Tech

DURHAM, N.C. -- Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are associated with improved survival among heart failure patients whose left ventricles only pump 30 to 35 percent of blood out of the heart with each contraction, according to a study from the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Researchers from Brown University have developed a new biochip sensor that can selectively measure concentrations of glucose in a complex solution similar to human saliva. The advance is an important step toward a device that would enable people with diabetes to test their glucose levels without drawing blood.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — An invasive weed that has put some southern cotton farmers out of business is now finding its way across the Midwest – and many corn and soybean growers don't yet appreciate the threat, University of Illinois researchers report.

Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri), a flowering plant native to the Sonoran desert and southwest United States, has a laundry list of traits that make it a fierce competitor on the farm, said Aaron Hager, a University of Illinois crop sciences professor.

As the developing world continues to develop, standards of living and access to technology increases. Unfortunately, as personal computers, laptops and mobile phones become increasingly common so the problem of recycling and disposal of such devices when they become technologically obsolete rises too, according to research published in the International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management.

At CLEO: 2014, being held June 8-13 in San Jose, California, USA, UTHealth scientist John Rasmussen will describe how they have taken this technology, which they call near-infrared fluorescence lymphatic imaging (NIRFLI), from bench-top development to various clinical applications.

"We feel that the ability to see the lymphatics will provide opportunities to revolutionize lymphatic care," Rasmussen said.

Why the Human Lymphatic System is Hard to Image

The balancing strategy to lateral impact in a rat is closely related to the striked position of the body. The research result can be inspired to improve the robustness of bionic robot. This was found by Dr. JI Aihong and his group from Institute of Bio-inspired Structure and Surface Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. This work, entitled "Balancing strategy to lateral impact in a rat Rattus norregicus", was published in Chinese Science Bulletin (In Chinese),2014, Vol 59(13) issue.

Alexandria, Va., USA – The International and American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR) have published a paper titled "Preventive Services by Medical and Dental Providers and Treatment Outcomes." Nearly all state Medicaid programs reimburse non-dental primary care providers (nDPCPs) for providing preventive oral health services to young children; yet, little is known about how treatment outcomes compare to children visiting dentists.

The number of emerging economy nations with policies in place to support the expansion of renewable energy has surged more than six-fold in just eight years, from 15 developing countries in 2005 to 95 early this year.

Controlling the flow of heat through materials is important for many technologies. While materials with high and low thermal conductivities are available, materials with variable and reversible thermal conductivities are rare, and other than high pressure experiments, only small reversible modulations in thermal conductivities have been reported.

Computer scientists at the University of California, San Diego, have developed a tool that allows hardware designers and system builders to test security- a first for the field. One of the tool's potential uses is described in the May-June issue of IEEE Micro magazine.

"The stakes in hardware security are high", said Ryan Kastner, a professor of computer science at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego.

WASHINGTON D.C. June 2, 2014 -- A team of researchers at the University of Twente (Netherlands) and German University in Cairo (Egypt) has developed sperm-inspired microrobots, which can be controlled by oscillating weak magnetic fields.

It's no surprise that seabirds are attracted to fishing boats, and especially to the abundance of discards that find their way back into the ocean. But researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on June 2 now find that those boats influence bird behavior over much longer distances than scientists had expected.

Specifically, each boat creates a "halo of influence" across an area measuring about 22 kilometers. That's 13.6 miles—a distance a little longer than a half marathon.

At these specialized facilities, which are linked to the UC3M-Airbus Group Joint Center, scientists are studying how structural elements react to applied loads at both low and high speeds. Phenomena of this sort can occur during maintenance operations (a tool falling in an aircraft) or while the elements are functioning. In the case of an airplane, for example, it can happen when a pebble hits an airplane during takeoff, or when a slab of ice comes off of a propeller or the leading edge of a wing and hits the fuselage.

They did it- this by adding a very thin plastic sheet around the whiskers and wrapping it around using a metal sheath (the second electrode) after generating nanowhiskers on it (the second electrode and outer covering). The layers were then glued together with a special gel. Because, of the insulationthe nanowhisker layer is insulating, the inner copper wire retains its ability to channel electricity, the layers around the wire independently store powerful energy.

Conservative fuel treatments designed to reduce fire severity while still providing forest cover and wildlife habitat worked equally as well as more intensive treatments in allowing for the protection of homes during the 2011 Wallow Fire, a study published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management has found. The distance into the treated area where fire severity was reduced varied, however, between these different thinning approaches where fuels were reduced.