Eurekalert Press Releases for 2010

by David Bradley

Public Release: 22-Dec-2010
International Journal of Computational Science and Engineering
Vertical search across the educational horizon
According to researchers at Hewlett Packard in Palo Alto, Calif., and a Chinese technology company, Innovation Works, general search engines, while very effective at tracking down information, are nevertheless unstructured, which limits the user's ability to further automate the processing of the search results.
Public Release: 22-Dec-2010
International Journal of Applied Management Science
Record time limit
Running and swimming records are broken again and again at almost every international athletics event, But, can human performance continue to improve indefinitely? Will runners continue to accelerate off the starting blocks and reach the finish line in faster and faster times? Will swimmers always be able to dive into the record books with a quicker kick?
Public Release: 6-Dec-2010
International Journal of Global Environmental Issues
The worm that turned on heavy metal
Researchers in South America have studied the viability of using earthworms to process hazardous material containing high concentrations of heavy metal for the bioremediation of old industrial sites, landfill and other potentially hazardous areas. They provide details of a possible approach in the International Journal of Global Environmental Issues this month.
Public Release: 3-Dec-2010
International Journal of Nanoparticles
Gold and silver nano baubles
They might just be the smallest Christmas tree decorations ever. Tiny spherical particles of gold and silver that are more than 100 million times smaller than the gold and silver baubles used to decorate seasonal fir trees have been synthesized by researchers in Mexico and the US.
Public Release: 3-Dec-2010
International Journal of Functional Informatics and Personalised Medicine
Data mining depression
Could information technology and data mining techniques be used to improve the diagnosis and treatment of depression? That's the question scientists in Australia hope to have answered in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Functional Informatics and Personalised Medicine.
Public Release: 29-Nov-2010
International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development
How to avoid employee depression in a recession
As employees become increasingly anxious about job security and financial worries during an economic recession, satisfaction with the job they have, commitment to their company and engagement with their work are all affected detrimentally. This trend could be self-fulfilling in that disengaged employees could have a negative impact on a company's products or services and lead to its decline which would inevitably see the company failing.
Public Release: 15-Nov-2010
International Journal of Tourism Anthropology
Brain size and a trip to Disneyland
Evidence from Disneyland suggests that human creativity may have evolved not in response to sexual selection as some scientists believe but as a way to help parents bond with their children and to pass on traditions and cultural knowledge, a new study published in the inaugural issue of the International Journal of Tourism Anthropology suggests.
Public Release: 15-Nov-2010
International Journal of Biotechnology
The color of medicine
According to recent research the color, shape, taste and even name of a tablet or pill can have an effect on how patients feel about their medication. Choose an appropriate combination and the placebo effect gives the pill a boost, improves outcomes and might even reduce side effects. Now, researchers at the University of Bombay, New Mumbai, India, have surveyed users of over-the-counter medication to find out just how much the color of a tablet influences patient choice.
Public Release: 4-Nov-2010
International Journal of Nanotechnology
Colonic navigation
Nanoparticles could help smuggle drugs into the gut, according to a study published this month in the International Journal of Nanotechnology.
Public Release: 2-Nov-2010
International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics
Improving health care in the Internet age
Faster and more widely available internet access has improved our lives in many ways but health care is lagging behind, according to researchers writing in the International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics.
Public Release: 26-Oct-2010
International Journal of Global Warming
Scrambling for climate change solutions
The food industry generates a lot of waste products, but one of these, eggshells, could help combat climate change, according to research published in the International Journal of Global Warming this month.
Public Release: 21-Oct-2010
International Journal of Environment and Pollution
Value-added sulfur scrubbing
Power plants that burn fossil fuels remain the main source of electricity generation across the globe. Modern power plants have scrubbers to remove sulfur compounds from their flue gases, which has helped reduce the problem of acid rain. Now, researchers in India have devised a way to convert the waste material produced by the scrubbing process into value-added products. They describe details in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution.
Public Release: 15-Oct-2010
Journal of Global Business Advancement
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder the world over
Western culture is increasingly obsessed with physical appearance and beauty, but vanity is nothing new, nor is it limited to just one culture. Moreover, differences in our perception of physical beauty have an enormous impact on the fashion, cosmetics, and weight control industries, and more recently on aesthetic surgery trends. Understanding how culture and region alter the perception of beauty is therefore not only of anthropological and social interest but underpins multibillion dollar industries across the globe.
Public Release: 14-Oct-2010
International Journal of Environment and Pollution
Charcoal biofilter cleans up fertilizer waste gases
Removing the toxic and odorous emissions of ammonia from the industrial production of fertilizer is a costly and energy-intensive process. Now, researchers in Bangladesh have turned to microbes and inexpensive wood charcoal to create a biofilter that can extract the noxious gas from vented gases and so reduce pollution levels from factories in the developing world.
Public Release: 12-Oct-2010
International Journal of Environment and Pollution
Percolating a solution to hexavalent chromium
Coffee bean husks could be used to extract hexavalent chromium from industrial wastewater, offering an inexpensive remediation technology for the developing world.
Public Release: 9-Oct-2010
International Journal of Business Continuity and Risk Management
Budget constraints limit FDA inspections
Budgetary constraints are one of the principal factors that limit the US Food and Drug Administration's ability to conduct frequent and rigorous site inspections of pharmaceutical manufacturers, according to research published in the International Journal of Business Continuity and Risk Management.
Public Release: 6-Oct-2010
International Journal of Nanoparticles
Nano drugs
Researchers in India have demonstrated that producing nanoscopic crystals of a pharmaceutical product can allow the medication to be absorbed by the gut even if the drug is not soluble in water.
Public Release: 4-Oct-2010
International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development
Technology transfer and postdoc entrepreneurs
Post-doctoral researchers see their role as being vital in technology transfer where scientific findings become useful to the local economy, but most have little interest in running their own business once their research fellowship ends. That's the surprising finding of a study published in the International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development.
Public Release: 20-Sep-2010
International Journal of Organizational Design and Engineering
Citizen scientist
Writing in the International Journal of Organizational Design and Engineering, US researchers have mapped out an approach to virtual organizations that might allow scientific advances made in part by citizen scientists to move forward much more quickly.
Public Release: 17-Sep-2010
International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control
Emotional robot pets
Designers of robot pets are fighting a never-ending battle with consumers to provide entertaining and realistic gadgets that respond to human interaction in ever more nuanced ways, mimicking the behavior of real pet animals or even people. Researchers in Taiwan are now looking at a new design paradigm that could see the development of a robot vision module that might one-day recognize human facial expressions and respond appropriately.
Public Release: 17-Sep-2010
International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations
Less is more in the fight against terrorism
Terrorist networks are complex. Now, a mathematical analysis of their properties published this month in the International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, suggests that the best way to fight them is to isolate the hubs within the network rather than trying to destroy the network as a whole through short-term battles.
Public Release: 15-Sep-2010
International Journal of Data Mining, Modelling and Management
Fuzzy thinking could spot heart disease risk
A new approach to evaluating a person's risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, high blood pressure or heart failure is reported this month in the International Journal of Data Mining, Modelling and Management. The technique uses fuzzy logic to teach a neural network computer program to analyze patient data and spot correlations that can be translated into a risk factor for an individual.
Public Release: 9-Sep-2010
International Journal of Signal and Imaging Systems Engineering
Bionic speech recognition
Researchers at the University Campus in Tunis, Tunisia, have published details of a speech enhancement system that uses two distinct tools to reduce the noise from a recorded or sampled voice signal.
Public Release: 6-Sep-2010
International Journal of Low Radiation
Gambling on breast scans
A mathematical tool known as a Monte Carlo analysis could help improve the way X-rays are used for mammography and reduce the number of breast cancers missed by the technique as well as avoiding false positives, according to research published this month in the International Journal of Low Radiation.
Public Release: 24-Aug-2010
International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage
Engineering shorter wait times in the ER
Emergency room waiting times could be cut by over one third and patients' length of stay by almost two-thirds, thanks to a new approach to the triage process of sorting patients for further assessment and treatment, according to research published in the International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage this month.
Public Release: 28-Jul-2010
International Journal of Nuclear Desalination
Nanotechnology for water purification
Writing in the International Journal of Nuclear Desalination, researchers at the D.J. Sanghvi College of Engineering, in Mumbai, India, explain that there are several nanotechnology approaches to water purification currently being investigated and some already in use.
Public Release: 26-Jul-2010
International Journal of Electronic Healthcare
Seeing the forest and the trees reveals heart problems
A statistical analysis of publicly available heart rate data using three classification tools -- Random Forests, Logistic Model Tree and Neural Network -- could lead to a rapid and precise way to diagnose heart problems, according to research in the International Journal of Electronic Healthcare.
Public Release: 16-Jul-2010
International Journal of Internet and Enterprise Management
Insecurities plague electronic health care
Information security and privacy in the health care sector is an issue of growing importance but much remains to be done to address the various issues raised by health care consumers regarding privacy and security and the providers' perspective of regulatory compliance.
Public Release: 14-Jul-2010
International Journal of Intelligent Information and Database Systems
Jargon-busting software bridges the knowledge gap
Conversations between students and teachers, patients and doctors can suffer because of the difference in knowledge of each party in the conversation. Researchers in Japan believe they have a digital answer to this semantic gap.
Public Release: 6-Jul-2010
International Journal of Signal and Imaging Systems Engineering
Reversible watermarking for digital images
Every picture tells a story, but how do you know that a digital photo has not been manipulated to change the tale being told? A new approach to adding an encrypted watermark to digital images allows the an image to be validated against a pass key, according to research published in the International Journal of Signal and Imaging Systems Engineering.
Public Release: 2-Jul-2010
International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics
Flash, aaaaagh!
Most educational websites in the US are using Flash applications that fail to adequately secure these pages. This is a growing problem for the Internet as vulnerable sites can be hijacked for malicious and criminal activity, according to a paper published in the International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics this month.
Public Release: 22-Jun-2010
International Journal of Mobile Communication
Wireless vs. wireless
3G and Wi-Fi are the two main mobile communications technologies today, but until recently they have been complementary services, the former offering users network access through cellphone masts forming a wide-area network (WAN), the latter based on hot-spot connections through a local-area network (LAN). Both then provide connectivity to the Web, e-mail and other services.
Public Release: 16-Jun-2010
International Journal of Environment and Health
Elemental bones
Exposure to chemical pollutants is of growing concern to regulators, health workers, and environmentalist groups alike. Now, researchers in the US and Russia have demonstrated that samples of human bone can act as a biological marker for dozens of metals and toxic elements across the periodic table. They describe details in a study published in the International Journal of Environment and Health.
Public Release: 14-Jun-2010
International Journal of Mobile Communication
Podcasting language
English is increasingly the lingua franca (as it were) of commerce, the internet, science, indeed many areas of human endeavor. Learning English is critical to international success for countless individuals in non-English speaking countries. As mobile technologies have matured so have the possibilities for learning. Researchers in Australia and Taiwan suggest that podcasting could be used to foster a positive attitude in learning English as a foreign language.
Public Release: 10-Jun-2010
International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology
Waste steel in the Gulf of Mexico
The huge tonnages of waste steel from decommissioned offshore oil and gas structures represents a serious problem for operators looking to recoup losses and avoid environmental harm. A way to calculate the weight of the problem has been developed by US researchers and described in the International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology.
Public Release: 1-Jun-2010
International Journal of Services and Operations Management
A quick fix for queues
Queuing, standing in line ... it's what we do well, but complain about the most. Thankfully, science is coming to the rescue as researchers in Taiwan have devised a formula that could revolutionize restaurants, post offices, customer service desks, and theater ticket sales everywhere.
Public Release: 26-May-2010
International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology
Wireless patients
A wireless monitoring system for people with debilitating conditions such as Parkinson's disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder could allow health-care workers to assess a patient's health and the development of their disease without hindering their movements. Details of the system are reported in the International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology.
Public Release: 24-May-2010
International Journal of Nanoparticles
Antibacterial silver nanoparticles are a blast
Writing in the International Journal of Nanoparticles, Rani Pattabi and colleagues at Mangalore University, explain how blasting silver nitrate solution with an electron beam can generate nanoparticles that are more effective at killing all kinds of bacteria, including gram-negative species that are not harmed by conventional antibacterial agents.
Public Release: 19-May-2010
International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology
Dynamic HIV testing
A relatively simple electronic gadget could speed up HIV/AIDS diagnostics and improve accuracy particularly in parts of the world with very limited access to health-care workers. The device is described in the International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology.
Public Release: 14-May-2010
International Journal of Biomechatronics and Biomedical Robotics
Impact sensor provides athletic support
As athletes strive for perfection, sports scientists need to exploit every technological advance to help them achieve that goal. Researchers in New Zealand have now developed a new type of wearable impact sensor based that can provide much needed information about the stresses and strains on limbs for rugby players, high jumpers and runners.
Public Release: 6-May-2010
International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development
Radio tags could save lives after earthquakes
Radio frequency identification, RFID, could be used in the immediate aftermath of a major earthquake to save lives, according to new research published in the International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development.
Public Release: 4-May-2010
World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development
Diatoms reveal freshwater pollution
Researchers in India have demonstrated that microscopic aquatic creatures could be used as the ecological equivalent of a canary in a coalmine for assessing inland freshwater lakes and ponds. Writing in the World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development the team explains how diatoms respond badly to pollutants and sewage contamination.
Public Release: 28-Apr-2010
International Journal of Operational Research
Locating tsunami warning buoys
Australian researchers describe a mathematical model in the International Journal of Operational Research that can find the ten optimal sites at which tsunami detection buoys and sea-level monitors should be installed. The model could save time and money in the installation of a detection system as well as providing warning for the maximum number of people should a potentially devastating tsunami occur.
Public Release: 26-Apr-2010
International Journal of Banking, Accounting and Finance
Banking on benefits
People make the decision to use internet banking either because they recognize the benefits or because of peer pressure but rarely because of perceived prestige or celebrity endorsement, a study published in the International Journal of Banking, Accounting and Finance. The research hints at how banks could improve the spread of internet banking simply by improving the services offered.
Public Release: 23-Apr-2010
International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing
Passwords are passé but biometrics are not mobile
Writing in the International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, researchers from the US and Germany point out an inherent flaw in the financial industry adopting biometric logins to boost security in that the advent of mobile devices, such as netbooks, PDAs and smart phones might make biometric logins impossible when one is on the move.
Public Release: 16-Apr-2010
International Journal of Internet Protocol Technology
Improving network firewalls
Managing firewall rules has proven to be a complex, error-prone, expensive and inefficient for many large-networked organizations, according to a research team writing in the International Journal of Internet Protocol Technology.
Public Release: 13-Apr-2010
International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology
Calculating agriculture's phosphorus footprint
Balancing phosphorus levels in crop lands is a key factor that is often overlooked in discussions of global food security, according to a paper published in the International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology.
Public Release: 9-Apr-2010
International Journal of Materials and Structural Integrity
Wireless nano sensors could save bridges, buildings
Could inexpensive wireless sensors based on nanotechnology be used to alert engineers to problematic cracks and damage to buildings, bridges, and other structures before they become critical? A feasibility study published in the International Journal of Materials and Structural Integrity would suggest so.
Public Release: 8-Apr-2010
International Journal of Arts and Technology
Music therapy fails dyslexics
There is no link between a lack of musical ability and dyslexia. Moreover, attempts to treat dyslexia with music therapy are unwarranted, according to scientists in Belgium writing in the current issue of the International of Journal of Arts and Technology.
Public Release: 1-Apr-2010
International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations
Wireless health care for diabetes
Online communities could easily be used to offer people with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes , wireless health care services via mobile phones and the internet. The approach, outlined in the International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, would reduce health care costs and empower many patients to manage their condition more effectively.
Public Release: 17-Mar-2010
International Journal of Technology Marketing
Profiting on the Internet
An expert in e-commerce reports in the International Journal of Technology Marketing that while unique use of the technology is not enough to generate competitive value, there are approaches that allow companies to improve their performance and so their bottom line.
Public Release: 16-Mar-2010
International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health
Obesity and passive smoking reduce oxygen supply to unborn baby
Babies born to mothers with obesity and exposed to passive smoking are more likely to have health problems than others. This conclusion is based on evidence of elevated levels of nucleated red blood cells in the umbilical cord reported in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health.
Public Release: 4-Mar-2010
International Journal of Emergency Management
Emergency online communities
Online social networks could help with communications and recovery for people with disabilities following major natural disasters, or even terrorist attack, according to a research paper in the International Journal of Emergency Management.
Public Release: 26-Feb-2010
International Journal of Information and Computer Security
Hiding the honeypots
Armies of networked computers that have been compromised by malicious software are commonly known as Botnets. Such Botnets are usually used to carry out fraudulent and criminal activity on the Internet. Now, writing in the International Journal of Information and Computer Security, US computer scientists reveal that the honeypot trap designed to protect computers from Botnets are now vulnerable to attack because of advances in Botnet malware.
Public Release: 24-Feb-2010
International Journal of Biometrics
An emotion detector for baby
Baby monitors of the future could translate infant cries, so that parents will know for certain whether their child is sleepy, hungry, needing a change, or in pain. Japanese scientists report details of a statistical computer program that can analyze a baby's crying in the International Journal of Biometrics.
Public Release: 9-Feb-2010
International Journal of Emergency Management
Handling emergencies online
Online social networking sites could solve many problems plaguing information dissemination and communications when disaster strikes, according to a report from US researchers in a recent issue of the International Journal of Emergency Management.
Public Release: 5-Feb-2010
International Journal of Green Economics
Renewable oil companies
The entry of oil companies into the realm of renewable energy could present major obstacles for the development of a sustainable economy that is not based on carbon resources, according to a report in the International Journal of Green Economics.
Public Release: 4-Feb-2010
International Journal of Intelligent Defence Support Systems
Soft intelligence for hard decisions
An approach to decision making based on soft metrics could allow problems to be solved where no definitive "yes-no" answer is possible in fields as diverse as health care, defense, economics, engineering, public utilities and science. Writing in the International Journal of Intelligent Defence Support Systems Mihaela Quirk of Los Alamos National Laboratory explains how.
Public Release: 21-Jan-2010
International Journal of Social and Humanistic Computing
Teaching computer games
Computer games have a broad appeal that transcends gender, culture, age and socioeconomic status. Now, computer scientists in the US think that creating computer games, rather than just playing them could boost students' critical and creative thinking skills as well as broaden their participation in computing. They discuss details in the current issue of the International Journal of Social and Humanistic Computing.
Public Release: 20-Jan-2010
International Journal of Information and Operations Management Education
Useless online student quizzes
Online quizzes are not helping students learn their subject, according to a study just published in the International Journal of Information and Operations Management Education.
Public Release: 18-Jan-2010
International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining
Treating panic disorder on the web
An online treatment system for patients suffering with panic disorder and anxiety problems combine biofeedback therapy with web technologies, and allows patients and medical professionals to communicate effectively, according to research published in the International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining.

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