Tech | Page 1638 | Science Codex

Special care plan does not slow decline in patients with Alzheimer's

A special dementia care plan, involving regular assessments of patients with Alzheimer's disease in specialist memory clinics, does not slow functional decline compared with usual care, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

Guidelines for the care of patients with Alzheimer's disease recommend regular evaluation and follow-up. However, questions remain over the feasibility and real impact of these guidelines, and whether assessments are better carried out in primary care or specialist memory clinics.

UNC study: Most kidney dialysis patients not prepared for emergency evacuation

Most kidney dialysis patients not prepared for emergency evacuation

CHAPEL HILL – Immediately after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, the survival of more than 5,800 Gulf Coast kidney dialysis patients was threatened as the storm forced closure of 94 dialysis units. Within a month 148 of these patients had died.

Cysts hold clues to pancreatic cancer

Grand Rapids, Mich. (June 3, 2010) – Working with researchers from the University of Michigan and Indiana University, Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) investigators have developed a method that could be used to predict whether pancreatic cysts are benign or are precursors to invasive cancer.

Stage II and stage III colon cancer patients treated after 1995 have improved overall survival

CHICAGO — Patients with stage III colon cancer treated with 5-FU-based chemotherapy after complete surgical removal of their tumor after 1995 had improved overall survival with no change in time to recurrence compared to patients treated before 1995. In contrast, patients with stage II colon cancer treated after 1995 had longer time to recurrence and time from recurrence to death compared to those patients treated prior to 1995, according to Mayo Clinic and Gr Hospitalier Pitie-Salpetriere, Paris, researchers.

U of Minnesota researcher finds that flooring can affect how consumers make purchase decisions

From teachers to hairdressers, people who stand on their feet all day will tell you that the flooring beneath them can be the difference between a good day and a bad one. But can the difference between carpet and hard tile flooring affect how you make decisions? Research published this month by Joan Meyers-Levy, a professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, and author of the famed ceiling height study, suggests that the way people judge products may be influenced by the ground beneath them.

Ben-Gurion University students develop device to help blind manuever

BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, June 3, 2010 – Ben-Gurion University of the Negev students have developed an innovative optical radar system that helps blind people maneuver around obstacles.

The radar system incorporates a computer, two video cameras and a scanning light source to warn the blind of obstacles with audible alerts. The system detects obstacles -- even those overhead -- by scanning the depth of its surroundings, taken from two different angles – similar to that of the human eye.

Aquatic life declines at early stages of urban development

The number of native fish and aquatic insects, especially those that are pollution sensitive, declines in urban and suburban streams at low levels of development — levels often considered protective for stream communities, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.

DMP brings about new design space for virtualization technology

Professors Wang and Luo and their group in the Department of Computer Science and Technology, Peking University (PKU), have recently introduced a new memory virtualization technique called Dynamic Memory Paravirtualization (DMP). With DMP, binary code in the guest operating system can be dynamically patched by the hypervisor for improved performance. Their study is published in Issue 53 (January 2010) of SCIENCE CHINA Information Science and is a significant contribution to system virtualization technology.

Fires in Amazon challenge emission reduction program

Fires in Amazon challenge emission reduction program

Fire occurrence rates in the Amazon have increased in 59% of areas with reduced deforestation and risks cancelling part of the carbon savings achieved by UN measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation.

Study: ER computer keyboards and bacteria

DETROIT – Keyboards located in triage and registration areas were found to be more contaminated with bacteria than those in other areas of the Emergency Department at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, according to a new study conducted by the hospital.

"Contamination was predominantly found in non-treatment areas," says Angela Pugliese, M.D., lead author of the study and an emergency department physician at Henry Ford Hospital.

Olive-oil enriched diet helps breast cancer survivors lose more weight

Olive-oil enriched diet helps breast cancer survivors lose more weight

John Theurer Cancer Center leading urologist presents research abstracts at AUA's 2010 Meeting

Hackensack, NJ, June 2, 2010 – Ihor S. Sawczuk, M.D., Co-Chief of the Division of Urologic Oncology at John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, internationally recognized for his work in urologic oncology, will be among physicians from the Cancer Center presenting research abstracts at the American Urological Association's 2010 Annual Meeting.

Researchers pursue plasmonics and photonics technology for optical improvements

Air Force Office of Scientific Research-funded Professors Mark L. Brongersma of Stanford University and Stefan A. Maier of Imperial College London are investigating new applications for terahertz sensors.

Based on their research, these sensors could be used for improving optical sources, detectors and modulators for optical interconnections and for creating biomolecules, such as plastic explosives for the Air Force.

Brongersma's work is based on the unprecedented ability of nanometallic or plasmonic structures to concentrate light into deep-subwavelength volumes.

A doctor's referral for better fitness

A doctor's referral for better fitness

People visit physicians to get or stay healthy, but should questions about physical activity be a part of these visits, too -- every time? The American College of Sports Medicine and its Exercise is Medicine program think so. So does Indiana University physical activity expert NiCole Keith.

NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell physician-scientists present at 2010 American Urological Meeting

NEW YORK (May 29, 2010) -- Physician-scientists from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center will present their latest research findings at the American Urological Association's Annual Meeting in San Francisco, May 29 to June 3.