Tech

The investigators used machine learning to predict which patients might get worse and not respond positively to being turned onto their front in intensive care units (ICUs) - a technique known as proning that is commonly used in this setting to improve oxygenation of the lungs.

While the AI model was used on a retrospective cohort of patient data collected during the pandemic's first wave, the study demonstrates the ability of AI methods to predict patient outcomes using routine clinical information used by ICU medics.

Alexandria, Va., USA -- Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a byproduct of human metabolism and exists in high levels in exhaled air, and is therefore often used as a proxy for indoor air quality. The study "Ventilation Assessment by Carbon Dioxide Levels in Dental Treatment Rooms," published in the Journal of Dental Research (JDR), evaluated CO2 levels in dental operatories and determined the accuracy of using CO2 levels to assess ventilation rate in dental clinics.

Roads can be barriers to wildlife of all sorts, and scientists have studied road impacts on animals ranging from Florida panthers and grizzly bears to box turtles, mice, rattlesnakes and salamanders.

But much less is known about the impact of roads on pollinating insects such as bees and to what extent these structures disrupt insect pollination, which is essential to reproduction in many plant species.

(Boston)--Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a global health problem. Almost half the adults over the age of 75 have some form of knee OA--one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Because there is no cure for knee OA, current treatment relies on accurately identifying and staging the disease.

Using an Artificial Intelligence-based approach known as deep learning, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have now identified a new measure to determine the severity of knee osteoarthritis--named "subchondral bone length" (SBL).

DALLAS - April 30, 2021 - UT Southwestern scientists successfully employed a new type of gene therapy to treat mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), uniquely utilizing CRISPR-Cas9-based tools to restore a large section of the dystrophin protein that is missing in many DMD patients. The approach, described online today in the journal Science Advances, could lead to a treatment for DMD and inform the treatment of other inherited diseases.

TAMPA, Fla. - A hallmark of cancer is its ability to evade the immune system. It is why researchers are focused on finding new strategies and targets to jumpstart the immune system so it can mount a response against tumors. One such target is the inhibitory receptor T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM-3), a protein that is overexpressed in many different types of cancer and is associated with poor patient outcomes. It is known to block the activity of immune cells, such as dendritic cells, but how remains unclear.

Marie-Claude Bourgeois-Daigneault and her team at the CRCHUM are using mice to show how a combination of peptides and oncolytic viruses, used as an adjuvant, can provide effective immunization against cancer.

In her laboratoryat the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM), Marie-Claude Bourgeois-Daigneault and a team of scientists usually modify viruses to make them specific to the cells of a tumour.

Greater Presence of Family Physicians, Midwives May Be Key Component to Decreasing Cesarean Delivery Rates

SALT LAKE CITY - Today in Nature Communications, researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah report critical new insights into how cells mount an attack against melanoma tumors.

A new Dartmouth Engineering study shows that integrating renewable energy into the American Electric Power System (AEPS) would enhance the grid's resilience, meaning a highly resilient and decarbonized energy system is possible. The researchers' analysis is based upon the incremental incorporation of architectural changes that would be required to integrate renewable energy into AEPS.

Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have developed a novel chip-based antigen test that can provide ultrasensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A, the viruses that cause COVID-19 and flu, respectively.

The test is sensitive enough to detect and identify individual viral antigens one by one in nasal swab samples. This ultrasensitive technique could eventually be developed as a molecular diagnostic tool for point-of-care use. The researchers reported their findings in a paper published May 4 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Gram-negative bacteria are the bane of health care workers' existence.

They're one of the most dangerous organisms to become infected with--and one of the hardest to treat. But new research from the University of Georgia suggests a component of bacteria's cell walls may hold the key to crushing the antibiotic-resistant microbes.

ITHACA, N.Y. - A project based in Tanzania found significant improvements in the diversity of children's diets and food security for households after farmers learned about sustainable crop-growing methods, gender equity, nutrition and climate change from peer mentors.

The farmers experimented with practices introduced to them by Malawian farmers and Tanzanian and American scientists, decided which ones to incorporate within their own farms, and met monthly to share experiences and problem-solve.

Researchers looking to help people suffering from addiction, depression, and pain are studying how certain brain neurons operate to see if they can be controlled.

BOSTON - It's a real-life plot worthy of a classic spy novel: Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and other Boston-area research centers are turning the tables on glioblastomas, the most devastating and aggressive form of brain cancer, by transforming a type of cell that normally protects tumors and inhibits effective drug therapy into a stone-cold glioblastoma killer.