Ann Arbor, Mich. — A small group of patients with severe Graves' eye disease experienced rapid improvement of their symptoms — and improved vision — following treatment with the drug rituximab. Inflammation around their eyes and damage to the optic nerve were significantly reduced. The same patients had not previously responded to steroids, a common treatment for Graves' eye disease.
Tech
As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plantlife than they sustain today, say the researchers.
"This is a way that nitrogen is lost from an ecosystem that people have never accounted for before," said Jed Sparks, associateprofessor of ecology and evolutionary biology and co-author of the study, published in the Nov. 6 issue of Science. "It allows us to finally understand the dynamics of nitrogen in arid systems"
Boston, MA— A new national poll from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that a majority of adults who tried to get the H1N1 vaccine for themselves or their children have been unable to do so. The poll, which examines the American public's response to the H1N1 vaccine shortage, is the fifth in a series of surveys of public views concerning the H1N1 flu outbreak undertaken by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at HSPH. The polling was done October 30 to November 1, 2009.
Challenges to Getting H1N1 Vaccine
and Spanish.
A researcher of the University of Granada has designed a new system for the mobility of military troops within a battlefield based on the mechanisms used by ant colonies to move using a commercial videogame.
This work, developed at the department of Computer Architecture and Technology of the UGR, has designed several algorithms that permit to look for the best route path (this is, to find the better route to satisfy certain criteria) within a particular environment.
Jobs are in short supply, and yet some sectors have difficulty in finding suitable trainees for specialist tasks, such as polishing injection molds. The work is time-consuming and monotonous but requires highest levels of concentration, because any blemish in the mold can render it useless. A skilled worker may often need a whole week to polish a single metal mold. Up to now it has not been possible to use machines for this dreary work because they cannot get into the curved shapes.
Infants who are exposed to higher levels of air pollution are at increased risk for bronchiolitis, according to a new study.
The study appears in the November 15 issue of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
The ATS has issued an official statement that outlines the Society's position on research, training, education, patient care and advocacy. The statement, which appears in the November 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, also makes specific recommendations on how elements of the organization can make these policies a part of new and ongoing projects.
November 6, 2009 – As global temperatures and energy costs continue to soar, renewable sources of energy will be key to a sustainable future. An attractive replacement for gasoline is biofuel, and in two studies published online in Genome Research (www.genome.org), scientists have analyzed the genome structures of bioethanol-producing microorganisms, uncovering genetic clues that will be critical in developing new technologies needed to implement production on a global scale.
Teaneck, NJ/ - November 3, 2009 – The Cornea and Laser Eye Institute is participating in a research study to determine if an investigational corneal inlay can safely and effectively reduce the need for reading glasses. Dr. Peter Hersh, the study doctor, will perform the procedures.
The investigational AcuFocus Corneal Inlay (ACI) is intended to improve near vision in patients with presbyopia, which is the loss of near vision, and reduce dependency on reading glasses. Qualified participants will receive the procedure at no charge.
When paramedics rush to the scene of a multi-car pileup or a terror attack, their first task is to assess who needs immediate care. But blood hemorrhaging can obscure damage, and the gruesome mess means paramedics can't always determine who should be treated first.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2009 — Scientists are making progress toward development of an "artificial leaf" that mimics a real leaf's chemical magic with photosynthesis — but instead converts sunlight and water into a liquid fuel such as methanol for cars and trucks. That is among the conclusions in a newly-available report from top authorities on solar energy who met at the 1st Annual Chemical Sciences and Society Symposium. The gathering launched a new effort to initiate international cooperation and innovative thinking on the global energy challenge.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Most biopsies following mammograms reveal benign abnormalities, not cancer.
But women may not have to endure the medical costs, stress and potential complications that accompany such invasive biopsies forever. A University of Florida biomedical engineering researcher is making progress on an "optical biopsy" that has the potential to determine whether growths are cancerous without ever puncturing the skin.
PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University's Lucio Soibelman, H. Scott Matthews and Jose M.F. Moura received a three-year $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to identify inexpensive ways to track energy consumption in buildings. Bosch Research and Technology Center North America (Bosch RTC-NA), the R&D arm of the global automotive, industrial, consumer goods and building technology supplier, will assist with the broad-based project to track energy consumption.
Public highways
A boat tail is a tapering protrusion about two metres in length mounted on the rear of a truck. The boat tail had already proved itself during wind tunnel experiments and computer simulations, both conducted at Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands; TU Delft), in theory and using small-scale models. Now an articulated lorry fitted with a boat tail has also undergone extensive testing on public highways.
Emissions