EurekAlert! Public News List

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Deutsches Ärzteblatt International
Ruling out deep vein thrombosis at the primary care level
Algorithms improve certainty in ruling out deep and pelvic vein thrombosis at the primary level of patient care, say Lobna El Tabei and her co-authors in the current issue of the Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2012; 109[45]: 761-6).

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Sociology of Religion
How devout are we? Study shows evangelicals surge as Catholics wane
The drop in intensity could present challenges for the Roman Catholic Church, the study suggests, both in terms of church participation and in Catholics' support for the Church's social and theological positions.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012
GI researcher co-author of international permafrost report
University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher Vladimir Romanovsky is one of four scientists who authored a report released today by the United Nations Environmental Programme. The report, "Policy Implications of Warming Permafrost," seeks to highlight the potential hazards of carbon dioxide and methane emissions from warming permafrost, which have not thus far been included in climate-prediction modeling.

United Nations Environmental Programme

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Nature Communications
James' bond: A graphene/nanotube hybrid
A seamless graphene/nanotube hybrid created at Rice University may be the best electrode interface material possible for many energy storage and electronics applications.

Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Lockheed Martin Corp., LANCER IV pro

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Protein injection points to muscular dystrophy treatment
Scientists have discovered that injecting a novel human protein into muscle affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy significantly increases its size and strength, findings that could lead to a therapy akin to the use of insulin by diabetics. These results were published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Dr. Julia von Maltzahn and Dr. Michael Rudnicki, the Ottawa scientist who discovered muscle stem cells in adults.

Muscular Dystrophy Association, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Human Molecular Genetics
Researchers find chemical 'switches' for neurodegenerative diseases
By using a model, researchers at the University of Montreal have identified and "switched off" a chemical chain that causes neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and dementia. The findings could one day be of particular therapeutic benefit to Huntington's disease patients.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

British Medical Journal
One child mothers with pre-eclampsia at higher risk of heart problems
Women who develop pre-eclampsia during their first pregnancy (known as preterm pre-eclampsia) -- and who don't go on to have any more children -- are at greater risk of dying from heart disease in later life than women who have subsequent children, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

British Medical Journal
Thyroid problems linked to irregular heart rhythm
People with an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism) carry a greater risk of developing irregular heart rhythm (known as atrial fibrillation) than those with normal thyroid function, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

American Society of Clinical Oncology's Quality Care Symposium
Most women who have double mastectomy don't need it, U-M study finds
About 70 percent of women who have both breasts removed following a breast cancer diagnosis do so despite a very low risk of facing cancer in the healthy breast, new research from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds.

NIH/National Cancer Institute

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

JAMA
Common heart failure drugs could benefit more patients
A novel study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden suggests that commonly used drugs to treat heart failure and high blood pressure may have a wider range of application than earlier known, and also can be used against so called HFPEF -- a type of heart failure that until now has been impossible to treat. The study, which is published in the scientific journal JAMA, shows that the mortality rate in a group of HFPEF patients who used these medications decreased.

Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, Stockholm County Council, and others

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Journal of Animal Ecology
Ecologists shed new light on effects of light pollution on wildlife
Light pollution is often associated with negative effects on wildlife. Now, ecologists have found that by mimicking a perpetual full moon, the gas flares and electrical lighting along Scotland's Forth estuary are helping shorebirds stock up on more food during the winter to fuel their spring migration.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Academic Medicine
Study finds heavily indebted med students choosing primary care face greater financial challenges
Researchers at Boston University and the Association of American Medical Colleges have determined that heavily indebted medical students choosing primary care careers will experience difficulty paying their student debt unless they consider alternative strategies to support repayment.

Health Resources and Services Administration

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

European Heart Journal
Digoxin increases deaths in patients with atrial fibrillation
Digoxin, a drug derived from the foxglove plant and that has been used worldwide for centuries to treat heart disease, is associated with a significant increase in deaths in patients with atrial fibrillation, according to results from a study published online in the European Heart Journal.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Environmental Research Letters
Sea-levels rising faster than IPCC projections
Sea-levels are rising 60 per cent faster than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's central projections, new research suggests.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy
A new look at wetting models: Continuum analysis
Researchers considered the wetting phenomenon on a general substrate from a new viewpoint of continuum mechanics. Analyses show how the Wenzel and Cassie models deviate from the experimental results for particular substrates, and then elucidate the mechanism of the shift of the triple contact line. The model can be used to illustrate the pinning effect on a sharp wedge or the interface between two phases. This investigation helps in designing super-hydrophobic materials for novel microfluidic devices.

National Natural Science Foundation of China, Doctoral Fund of Ministry of Education of China

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine
Administrative data set not always best source for number of surgical complications
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco extracted data on hospital readmissions following spine surgery at their institution from an administrative database to assess the clinical relevance of the information and to define clinically relevant predictors of readmission. What they found were readmission numbers substantially larger than expected or appropriate.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

JAMA
Study examines anticoagulation treatment following aortic valve replacement
Although current guidelines recommend three months of anticoagulation treatment after bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement surgery, a study that included more than 4,000 patients found that patients who had warfarin therapy continued between three and six months after surgery had a lower rate of cardiovascular death.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

JAMA
Risk of pertussis increases as time since last dose of DTaP vaccine lengthens
In an examination of cases of childhood pertussis in California, researchers found that children with pertussis had lower odds of having received all 5 doses of the diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) vaccine series.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

JAMA
Heart failure drug less effective in real world
A large study addressing the effectiveness and safety of aldosterone antagonist therapy for older heart failure patients has found notable differences between the drug's results in clinical trial vs. what occurs in actual practice, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, American Heart Association

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

JAMA
Studies examine whether therapies for heart failure are associated with improved survival
An analysis of two heart failure therapies finds differing outcomes regarding improvement in survival.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Proceedings of the Royal Society B
How infidelity helps nieces and nephews
A University of Utah study produced new mathematical support for a theory that explains why men in some cultures often feed and care for their sisters' children: where extramarital sex is common and accepted, a man's genes are more likely to be passed on by their sister's kids than by their wife's kids.

University of Utah

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

PLOS Biology
The hungry caterpillar: Beware your enemy's enemy's enemy
When herbivores such as caterpillars feed, plants may "call for help" by emitting volatiles, which can help defend the plants. The volatiles recruit parasitoids that infect and kill the herbivores, to the benefit of the plant. However, such plant odors can also be detected by other organisms. A new study shows how secondary parasitoids can use these signals to identify infected caterpillars, and duly infect the primary parasitoid, to the detriment of the original plant.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Nature Communications
Graphene switches: HZB research group makes it to first base
Ever since graphene was first isolated a few years ago, this quasi-two-dimensional network made up of a single layer of carbon atoms has been considered the magic material. Not only is graphene mechanically highly resilient, it also provides an interesting basis for new spintronic components that exploit the magnetic moment of conduction electrons.

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

American Journal of Medical Genetics
Gene that causes tumor disorder linked to increased breast cancer risk
New Johns Hopkins research showing a more than four-fold increase in the incidence of breast cancer in women with neurofibromatosis-1 adds to growing evidence that women with this rare genetic disorder may benefit from early breast cancer screening with mammograms beginning at age 40, and manual breast exams as early as adolescence.

National Center for Research Resources

Public Release: 27-Nov-2012

Global Public Health
USC, Oxford researchers find high fructose corn syrup-global prevalence of diabetes link
A new study by University of Southern California and University of Oxford researchers indicates that large amounts of high fructose corn syrup found in national food supplies across the world may be one explanation for the rising global epidemic of type 2 diabetes and resulting higher health care costs.


			HOME DISCLAIMER PRIVACY POLICY TERMS & CONDITIONS CONTACT US TOP Copyright ©2012 by AAAS, the science society.