Author Archives: karen
Minimizing injuries from acute myocardial infarction
Reperfusion therapy is currently the mainstay treatment of acute myocardial infarction, as it salvages myocardial cells from ischemic cell death. However, abrupt restoration of coronary blood flow induces another type of cell death called “lethal reperfusion injury,”
Reduceing risk of second stroke through motivational interviewing
About 25% of people who have a stroke will have a second stroke within the next 12-months. The purpose of this study was to determine if Motivational Interviewing (MI) could be used to reduce a person’s risk
Considering patient values and preferences in healthcare decision-making
Healthcare decision-making is one of the most challenging aspects of medicine. In the past, doctors often based their decisions on dogma or personal experience often influenced by their personal value judgments. With the advent of evidence-based medicine
Kidney disease after radiation exposure
Radiation exposure on earth is usually at a very low dose. Diagnostic x-rays are essential for modern medical care and pose little or no radiation risk. High dose radiation is much less common than diagnostic x-ray, but
Surface plasmon effect detected in carbon nanodots
Surface plasmons (SPs) are coherent delocalized electron oscillations that exist at the interface between two materials where the real part of the dielectric has different sign across the interface, and they has versatile applications in many interesting fields, such as improving
Neurophysiology of self-boundarylessness and loving-kindness
For a long time, the topic of “Self” or “Me” was the exclusive domain of philosophy and only recently has it begun to attract the interest of brain researchers and neuroscientists. The accumulated evidence so far suggests
Insights into controlling the rates of proton transfer
The transfer of a proton (H+) between two sites (from an acid to a base) is a ubiquitous fundamental reaction which is involved in various key roles throughout chemistry and biology. Proton transfer reactions are invariably an
Quantitative enantioselective Raman spectroscopy
A new approach for monitoring the production of chiral substances, e.g. pharmaceutically active ingredients, is proposed. Many biochemical and pharmaceutically active molecules are chiral. This means that two enantiomers exist exhibiting the same chemical structure without being
A versatile oxygenase family
Enzymes catalyze important biological processes throughout all kingdoms of life. One large and highly versatile enzyme family possesses a three-dimensional structure containing a double-stranded beta-helix (or jellyroll) protein fold that typically has a 2-histidine-1-carboxylate amino acid motif
A novel platform to measure orthodontic actions
Orthodontics is the medical specialty, where there exists the strongest link between biomechanics and treatment outcome: the application of mechanical tools and instruments to achieve tooth movement and thus correct malocclusions. However, for many clinicians this link
Do the costs and benefits of group living in a proportional manner with group size
Identifying the ecological and social factors that underlie vertebrate group size and social organization has been a question that has intrigued biologists for decades. This interest stems from the enormous variability in group size found both within
Side effects from medications in mother’s milk
Mothers are often concerned about medications they are taking while they are breastfeeding. This can result in their stopping breastfeeding or avoiding a medication needed for her health. We searched the medical literature from 2002 to the
New approach to stopping Dengue fever
The virus that causes Dengue Fever, DENV, infects an estimated 390 million people per year, often leading to severe disease (used to be called Breakbone Fever for the pain it caused), hemorrhagic fever and often death. It’s
Getting mental health services: not so easy for most people
Mental illness includes a variety of recognized psychiatric disorders and represents an enormous public health problem in the United States and worldwide. The US has a population of approximately 320 million people. At a given point in
Death and stroke risks after surgical aortic valve replacement: A real world perspective
With a rapidly rising proportion of aging population, aortic stenosis (AS) represents one of the most common valvular heart diseases affecting adults in the US and accounts for at least 92,000 aortic valve replacements (AVR) annually in
How to design a plasmonic sensor more sensitive to the environment?
Noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) such as Au NPs and Ag NPs support localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs), which are the light-coupled coherent oscillations of free electrons confined within the NPs. The LSPRs, which are characterized by the
Stern alcohol policies fail to improve public health
New research found that the severity of alcohol policy had no association with the number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost due to alcohol in 30 OECD countries in 2005 nor with alcohol consumption (Table, Figure). DALYs
The nostalgic brain gives you the power to live
We are all familiar with feelings of nostalgia that we all experience often. Nostalgia reminds us of better times and helps us feel less lonely when we are facing adversities. It also helps us identify positive aspects
Maternal diet alters offspring metabolism and performance
Scientists at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas have discovered that in fish, just like in humans, the nutrients that are passed from a mother to her offspring can change the way her
Mummification of cells: how dry is dry?
Human cells, the fundamental building blocks of tissues and organs, are often used to replace damaged body parts as well as for the production of certain medicines. However, the long term storage and transport of these cells
