Lunar Sonic Booms
University of IowaUniversity of Iowa scientist to give talk about mini shock waves on the moon
University of Iowa scientist to give talk about mini shock waves on the moon
In the days before Hurricane Matthew, researchers used satellite maps of soil moisture to help forecast where the power would go out along the East Coast.At the American Geophysical Union meeting this week, they report that their method worked with 91 percent accuracy.
Northwestern University researchers now have an answer to a vexing age-old question: Why do earthquakes sometimes come in clusters? The research team has developed a new computer model and discovered that earthquake faults are smarter -- in the sense of having better memory -- than seismologists have long assumed.
A collaboration of universities and government agencies has identified three key agricultural management plans for curtailing harmful algal blooms. They have also identified a looming funding gap for enacting those plans.
What are the characteristics of the way you say, “hello,” (or anything else for that matter) that makes you recognizable over the phone? Despite the increasing amount of literature on personal voice quality, very little is actually known about how to characterize the sound of an individual speaker. Two researchers from UCLA in Los Angeles, California, Patricia Keating and Jody Kreiman, are joining forces to apply acoustics tools to their linguistics research, investigating this question.
Open office plans are becoming increasingly common in the workplace -- offering a way to optimize available space and encourage dialogue, interaction and collaboration among employees. However, a new study suggests that productive work-related conversations might actually decrease the performance of other employees within earshot -- more so than other random, meaningless noises.
What does the detection of enemy planes during WWI have to do with locating endangered Mojave Ground Squirrels? They both benefit from a technique called acoustic beamforming which uses multiple devices to find the point of intersection and pinpoint location. A team of researchers is developing a system using this WWI-era technology to detect and locate endangered Mojave Ground Squirrels on Edwards Air Force Base. They aim to assess populations and any impact the base's activities may be having on the population.
Hearing is a vital sense for marine mammals who use it to forage, communicate and navigate. Many of these mammals produce specific vocalizations that can be used to identify the species and track their locations via acoustic monitoring. Traditionally, scientists have used underwater microphones to listen for marine mammals, either on the seafloor or towed behind a boat. But now scientists can use autonomous underwater vehicles, gliders and floats specially equipped with hydrophones, to listen to marine mammals in ways impossible until now.
Musical styles and strengths vary dramatically: Some musicians are better at sight reading music, while others are better at playing by ear. Does this mean that their brains are processing information differently? This is a question posed by Eriko Aiba, an assistant professor in Tokyo, Japan who will present research that delves into the various ways the brain engages in music signal processing.
What would the paradise of Hawaii be without swaying coconut palms, with succulent fruit that is almost synonymous with the tropical island? Unfortunately, that may be the future of the island unless scientists find some way to stop the destructive Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle which feeds on the coconut palms, stripping them of their leaves and decimating the vegetation. A team of researchers at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu are using acoustics to help to understand this beetle, its habits and movements in order to protect the state’s valuable natural resources.
While studying bats, researchers noticed a large group of muscles running straight down the middle of the top of the bat’s skull. A set of muscles like this is quite unusual in size and location for a small mammal, so they questioned their purpose. During the 172nd ASA meeting, the researchers will present their work exploring the muscle's complex activity patterns during sonar performance.
Corn is the leading grain crop in the U.S. but a lack of understanding about the mechanics involved in wind-induced corn stalk failure has hindered further improvements in corn production. Now, by applying mechanical engineering tools and techniques, a group of engineers and plant scientists are making headway addressing this problem. The work will be presented at the 172nd ASA meeting.
The popularity of forensics and crime scene investigation fueled by a glut of television programs has familiarized many of us with the basics of forensic medicine. However, not much is, in fact, understood about blood back spatter. A team of researchers from the University of Illinois and Iowa State University is exploring the science behind blood back spatter using fluid dynamics to develop a theoretical model for predicting and interpreting blood spatter from gunshot wounds, and it could significantly impact the field of forensic science. The work will be presented at the 69th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics held in Portland, Oregon, Nov. 20-22, 2016.
In Japan, many adults hold fond childhood memories of fireworks as a symbol of the summer season. Senko-hanabi, which translates to “sparkling fireworks,” emit a small fireball with streaks of light akin to pine needle structures. As one of the most popular hand-held fireworks since the early Edo period, from 1603 to 1868, they’re renowned for fragile beauty accompanied by a soothing sound. During the 69th DFD meeting, researchers will describe work uncovering the liquid dynamics at play behind Senko-hanabi’s beauty.
Breastfeeding is a topic that creates discussion and at times even controversy. However, some basic questions about its biology still remain. For instance, does successful infant feeding depend on the mechanics of the breast and, conversely, does breast health depend on breastfeeding? It has been virtually impossible to study these complex dynamics and the delicate interplay that makes breastfeeding possible, but a pair of researchers are working together to build a biomimetic breast that will allow scientists to study how the breast behaves during its primary function: infant feeding.
Note to elite swimmers: Are you looking for a competitive edge in the hydrodynamics of your front crawl?
Have you ever taken a good look at a cat’s tongue? If so, you may have noticed the tiny, sharp “spines” on its surface.
A team at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, exploring how air bubbles rise within a complex fluid, like those found while processing wet concrete, wondered if they could actually get them to sink instead by shaking the mixture in the right way. During the 69th DFD meeting, the researchers will present their work studying bubbles within complex fluids.
Fluid dynamics met history for a team of researchers who studied the Boston Molasses Flood, a disaster that claimed 21 lives, injured 150 and flattened buildings in the Commercial Street area of Boston in 1919. During the 69th APS Division of Fluid Dynamics Meeting, a trio of fluid dynamics physicists at Harvard University will explain how they were inspired to study this event by a group of undergraduates who produced a parody rap video about the flood for a project in their fluid dynamics course. The trio examined this historic, yet not well known, event from a scientific perspective.
Wind energy is a key part of the global energy future, expanding rapidly throughout the world in onshore and offshore settings. But to be sustainable, large scale, multi-megawatt (multi-MW) wind farming’s economic efficiencies need to be maximized -- and knowing where to place the turbines within the wind farm is a first step. Bring on the drones. Moreover, design novel instrumented drones with a suite of sensors capable of gathering precise field data in the complex flow and terrain of an actual wind farm. This was the approach of researchers from Switzerland.
The Zika virus is most commonly transmitted in humans as the result of a bite from an infected mosquito or from an infected human to another human. What is not well known is that the virus also can be transmitted via the environment if an individual is pricked with an infected needle or has an open cut and comes in contact with the live virus. While there are no known cases to date of the general public being infected with the Zika virus through the environment, there has been at least one documented case of laboratory acquired Zika virus infection.
Research published by a Houston Methodist team led by John Cooke, M.D., Ph.D., received high accolades at this year’s American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.
Two new studies measure the prevalence of myocardial inflammation in RA patients without known cardiovascular disease, assess how it is associated with high disease activity and show how disease-modifying therapy may decrease this type of inflammation, according to new research findings presented this week at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
Tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, a group of biologic drugs used to treat children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, are not associated with a significantly increased risk of cancer, according to new research findings presented this week at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
The U.S. adult rheumatology workforce is in jeopardy of a serious decline, and incentives to pursue rheumatology training, including help with graduate medical education funding, could provide critical relief, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
Gender and disease duration can help predict which axial spondyloarthritis patients will develop extra-articular manifestations such as uveitis, or inflammation of the eye, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
Outcomes such as pain, function, range of motion, and strength after total hip arthroplasty, or joint replacement surgery, are different for men & women, which could lead to the development of sex-specific rehabilitation programs, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
Lupus patients who are African-American or Asian, or those who have attained only a high school education or less, had longer delays in seeing a rheumatologist or nephrologist for a confirmed diagnosis than other groups, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
A combination of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and TNF-inhibitors may help slow down spine damage in ankylosing spondylitis, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who also have lung involvement often have increased mortality, but first-line therapy with rituximab may help them live longer, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
Rheumatoid arthritis patients who keep using their disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs prior to surgery do not face an increased risk of infection after their procedures, according to new research findings presented this week at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
The gut microbiomes of patients with antiphospholipid syndrome show higher levels of phospholipid-producing bacteria, and this findings point to microbes being a trigger for this life-threatening disease, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
Chronic kidney disease patients who take urate-lowering therapy and achieve target urate levels show improvement in kidney function, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
Distinct gene expression signatures in rheumatoid arthritis patients could help rheumatologists predict how these individuals will respond to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, and may one day enable a more personalized approach to RA therapy.
Patients with RA whose rheumatologists and primary-care physicians coordinate their care have a higher likelihood of being screened for hyperlipidemia, a key risk factor for coronary heart disease, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
Over a 15-year period, people with RA may have double the risk of CV events as those in the general population, rates that are similar to people with type-2 diabetes, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
Patients with ankylosing spondylitis or psoriatic arthritis who take statins may have as much as a 33 percent lower mortality risk, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
Three gene expression signatures can help rheumatologists predict which patients are more likely to respond to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) or B-cell depletion therapies in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.
While patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases such as RA or spondyloarthritis are at increased risk for CVD, too few are prescribed preventive medications or meeting target goals to prevent heart-related events, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
Allopurinol, a widely used treatment for lowering serum urate levels, does not appear to increase risk of kidney deterioration in gout patients with normal or near-normal kidney function, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
According to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington, most people with knee OA actually already have the physical function necessary to walk at least 6,000 steps a day, the minimum amount needed to improve their arthritis and prevent disability.
Rheumatology practices in the United States aren’t always meeting key quality measures for patient care that may affect them as new physician reimbursement laws go into effect in the next year, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
Injection of a Wnt inhibitor drug showed promise to ease pain, improve joint function, and even slow or reverse cartilage loss in patients with knee osteoarthritis, according to new research findings presented this week at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington.
A study being presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting found most colleges don’t have integrated systems in place to support food-allergic students.
Kids need flu shots to prevent asthma flares, and medications available in school to keep 86 percent in class, according to two studies being presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting.
Traditional leather manufacturing requires the use of several toxic chemicals, such as halogenated flame retardants or organic antimicrobial solvents, which cause pollution. Now, a team of researchers led by Robert Franz of the Montanuniversität in Leoben, Austria are testing an eco-friendly alternative: silver-titanium nanoparticles.
During the AVS 63rd International Symposium and Exhibition being held November 6-11, 2016 ,in Nashville, Tennessee, Taraneh Bozorgzad Moghim and a team of researchers from the University of Surrey in the U.K. studied how the high-performance organic coatings used on aircraft surfaces physically and chemically degrade after exposure to ultraviolet light and ozone at high altitudes.
In work that will be presented during the AVS 63rd International Symposium and Exhibition being held November 6-11, 2016, in Nashville, Tennessee, Sarah Bergbreiter and her colleagues in the Maryland Microrobotics Laboratory at the University of Maryland, College Park, have not only build microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices the size of insects, but have also created them to move just like real insects.
During the AVS 63rd International Symposium and Exhibition being held November 6-11, 2016, in Nashville, Tennessee, Kateryna Artyushkova and her colleagues in the University of New Mexico (UNM) and the New Mexico Water Science Center, have used X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to determine the roles that metals and their chemistries have played in these three environmental problems
A research team from Shizuoka University in Japan has explored the permeability of skin and will present their work during the AVS 63rd International Symposium and Exhibition being held November 6-11, 2016, in Nashville, Tennessee. As a means to interact with skin, the team used plasma, a state of matter where electrons have dissociated from their corresponding ions and exhibit more collective behavior. Using plasma, which conducts electricity, they successfully decreased its barrier function for transdermal drug delivery.