrayal on TV. However, those without direct experience are more likely to participate in the unsafe behavior in the future, regardless of the consequences displayed.
CHAPEL HILL – Nationally, an estimated 15 percent of students experience some form of mental illness such as major depression while in college. Many often struggle with where to get support.
But a new study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill could close this gap by encouraging students to consider their needs and treatment options well in advance.
Portland, OR – September 24, 2008 – When a hospital is capacity constrained, the constraint can affect admission and discharge decisions. A new study in the RAND Journal of Economics examined how hospitals' admission and discharge behavior is affected by fluctuations in demand. Results show that on days when hospitals face high demand, patients are discharged earlier than expected when compared to those discharged on days when demand is low.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – An estimated 35.1 million Americans live in "food insecure" households, meaning that at some time during the previous year they were unable to obtain or were uncertain of having enough food to fulfill their basic needs. Consequently, many of those people seek aid from federal sources including the Food Stamp Program. Now, a University of Missouri poverty expert has found that, depending on the food stamp benefit amount, the emotional distress associated with food insufficiency is higher among food stamp participants.
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic researchers have found what may provide a solution to one of the more troubling complications of diabetes -- delayed gastric emptying or gastroparesis. The researchers showed in animal models that a red blood cell derivative increases production of a key molecule, normalizing the digestive process. The findings appear in the current online issue of the journal Gastroenterology (http://www.gastrojournal.org/).
SAP is a serious type of acute pancreastitis (AP), with a serious pathological condition, always combined with pancreas necrosis and complicatins of toxic shock, with a mortality of 25% - 40% according to recent reviews. Patients with SAP tend to cause IAP elevation, and abrupt elevation of IAP eventually causes IAH. IAH causes organ dysfunction such as respiratory failure, circulatory failure, and renal failure, which are referred to ACS. About 11% of SAP patients suffer from the complication of ACS.
Biliary atresia (BA) is a common progressive and obstructive pathological change of the intrahepatic and extrahepatic duct, often causing cirrhosis immediately and leading to death. Prompt and accurate early diagnosis determines its optimal operation opportunity and therapeutic efficacy. With the unceasing updating of ultrasonic apparatus, especially the application of high resolution detecting head, the sonogram is becoming more and more clear, and more and more doctors have investigated and accumulated experiences in the ultrasonic diagnosis for BA.
Two patients with the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension related to hepatitis infection were admitted to Shanghai Ruijin hospital due to recurrent melena and hematemesis. Isolated gastric varices were observed in the gastric fundus during the retroflexion of gastroscope. The authors carried out endoscopic sclerotherapy using cyanoacrylate combined with aethoxysklerol for bleeding gastric varices, which disappeared dramatically within six months after two sclerotherapies for each patient.
New approaches in cancer therapy that facilitate selective targeting of cancers have been emerging in recent years. Apoptin represents a new anti-cancer tool in such new approaches with great potentials. Two routes can be taken using Apoptin or its encoding cDNA, i.e. as protein therapy or gene therapy.
Transcriptional silencing of tumor suppressor genes by hypermethylation of CpG islands located in the promoter region is very common in human colorectal cancer. Dietary folate/vitamin B12 intake and MTHFR C677T genotype was suggested to protect against colorectal cancer. However, only a few studies have addressed the joint effects of circulating levels of folate/vitamin B12 and the MTHFR C677T genotype on the risk of epigenetic inactivation of specific tumor suppressor genes in CRC patients.
Ellagic acid was previousely shown to have anticarcinogenic, antioxidant and antifibrosis properties. The anticarcinogenic effect of ellagic acid was shown in several types of cancers including skin, esophageal, and colon cancers. However the mechanisms mediating anti-cancer effect of ellagic acid, in general, remain unknown.
Pancreatic cancer is the fifth to sixth leading cause of cancer death in Europe and the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the USA. The lethality of this malignancy is demonstrated by the fact that the annual incidence is approximately equal to the annual deaths. Unfortunately, carcinoma of the pancreas is increasing in incidence, and its exact risk factors are poorly understood.
Ineffective oesophageal motility (IOM) is a common swallowing abnormality characterised by low-amplitude contractile sequences in the lower oesophagus. These ineffective sequences include low amplitude but progressive, low-amplitude simultaneous, and non-transmitted contractile patterns. It is not known whether specific symptoms experienced by IOM patients, such as heartburn, dysphagia (sensation of swallowing difficulty) and chest pain, are associated with one of these three contractile patterns.
Austin, TX September 24, 2008 — University of Texas professor Hao Ling and Ph.D. candidate, Shobha Ram, are one step closer to making x-ray vision a reality. They are perfecting radar systems that can detect human activities through barriers and convert the signals to virtual renderings similar to that of a video game.