Culture
Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is the most common health care-associated infection in the United States, causing an estimated 12,800 deaths each year. The deadly and notoriously stubborn superbug, C. diff has been hard to spot and harder to stop. In 2017, two organizations leading the war on C. diff updated their guidelines for assessing patients and the severity of their infections.
Syracuse, N.Y. - A new study published recently in ScienceDirect by researchers from Syracuse University and SUNY Upstate Medical University shows that California residents who receive services for intellectual and development disabilities (IDD) have lower COVID-19 case rates but a higher case-fatality rate than the general population.
Was burial of the dead practiced by Neandertals or is it an innovation specific to our species? There are indications in favour of the first hypothesis but some scientists remain sceptical. For the first time in Europe, however, a multi-disciplinary team led by researchers at the CNRS and the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (France) and the University of the Basque Country (Spain) (1) has demonstrated, using a variety of criteria, that a Neandertal child was buried, probably around 41,000 years ago, at the Ferrassie site (Dordogne).
In a new study, published online in the journal American Chemical Society (ACS) Applied Polymer Materials, scientists at Texas A&M University reported they have designed a hydrogel membrane that may be used to house optical glucose sensing materials, toward building a biosensor for monitoring sugar levels in diabetics.
An amateur fossil hunter has unearthed a new type of prehistoric 'sea dragon' on the beach of the UK's Dorset coast.
The new 2m-long ichthyosaurus is named 'Etches sea dragon', after fossil collector Dr Steve Etches MBE, who found it buried head-first in limestone. Ichthyosaurs are called sea dragons for their usually very large teeth and eyes.
He thought its teeth were unusual, so he passed it on to experts at the University of Portsmouth to identify.
WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation, published by IOS Press, is committed to helping organizations manage the challenges they face during the COVID-19 pandemic by publishing robust, evidence-based research and commentary. All articles featured here and in the WORK COVID-19 Collection are freely available.
A new study from scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and the University of Chicago sheds light on a hotly contested debate in Earth sciences: when did plate subduction begin?
According to findings published Dec. 9 in the journal Science Advances, this process could have started 3.75 billion years ago, reshaping Earth's surface and setting the stage for a planet hospitable to life.
Nearly two decades ago, a small-bodied "human-like" fossil, Homo floresiensis, was discovered on an island in Indonesia. Some scientists have credited the find, now nicknamed "Hobbit," as representative of a human ancestor who developed dwarfed features after living on the island, while others suggest it represents a modern human suffering from some type of disease because of its distinct human-like face and small brain.
In a similar way to animal guts and the intestinal epithelium, plant roots are in charge of absorbing nutrients and water and of its subsequent transport to the vascular systems. These are carefully monitored by the endodermis, the innermost layer of the cortex, and its diffusion barriers, whose main role is to maintain mineral nutrient homeostasis. But unlike animals, in which the relationship between the epithelium and the microbiota has been somewhat decoded, in plants the way the root diffusion barriers harmonizes with the resident microbiota is still to be fully comprehended.
Scientists at UC Davis Health have discovered that an enzyme in the colon lining releases hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) - a known disinfecting compound- to protect the body from gut microbes. Their study, published Dec. 9 in the journal Cell Host and Microbe, sheds light on the way microorganisms are spatially organized in the colon. It also calls for a new approach to treating gut inflammation.
Ithaca, N.Y.--As migratory birds travel back and forth between their breeding and wintering grounds twice each year, they face many hazards. For species that migrate during the night, one of those dangers is the disorienting influence of light pollution from cities. A new study in the journal Environmental Pollution examines how artificial light at night and urban landcover are associated with the presence of nocturnal migrants across seasons.
SAN FRANCISCO (December 9, 2020) -- This past year, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 213 plant and animal species to the tree of life, providing deeper insight into the rich biodiversity of our planet and helping to inform global conservation strategies.
To ensure that California's groundwater is sustainably managed in the future and over the long-term, current state definitions of what constitutes groundwater may need to be revised, according to research published this week in PNAS. A McGill University-led research team has analyzed big data of more than 200,000 groundwater samples taken from across the state and found that there are problems with the guidelines used for groundwater management.
ATLANTA--We all run from a burning building the same way--fast!--but how we describe it depends on the language we speak. In some languages, we might flee, race, or bolt, while in others we might just exit or leave the building quickly..
Different languages describe motion differently, according to distinct lexical rules. And though we may not consciously notice those rules, we follow them--and Georgia State researchers have found they affect how our brains perceive and process descriptions of physical movement.
Young adults who increased their use of social media were significantly more likely to develop depression within six months, according to a new national study authored by Dr. Brian Primack, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions and professor of public health at the University of Arkansas.
Compared with participants who used less than 120 minutes per day of social media, for example, young adults who used more than 300 minutes per day were 2.8 times as likely to become depressed within six months.