Paris -- Patients with plaque-type psoriasis more frequently display pathological findings on power doppler ultrasound examination indicative for synovitis and enthesopathy compared with non-psoriatic patients, suggesting a subclinical musculoskeletal involvement in patients asymptomatic for musculoskeletal disease.
However, ultrasound findings in patients with plaque-type psoriasis without musculoskeletal clinical involvement are not well defined. Findings were presented at the 3rd International Congress on Psoriasis.
"The objective of our study was to investigate the presence of synovitis and enthesitis with power Doppler ultrasonography in patients with psoriasis without symptoms nor clinical signs of musculoskeletal diseases," said lead study author E. Dauden, MD, Dermatology, University Hospital De La Princessa, Madrid, Spain.
A total of 136 patients with plaque psoriasis and 46 age-matched controls with other skin diseases, all withot musculoskeletal diseases were recurited at 14 centres. They underwent dermatological and rheumatological assessment.
Science & Technology
© The Hindu / File Photo
Unchecked algae in a lake could choke the ecosystem off its nutrients block marine life from valuable sunlight.
Unchecked algae in a lake could choke the ecosystem off its nutrients block marine life from valuable sunlight.
Chief Investigator Carl Howard, from the University's School of Mechanical Engineering, said researchers would be testing different amplitudes and frequencies of ultrasound to control what is a growing worldwide water quality problem.
"We've already shown in laboratory tests that ultrasound is effective at neutralizing blue-green algae," Dr. Howard said in a statement on Wednesday.
"We know it works but we don't yet know the best frequencies, amplitudes and duration for the most effective, economic and efficient process."
Dr. Howard said ultrasound at high amplitudes was already used for treating sewage and in other chemical processes but wasn't practical for fresh water.
At high amplitudes it breaks down the cell walls of the blue- green algae, releasing toxins into the water.
© Dorling Kindersley, Getty Images
Protons and neutrons are shown as red and blue spheres at the center of this diagram of an atom.
Protons and neutrons are shown as red and blue spheres at the center of this diagram of an atom.
All atoms are made up of nuclei orbited by electrons. The nuclei, in turn, are made of neutrons and protons, which are themselves made of particles called quarks.
For years the accepted value for the radius of a proton has been 0.8768 femtometers, where a femtometer equals one quadrillionth of a meter.
The size of a proton is an essential value in equations that make up the 60-year-old theory of quantum electrodynamics, a cornerstone of the Standard Model of particle physics. The Standard Model describes how all forces, except gravity, affect subatomic particles.
But the proton's current value is accurate only by plus or minus one percent - which isn't accurate enough for quantum electrodynamics, or QED, theory to work perfectly. So physicists have been searching for ways to refine the number.
© ESA/ LFI & HFI Consortia
The microwave sky as seen by Planck
The microwave sky as seen by Planck
"This is the moment that Planck was conceived for," says ESA Director of Science and Robotic Exploration, David Southwood. "We're not giving the answer. We are opening the door to an Eldorado where scientists can seek the nuggets that will lead to deeper understanding of how our Universe came to be and how it works now. The image itself and its remarkable quality is a tribute to the engineers who built and have operated Planck. Now the scientific harvest must begin."
People can read traditional printed books a good bit faster than eBooks on tablet computers, a new study has found.
The study tested peoples' pace of reading on two popular e-reader tablets - Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle 2 - as well as a standard PC monitor and a plain ol' regular book.
The 24 study participants read short stories by the author Ernest Hemingway, chosen "because his work is pleasant and engaging to read, and yet not so complicated that it would be above the heads of users," said Jakob Nielsen, who led the study for the Nielsen Norman Group.
The study tested peoples' pace of reading on two popular e-reader tablets - Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle 2 - as well as a standard PC monitor and a plain ol' regular book.
The 24 study participants read short stories by the author Ernest Hemingway, chosen "because his work is pleasant and engaging to read, and yet not so complicated that it would be above the heads of users," said Jakob Nielsen, who led the study for the Nielsen Norman Group.
© Unknown
The discovery was made during the latest season of excavations, which are being carried out by a team of archaeologists led by Mohsen Javeri and began in mid-June, the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization announced in a press release on Monday.
© Getty Images
Neanderthal males had unusually strong upper arms, particularly on the right side, research shows.
Neanderthal males had unusually strong upper arms, particularly on the right side, research shows.
Remains of an early Neanderthal with a super strong arm suggest that Neanderthal fellows were heavily pumped up on male hormones, possessing a hormonal status unlike anything that exists in humans today, according to a recent paper.
Neanderthal males probably evolved their ultra macho ways due to lifestyle, genes, climate and diet factors, suggests the study, published in the journal Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia.
More than a billion euros will be channeled to the astronomically over-budget ITER fusion reactor rather than to a broad range of needy European research projects.
"This will not make us friends," one senior fusion boffin, who declined to be identified, confessed to Nature, which reported the research-funding switcheroo.
The ITER project, which has the goal of (someday) fusing hydrogen isotopes to create (possibly affordable) energy, has been beset by budget horrors since its inception in 2006.
"This will not make us friends," one senior fusion boffin, who declined to be identified, confessed to Nature, which reported the research-funding switcheroo.
The ITER project, which has the goal of (someday) fusing hydrogen isotopes to create (possibly affordable) energy, has been beset by budget horrors since its inception in 2006.
© Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
The lung on a chip, shown here, was crafted by combining microfabrication techniques from the computer industry with modern tissue engineering techniques, human cells and a plain old vacuum pump.
The lung on a chip, shown here, was crafted by combining microfabrication techniques from the computer industry with modern tissue engineering techniques, human cells and a plain old vacuum pump.
Researchers at Harvard's Wyss Institute have combined microfabrication techniques from the computer industry with modern tissue engineering techniques, human cells and a plain old vacuum pump to create a living, breathing human lung-on-a-chip. The device mimics the most active part of the lung, the boundary between the air sac and the bloodstream.
Relevance:
Because this "organ-on-a-chip" device responds to stimuli such as bacteria or airborne pollutants the same way a lung in a living body responds, it can potentially be used to test efficacy and safety of drugs and environmental toxins in the future. Such a tool could reduce the dependence on animal testing in the pharmaceutical industry, thereby reducing the cost and time it takes to bring new drugs to market. The device also opens the door to creating lung-on-a-chip systems using a patient's own cells for testing individualized therapies.
© CBC
The researchers got the idea after walking past coffee outlets on campus and noticing how many cups were being thrown away.
The researchers got the idea after walking past coffee outlets on campus and noticing how many cups were being thrown away.
Microbiologists Richard Sparling and David Levin said they came up with the idea of using the paper cups after walking past some of the four Tim Hortons outlets on campus.
"We see a lot of cups being thrown away," Sparling said. "Knowing that these are not sent away for any type of recycling at this time, we thought ... they would make excellent food for the bacteria that we use to make biofuels such as ethanol or even hydrogen."
Since starting the project "on a whim" in 2009, they've had some promising results: they have found they are able to generate about 1.3 litres of ethanol from about 100 Tim Hortons cups.
