Culture

Better-qualified staff maintain the quality of state-funded preschools, making up for the larger number of children per staff member in comparison to private and voluntary settings, finds a new study by researchers at the University of Oxford. They also show that the quality of private early years settings can be predicted by staff qualifications, and for voluntary settings, an in-house training plan and a better staff to child ratio.

A new study in Oxford Economic Papers suggests that developed counties may see significant economic gains from their efforts to combat terrorist threats. Developing counties, in contrast, appear to suffer economically from counterterrorism threats.

PRINCETON, N.J.--It's a classic policy dispute: How much should the current generation invest in reducing carbon emissions for the benefit of future generations?

A study published in Nature Communications helps answer this question by quantifying whether reducing carbon emissions -- which will have global benefits in the future -- also improves air quality now. Preventing many of the human health burdens that result from air pollution would be a powerful positive incentive to act sooner than later.

DALLAS, May 7, 2019 - Drinking water that is contaminated with arsenic may lead to thickening of the heart's main pumping chamber in young adults, a structural change that increases the risk for future heart problems, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, an American Heart Association journal.

The price tag for cutting global emissions may seem expensive, until the human toll of deaths from air pollution and climate change are factored in, new research says.

The new study in Nature Communications reports that immediate, dramatic cuts in carbon emissions - aggressive enough to meet the Paris Climate Agreement - are economically sound if human health benefits are factored in.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Researchers report that a protein known to be important to protein synthesis also influences muscle regeneration and regrowth in an unexpected manner. The discovery, reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could one day lead to new methods for treating disorders that result in muscle weakness and loss of muscle mass, the researchers said.

Scientists have long studied leucine tRNA-synthetases, or LRS, for its role in protein synthesis, said University of Illinois cell and developmental biology professor Jie Chen, who led the research.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A fortuitous conversation between two University of Illinois scientists has opened a new line of communication between biomedical researchers and the tissues they study. The new findings, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that high-intensity focused ultrasound waves can penetrate biological tissue to activate molecules able to perform specific tasks.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Splash some water on a hot skillet, and you'll often see the droplets sizzle and quickly evaporate. But if you really crank up the heat, something different happens. The droplets stay intact, dancing and skittering over the surface in what's known as the Leidenfrost effect. Now a team of researchers has detailed how these Leidenfrost droplets meet their ultimate fate.

Leesburg, VA, May 5, 2019--The upgraded picture archiving and communication system (PACS) improves over the prior system in reduced time spent searching for prior studies and total time spent reading studies, according to a study to be presented at the ARRS 2019 Annual Meeting, set for May 5-10 in Honolulu, HI.

A faculty-researcher at Rochester Institute of technology has developed a prototype micro device with bio-sensors that can detect the deadly Ebola virus. With this type of device, those infected can be treated earlier, and the early detection process can potentially decrease the spread of infections.

MADISON, Wis. -- Developing renewable, plant-based alternatives for petroleum-derived chemicals is a major piece of the effort to transition away from a fossil-fuel based economy toward a more sustainable and environmentally friendly bio-based economy. But integration of novel and unproven technology into existing industrial systems carries an element of risk that has made commercialization of such advances a significant challenge.

Interaction between universities and companies in Brazil has societal, economic and environmental impacts, as well as positive effects on academic productivity. Researchers and research groups who collaborate with business organizations are scientifically more productive. The intellectual and scientific impacts of the partnership are positive.

LEBANON, NH - Cervical cancer is a major issue in low- and middle-income countries due to the lack of adequate screening such as routine Pap smear testing. These countries have high incidences of cervical cancer linked to human papillomavirus (HPV). Due to lack of resources for cancer screenings, these countries account for 85% of all cervical cancer cases.

SAN ANTONIO - American hospitals engage in continuous quality and safety improvement, but information remains scarce on what patients, families and caregivers themselves most want to change about their hospital experiences.

The brain's capacity for simultaneously learning and memorizing large amounts of information while requiring little energy has inspired an entire field to pursue brain-like - or neuromorphic - computers. Researchers at Stanford University and Sandia National Laboratories previously developed one portion of such a computer: a device that acts as an artificial synapse, mimicking the way neurons communicate in the brain.