Tech | Page 1746 | Science Codex

Study links electronic health records to improved quality in primary care treatment

Routine use of electronic health records may improve the quality of care provided in community-based primary care practices more than other common strategies intended to raise the quality of medical care, according to a new study by RAND Corporation researchers.

Studying 305 groups of primary care physicians in Massachusetts, researchers found that practices that used multifunctional electronic health records were more likely to deliver better care for diabetes and provide certain health screenings than those that did not.

Silver nanoparticles give polymer solar cells a boost

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Small bits of metal may play a new role in solar power.

Researchers at Ohio State University are experimenting with polymer semiconductors that absorb the sun's energy and generate electricity. The goal: lighter, cheaper, and more-flexible solar cells.

They have now discovered that adding tiny bits of silver to the plastic boosts the materials' electrical current generation.

Telephone depression program offers benefits at a moderate cost

Patients who participate in a structured telephone program to manage their depression appear to experience significant benefits and only a moderate increase in health care costs when compared with those who receive usual care, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Organized phone therapy for depression found cost-effective

SEATTLE—When people get brief, structured, phone-based cognitive behavioral psychotherapy soon after starting on antidepressant medication, significant benefits may persist two years after their first session, with only modest rises in cost. Over two years, this treatment is cost-effective, according to a randomized trial in the October 2009 Archives of General Psychiatry.

Violent upbringing may lead to domestic violence

LOS ANGELES—October 5, 2009—A recent study from the latest issue of Personal Relationships shows that individuals who have experienced violence at an early age may have trouble adjusting to healthy, adult romantic relationships and are at a higher risk to experience marital difficulties. The research reveals that early exposure to a violent environment is likely to lead to domestic violence situations later in life. Feelings of insecurity, abandonment anxiety, and intimacy issues are also likely to plague these romantic connections.

Police sketch artist software evolves thanks to help from optics - and genetics

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 -- Criminals are having a harder time hiding their faces, thanks to new software that helps witnesses recreate and recognize suspects using principles borrowed from the fields of optics and genetics.

Next week, Christopher Solomon of the University of Kent in Canterbury, England will present the software, called the EFIT-V system, at the Optical Society's (OSA) Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO), which will take place Oct. 11-15 in San Jose, Calif.

Strength in numbers - building a better qubit

Exploiting quantum mechanics for transmitting information is a tantalizing possibility because it promises secure, high speed communications. Unfortunately, the fragility of methods for storing and sending quantum information has so far frustrated the enterprise. Now a team of physicists in Sweden and Poland have shown that photons that encode data have strength in numbers. Their experiment is reported in Physical Review Letters and Physical Review A and highlighted in the October 5 issue of Physics.

World-first sustainable racing car to take on Formula 3 at Brands Hatch

Take a look at the chocolate powered car at IMPACT! World www.impactworld.org.uk

Can the idea of 'green motorsport' actually work? Yes, according to EPSRC funded researcher, Dr Kerry Kirwan at the University of Warwick, who led the research team which designed and built the worldfirst fully sustainable Formula 3 racing car.

Hypertension and diabetes are concern in long-term care of liver transplant patients

A recent study by researchers from the University of Colorado looked at post-transplant care to determine whether primary care physicians (PCPs) or hepatologists are better suited to manage the overall health care of patients who received a liver transplant (LT). Researchers learned that hepatologists believe metabolic complications to be common in LT patients, but not well controlled. The hepatologists surveyed also felt that PCPs should be responsible for managing these conditions, but that this group was not taking an active role.

Physicists seek to keep next-gen colliders in 1 piece

Controlling huge electromagnetic forces that have the potential to destroy the next generation of particle accelerators is the subject of a new paper by a University of Manchester physicist.

So-called 'wake fields' occur during the process of acceleration and can cause particles to fly apart.

The particles are travelling at extremely high energies – and if they are subjected to these wake fields, they can easily destroy the accelerators.

CMOS image sensors enable in-car cameras to see in color

The car of the future will have lots of smart assistants onboard – helping to park the car, recognize traffic signs and to warn the driver of blind spot hazards. Many driver assistance systems incorporate high-tech cameras which have to meet a wide range of requirements. They must be able to withstand high ambient temperatures and be particularly small, light and robust. What's more, they have to reliably capture all the required images and should cost as little as possible. Nowadays CMOS sensors are used for most in-car systems.

Tracing ultra-fine dust

Fine particle emissions have been the subject of heated debate for years. People who live near industrial plants see the smoke being discharged into the atmosphere and wonder how harmful it is. But visible emissions are not always the most harmful. The highest risk is posed by fine dust particles which can easily penetrate the human organism. These ultra-fine particles are difficult to measure, however, because they are less than 100 nanometers in diameter.

New detection technology helps authorities step up anti-terrorism efforts

Scientists at Queen's University Belfast are developing new sensors to detect chemical agents and illegal drugs which will help in the fight against the threat of terrorist attacks.

The devices will use special gel pads to 'swipe' an individual or crime scene to gather a sample which is then analysed by a scanning instrument that can detect the presence of chemicals within seconds. This will allow better, faster decisions to be made in response to terrorist threats.

Battery ingestion not uncommon in children; caregivers and physicians need education

San Diego, CA - Ten years of case studies at a pediatric hospital and a thorough literature review have shown that it is not uncommon for children to ingest small "button" batteries, either through swallowing or inserting the batteries into their noses.

In a paper presented at the 2009 American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in San Diego, researchers revealed that a significant lack of knowledge about the dangers of button batteries exists in the lay population and in healthcare providers.

Curcumin may inhibit nicotine-induced activation of head and neck cancers

San Diego, CA – Curcumin, the compound that gives curry powder its yellow/orange color, may inhibit the adverse effects of nicotine in patients with head and neck cancer who continue to smoke.