Monthly Archives: March 2016
For Canadians access to eye care depends on where you live
The Canada Health Act adopted in 1984 is based on the principle of universal healthcare coverage. In other words the Act promises physician and hospital services to all Canadian residents irrespective of income or geography. Since Canada
Celiac disease and nutrition
Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic, immune-mediated enteropathy of the small bowel mucosa, induced by dietary gluten in genetically pre-disposed individuals. It is characterized by intestinal malabsorption and subtotal or total atrophy of intestinal villi, which improves
Fuel from sunlight and the new energy economy
Hydrogen is a clean-burning fuel that is gaining increasing attention as the renewable energy economy continues to evolve. Hydrogen fuel stations appearing in California and the release of a commercial fuel-cell vehicle in mid-2015 by Toyota are
How do mistletoes use water in leafless hosts?
Mistletoes are parasitic plants that penetrate the bark of the hosts’ branches through a modified root, connecting to their host sap (xylem) from which they access all the water and nutrients they need to survive. The mechanism
Harnessing Förster energy transfer
Our fascination with light, matter and their mutual interactions has been the driving force behind the advent of new optical materials, ranging from a variety of organic and inorganic dielectrics to tailored metals, photonic crystals and more
Diagnosis of concussion in children
Children frequently injure their heads during play and sport, which often leads to visits to the Emergency Department (ED) to be checked by a doctor. Concussion is a type of brain injury, which requires an accurate and
How does the antioxidant biliverdin work?
Antioxidants as food supplements are all the rage. Antioxidants include vitamins C and E and the compound family of the flavonoids, the strongly dark-blue or red-colored compounds found in fruits, such as blueberries or blackberries, or in
Alternative determination of blood alcohol concentration
Alcohol consumption is a common and legal practice in most of the countries around the world which leads to numerous fatal traffic accidents, and other incidents like leisure injuries, alcohol poisoning and drug facilitated sexual assault. According
The future of cross-border patient mobility in the EU
Medical tourism has recently grown at an explosive pace driven by American insurances that offer reductions to policy-holders who are willing to be treated in other countries. In Europe, the number of patients that wants to be
Exploitation of bacteria for solar energy harvesting
The amount of solar light hitting the surface of the earth in one hour is enough to meet the energy requirements of the whole earth for one year, the challenge is to design a system to convert
The right tool for the right job – it is brain surgery after all!
Getting drugs into the brain to help treat cancer or neurological diseases like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s is pretty difficult. Generally speaking you can’t just take a pill or get an injection as the brain is protected by
Radiotherapy for prostate cancer: restrictions for the treatment of recurrent disease
Patients with prostate cancer who are treated with radiotherapy are not always cured. Depending on their pre-treatment risk factors (most importantly the stage of the tumour), they are at risk of recurrent disease. These recurrences often present
Surrogate technology: The future of aquaculture
Seafood is an important source of protein as well as a food source. With the global population expected to exceed nine billion in 2050, demand is likely to increase. Many fish are already on the brink of
Utilizing multimodal MRI to detect somatosensory stimulation in the rabbit
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful tool to investigate neural processing. Utilizing animal models enables research that is difficult to perform in humans. However, some animal models require anesthesia or sedation when undergoing MRI which negatively
How localizable are language brain areas?
The interest in understanding how language is “localized” in the brain has existed for centuries. During the late 19th and early 20th century, the brain’s language area was thought to correspond to the region around the Sylvian
Rhythm makes the world go round: neuroimaging reveals the “embodied” roots of high-level social cognition
Significant aspects of information processing in humans are not shared with other species, such as the ability to imagine the mental states of others. However, to some extent this unique ability still seems to depend on “older”
Explore care seeking behavior of older adults with hip fracture in Odisha, India
Hip fractures commonly occur in adults over 50 years mostly due to simple falls. Rough estimates suggest 600,000 adults suffer hip fracture injury annually in India. It is expected to rise in coming years as the population
Cerium oxide nanoparticles may be of therapeutic value in chronic liver disease
What is this? We use Cerium oxide NPs (CeO2NPs) to treat cirrhosis in model rats and we observe how it has dramatic beneficial effects in reducing inflammation and allowing tissue reparation What makes nanoceria very appealing is
Computerized assessment of neuropsychological performance in schizophrenia
In clinical studies, intellectual performance is most often measured with standardized neuropsychological paper-and-pencil tasks. Such tasks can measure an individual’s performance in different domains of intellectual performance such as speed of processing, attention/vigilance, working memory, verbal learning,
Test items may be unfair
Intelligence tests and other achievement tests always aim at measuring an ability that is not directly observable. What one can observe is how a person performs when trying to solve a collection of items (master a collection
