Tuesday, June 4, 2013

For a few homeowners, a house is actually acanvas - Jackson The sun.

SEATTLE — It's challenging to miss the massive 20-foot-wide American flag privately of Richard Ormbrek's dwelling. Composed of around 180 tiles painted with moments of Americana against a background of red and white stripes, the flag pops through the orange cedar shingles with traffic-stopping audacity.

This is in fact the second major talent project that Ormbrek has dress yourself in the house he gives with brother-in-law Bruce Edenso. The first — a normal Haida Indian totem house design that covered the entire side of the house — was painted in 1975 and made the home something of a nearby landmark.

But few have a inclination — or the guts — to show their own home straight into "that house, " to view their property as a giant canvas waiting to end up explored.

"We needed to paint our home anyway, " says Ormbrek. "And while we were mulling with the color, we decided for making our home look being a longhouse. "

Ormbrek's tardy wife Judy, a Tlingit-Haida, identified the totem design, which the Ormbreks projected from atop a car next door while their friend Steve Priestly painted inside lines.

Neighbors gaped for the reason that house was transformed, but only one seemed to mind, fearing it could bring down property prices. So far, it looks, the Totem House provides neither driven down property values per of Seattle's hottest local communities, nor affected the resale value on the town itself.

"I get offers invest in to buy my home, " says Ormbrek. "Of course I'm not intending on selling the house — it's an unusually special place. "

Keith Wong, a real estate agent in San Gabriel, Calif., for the national real-estate brokerage Redfin, says a home's price and location become more important than aesthetics around tight markets.

"We educate our clients to get a past cosmetics, " tells Wong. "If a home has good bones, there are lots of potential. "

For the people considering a creative makeover to the home, remember it's a superb line between special along with tacky, Wong advises. And consider how long you'll be staying there.

"If you're planning on selling your home when soon, it's best to choose cosmetics and keep together with the characteristics of the location architecturally, " he claims.

Jay Pennington of New Orleans put a twist within this suggestion when he provided his yard to sponsor a year-long musical art installation. The double lot he purchased in 2007 came with a dilapidated, roughly 250-year-old Creole cottage relating to the property, which Pennington wanted to use in a innovative way befitting the mindset of New Orleans.

Some sort of DJ, performer and artist manager who also passes the name Rusty Lazer, Pennington is steeped inside the art world through his are co-director of New Orleans Airlift, a not-for-profit organization that can offer opportunities for artists. Pennington, in addition to Brooklyn-based street artist Gush and New Orleans Airlift Co-Director Delaney Martin, invented the idea of a musical village constructed from the salvaged remains within the cottage.

After obtaining city permits, Martin and artist Taylor Lee Shepherd paired artists with builders to make a lot-size shantytown with 90 years shacks that wheezed, thrummed and plinked as fully running instruments.

The neighbors were pretty much universally supportive and took part inside project — from making an effort to dismantle the cottage to defending Pennington in the one neighbor who looked at the project as "trashy" together with tried to shut it down.

"It's New Orleans — families love music here, " says Pennington. He said neighbors appreciated that this cottage wasn't torn down and replaced with a new, out-of-character home.

He did draw the line at friends camping in his yard for Mardi Gras, insisting they will build a privacy fence showing respect for the neighborhood friends. The fence was built in one day, wheat-pasted with a model by Swoon, and now a joint of it is part of the archival collection at the fresh Orleans Museum of Art.

Performances of "The Beats Box, " as the project was called, came 15, 000 visitors and then a host of performers which played the instrumental buildings. It ended in May well 2011 after four times of staggered performances. Nearly all of it was dismantled and also the pieces stored to be used in a permanent musical building known as Dithyrambalina.

Pennington still shares his property with the project's art director, Eliza Zeitlin, who lives with the permanent structure she built for the project — along using her menagerie of 35 animals.

Military leaders: Sexual assault "like a good cancer" - CBS Thing.

Ankle Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, testifies on Capitol Hill in New york on June 4, 2013, leading to a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on pending legal guidelines regarding sexual assaults in the military. / AP Photo/Susan Walsh

WASHINGTON Military leaders claimed Tuesday that sexual assault inside the ranks is "like a cancer" which will destroy the force, they expressed serious concerns around far-reaching congressional efforts to be able to strip commanders of a lot of authority in meting released justice.

In an abnormal joint appearance, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman within the Joint Chiefs of Staff members, and the head of each and every branch of the military testified on the is widely viewed for being an epidemic of sexual attack plaguing the services.

"The risks inherent to military company must never include love-making assault, " said Affiliate marketing online Gen. Martin Dempsey. "We can and should do more to protect affected individuals. "

Outraged by high-profile scenarios and overwhelming statistics, lawmakers have moved aggressively on legislation to pay the scourge of intimate assault.

"This is a difficulty for the military, they're like two decades behind.... You cannot train your way because of this problem. These are predators who will strike often. This has to certainly be a focus of successful prosecution, not 'let's see if this can go away cause it would make my unit appear bad', " Sen. Claire McCaskill claimed on CBS' "This Morning" The following thursday.

"We've got to take away their [commanding officers] chance to overturn jury verdicts, that could be absolutely inappropriate, " increased McCaskill.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman for the Armed Services Committee, said the problem of sexual assault "is of this scope and magnitude that it has developed into stain on our service. "

Congress has acted in prior years to guarantee the aggressive investigation and justice of sexual assaults, Levin stated, but more needs being done. The committee is considering seven bills to get over sexual assault.

As important as additional protections could be, Levin said, the problem will not be addressed successfully without a cultural change throughout the military. And that starts others in terms of the chain of command.

"Our goal should be to carry commanders more accountable, inch said Dempsey, "Commanders are responsible for all that goes on in the unit. "

"The military services services are hierarchal agencies: The tone is set through the top of that stringed, the message comes within the top, and accountability rests at the pinnacle, " said Levin, who has not endorsed several bills.

"Sexual assault and harassment are to be a cancer within the induce? a cancer that positioned untreated will destroy the fabric in our force, " said Affiliate internet marketing Gen. Ray Odierno. "It's imperative that we take a comprehensive procedure for prevent attacks, to protect our people, and at which appropriate, to prosecute wrongdoing along with hold people accountable. inches

While acknowledging the problem and accepting that laws is inevitable, military leaders insisted this commanders keep their authority to undertake sexual assault cases.

"Reducing command responsibility could adversely affect the power of the commander to help you enforce professional standards in addition to ultimately, to accomplish this mission, " Dempsey assured the committee.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N. Ymca., a member of this committee, is a proponent of ambitious legislation designed to remove commanders from the method of deciding whether substantial crimes, including sexual misconduct circumstances, go to trial. That judgment would remainder with seasoned trial counsels who have prosecutorial experience and support the rank of colonel and also above.

The Pentagon estimated within a recent report that as much as 26, 000 military members appeared to be sexually assaulted last year, up from an predicted 19, 000 assaults around 2012, based on a anonymous survey of service personnel. While the wide variety of sexual assaults that members within the military actually reported increased 6 percent to 3, 374 inside 2012, thousands of victims were still unwilling into the future forward despite new oversight and assistance programs aimed toward curbing the crimes, this report said.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., a co-sponsor for the Gillibrand bill and chairwoman within the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the legislation "bold" and "out in the box. " She dismissed concerns that this goes too far in overhauling the military the law system, saying it's time to try a new procedure for solving a problem with which has persisted for years.

"I think 26, 000 sexual assaults is going too far, " Mikulski stated. "And now there is a criminal investigation of the football team in the Naval Academy, where we've been training the next preferred. "

A steady drumbeat of high-profile cases and also the most recent statistics through the Pentagon have spurred Congress to transport aggressively on legislation to handle sexual assault in this military.

Last week, that Pentagon said the U. S. Naval Academy is looking at allegations that three football business friends sexually assaulted a women midshipman at an off-campus house eco-friendly tea's health benefits year ago. A lawyer to your woman says she is "ostracized" on campus right after she reported it.

In recent weeks, a soldier in the U. S. Military Academy is charged with secretly taking pictures of women, including in your bath room. The Air Force police who led the service's Love-making Assault Prevention and Effect unit was arrested on charges of groping a girl. And the manager with the Army's sexual assault effect program at Fort Campbell, Ky., was relieved of this post after his arrest in a very domestic dispute with this ex-wife.

Oklahoma Sen. Brandon Inhofe, top Republican on the committee, said he was watchful about proposals to restrict this authority of commanders so that you can discipline their troops.

"To take the commander straight from the process will invite failing, " Inhofe said in a speech on the Economic council chair floor Monday. "These commanders be required to make decisions to send out our brave troops straight into battle. How ludicrous do you find it that we would say to our commanders, 'You've got to make a decision to send considered one of our kids into battle where they will end up losing their particular life, but you can't engage in the justice system of the troops. ' It doesn't make any sense in any way. "

In the House, Reps. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, and additionally Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., have crafted legislation that is going to establish dismissal or dishonorable discharge as the mandatory minimum sentence using military law for system members found guilty from rape, sexual assault, forcible sodomy or a shot to commit those criminal acts. Commanders also would get barred from reducing and commuting the minimum sentence except in situations wherein the accused substantially aided the government in the investigation or simply prosecution of another opponent.

Link: Death of a patient in France by the respiratory syndrome in Middle East

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Drug shortages endanger cancer patients, study finds - USA TODAY

Shortages of critical cancer drugs are threatening the care of patients who are already fighting for their lives, a new study shows.

About 83% of cancer specialists reported a drug shortage in the past six months, and 92% said patients' care has been affected, according to a survey of 245 doctors to be presented Monday in Chicago at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

According to the new survey, 38% of doctors switched from a generic to a more expensive, name-brand drug, a practice that can vastly increase the cost of treatment, according to the study, co-authored by Keerthi Gogineni at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

The oral drug capecitabine, for example, costs 140 times as much as a generic intravenous drug, 5-FU, which is the backbone of chemotherapy regimens for many gastrointestinal tumors.

In February, the University of Utah Drug Information Service, which closely tracks shortages, reported national and regional shortages of 320 drugs, the highest since 2010.

The survey of cancer specialists who couldn't provide the most appropriate drug — at any price — said they were forced to make painful choices:

Some hospitals hold the equivalent of lotteries to decide which patients get a drug, says cancer researcher William Li, executive director of the Angiogenesis Foundation, which sponsors research of blood vessel growth.

Chemotherapy regimens have been carefully studied in clinical trials to give patients the highest chance of survival and lowest risk of serious side effects, Gogineni says.

In many cases, doctor's don't know how disrupting these meticulously planned regimens will affect a patient's health. "There is a lot of improvisation when trying to make educated guesses about what is the safest alternative," Gogineni says. At her hospital, "we were upfront with everybody about the fact that we might need to make a modification."

A December study from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital linked drug shortages to higher relapse rates among young people with Hodgkin lymphoma enrolled in a national clinical trial. The number of patients who were cancer free after two years fell from 88% before the shortage to 75% after the shortage when doctors had to substitute an alternate drug.

While none of the children and young adults in the trial died, those who relapsed will need additional intensive therapies — including high-dose chemo and a bone-marrow transplant — that increase their risk of infertility and other health problems in the future.

In a March survey from St. Jude, 16% of hospital pharmacists and others said drug shortages have caused patients' cancers to get worse, treatment-related complications or other problems. One hospital blamed a patient death on a drug shortage.

All fields of medicine have been hit by drug shortages, which have limited supplies of everything from ADHD medications to painkillers.

Cancer patients have been hit especially hard, however, because many of the shortages involve sterile injectable drugs, which are commonly used in oncology, Gogineni says.

And although shortages aren't a new problem, 70% of doctors said their hospitals or practices had no formal guidelines about how to allocate scarce drugs, the survey found.

About two-thirds of drug shortages in recent years were related to quality problems that led manufacturers to stop production, said Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, in an April interview with USA TODAY's editorial board.

Some of the "very real" quality concerns have included rubber fragments, glass shards or microbial contamination in liquid medications, Hamburg said.

Because older generic drugs are less profitable than newer, branded ones, there may be only one or two companies still making them, Gogineni says. If one manufacturer shuts down, that leaves a huge void.

She says she's concerned about manufacturers prioritizing the most profitable drugs, rather than the most life-saving.

"Some manufacturers have diverted existing production capacity from less profitable agents to more expensive agents," Gogineni says.

Since 2012, manufacturers have been required to alert the FDA of impending shortages. That can give the FDA time to approve drugs from a different manufacturer or allow importation from overseas.

Link: Beer, sports and hydration: things to consider

Help accessible for schizophrenics.

Researchers from the Bergen fMRI Group for the University of Bergen (UiB) work on how to help schizophrenics, who hear voices. The way they accomplish this is by studying people who also hear voices, but who never suffer from a internal illness. For a five-year period, the group is studying the brain processes causing people to learn voices. A recent report printed in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience shows many of the group's startling results.

– You'll find found that the key auditory cortex of healthy individuals who hear voices, responds less to out in the open stimulus than the corresponding area of the brain in people whom don't hear voices, tells Post Doctor Kristiina Kompus.

Kompus, who works at UiB's Division of Biological and Medical related Psychology, is lead author within the just published study.

Versions in cognitive control The main auditory cortex is the spot of the brain which processes sound. Kompus' study implies that healthy people who discover voices share some capabilities with schizophrenics, as this cortical region in together groups reacts less to outside stimulus.

However, you can find an important difference between people who hear voices. Whilst include those with schizophrenia have a reduced ability to regulate the primary auditory cortex using cognitive control, those who hear voices but are healthy can do so.

– Because of this cognitive control, healthy people who hear voices are going to direct their attention outwards. This sets them apart from schizophrenics, who have a predisposition to direct their attention inwards there isn't any decreased ability to manage their primary auditory cortex, pronounces Kompus before adding.

– These discoveries need brought us one step all over understanding the hallucinations with schizophrenics and why the voices become a problem for many but not for others. Many healthy people hear voices

– We will work further research on the mind structure of people using auditory hallucinations. In certain, we wish to consider the brain's networks that course of action outside voices. This is always to establish whether these voice hallucinations along with the outside voices occur in the same parts of dapoxetine. We also wish to establish if hearing voices can be described as genetical trait, she claims.

According to the study workers, approximately five per cent of us hear voices in your head, even if otherwise nutritious. This number is according to research from several nations and surveys. For their own individual research, Kompus and her power team used local media inside Bergen to call those of you that hear voices. The outcomes were overwhelming, with around 30 people calling the researchers to register for the study.

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Link: Identify factors that contribute to developing diabetes after pregnancy

Taking charge, preventing cancer by means of surgery - WBNG-TV.

Binghamton, NY (WBNG Binghamton) Let's suppose you were almost specified what could take your way of life? Wendy Cubic knew.

"I felt to be a guillotine had been raised, " Cubic said. "I really don't even look at it anymore. Before, I thought about it on a regular basis. "

When Cubic's sister was informed they have breast cancer, doctors realized her entire family had a strong history of the disease.

Doctors say testing designed for mutated BRAC1 and BRAC2 body's genes -- which increase your risk for breast along with ovarian cancer -- is more popular.

Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Physician r. James Dana Kondrup from Lourdes Hospital says just about every woman -- and dude -- owe to themselves.

"Don't be afraid to build tested, " Kondrup proclaimed. "Get the knowledge that you require and get tested and then determine whether you are beneficial or negative. "

Cubic and her cousin had the strength to build tested, and both examined positive for BRAC1. Meant for Cubic's sister, it was too late for preventive surgery. But Cubic experienced options.

After watching the girl sister battle cancer, she decided to take steps to drastically lower her likelihood of getting cancer, from around 90 percent to less than 10 percent.

"My sibling kept saying, 'oh that you're so brave, because you made the decision. I don't know easily could have done this. ' I said absolutely not, I look at it the full opposite. I had my own warrior go before myself. "

After struggling with along side it effects of her implants for 2 years, she headed back to the hospital to get one of these different reconstructive surgery.

"I was very fortunate and lucky to find a world renowned surgeon in Ny city, Dr. Robert J. Allan. He was the person who invented a procedure where he uses your own personal tissue. He does not cut any muscle so it is much less invasive and far less recovery because there isn't a muscle damage. He used my limbs to re-create my breasts to do. "

It was a method undergoing her prophylactic mastectomy together with oophorectomy allowed her to analyze and explore, because she had enough time.

"It helps if a movie star (Angelina Jolie) arrives and makes everybody cognizant of something, " Dr. Kondrup said. "Once people get tested and then determine where the gene is tracking with the family, it save lifetime. And Angelina Jolie has saved lives, by making people aware to look get tested. "

Binghamton Jewish Community Center shall be hosting the program "Hereditary Chest and Ovarian Cancer: Considering at Risk? " at June 4 at 500 Club Road in Vestal.

Via: Chinese scientists discover avian I influenza H7N9 can resist Tamiflu

Monday, June 3, 2013

Cieply dedicating his career to cancer research - Tribune-Review

Published: Saturday, May 25, 2013, 12:01 a.m. Updated 2 hours ago

But the Belle Vernon Area High School graduate will gladly settle for steady progress as he performs daily cancer research at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

"That's everybody's dream, of course I would hope that, but it's almost like hitting the lottery," Cieply said of the odds he could single-handedly eradicate the disease. "I'm just trying to perform research that could add valuable knowledge to what we already know."

Cieply received his doctorate in cancer cell biology from West Virginia University School of Medicine in November and is now performing post-doctorate work at the Ivy League institution. He compared his time to a residency for medical doctors.

"It's a period where you're transitioning into a faculty position," he said. "We do basic biology working on different levels of genetics and gene expression relevant to cancer and its development."

Cieply grew up in a small hilltop neighborhood off Tyrol Boulevard in Rostraver Township and graduated from Belle Vernon Area in 1999. He played sports and was a "decent" student, ranking 23rd in his class, but always excelled in science courses.

"I was always into biology and chemistry, even before that, science was always my favorite subject by far," he said. "I really didn't like anything else."

Cieply is now married to the former Shawna McElvenny (BVA Class of 2000) and the two went to the 1999 prom together. The couple currently resides in Horsham, a northern suburb of Philadelphia. Both have families still residing in the Mid-Mon Valley, including Cieply's parents, Walter and Beverly.

"I enjoy where I am now, but I'm always looking forward to come home," he said. "The neighborhood we live in is pretty comparable to Rostraver. I go downtown every day and it's not much different than Pittsburgh. I have to say the public transportation is pretty nice out here."

After graduating from Geneva College in 2003, Cieply worked several years at Pitt as a research lab technician. But he decided that wasn't enough and enrolled at WVU for his doctorate.

"Certainly as a technician you can do great research, so I wouldn't ever knock them, but without a Ph.D., your career advancement is very limited," Cieply explained. "You'd always be depending on the professors. … I'm pretty free to do what I want now, but I'm still a 'post-doc' in a professor's lab, so I still have to answer to him."

For the next three years or so, Cieply plans to research, study, publish his findings and eventually seek a faculty position of his own.

"You want to get your research published in a reputable journal - that's the main thing - so I'm not ready yet," he said. "Once you do get your name out there and make contacts, that's when things start to happen."

For now, Cieply is focused on studying Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process by which cells lose their adhesion, migrate and eventually initiate cancer progression. His work often includes lab-grown cell cultures as well as genetically-engineered mice.

"It's a kind of cellular transition relevant to cancer in general, not a specific type," he said. "Cancer cells escape the primary tumor and spread to the body and form a metastasis. ... So, EMT has the potential to broadly impact cancer."

Cieply is also working under a newer scientific notion that treats multiple proteins found in our genes. This could also enhance the way cancer is targeted.

"There are examples that already show the same gene can make two different proteins," he explained. "In cancer therapy, you have drugs that target specific proteins, inhibit it and shut off the protein to kill the cancer cell.

Cieply said he works long hours in the lab, usually 12 per day, but the hours are early enough that he still finds quality time.

"I get to hang out with my wife and dog and eat dinner and you get your weekends off, so it's really not that bad," Cieply said. "I've found good fishing spots out here too."

"The most effective drugs now were discovered based on the work of hundreds of thousands of different people making significant discoveries and publishing them," he said. "Your real goal is to make significant contributions to that literature."

Binay: What lupus? - ABS CBN News.

MANILA - Vice President Jejomar Binay might only laugh at rumors he or she is suffering from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE).

"The PMA, upon the request your beloved Vice President Binay, is gathering a team of specialists designed to examine him in the best time so that potential fans and patrons will know the real state of health your dynamic vice president, " stated PMA president Dr. Leo Olarte within a statement.

Olarte said Binay "spoke on the subject of his rumored condition in addition to my first impression was he was in high spirits and lacked typical symptoms of a degenerative disease. "

"However, my personal observation here cannot replace a formal and rigorous number of laboratory tests and personalized examinations by qualified specialists that individuals are now forming for the exact purpose, " Olarte stated. – with a state from Zen Hernandez, ABS-CBN Press

More Info: They are declared free of foot and mouth disease the southeast of Bolivia

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Cornerstone Helps Train Doctors So that you can Diagnose, Treat Lupus - NY1.

To view some of our videos, you need toenable JavaScript. Discover how. install Adobe Flash 9 or even above. Install now. Then revisit here and refresh that page.

Our immune systems are designed to protect us from microorganisms, bacteria and viruses, but especially those with the auto-immune disease lupus, experience something completely different.

"Your immune system turns upon you, so it's attacking every organ from your body or every tissue of one's body, potentially: your middle, your lung, your minds, your kidneys, " shows Margaret Dowd, the executive director of the SLE Lupus Foundation.

It took Nono Osuji a few months of medical visits, tests and outright worrying before doctors learned that was what ended up being happening in her entire body.

"At that time, I am like covered in rashes, my hair is receding, I'm burning, I'm never sleeping. I'm fatigued, nevertheless, " Osuji says.

Since her diagnosis a couple of years ago, Osuji has volunteered with the SLE Lupus Foundation, accommodating bring more awareness with the disease that many times targets women like her.

It was subsequently Osuji's purple-colored rashes on her behalf skin, which have left scars behind on her behalf arms, that helped clinical professionals diagnose her when your lady was 28. But don't assume all person gets rashes and the inflammation she expert.

Thanks to federal dollars and many partners, SLE's Lupus Homework Institute created the Lupus Gumption, a program designed to better train doctors and medical researchers about the disease, with the objective of greater early detection.

"The curriculum is incredibly thin in medical colleges, both for lupus in addition to autoimmune disease, " Dowd tells. "One very well-known lupus physician told me, 'If you sleep within a morning in med the school, it's unlikely you'll ever be capable of know about lupus. '"

Osuji still struggles along with the disease, but she says knowing that it must be lupus at work has empowered her to get proactive about her well being.

More Info: The widow of Pinochet is admitted to a hospital in Santiago

Friday, May 24, 2013

Psych Out there: Episode 2: Diapers? – Online video.

Created by and starring Evalina Turpin Filmed and Edited by Danny MAlin It's relay a crazy story of a girl that have panic for diapers and go to a psychologist about it. I bet that you can figure out what's going to happen in the end from this movie? Yes she is going to be …

More Info: To bad posture also influences the mental activity

Hyperlink between war support along with PTSD, time it later part of the in negotiations and courtship by narcissists.

Militia returning home from combat can be at a heightened risk for developing post-traumatic stress and anxiety disorder if public support in a war effort is cheap, according to recent homework. Social validation or invalidation shapes the level of distress soldiers feel with the act of killing, a researchers say. The study involved a few experiments that asked participants to exterminate woodlice in the modified coffee grinder – in a single, having an actor express either interest or disgust for the act and in another, asking participants to record who agreed to the extermination and exactly who refused. In both cases, the conditions that socially invalidated the killing of the bugs led to far more distress and guilt one of many participants. Ironically, the research workers report, the very anti-war protests geared towards eliminating show support for soldiers but disdain for combat may increase the likelihood that returning soldiers experience mental distress. "How Social Validation and Invalidation Change the Distress of Preventing, " David Webber (dwebber[at]ualberta. ca) et ing., Personality and Social Mindset Bulletin, April 2013.

Good negotiations come to those who wait Procrastinating may be a good thing on the subject of the negotiating table, based on a new study. While experts have suggested that making the first offer is an vital negotiation tactic, the timing of that first offer is simply as critical. Making a first provide late gives negotiating parties more of their time to explore underlying interests so to consider novel solutions – producing more creative agreements in addition to conflict resolution, the study workers found. "Good Things Arrive at Those Who Wait: Tardy First Offers Facilitate Inspiring Agreements in Negotiation, " Marwan Sinaceur (marwan. sinaceur[at]insead. edu) et 's., Personality and Social Mindsets Bulletin, June 2013.

Do narcissists woo women with less effort? Narcissists do have a less severe time attracting a mate, according to new homework. In one experiment, researchers asked 61 men to get out on the street in the large German town and to each approach 25 women we can generally like to arrive at know to try to get contact information for as many islands as possible. Those male participants who ranked an excellent source of personality evaluations of narcissism collected the foremost contact information. The researchers found that those men who had been successful also ranked great for physical attractiveness and community boldness. "Are Narcissists Hot? Zeroing in on the issue of Narcissism on Short-Term Spouse Appeal, " Michael Dufner (dufnermi[at]googlemail. com) et al., Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, published online May 2, 2013 – on the web, July 2013.

Virtuous people are not universally happy Increasingly being good, or virtuous, and being happy often can be equated, but new research finds that going barefoot depends on where you result from. In countries where antisocial penalising your pet is common and at which people commonly justify shady behavior, virtuous individuals (measured, for example, by how comfortable folks are avoiding a fare concerning public transport or cheating on the taxes) are not as pleased with life compared to even more selfish individuals. The analyze, which involved surveys greater than 100, 000 individuals, viewed antisocial punishment in 13 international locations and dishonest behavior around 73 countries. For case study, in Denmark and the country, virtuous individuals are pleased than their less virtuous counterparts, while in Greece, and Russia, they can be less happy than their own more malicious fellow locals. "Are virtuous people happy on world? Civic virtue, antisocial penalising your pet, and subjective well-being upon cultures, " Olga Stavrova (stavrovo[at]uni-koeln. de) et 's., Personality and Social Therapy Bulletin, published online September 23, 2013 – on the internet, July 2013.

Distance issues when politicians speak with issues When politicians speak to their constituents them selves turf, they should work with specific examples to bolster their arguments, according to help you new research. Whether on the main topic of gun control or homeland protection, study participants were more likely to support politicians located near them if they reported specific examples and were more likely to support politicians located afar if he or she spoke in general, even more abstract terms. For example, participants read supposed interview responses from their congressional representatives located varying distances off them that either offered the Gabrielle Gifford's aiming case in Arizona or simply spoke about gun influence more broadly. "How Do We end up needing Others to Decide? Geographical Distance Influences Evaluations of Decision-Makers, " Erin Burgoon (eburgoon[at]utexas. edu) et al., Personality and Social Mindsets Bulletin, June 2013.

George Bonnano of Columbia University studies loss and injury, including from natural catastrophes, such as the recent tornadoes inside U. S. Midwest, together with following terrorist attacks, for example the Boston Marathon bombings. She's available by email: gab38[at]columbia. edu

Roxane Cohen Silver within the University of California, Irvine, studies working with loss and resilience subsequent collective traumas, also among them natural disasters and terrorist blasts. She is currently working away at an NSF-funded study concerning aftermath of the Boston ma Marathon bombings. She is accessible by email and mobile phone: rsilver[at]uci. edu

SPSP encourages scientific research that explores the way in which people think, behave, come to feel, and interact. The Society is very large organization of social and personality psychologists on the earth.

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'Previvors' stopped breast cancer before it started by having breasts removed - New York Daily News

Once Ackerman, 39, from New City, N.Y., learned she also carried the BRCA gene, which carries a very high risk of cancer, she decided to have surgery.

"It was a no-brainer," said the mother of three. "I wanted to be around for my kids, hold my grandchildren, stick around for a while."

She underwent a double mastectomy at Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut, followed by a flap reconstruction, where a surgeon used fat and blood vessels from the lower abdomen to rebuild the breasts.

"Why stick your head in the sand?" she asked. "I hope my daughter chooses to get tested when she's 18 so that she can make an informed decision."

Vanessa Silva-Welch, an administrative assistant at Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem, got tested for the BRCA gene after her father was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.

Then a 32-year-old mother of three, she was shocked to learn that not only had she inherited the ticking time bomb, but she was already in the early stages of breast cancer.

"I want to live a long time. I want to watch my kids grow up and see my grandchildren," said Silva-Welch, now 38, who opted for a bilateral mastectomy at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital.

"I didn't want to hear later on down the road that my cancer came back," said the upper West Sider. "I told myself that my breasts do not define who I am as a woman."

It took Silva-Welch a year to fully recover from the surgery and reconstruction, as well as from the chemotherapy she took alongside her dad to eradicate any remaining breast cancer cells.

"I still do have the constant reminder about my scare because the scar is there, but I still feel like I'm living a regular life and nothing's changed," she said. "I'd rather have my breasts gone over having cancer."

"This was absolutely terrifying," said the 55-year-old mom from Westbury, L.I. "But I didn't want to wait to get cancer."

Her mother and grandmother both died from ovarian cancer, and she didn't want her 14-year-old son to suffer the same tragic loss.

"I'm not a betting woman," she said, "and once I learned the odds of me getting cancer were over 50%, I said, I gotta do this."

"The one piece of my body I was never concerned with was my breasts," mourned Stanley. "It took a long time to bounce back, but I'd rather not have breasts than have cancer."

She turned to Adelphi New York's Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline and Support Group to connect with other women who have made the same difficult choice.

"People thought I was a hypochondriac," said Brett, 49, of the upper East Side. "People didn't understand why I would do something so drastic when I didn't have cancer yet."

After losing three aunts to breast cancer at a young age, and watching her sister and six cousins all get diagnosed with the big C, Brett wasn't taking any risks. Once she learned she was BRCA1 positive — like Angelina Jolie — she went under the knife.

"People are very opinionated about it," she said, "but unless you have that mutation, and you know you have an 85% to 87% chance of getting cancer, and you've lost someone close to you, you don't know what it's like."

"I had a 2-year-old son and I wanted to make sure I would be there for him when he's 20," she said. "It's a pretty simple choice when it comes down to it."

Nicki and Ally Durlester say it's no surprise Angelina Jolie chose Dr. Kristi Funk at the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Beverly Hills for her prophylactic mastectomy.

The mother-daughter duo are also patients of Dr. Funk, and both share the same "faulty" BRCA gene that drove Jolie to surgery.

Mom Nicki Durlester tested positive for the gene in 2001, was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2009 and avoided chemotherapy by having both breasts removed.

"Dr. Funk saved my life," the 56-year-old author from Sherman Oaks, Calif., told the Daily News. "She walked in the room and just slayed the doom and gloom. She has an undergraduate degree in psychology, so she really nails what a woman is going though with breast cancer."

Nicki's 26-year-old daughter is now prepping for the same procedure. Both women said Jolie's announcement will help immensely with public perception.

"People think you're crazy to remove body parts. … But if you knew you had an 87% chance of dying in a plane crash, would you get on the plane?" Nicki asked.

Ally said Dr. Funk recommended she get her surgery before she turned 30 because the rule of thumb is that you take the youngest age that one of your close relatives got cancer and then subtract 10 years.

In her op-ed in the New York Times, Jolie hinted that her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer not long after she turned 46. Subtract 10 from that, and it's in the ballpark of Jolie's current age, 37.

Olivia Newton-John Reveals Sister's Cancer Battle - ABC News (blog)

Rate 23, 2013 10:32am (Picture Credit: Gregory Pace/Getty Photographs) After battling breast cancer herself, singer Olivia Newton-John is coming to the aid of her older sister, who has been clinically determined to have brain cancer. The 64-year-old aGreasea star, who beat breast cancer twenty years ago, has delayed her forthcoming Las Vegas show to be with her brother, Rona Newton-John, 69. In a to Entertainment Tonight, Olivia Newton-John said she had recently obtained athe really unfortunate newsa that her cousin had been adiagnosed with mind cancer.a aIn light of this news, I have chose to postpone my approaching Vegas residency to invest time with her and our family,a Newton-John wrote. aAs a athrivera myself, as many individuals are, I'm very conscious of the value of service, love and family during this trip she is planning to begin.a See Olivia Newton-Johnas Gathering With David Travolta The Australian pop singer is delaying her concert at Vegasa Flamingo resort substituting for Donny & Marie Osmondas away times actually before tickets continue sale, in line with the Vegas Sun. Her cousin Rona was also an actress and was married to Newton-Johnas aGreasea co-star Jeff Conaway from 1980 to 1985. Their child, Emerson, 38, is really a race-car driver. Conaway, who famously struggled with alcohol abuse, showing on aCelebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew,a died in 2011 at age 60.

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Algeta is declared the winner FDA approval for new treatment of prostate cancer - Boston Globe.

Norwegian drug maker Algeta ASA, which set up a US commercial business office in Cambridge's Kendall Rectangular in September, won Food and Illegal drug Administration approval Wednesday to market a new treatment for prostate cancer that's spread to the osseins.

Algeta's drug, called Xofigo, snacks castration-resistant prostate cancer, a disease that afflicts tens of thousands of men in the United States and much more worldwide. The drug works by releasing targeted alpha-particle-emitting radiation within the bones, killing cancer cells but doing limited trouble for surrounding healthy tissue, stretching out patients' lives.

"In however long it takes, what we're trying to complete is improve the patients' total well being, " said Jeff Albers, the Cambridge-based president of the company's Algeta US division.

Algeta will comarket Xofigo to US urologists and oncologists using German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG. Bayer, which filed the completely new drug application with the FDA in addition to with European regulators, has exclusive rights to market Xofigo outside the u . s. The drug was developed in Oslo by Algeta, that struck a partnership by means of Bayer. The parties expect the drug to get approved in Europe by year's end.

Albers, some veteran of Cambridge biotechnology firm Genzyme Corp., joined Algeta a year and a half ago. He said Algeta chose to set up its own sales force here in lieu of in Europe because "it's much easier to build a commercial footprint" available as one country. The company has on the subject of 80 employees in Norway and 80 in the united states, including about 20 in Cambridge, where its USA commercial, marketing, medical important affairs, and general operations tend to be based.

Wednesday's FDA approval came three months before the agency was scheduled to act on the US app in what already was deemed important review. In a proclamation, the agency said Algeta's treatment "demonstrates an capacity extend the survival of men with metastatic prostate cancers. " About 30, 000 die from the condition each year in the country.

Albers said the US sales arm eventually hopes promote other Algeta cancer drugs being developed in Norwegian. "Our vision is not to copromote this product, " he said. "Our vision is being a worldwide oncology company. We'll grow as time passes, but we're the right size now. "

Unfamiliar Spanking.

Remi and Sammy  as they always do every evening, playing on a basketball court that is definitely close to their home. Sammy saw that it was subsequently getting dark, with  a  little  worry  in  his  voice, he thought to his brother: " It s  late already  and  getting  dark, dad must be  angry around! Let s go home! " But when these folks were about to leave, eventually and out  of  the  blue, a significant spaceship had …

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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

New cancer tools allow patients to reconsider chemo - Fox News

After decades of using one-size-fits-all therapies to combat cancer, doctors are using new tools to help decide when their patients can skip chemotherapy or other harsh treatments.

An approach to oncology that has been in place for decades is beginning to yield to an arsenal of long-term clinical studies, genetic tests and novel drugs that target cancer cells and their infrastructure.

"What is happening is a combination of new technology and more-targeted cancer drugs," said Dr Sandra Swain, medical director of the Cancer Institute at Washington Hospital Center and president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). "We've tried the approach of big, nonspecific treatments ... We have found that throwing chemo at patients has not (necessarily) cured them."

Traditional chemotherapy drugs work by interfering with the entire body's system of cell replication, causing harsh side effects like fatigue and hair loss.

Since the completion of the human genome project in 2003, scientists have made progress in unlocking the genetic basis of a range of diseases, including cancer. That has paved the way for genetic testing as well as drugs that block specific pathways that cancer cells use to grow and reproduce.

Such targeted cancer drugs, which sometimes preclude the need for chemotherapy, are being sold by companies ranging from Pfizer Inc, the world's largest drugmaker, to Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc, which early this year launched its first drug, to treat leukemia.

At the same time, large-scale studies that look at whether some types of patients are better off with less treatment are giving doctors more confidence to hold off on using traditional cancer drugs.

Laurie Levin, now 64, was successfully treated in her 20s for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but faced a dilemma after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 since the earlier radiation and chemotherapy had already raised her risk of developing heart problems or leukemia.

A $4,000 genetic test showed that her breast cancer was unlikely to return, providing the confidence to undergo a lumpectomy and avoid chemotherapy.

Use of the Oncotype DX test, which analyzes genes involved in tumor recurrence, has cut the use of chemotherapy in U.S. breast cancer patients by 20 percent over the past eight years, according to its maker, Genomic Health Inc. The company recently launched a similar test designed to measure whether men with prostate cancer need to undergo surgery or radiation.

Tests and studies can clarify treatment, but costs remain on the upswing because the newest drugs are very expensive, with monthly price tags often in the thousands of dollars. By 2016 annual global sales of cancer drugs will nearly triple, to $88 billion from a decade earlier, according to IMS Health.

'RIGHT-SIZING TREATMENT'The "less is more" approach to cancer will be one highlight of ASCO's annual meeting in Chicago that begins at the end of this month. On Wednesday, ASCO released thousands of abstracts on new clinical trials of cancer treatments.

One large, long-term study found that most men diagnosed with early-stage seminoma, a common type of testicular cancer, did fine with no treatment following surgery to remove the tumors.

Cure rates for the disease have always been quite high. Several European countries, including Denmark where the study was conducted, monitor seminoma patients for any relapse before further treatment. In the United States, about half of early-stage patients are still given radiation or chemotherapy, according to ASCO.

"Opting for surveillance spares patients, most of whom are young men, from the harmful side effects of chemotherapy and radiation without diminishing their chances for a long and healthy life," said ASCO's incoming president, Dr Clifford Hudis, in a statement.

Physicians say it is difficult to quantify in statistics, but there is growing recognition that less is more in terms of potentially toxic cancer treatments. The approach is especially important for young patients who will have many years ahead of them after beating an initial bout of cancer.

"We are right-sizing treatment," said Dr. James Mohler, chair of the department of urology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. He pointed to recent national guidelines calling for "active surveillance" of older men diagnosed with slower-growing prostate cancer.

A study presented earlier this year at an ASCO meeting in Florida found similar survival rates for men with high-risk prostate cancer who received radiation and either 18 or 36 months of hormone therapy. The findings suggest the therapy, which causes significant side effects, could be given for less than the current standard of 24 to 36 months.

Another recent study out of the Duke Cancer Institute in Durham, North Carolina, found that survival odds for women with early-stage breast cancer who underwent breast-preserving surgery such as lumpectomy were as good as, or even better than, the odds for women who had mastectomies.

"We are going to see reevaluations of very successful therapies to determine whether or not we can achieve the same results using less treatment," said Dr Armand Keating, director of the hematology division at the University of Toronto and president of the American Society of Hematology.

The first-ever study showing that a type of leukemia could be cured without using chemotherapy was released in December. The Italian-German study found that a combination of a derivative of vitamin A, known as ATRA, and arsenic trioxide, a newer drug, worked as well as ATRA and chemotherapy in patients newly diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).

"APL used to be one of the most dreaded strains of cancer, but with ATRA and chemo the results are very gratifying," Keating said. "Now we have two agents that are not chemo agents ... That to me is a milestone. I can't see any reason why this wouldn't become the standard of care."

A recent trial conducted in France found that omitting standard chemotherapy, which has been linked to heart damage, from the initial treatment of a type of childhood leukemia did not reduce survival outcomes.

"The nice thing is you have omitted a potentially toxic agent that contributes to morbidity and maybe mortality down the road," Keating said.

The priciest therapies are designed to take advantage of genetic mutations associated with cancer cells, some of them found only in a small percentage of patients.

A new drug for melanoma, BRAF inhibitor Zelboraf from Roche Holding AG, is designed to work by targeting a specific genetic mutation found in about half of all melanomas. Patients are first tested to see if they have it.

Pfizer's lung-cancer drug Xalkori, which targets a mutation in the ALK gene, works in about 4 percent of lung cancer patients. It also has been effective as a treatment for a rare but aggressive type of childhood lymphoma.

"We've been really trying for years to be more precise about who needs treatment ... Now we are more able to achieve it," said Swain.

Via: Many Can Blame Family for Their Bunions

Modish, Anti-Science Thinking Won't Progress Breast-Cancer Prevention - Forbes

8 weeks before an organization named the Inter-Agency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee, or IBCERCC, released a 270-page report entitled updated Cancer and the Environment: Prioritizing Prevention.a The statement was the result of 8 years of lobbying by breast cancer advocates to acquire increased funding for research dedicated to prevention of the disease and the direct results of the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Act passed by Congress in 2008.A A major force behind the statement was the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC), an active organization which since 1991 has been quite effective to make breast cancer research and treatment a national goal. The 2008 bill called for the formation of the committee to draft a study detailing goals for prevention.A The cell was to consist of representatives from advocacy groups; afederal membersa from agencies including the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Cancer Institute, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense, and the Centers for Disease Get a grip on and Prevention; and non-federal members from the medical and clinical areas. The report, that has been couple of years in the making, did not lack for ambitious ambitions, among them: ato prioritize prevention,a ato change how research is conducted,a ato strategy purposefully across national agencies,a ato practice trans-disciplinary researchers,a and ato read and communicate science to society.a But the understanding of these high objectives was compromised by the different agendas of the diverse membership of the committee.A Some were advanced members of the advocacy movement who really thought that more could be done to find out new information that would lend itself to prevention.AA Others had a narrow plan to focus on substances in the atmosphere, whether this was highly relevant to breast cancer or not.A Some of the scientists were focused on defending their turf in the place of animal types of breast cancer.AA Finally, the bureaucrats from NIEHS and NCI were developing their particular agendas. At the core of the report is a fatal confusion between two different uses of the word aenvironment.a AAInitially the IBCERCC report defines the environment broadly to include everything that's not genetics a lifestyle and behavioral factors, such as for example alcohol consumption and physical activity; social and cultural influences; and chemical and physical agents that individuals are confronted with, including commercial contaminants, pesticides, an such like. Nevertheless, it becomes obvious early on that the major thrust was to highlight a much narrower definition of aenvironment,a specifically the essential role of contact with substances and their effects on breast tissue beginning in utero and throughout the life course. The confusion between both of these explanations proves useful to authors of the report, because most people don't stop to look at the distinction and do not know the evidence for every alternative.A Therefore the report can blur the distinction between the well-founded broad definition and the poorly-supported but far more amazing slim definition entailing experience of chemical contaminants. To support its philosophy, the report argues that exposure to aendocrine disruptorsa and other kinds of chemicals in food, water, the air, and in cosmetics and cleaning products are likely to be important contributors to breast cancer and need to be the focus of extensive, inter-disciplinary research.A (The term endocrine disruptors describes substances that have hormonal effects in dwelling organisms. )A In doing this, the report embraces studies that appear to support its claim and at the same time ignores much more thorough studies that do not support the existence of a danger. We know a great deal about breast cancer, but nearly all of what is known does not lend itself to prevention.A And so the question is, How well does the assumption that experience of substances in the environmental surroundings play an integral role in breast cancer square with what we know? Breast cancer in the usa is definitely associated with socio-economic status, i.e., with higher educational level and higher income.A In addition it occurs more commonly in Anglo women than in Latinas a' strikingly, the later group having about 30-35 percent lower incidence.A This really is most likely explained by the truth that more educated women and Anglo women are more likely to delay having children, more likely to have fewer children, and more likely to have used hormone therapy after menopause.A Many of these factors are associated with increased risk. On the facial skin of it, exposure to chemicals in the environmental surroundings will probably be LOWER in higher income women a' think about the greater exposure to traffic exhaust in lower income neighborhoods, exposure to chemicals in waste websites, as well as occupational exposures. Now letas consider the data for a role of particular substances in the environment.A The IBCERCC report focuses on BPA as a for the possible contribution of aendocrine disruptorsa in producing breast cancer.A It emphasizes that exposure to BPA is common in the general population as evidenced by the diagnosis of BPA in the urine of 95% of individuals in studies of the general population.A In addition, the report cites effects of BPA on mammary tissue in animal studies. What's striking is these answers are generally from a single group of scientists, at Tufts University, who've an extended history of promoting the idea of endocrine disruption. The statement entirely ignores state-of-the-art studies performed by researchers at the FDA and the National Toxicology Program examining true BPA exposure, metabolism, and excretionA in mice and monkeys in utero and postnatally, as well as a research reviewing major BPA exposure in humans. What these reports show is that: (Over the past few years, Trevor Butterworth has done an exceptional job of exposing the bad research behind the BPA juggernaut and has drawn focus on the work of Daniel Doerge of the FDA and the National Toxicology Program Aand Justin Teeguarden of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) These results from scrupulously made reports flatly contradicted the popular claims about experience of BPA and also call in to question a lot of the data regarding endocrine disruptors in general.A However, this work is nowhere mentioned in the IBCERCC record. This points up an over-all issue that also escaped the attention of the IBCERCC panel.A AThat is the issue of afalse positivesa in health studies.A In other words, false positives are originally reported results that gain attention a' often having a massive impact on the community and the press a' which aren't borne out when more demanding and effective studies are done to ensure the original effect. False positives are a tremendous problem.A The statistical methodologist John Ioannidis of Stanford has drawn attention to this problem with a 2005 report entitled aMost Research Findings Are False.a AAnd others have addressed the problem as well.ABut it is something to take note of the problem and quite still another to root it out, since difficult-to-obtain financing and professional growth hinge on researchersa publishing what seem to be fresh and essential findings.A Results that feed the general public concern about hazards in the environmental surroundings thus have a better potential for gaining attention from federal agencies whose mandate it to handle such hazards. In the end, the leadership of the NBCC, which was so instrumental in lobbying for development on prevention of breast cancer, was terribly disappointed by the end-product.A Laura Nikolaides, who's the organizationas director of research and quality care plans and was a of the committee, described NBCCas reaction to me.A After lobbying for 8 years, NBCC had wanted significantly more than aan empty statement that made a panel to publish another are accountable to sit on a shelf.a You'd think that someone on the committee or those managing its work would took issue with the uncritical and wrong-headed emphasis on substances in the environment.A But once created, committees tend to just take on a of their own, and their structure can determine the nature of results reached.A In the end, each of the participating teams a' scientists, government employees, and advocates a had its own times that overrode a reading of the research. In the course of discussing the issue of breast cancer prevention, many colleagues stated that, in one formulation, aThe desire to own some additional exposure to blame for breast cancer is very strong.aA AIt is understandable that advocates a several of them breast cancer survivors a' were influenced by the desire to spot a culprit in the surface world as a cause of breast cancer that might be prevented. What's harder to know is how, from their very different vantage points, scientists and bureaucrats uncritically accepted the reigning dogma regarding aendocrine disruptorsa based on shoddy studies that provided positive results, while supplying short shrift to state-of-the-art studies that offered a very different picture.AA In the end, advocates, scientists, and bureaucrats served as good enablers to advertise a view that pleased their preconceived ideas and personal agendas. Perhaps most shocking and disturbing is the fact that academic researchers and highly-placed officers at NIEHS and NCI could have recommended this uncritical and eventually distracting report.A While showing itself in a self-approving way to be about science, the survey is about something completely different.

To manage your diabetes, Weird Science recommends the munchies - Ars Technica

Marijuana may make you overeat, but it could be an effective diabetes treatment. Lighting up a bit of weed is often blamed for people going on uninhibited eating binges. So it's a bit of a surprise to find a study saying that regular marijuana use is associated with a slimmer waistline. Perhaps even more striking, however, is the affect it had on metabolism, where it drops resting blood glucose levels. These results are consistent with past indications that marijuana users have a lower incidence of diabetes. The one unusual thing here is that the new study found no indication of a dose response.

An early pregnancy test probably ended up killing lots of North American amphibians. We recently ran a story that suggested that international trade helped take a fungus that infects amphibians and turn it into a global killer. Now we have some idea of exactly what was being traded: raw materials for human pregnancy tests. The raw materials in question? Frogs. Xenopus laevis is commonly used in biology research because it's a prodigious producer of eggs that can then be used to study embryonic development. But, before we knew how to directly detect the proteins in human urine that signaled pregnancy, someone figured out a way to do so indirectly: they made the frogs ovulate.

So, we dragged in a bunch of frogs from Africa to use for pregnancy tests and, one way or another, they established themselves in the wilds of California. Now, a study of samples from frogs found decades ago in California and Africa show that these Xenopus are asymptomatic carriers of the fungus that's now killing other frog species around the globe. There's a very good chance that these hopping pregnancy tests managed to bring it to North America.

Living near a coal plant is bad, but it probably shouldn't be that bad. Here's a study that doesn't come from a happy place. And we mean that literally, as it comes from the Journal of Mood Disorders and its topic is suicide. Specifically, suicides in North Carolina (although that doesn't seem to be an especially unhappy place). After taking a variety of factors into account, the authors found that the rates in a given county went up if there were a coal-fired power plant in it. "The linear regression model suggests that for each additional coal plant in a given county, there would be an additional 1.96 suicide per 100,000 population," the authors conclude. No word on whether wind farms made people happier.

What could clear fire ants out of the US? Unfortunately, an ant that's even meaner. Fire ants are an invasive species in the warmer areas of the US, and we here at Weird Science are told by people who have experienced the invasion personally that their fearsome reputation is well deserved. So, normally, you'd expect said people to be happy to hear that the fire ants population seems to be going down. Unfortunately, it's going down because an even more deranged ant is driving it off—literally, a species called the crazy ant. On the plus side, these don't bite as viciously. On the downside, they manage to live in much higher densities, meaning they get everywhere once they get into someone's house.

Bonus Weird Science points both for the mere existence of a journal called Biological Invasions, where the paper will be published, and for the fact that entomologists were arguing over whether to call the species the "Raspberry crazy ant" or the "Tawny crazy ant." Until the paper is released, you can enjoy the press release.

Sports, where vagueness = profit. We typically think that carefully contemplating possible outcomes of an event is the best way to come to an accurate prediction of what's going to happen. But, when it comes from betting on sports, that may not be the case. Study participants were divided into two groups. One was asked to pick the winner of a sporting match while others were asked to pick the final score, which the researchers then converted into a prediction of the winning team. Oddly, there was a difference between the winner predicted by the two groups and the ones that didn't have to come up with a score ended up producing the more accurate prediction.

Normally, it's not clear whether these sorts of lab experiments translate to the real world. But in this case, the authors were able to turn to South Korea's largest sports-betting company, where they found exactly the same pattern holding.

Via: Hispanic physician leads study on engines smoke and cholesterol

Race in the Park benefits breast cancer awareness - WTNH

The CT Race in the Park takes place in New Britain on Saturday May 11, and will benefit the Connecticut Breast Health Initiative.

For nine years, over 100,00 people have come together to support their loved ones by gathering for the races, walks and children's runs.

Most importantly,  people gather in solidarity and with one goal in mind—to help find a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime.

The 10th anniversary  of the event will include a Survivor Brunch, Sponsor's Tent, Food Vendors, Breast Cancer Researcher's Tent, Kid's Expo, entertainment, and more.

The Connecticut Breast Health Initiative's mission is to make a difference locally in the fight against breast cancer through education and research.

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Diabetes Is at an All-Time High in NYC - Complex.com (blog)

This news will definitely depress you. Over the last two decades, the adult diabetes rate in New York City has almost doubled. The Department of Health collected data which showed that some 650,000 adults had diabetes in 2011. Back in 1993, the number was 200,000 less. On top of that, they also suspect that there are 230,000 more adults who are unaware that they have diabetes.

The numbers from the past ten years are even more staggering. Over 10 percent of adults in New York City currently report having diabetes, whereas 4.2 percent of residents reported having it in 2003. It's gotten to the point that city officials are referring to it as an epidemic.

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Explore uncovers a potential factor of two proteins in diabetes - Medical Xpress - Medical Xpress.

(Medical Xpress)—Flinders University researchers are breaking new ground in a very decade-long journey to assess the function of two closely related proteins.

They now have data that reveals a task for these proteins within regulating cell metabolism. Disturbances in metabolism underlie a number of human diseases including type 2 diabetes, obesity along with cancer.

The team, led by Associate Professor Catherine Abbott through the School of Biological Sciences, has discovered that a pair of proteins called dipeptidyl peptidases (DP) 8 and 9 play a role in regulating at least 29 other proteins, the majority of which play important projects in metabolism and electricity production.

As a method to control blood glucose degrees, people with type 2 diabetes that do not respond to the drug metformin are made januvia or sitagliptin, a good drug to supress dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DP4), which belongs to the same family of health proteins as DP 8 in addition to 9.

However, Associate Professor Abbott said that whenever tested at high dosages these drugs also inhibited DP 8 together with 9.

She said more research was now needed to look for the exact role of DP 8 in addition to 9 because "we don't know whether they have a good effect on metabolism and energy and managing blood sugar levels or a negative effect".

"Pharmaceutical companies claim their drugs are selective and don't bind to other proteins but also from high doses there's the possibility they could, " stated Associate Professor Abbott.

"What we should find out, and what this study suggests, is that if such drugs do block DP 8 and 9 it'd not necessarily be a nasty thing because DP 8 and 9 may be targets in the treatment method of diabetes, " this girl said.

"On the additional hand, blocking them might affect metabolism and energy with an adverse way, which tend to make the DP4 inhibitors hazardous. "

The research has just been published within the international Journal of Biological Chemistry as "Paper of the Week".

Only 50 to 100 forms are chosen as Paper of the Week from more when compared to 6000 manuscripts published inside journal each year, based on their significance and overall importance to your understanding of biological processes with a molecular and cellular level.

Associate Professor Abbott, who discovered DP 8 and 9 a lot more than 10 years ago, said the proteins and additionally DP4 may also may play a role in tumour growth, therefore a better understanding of their function may possibly also led to increased confidence inside safety of DP4 inhibitors or in a very new use for inhibitors being a cancer therapy.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Nanotechnology could help fight diabetes - MIT News.

The nanoparticles were manufactured to sense glucose levels in the childs body and respond by secreting the proper amount of insulin, and thus replacing the function from pancreatic islet cells, that happens to be destroyed in patients with Type 1 diabetes. Truly, this type of system could make it possible for blood-sugar levels remain nutritious and improve patients' total well being, according to the research workers.

"Insulin really works, but the problem is people don't always obtain the right amount of this. With this system from extended release, the level of drug secreted is proportional to the needs of the overall body, " says Daniel Anderson, a co-employee professor of chemical engineering and member of MIT's Koch Institute to get Integrative Cancer Research in addition to Institute for Medical Engineering and Science.

Anderson will be the senior author of a paper describing the revolutionary system in a recent issue with the journal ACS Nano. Lead author in the paper is Zhen Gu, some former postdoc in Anderson's lab. The research team moreover includes Robert Langer, a David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT, and researchers within the Department of Anesthesiology at Boston Children's Hospital.

Currently, people with Type 1 diabetes typically prick their fingers repetitions a day to lure blood for testing their blood-sugar levels. When levels are high, these clients inject themselves with insulin, which in time breaks down the excess sugar.

Lately, many researchers have sought to cultivate insulin-delivery systems that could are an "artificial pancreas, " automatically detecting sugar levels and secreting insulin. One approach uses hydrogels to measure and interact with glucose levels, but some of those gels are slow so that you can respond or lack technical strength, allowing insulin to help you leak out.

The MIT team attempted to create a sturdy, biocompatible system that could respond more quickly to changes in glucose levels and would be simple administer.

Their system contains an injectable gel-like structure which includes a texture similar to toothpaste, claims Gu, who is now an assistant professor of biomedical archaeologist and molecular pharmaceutics for the University of North Carolina from Chapel Hill and Nc State University. The gel contains a blend of oppositely charged nanoparticles that attract 1, keeping the gel whole and preventing the particles from drifting away once inside body.

Using a modified polysaccharide called dextran, the researchers designed the gel to become sensitive to acidity. Each nanoparticle contains spheres of dextran full of an enzyme that changes glucose into gluconic acid. Glucose can diffuse freely in the gel, so when sugar levels are high, that enzyme produces large amounts of gluconic acid, making your neighborhood environment slightly more acidic.

That will acidic environment causes your dextran spheres to disintegrate, releasing insulin. Insulin subsequently performs its normal characteristic, converting the glucose inside bloodstream into glycogen, that's absorbed into the liver for storage.

In tests with mice that are fitted with Type 1 diabetes, the researchers found that her single injection of the gel maintained normal blood-sugar levels for typically 10 days. Because the particles are mostly made from polysaccharides, they are biocompatible and eventually degrade in the childs body.

The researchers are now wanting to modify the particles to enable them to respond to changes in blood sugar faster, at the acceleration of pancreas islet skin cells. "Islet cells are extremely smart. They can release insulin at enoromus speed once they sense high sugar levels, " Gu shows.

Before testing the dust in humans, the researchers plan to further develop the system's delivery properties and to work on optimizing the dosage that has to be needed for use inside humans.

"Clearly longer-term experiments are warranted, but on a closed-loop perspective, this can be a very clever approach to help you normalizing blood-glucose levels in people with diabetes, achieved by integrating the glucose sensing along with the insulin delivery, much to be a natural pancreatic beta cellular, " says Frank Doyle, a professor of chemical engineering within the University of California at Santa Barbara who was not system of the research team.

The research was funded through the Leona M. and Harry N. Helmsley Charitable Trust Foundation and also the Tayebati Family Foundation.

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Native woman organizes Lupus Curiosity Event in Clewiston : newszap. com.

CLEWISTON—May is normally Lupus Awareness Month your decide one local woman is fighting back about the disease to bring awareness for the community.

Lupus, an auto-immune disorder which unfortunately affects and damages different body parts, including the skin, joints and organs, affects about 1. 5 million Americans and at a minimum five million people world-wide, depending on the Lupus Foundation of The united states. Altovise Allen-Johnson, who was informed they have Lupus in July associated with 2000, is organizing your Lupus Awareness Event, being held within the John Boy Auditorium with Clewiston on May 19.

Allen-Johnson suffered from the effects of the disease for a long time before finally being determined. She explained how she was diagnosed with pneumonia five times a single year, before she asked her doctor to run a test for different diseases, among them Lupus.

"I had no freezing symptoms -- just fluid with my lungs, and fatigue together with fever -- but I actually didn't have any sneezing, any kind of cold symptoms, so As i couldn't associate that along with pneumonia. I figured an issue wasn't right, " stated Allen-Johnson.

Allen-Johnson said she had to ask her doctor to check her for any specified disease; when the results went back, she tested positive for Lupus.

"I felt allayed, " said Allen-Johnson, of hearing this news that she had lupus, "I felt relieved since I felt like now I'm able to treat the cause as opposed to the symptoms. Now I contain a name to this thing that's having with me... I can go from here now. "

Lupus is normal to the community with Hendry County. Dr. Udayashree Nune, Family Care Physician at the Forbes Family Care Centre in Clewiston, is currently treating five patients who have some form of lupus. Those patients wide variety in age from premature 20s to 86. Doctor. Nune explained that by means of lupus, there is "no discrimination. "

Another possibility is no discrimination as to help you who Lupus affects; nevertheless, 90 percent of all those diagnosed are women, in line with the Lupus Foundation of The country.

Dr. Nune also explained there exists few diagnosed cases from Lupus in Hendry Local, but most cases get undiagnosed. Non-specific fatigue is the commonest symptom, according to Dr. Nune; other symptoms comprise of vision problems, skin rashes, crippling or swollen joints, anemia, and hairloss, to name a few.

There are also different varieties of Lupus, which affect different areas of the body. Systemic lupus is the most widespread form, according to this Lupus Foundation of The states, and can be slight to severe. In significant cases, the kidneys is usually affected, which leads to kidney failure; in fact, in about 50 % of systemic lupus cases, a major organ, like the heart, lungs, kidneys or simply brain, is affected.

Medical professional. Nune went on to explain that Lupus can be with other auto-immune disorders, like fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. All of these difficulties, Dr. Nune explained, are "like a cluster, " with one adopting the other.

Allen-Johnson's Lupus Awareness Event was coordinated to create awareness about the disease to the community, as well when educate people about lupus, it's symptoms, and treatments.

"People don't know the conditions and people are tired and being misdiagnosed, " spelled out Allen-Johnson, "... I just want to say hey look, signs something is wrong, although it's not lupus, test me with this or that. " Allen-Johnson expressed how she wants visitors to get treated for the source, not just the warning signs.

Allen-Johnson went on to elucidate that, while there are charity events like Relay for Life, which raises money for cancers research, there are virtually no similar events for lupus.

"There's for no reason anything about lupus. Lupus requirements recognition. We go through the maximum amount of as any cancer persistent. There are a lot of us of this type with lupus, " talked about Allen-Johnson.

Strike out cancer at Relay For Life's 'Hula for Hope' - THV 11

MAUMELLE, Ark. (April 20, 2013) - The journey to end cancer starts with a single step. The American Cancer Society invites you to take that step with us by joining the global Relay For Life movement.

When you walk to end cancer at a Relay event, it's your opportunity to not only honor cancer survivors and remember loved ones lost, but also to raise awareness and funds to help find a cure for cancer.

This weekend Relay for Life Maumelle is gearing up for their walk next month with a fun event called 'Hula for Hope'.

This bowling tournament takes place today, April 20 from 3-5 p.m. at the Millenium Bowl in Maumelle. The winning team will talk away with a trophy, prizes and bragging rights.

There is still room for teams to compete or you can come out and cheer the participants on. There is a $100 entry fee for a team of 5 people, which includes 2 games of bowling and shoes.

And there's plenty of time to sign up for the Relay for Life event in Maumelle, which is set for May 17 at the Rolling Oaks Athletic Complex. Click here to sign up or donate.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Many forms of cancer increases bankruptcy risk, also for insured - NBCNews. com.

Cancer patients are much greater risk associated with bankruptcy than people free of cancer, according to a sizable new study. And whilst the new health care law promises insurance policy coverage to more than 30 million Americans who shortage it now, the higher cost of cancer attention can push many patients, especially younger women, straight into financial trouble, experts say.

Rates of women who are opting for preventive mastectomies, just like Angeline Jolie, have increased by a predicted 50 percent lately, experts say. But many doctors are puzzled considering that operation doesn't carry a 100 % guarantee, it's major surgery -- and women have other available choices, from a once-a-day product to careful monitoring.

"We need to seek out why this happening and see whenever a something we as a society can perform to reduce that associated risk, " says Dr. Scott Ramsey, director of the Hutchinson Institute for Many forms of cancer Outcomes Research in Seattle and lead author of the study published Wednesday with the journal Health Affairs.

Ramsey in addition to his colleagues matched 197, 840 adults from your western Washington cancer registry with an equal number of cancer-free parents by age, zip rule and sex. They then determined who had filed for bankruptcy, using court public records.

The researchers found that 4, 408 of those identified as having cancer between 1995 and additionally 2009 had filed meant for bankruptcy, compared to some, 291 of those free of cancer. Overall, cancer clients were 2. 5 times as likely as others to seek bankruptcy relief.

Non-white females were the foremost likely to file, while patients 65 or older were the smallest amount of likely -- possibly for the reason that were covered by Medicare and eligible to Social Security.

Bankruptcy rates associated with the younger groups were as many as 10 times that within the older patients. "People that definitely have fewer assets, less income and less generous insurance owing to entry level jobs or no insurance are definitely more vulnerable to severe fiscal distress, " Ramsey tells.

The highest rates of bankruptcy were those types of with thyroid cancer, that mostly affects younger females. The lowest were in men with prostate cancers, which typically strikes at an old age.

"They used a nifty way of getting this information, " says Dr. Jake Himmelstein, an internist and mentor of public health at the City University of Big apple. And though the researchers don't have home elevators the cancer patients' insurance coverage, "previous studies tell us that about three-quarters of people who say that illness was an essential factor in their bankruptcy had private medical insurance, at least when they first got sick, " Himmelstein says.

That rings true with regard to Janet Literski, 57, who had purchased medical insurance as an independent contractor working in sales. When she was identified as having non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 08 Literski discovered her insurance covered only element of her surgical costs and none of her analysis tests. Then there were co-payments and deductibles. By way of the time she was informed they have pancreatic cancer two years later, she was a lot more than $150, 000 in healthcare debt.

In 2011, no longer able to work, Literski and additionally her disabled husband filed for bankruptcy. "It was a gut wrenching decision since you also feel like a very own failure, and that makes me angry because I had produced tried to do every thing right, " Literski shows. "I had health insurance policies, I was working. "

Literski is right now covered by Medicaid together with receives disability payments in addition to though she hasn't ended up told she's in remission, she says nancy "healthy enough. "

Ramsey says cancer centers want to do a better job associated with assessing each patient's fiscal status, offering credit counseling, and managing patient attention.

Steven Wieckowski, a financial counselor together with the national nonprofit GreenPath Unsecured debt Solutions, advises newly diagnosed tumor patients to assess that this diagnosis might impact their income; to review their medical insurance policy coverages; to determine whether they're agreed to a disability plan at the office; to prioritize their costs, putting housing, utilities, foods, car payments and child care on top of the list; and to reach out to credit card companies and the holders of student loans to demand deferral.

"When cancer strikes, a lot of folks feel so out of control, " Wieckowski says. These steps can put people back up in control of this percentage of their life. "

Ramsey is convinced the 2010 Patient Coverage and Affordable Care Action, which will extend health care insurance coverage to more when compared to 30 million Americans, might reduce bankruptcy rates.

However , Himmelstein, who examined Massachusetts bankruptcy rates 2 years after the state applied a health reform law like federal law, isn't positive.

"We found little and no impact, basically considering that insurance coverage people became was so skimpy not wearing running shoes offered inadequate financial cover, " he says.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Cancer Centers changes BOSS - Chicago Tribune

Gerard van Grinsven is appointed to take control as CEO of the Cancer Centers of America in July. (Henry Ford Medical Center photo / April 26, 2013) 4:16 p.m. CDT, April 26, 2013 Gerard van Grinsven, who'll simply take the lead part July 1, has been president and CEO of the Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital in suburban Detroit for seven years. Present CTCA President and CEO Stephen T. Bonner, who has kept these brands since 1999, will end up executive chairman of the Schaumburg-based business. It wasnat clear why the government transfer had been created or what would become of CTCAas present chairman, the organization was founded by Richard Stephenson, who in 1988. A speaker wasn't instantly offered to review Friday morning. sbomkamp@tribune.com

Twitter: @SamWillTravel It wasnat clear why the executive shift was being created, or what would become of CTCAas recent chairman, the organization was founded by Richard Stephenson, who in 1988. A speaker wasnat instantly available to comment.

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Saturday, May 18, 2013

Lille Supreme Fit – Maxi Review.

This Lille Better Fit – Maxi Diaper Review is compiled by: Xanthia on ADISC. The looks of these are not something to be bragged about. They re plain white with the M pattern in it (assumably so you know which size they're just! ) and rectangular stripe down the center. As advertised the types is pretty spot …

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Friday, May 17, 2013

How H2o Will Boost Your Blog While Helping you Lose Weight.

The tragedy with blogging being profession is that whereas a cup of water every now and then will boost the output associated with a blogger, he or she never takes that cup associated with water. Seated down at their PC, they will bang separate at article after post without ever realising their requirement for this precious liquid. And who'd blame them, they probably sit all day in a room cooled by an air conditioning equipment. With no physical activity built in their routine, they never arrive at work up any being thirsty. The sedentary lifestyle made by their chosen craft may possibly also have caused the blogger to include on weight. If here is the story of your existence, help is not at all far away.

Water allows oxygen to help you flow into your brain helping you to think more clearly. All the toxins with the junk you eat and whatever else that doesn't belong in the human body, water flushes out. Water is nature's detox solution for our bodies. A detoxified body is usually what every blogger needs as this is a body in which air and circulation of blood happen without any burden. Drinking water is a much better alternative to coffee in regards to feeling alert. So whenever you feel an amount of mental lethargy creeping inside, most likely your system is dire need of the detoxifying powers of liquid. The solution? Drink copious degrees of water every day. This is what you should get your creative state of mind flowing, not gallons of one's drinks.

Water is highly recommended by the world's most trustworthy weight loss and healthy eating plan companies, like Bistro MD and Diet to travel. These companies specialize in producing and delivering your doorstep healthy, portion-controlled meals that you're supposed to take 6 times a day. However, they also encourage that you take plenty of water in between these meals. Many a blogger is wondering the direction to go with the tyres of flab around their abdomen acquired from years with sitting at their workstations churning out articles together with doing little else. Taking adequate amounts of water may have prevented the accumulation of fat for starters but specialists that water can help take it away. As you carry water frequently, your body can have the means to flush out the junk introduced into your physique by unhealthy eating.

On the above benefits, pouring water over a internal systems cools upon raging appetite hours of intense blogging should bring. Yes, it's true. Gulping down plenty of water will leave people with less room designed for burgers, pizzas and some other fattening foods. The trick is to achieve the water just before consumed to curb your food cravings. This habit will as well keep you from mistaking thirst for hunger and reaching for ones wrong kind of meals.

Author Bio-Latasri is a wellness enthusiast who likes to talk about her views on diets like DiettoGo and BistroMD. Moreover making available Bistro M . D . coupons she also blog about fitness, diet and fat loss on her website http: //www. weightlossdiets4women. com to get passionate bloggers.

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