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A blood test that predicts suicide?
Dorothy L. Tengler Mental HealthcareThere are other variables, however, that affect suicide rates, such as socioeconomic status, employment, occupation, sexual orientation and gender identity. But there may be more; it could be that changes in gene expression can indicate heightened risk for self-harm. Alexander Niculescu, a psychiatrist at Indiana University in Indianapolis, has been looking for biological signs of suicide risk in an effort to prevent these tragedies. Because of the brain's complexity and inaccessibility, he has focused on molecular signs, such as biomarkers.
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Text messaging in emergency medicine
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareTexting via cellphones and other electronic communication devices is used more than ever today. Interacting with friends and family, text messaging shapes our lives and language in many ways. And those ways are increasing, especially for patients with diabetes.
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Media distort reality of latest treatment for blindness
Dr. Denise A. Valenti Medical & Allied HealthcareWe all want heroes and dramatic rescues, and we want the day to be saved. A happy ending is preferred, and perhaps this is at the expense of unbiased observations from the media and the limited availability of neutral reporting on medical advances. Such is the case with how the media has handled the information regarding retinal prosthetic devices.
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The role of nanomaterials in the treatment of cerebral palsy
Dr. Afsaneh Motamed-Khorasani Medical & Allied HealthcareCerebral palsy is a chronic childhood disability that may be a result of injury to the developing brain either in uterus or immediately after birth. The injury to the brain can lead to defects in motor, sensory and cognitive functions. The child develops rigidity and distortion of limbs later in life. Although there are different causes for the development of cerebral palsy, neuroinflammation plays a major role in brain injury.
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Proximity ligation assays: Advancing the study of proteins
Dr. Afsaneh Motamed-Khorasani Science & TechnologyProximity ligation assay is a new method added to the proteomics toolbox and will play a key role in future diagnostics. PLA makes it possible to study the presence of the less abundant proteins, and thus it is easy to identify relevant diseases. Multiplex assays could be designed in which many proteins in the same sample are detected using PLA. It would be also possible to determine multiple protein interactions in individual cells, which enables us to understand the signaling cascades. This method is better for determining coherent cellular responses than measuring the expression levels of individual proteins. PLA could be also used to study the influence of the drugs in multiple pathways.
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Telecom protectionism: What goes around comes around
Victor Blake CommunicationsEthernet and the Internet — perhaps America's greatest inventions — have driven global telecommunications standards, and subsequently economic development, more than any other innovation. The reach of the Internet is so broad that irrespective of political, social or economic alliance or opposition to the United States, enemies and friends alike have adopted the Internet both for consumers and as the foundation for all global telecommunications. Despite all of this global expansion, some U.S. telecom companies have used national security concerns to entice the U.S. government to restrict access to certain products from Chinese companies. And now this tactic is coming back to bite them.
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Titanium vs. tungsten: Which is the most resistant to corrosion?
Sasha Viasasha ManufacturingSteel has ruled the world for two centuries because it's relatively cheap and tough, but there are times when steel is just not tough enough. Recently, a full variety of custom-designed alloys has come to light — original ceramic composites and nanofabricated materials, like carbon nanotubes, that have been engineered to withstand specific pressures or environments. However, when engineers need to deploy the overall strongest metal to handle a wide range of stressors and corrosive threats, there are only two serious contenders: titanium and tungsten.
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Medical device market trends and the headwinds of change
Don Rosato ManufacturingThe term "medical device" can be applied to a wide range of products. The global market is comprised of about 8,000 types of medical devices, ranging from simple bandages and spectacles, through life-maintaining implantable devices and equipment to screen/diagnose disease and health conditions, to the most sophisticated diagnostic imaging and minimally invasive surgery equipment.
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Latest technology offers promise for patients awaiting kidney transplants
Joy Burgess Medical & Allied HealthcareMany patients today spend years waiting for the live-saving transplant they require. Even with live organ donors stepping in to offer organs for loved ones, there still are not enough organs for patients awaiting transplantation. This lack of organs has led scientists to search for ways to grow or manufacture transplantable organs to fit this need.
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Why 4K? The latest TV tech flop?
Mitch Weinraub CommunicationsAs the "soft" announcements continue to roll out that a number of players (DirecTV, Netflix, etc.) are planning to launch 4K TV services, it probably makes sense to take a step back and ask both why and when? Of course, planning could mean anything from "we've penciled it for 2017" to "we will have a channel launched before the end of the year." That aside, why would anyone be in a rush to ready a 4K TV service?
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