In her PhD thesis at the Public University of Navarre, Industrial Engineer Marta Barreras Carracedo put forward a new method of designing controllers based on QFT (Quantitative Feedback Theory) and which facilitates its real implantation in the government of real physical processes. The thesis itself validates the method putting into practice two concrete cases, an industrial electric furnace used for the drying of large pieces of composite and a heat exchanger in a solar water-heating plant.
Researchers at The University of Manchester and Hope Hospital in Salford have discovered that head injury patients not treated in specialist brain surgery centres are at significantly greater risk of dying from their injuries.
In a study published today (28 October) in The Lancet which analysed 1989 – 2003 data from the national Trauma Audit and Research Network database, the team compared the death-rates of patients with head injuries with those of other types of emergency patients
The first Norwegian-built satellite was launched yesterday from a Russian space base
The Norwegian satelite, called NCBUE-2 measures 10x10x10 centimeters and weighs one kilo.
A group of 80 students have built the satellite, which contains 1000 components, including a miniature computer, antennae, steering systems, solar panels and batteries.
The Agricultural University of Norway is primarily responsible for deciding which tasks the satellite is to carry out. The s
Specialists of the Institute of Comprehensive Social Studies (Modern University for the Humanities) have carried out detailed analysis of changes in the matrimonial relations structure in the world since 1950 to 2000. The researchers considered four types of matrimonial relations: monogamy (one man – one woman) and three types of polygamy – polygyny (one man – several women), polyandry (one woman – several men) and polygyandry (several women – several men). The fifth type of reproductive relatio
Who would get mixed with a hefty chap two meters high? There would be few those who wish. Just imagine that in a moment of danger this “hefty chap” becomes thrice as large… Is it fantasy? It is, if we are talking about people. But if it comes to unicellular algae, it is a typical scenario provided by nature for them. The scenedesmus unicellular alga grows thrice as large in presence of predators – cladoceran and rotifers that eat up unicellular algae. This is a defence mechanism as rotifers
The small device invented and developed by the St. Petersburg chemists can be easily hold in hand. It allows to perform real-time control of mercaptans content in petroleum derivatives – these sulfur compounds are extremely undesirable in gasoline.
In general, nobody likes these sulphur compounds. Besides, they reek – but fortunately, we rarely come across this property. More often they play mean tricks remaining unrecognized since even a small doze of these harmful substances
EUREKA’s 20 years of experience in the field of European collaborative research and innovation is an important resource, proven by its success in real-world conditions. The Prague EUREKA Forum on 21 October 2005 agreed that this pool of knowledge should be used in synergy with the European Commission in the process of creating and developing European and member countries’ funding programmes.
“I believe that if sustainable recovery of the European economy is to be achieved, substa
Vaccine would be first to protect against bird flu
Vanderbilt University Medical Center is enrolling volunteers in a study to test a new vaccine that targets avian flu, the first such vaccine against the virus. The Vanderbilt trial, led by Kathryn Edwards, M.D., will test the new vaccine in nearly 100 individuals 65 years of age and over. It is the second phase of a national study led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The first phase of
Study shows long-term benefits of initial combination therapy, including either prednisone or infliximab, over dmards alone or step-up combination therapy
A progressive, inflammatory disease affecting the joints and organs, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) claims more than two million Americans, mostly women over age 40, among its victims. While a cure has yet to be found, the treatment of RA patients has changed considerably over the last two decades. Today, the goal of therapy is not
New research shows that repeated treatments of botulinum toxin type A (BoNTA) over one year after a stroke can improve muscle tone and reduce pain in the arms and hands, making it easier for patients to dress themselves and perform personal hygiene.
“The treatment resulted in sustained and meaningful functional improvement that makes a difference in the daily lives of stroke patients and the people who care for them,” said Allison Brashear, M.D., professor and chairman of neuro
Weizmann Institute scientists develop new analytical method
Some fundamental outstanding questions in science – “Where do stem cells originate?” “How does cancer develop?” “When do cell types split off from each other in the embryo?” – might be answered if scientists had a way to map the history of the body’s cells going back to the fertilized egg. Now, a multidisciplinary team at the Weizmann Institute of Science has developed an analytical method that can trace the lineage trees
A new study released today in the journal Science shows that areas buffered by coastal forests, like mangroves, were strikingly less damaged by the 2004 tsunami than areas without tree vegetation. This is believed to be the first peer-reviewed empirical and field-based study to document a clear link between coastal vegetation and protection from the tsunami. The study was undertaken by a large research team, comprising ecologists, a botanist, geographers, a forester, and a tsunami wave enginee
The daily routines of one in ten American in Vermont, Alaska, Maine and other northern states will change for the worse on Oct. 30.
The alterations start every year around October just after the end of daylight savings time. For most, the clock shift just adds an hour to the weekend — but for sufferers of seasonal affective disorder, a syndrome involving recurring bouts of depression during fall and winter months, it marks the beginning of a difficult time of year when many f
A new study has found wild-type measles virus in tissues from patients who died of a fatal brain infection, providing evidence against the notion that the strain of virus in the measles vaccine caused the infection. The study, in the November 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online, also concludes that vaccination against measles could prevent many more cases of the disease, known as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, or SSPE, than previously thought.
Pregnant women with hypertension who also have elevated blood uric acid levels may face an increased risk of complications that could be fatal for mother and baby, University of Pittsburgh researchers have found.
Reporting in the Oct. 27 online issue of Hypertension, a journal published by the American Heart Association, researchers note that the greatest risk of high blood pressure during pregnancy accompanies preeclampsia, a devastating disorder that affects some 5 percent of firs
A group of Belgian researchers has determined that a pregnant woman’s ability to metabolize fats is determined not only by her genes but by her baby’s genes as well. The details of their findings appear in the November issue of the Journal of Lipid Research, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal.
The researchers, led by Olivier S. Descamps of the Centre de Recherche Médicale de Jolimont in Haine Saint-Paul and of the Université Catholiq
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