Tech | Page 1563 | Science Codex

CT best at uncovering drug mule payload

CHICAGO – According to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the best way to detect cocaine in the body of a human drug courier, known as a mule, is through computed tomography (CT).

"Cocaine from South America is making its way to Europe through Africa," said Patricia Flach, M.D., a radiologist at University Hospital of Berne and Institute of Forensic Medicine of Berne in Switzerland. "From Africa, drug mules most commonly try to enter the European Union and Switzerland."

Tricyclic anti-depressants linked to increased risk of heart disease

Research that followed nearly 15,000 people in Scotland has shown that a class of older generation anti-depressant is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study showed that tricyclic anti-depressants were associated with a 35% increased risk of CVD, but that there was no increased risk with the newer anti-depressants such as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The study is published online today (Wednesday 1 December) in the European Heart Journal [1] and was led by researchers from University College London (UCL).

The hidden impact of aids on South African children

December 1st is World AIDS day. There are 33.4 million people worldwide living with HIV, 67per cent in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. In South Africa alone, 5.6 million people are HIV-positive, with only 22 per cent having access to anti-retroviral medication. A pioneering study, funded by Economic and Social Research Council and the South African National Research Foundation, finds that those children who care for parents with AIDS have a higher level of mental illness.

Referral for specialist care varies by age, sex and social deprivation

In the UK, the likelihood of being referred for specialist care varies according to age, sex and socio-economic circumstances, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

The research, which looked at referral rates for three common conditions, shows that older patients are less likely to be referred than younger patients, women are less likely to be referred for hip pain, and referrals fall with increasing deprivation for patients with hip pain and younger patients with indigestion (dyspepsia).

Joined-up care for people with low back pain saves money

An integrated approach to care for people on long term sick leave because of chronic low back pain has substantially lower costs than usual care, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

Researchers in the Netherlands found that an integrated care approach has significant benefits for patients, society and employers.

Oregon's POLST program expands to provide patients with more control at the end of their lives

PORTLAND, Ore. – In its first 365 days, the Oregon POLST Registry has received more than 40,000 POLST forms from Oregonians with advanced illness or frailty. These individuals have chosen to participate in an innovative back up system to assure their treatment wishes can be found. The registry, which is based at Oregon Health & Science University, was established during the 2009 Legislature as part of the Healthy Oregon Act. The program was officially launched statewide on December 3, 2009.

Could 135,000 laptops help solve the energy challenge?

Washington, D.C. - U.S Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the largest ever awards of the Department's supercomputing time to 57 innovative research projects - using computer simulations to perform virtual experiments that in most cases would be impossible or impractical in the natural world.

During National Diabetes Awareness month, new report ties disease to shortened life expectancy

Despite medical advances enabling those with diabetes to live longer today than in the past, a 50-year-old with the disease still can expect to live 8.5 years fewer years, on average, than a 50-year-old without the disease.

The couch potato effect

The couch potato effect

Biofuels production has unintended consequences on water quality and quantity in Mississippi

Growing corn for biofuels production is having unintended effects on water quality and quantity in northwestern Mississippi.

More water is required to produce corn than to produce cotton in the Mississippi Delta requiring increased withdrawals of groundwater from the Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer for irrigation. This is contributing to already declining water levels in the aquifer. In addition, increased use of nitrogen fertilizer for corn in comparison to cotton could contribute to low dissolved oxygen conditions in the Gulf of Mexico.

Arsenic-polluted water toxic to Bangladesh economy

The well-reported arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh – called the "largest mass poisoning of a population in history" by the World Health Organization and known to be responsible for a host of slow-developing diseases – has now been shown to have an immediate and toxic effect on the struggling nation's economy.

An international team of economists is the first to identify a dramatic present-day consequence of the contaminated groundwater wells, in addition to the longer-term damages expected to occur in coming years.

People with chronic pain face complex dilemmas and life-changing decisions

Coping with chronic pain can affect every aspect of a person's life and cause conflict between what their mind wants to achieve and what their body allows them to do, according to research in the December issue of the Journal of Nursing and Healthcare of Chronic Illness.

Perceived bad boys receive less pain medications

If you should find yourself running from the police, watch your step. If you fall and break an ankle, chances are you'll receive less pain medication when they take you to the ER for treatment.

That's one of the findings from a study by Case Western Reserve University sociologist Susan Hinze, and Joshua Tamayo-Sarver, who collected the data and is an emergency department doctor in California.

Surgeon-physician marriages can place stress on careers, emotional health

CHICAGO (November 30, 2010) – Surgeons married to physicians face more challenges in balancing their personal and professional lives than do surgeons whose partners work in a non-physician field or stay at home, according to new research findings focused on surgeon marriages published in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Study assesses nuclear power assumptions

Washington, D.C. (November 30, 2010) -- A broad review of current research on nuclear power economics has been published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy. The report concludes that nuclear power will continue to be a viable power source but that the current fuel cycle is not sustainable. Due to uncertainty about waste management, any projection of future costs must be built on basic assumptions that are not grounded in real data.