The NPA is working with The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and Macmillan Cancer Support to promote November's Lung Cancer Awareness Month through community pharmacy.
NPA members will receive with their October InTouch (the NPA's member magazine) an A4 'Lung Cancer Awareness' poster for pharmacists to display in their shops. The campaign message is "Early Diagnosis Saves Lives" and it is hoped that pharmacists will become a key healthcare professional in raising awareness of the disease throughout the month of November and beyond.
The NPA will also provide guidance on how pharmacists can help with the early detection of lung cancer. Members will be asked to look out for symptoms of lung cancer and refer patients presenting with them to their GPs.
Neal Patel, NPA Head of Communications said: "It is great that we have been able to develop our partnership with The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and Macmillan Cancer Support that started in the run up to the smoking ban. When we heard they wanted to promote early detection of lung cancer we thought it made sense to involve pharmacists in this initiative - they are ideally placed to help with prevention as well as detection of lung cancer."
npa
Buy Alesse Without Prescription
понедельник, 12 сентября 2011 г.
Blood Testing Identifies Abnormal Cells Up To Six Years Prior To Leukemia Diagnosis
Testing of blood specimens may detect abnormal white blood cells in patients years before the chronic form of lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) develops, according to research published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The finding may lead to a better understanding of cellular changes that characterize the earliest stages of the disease and how it progresses.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, led the study, which was co-authored by two researchers with Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), Maher Albitar, M.D., Medical Director and Chief of Research and Development, Hematology and Oncology, and Wanlong Ma, M.S., Research and Development Manager, Hematology and Oncology.
For the study, Dr. Albitar and Ms. Ma developed a method to identify abnormal B-cell clones in blood specimens. Quest Diagnostics plans to use a similar approach to develop tests that may one day be used by physicians as an aid in identifying patients who will develop CLL.
"We searched for tumor cells by performing a sophisticated form of flow cytometry as well as molecular testing on frozen samples of whole blood and blood plasma," said Dr. Albitar. "The findings of this study lead to better understanding of biological processes underlying the development of CLL, and give us hope that in the future we will be able to develop new testing techniques to look at blood from patients with abnormal cells and distinguish those who will develop overt cancer from those who will not."
"Quest Diagnostics is the leader in cancer testing, and this study demonstrates the commitment of our science and innovation team to advancing cancer research," said Surya N. Mohapatra, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Quest Diagnostics.
CLL is a blood cancer that usually progresses slowly over many years. In this disease, abnormal white blood cells called B-cells accumulate in the blood and the bone marrow. The lymph nodes, spleen, and other organs may also be affected. Although CLL is the most common form of leukemia in adults in Western countries, little is known about what causes the disease or how it develops.
Previous research by the NCI/FDA team and others showed that some family members of CLL patients can have B-cells in their blood that have outer-surface proteins that are similar to proteins found on CLL cells. This abnormal condition, known as monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL), occurs in over 10 percent of CLL family members and in about 3 percent to 5 percent of healthy adults over the age of 50, suggesting it might be a precursor of CLL.
In the current study, the research team identified 45 individuals among the more than 77,000 participants in the nationwide Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial who were cancer-free upon entering the trial, were later diagnosed with CLL, and had frozen blood samples available for analysis that had been collected upon their enrollment in PLCO. Using sophisticated laboratory techniques developed by Quest Diagnostics to analyze the blood samples, the researchers found that 44 of the 45 CLL patients had MBL between six months to more than six years prior to their CLL diagnosis. Prior research shows that the MBL cells were identified by examining cell-surface proteins, or CLL markers, using a method called flow cytometry, and by using molecular techniques to confirm the presence of certain rearranged genes, known as immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV) group genes, found in CLL. In 41 patients, MBL was confirmed by both methods.
The study, titled "B-Cell Clones as Early Markers for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia," (Vol. 360, No. 7, Feb. 12, 2009) was accompanied by the editorial "The Secret Lives of Monoclonal B Cells."
About Quest Diagnostics and Blood-based Tumor Testing
Quest Diagnostics is a leader in noninvasive blood-based biomarker testing used by physicians to screen for, diagnose and monitor carcinomas and other tissue-based disease. The company's proprietary Leumeta(TM) portfolio of tests helps physicians identify and analyze genetic components of leukemia and lymphoma tumors using blood plasma instead of bone marrow, which can only be tested after extraction through painful biopsy. In addition, the company is the exclusive national reference laboratory provider of the blood-based HE4 Ovarian Cancer Monitoring test, which is FDA cleared as an aid in monitoring recurrent or progressive disease in women with epithelial ovarian cancer. The company is also developing a molecular blood test based on Epigenomics AG's Septin 9 DNA methylation biomarker that can help physicians detect colorectal cancer based on a patient's blood specimen.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics is the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services that patients and doctors need to make better healthcare decisions. The company offers the broadest access to diagnostic testing services through its network of laboratories and patient service centers, and provides interpretive consultation through its extensive medical and scientific staff. Quest Diagnostics is a pioneer in developing innovative diagnostic tests and advanced healthcare information technology solutions that help improve patient care. Additional company information is available at questdiagnostics.
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts or information may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to be materially different. Certain of these risks and uncertainties may include, but are not limited to, competitive environment, changes in government regulations, changing relationships with customers, payers, suppliers and strategic partners and other factors described in the Quest Diagnostics Incorporated 2007 Form 10-K and subsequent SEC filings.
Quest Diagnostics
questdiagnostics
Buy Actonel Without Prescription
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, led the study, which was co-authored by two researchers with Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), Maher Albitar, M.D., Medical Director and Chief of Research and Development, Hematology and Oncology, and Wanlong Ma, M.S., Research and Development Manager, Hematology and Oncology.
For the study, Dr. Albitar and Ms. Ma developed a method to identify abnormal B-cell clones in blood specimens. Quest Diagnostics plans to use a similar approach to develop tests that may one day be used by physicians as an aid in identifying patients who will develop CLL.
"We searched for tumor cells by performing a sophisticated form of flow cytometry as well as molecular testing on frozen samples of whole blood and blood plasma," said Dr. Albitar. "The findings of this study lead to better understanding of biological processes underlying the development of CLL, and give us hope that in the future we will be able to develop new testing techniques to look at blood from patients with abnormal cells and distinguish those who will develop overt cancer from those who will not."
"Quest Diagnostics is the leader in cancer testing, and this study demonstrates the commitment of our science and innovation team to advancing cancer research," said Surya N. Mohapatra, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Quest Diagnostics.
CLL is a blood cancer that usually progresses slowly over many years. In this disease, abnormal white blood cells called B-cells accumulate in the blood and the bone marrow. The lymph nodes, spleen, and other organs may also be affected. Although CLL is the most common form of leukemia in adults in Western countries, little is known about what causes the disease or how it develops.
Previous research by the NCI/FDA team and others showed that some family members of CLL patients can have B-cells in their blood that have outer-surface proteins that are similar to proteins found on CLL cells. This abnormal condition, known as monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL), occurs in over 10 percent of CLL family members and in about 3 percent to 5 percent of healthy adults over the age of 50, suggesting it might be a precursor of CLL.
In the current study, the research team identified 45 individuals among the more than 77,000 participants in the nationwide Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial who were cancer-free upon entering the trial, were later diagnosed with CLL, and had frozen blood samples available for analysis that had been collected upon their enrollment in PLCO. Using sophisticated laboratory techniques developed by Quest Diagnostics to analyze the blood samples, the researchers found that 44 of the 45 CLL patients had MBL between six months to more than six years prior to their CLL diagnosis. Prior research shows that the MBL cells were identified by examining cell-surface proteins, or CLL markers, using a method called flow cytometry, and by using molecular techniques to confirm the presence of certain rearranged genes, known as immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV) group genes, found in CLL. In 41 patients, MBL was confirmed by both methods.
The study, titled "B-Cell Clones as Early Markers for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia," (Vol. 360, No. 7, Feb. 12, 2009) was accompanied by the editorial "The Secret Lives of Monoclonal B Cells."
About Quest Diagnostics and Blood-based Tumor Testing
Quest Diagnostics is a leader in noninvasive blood-based biomarker testing used by physicians to screen for, diagnose and monitor carcinomas and other tissue-based disease. The company's proprietary Leumeta(TM) portfolio of tests helps physicians identify and analyze genetic components of leukemia and lymphoma tumors using blood plasma instead of bone marrow, which can only be tested after extraction through painful biopsy. In addition, the company is the exclusive national reference laboratory provider of the blood-based HE4 Ovarian Cancer Monitoring test, which is FDA cleared as an aid in monitoring recurrent or progressive disease in women with epithelial ovarian cancer. The company is also developing a molecular blood test based on Epigenomics AG's Septin 9 DNA methylation biomarker that can help physicians detect colorectal cancer based on a patient's blood specimen.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics is the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services that patients and doctors need to make better healthcare decisions. The company offers the broadest access to diagnostic testing services through its network of laboratories and patient service centers, and provides interpretive consultation through its extensive medical and scientific staff. Quest Diagnostics is a pioneer in developing innovative diagnostic tests and advanced healthcare information technology solutions that help improve patient care. Additional company information is available at questdiagnostics.
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts or information may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to be materially different. Certain of these risks and uncertainties may include, but are not limited to, competitive environment, changes in government regulations, changing relationships with customers, payers, suppliers and strategic partners and other factors described in the Quest Diagnostics Incorporated 2007 Form 10-K and subsequent SEC filings.
Quest Diagnostics
questdiagnostics
Buy Actonel Without Prescription
Researchers Find Botox Eases Painful Spinal Headaches
A Mayo Clinic case study finds Botox may offer new hope to patients suffering disabling low cerebrospinal fluid headaches. The successful treatment also offers new insight into Botox and headache treatment generally. The case study was presented March 13th, 2011 at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Hawaii.
Low CSF pressure headaches are caused by an internal spinal fluid leak. The pain can range from slight to disabling. The headaches are most commonly triggered by a lumbar puncture. The pain is caused as fluid leaks out and the brain sags. For many patients, lying down has offered the only relief, because existing therapies weren't fully effective. Traditional treatment is a blood patch, which is just that: a patch of the patient's blood injected over the puncture hole.
The patient in the case study suffered low CSF pressure headaches for 25 years. For most of that time, she only felt better while lying down, curtailing her day-to-day activities. Five years ago, she sought help from Michael Cutrer, M.D., and Paul Mathew, M.D. The patient has received Botox for three years and the results have been consistently positive. After each treatment, improvement would last for three months before pain returned, requiring another dose. While not cured, the patient is now able to live a more normal life.
"We had been using Botox for several years for treatment of migraine and had been successful in many patients. And because we really didn't have anything else to offer her, we gave her the Botox," says Dr. Cutrer, a neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and the report's co-author. "To everybody's surprise she made a remarkable improvement." The intensity of the patient's headaches dropped from 8 out of 10 on a visual pain scale to 3 out of 10.
Source:
Mayo Clinic
View drug information on Botox.
Buy Emla Online no Prescription
Low CSF pressure headaches are caused by an internal spinal fluid leak. The pain can range from slight to disabling. The headaches are most commonly triggered by a lumbar puncture. The pain is caused as fluid leaks out and the brain sags. For many patients, lying down has offered the only relief, because existing therapies weren't fully effective. Traditional treatment is a blood patch, which is just that: a patch of the patient's blood injected over the puncture hole.
The patient in the case study suffered low CSF pressure headaches for 25 years. For most of that time, she only felt better while lying down, curtailing her day-to-day activities. Five years ago, she sought help from Michael Cutrer, M.D., and Paul Mathew, M.D. The patient has received Botox for three years and the results have been consistently positive. After each treatment, improvement would last for three months before pain returned, requiring another dose. While not cured, the patient is now able to live a more normal life.
"We had been using Botox for several years for treatment of migraine and had been successful in many patients. And because we really didn't have anything else to offer her, we gave her the Botox," says Dr. Cutrer, a neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and the report's co-author. "To everybody's surprise she made a remarkable improvement." The intensity of the patient's headaches dropped from 8 out of 10 on a visual pain scale to 3 out of 10.
Source:
Mayo Clinic
View drug information on Botox.
Buy Emla Online no Prescription
Minuscule Molecules Pack A Powerful Punch In Immune Defence
Scientists have shown that a tiny microRNA molecule called miR-155, plays a critical role in immune defence and may be a lynchpin in the immune system. The findings reported today in Science reveal that mice lacking the bic/miR-155 gene, one of the world's first microRNA 'knockout' mice, have compromised immune systems and are less able to resist infection and mount an immune response to bacteria like Salmonella typhimurium, a leading cause of human gastroenteritis. They also develop symptoms similar to those of human autoimmune disorders.
The researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, The Babraham Institute, The Gurdon Institute and University of Cambridge, suggest that the corresponding human gene will have a similar role. This discovery provides insights into what makes our immune systems tick, what underpins diseases of the immune system like lymphoma development or autoimmunity, and how these minuscule molecules may be harnessed as effective therapeutic agents.
MicroRNAs, also known as short interfering (si) RNAs, are copied from DNA but do not contain code for protein. Rather they control gene activity by binding to specific related sequences, thereby interfering with a gene's ability to produce the proteins that co-ordinate cellular activities.
Previous research showed that miR-155 was active in cells of the immune system and over-activity of miR-155 has been reported in B-cell lymphomas and solid tumours, implicating this region of the genome in cancer. The research team, led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, targeted the Bic/microRNA-155 gene in embryonic stem cells, which they used to transfer the mutation into mice.
"Very little is known about the function of the hundreds of microRNA genes," said Dr Antony Rodriguez, lead author on the paper from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "Although plentiful, this class of gene had never before been knocked out in mice, the best model for human disease. But we simply did not know whether microRNA knockouts would have an effect in mice: previous knockout studies in nematode worms suggested that most microRNAs were not essential. Our findings were dramatically different."
The effects of the miR-155 knockout swept across the immune system; although knockout of miR-155 did not appear to affect normal growth and development of cells in the immune system, three critical components that normally orchestrate the immune response, T-cells, B-cells and dendritic cells, performed less well. The ability of T-cells to produce chemical signals called cytokines, regulators of the immune response, was disrupted. Antibody production by B cells was dramatically reduced and dendritic cells, which normally 'present' foreign proteins to the immune system to activate a response in T-cells, were unable to do so.
"These findings demonstrate the importance of this level of control in the immune system and will lead immunologists to rethink how the immune system works," said Dr Martin Turner, Head of the Laboratory of Lymphocyte Signalling and Development at the Babraham Institute.
To uncover how miR-155 might cause such widespread disruption, the team used microarray analysis to spot the genes whose activity was altered in the immune cells of the knockouts. The activity of over 150 genes with a large range of biological functions was reduced by miR-155, of particular note the gene c-Maf, which normally increases cytokine production and is critical for T-cell function. The team showed that miR-155 interacted directly with c-Maf, reducing its activity with consequences for activation of other genes, production of an effective immune response and susceptibility to autoimmunity and infection.
The knockout mice also develop changes to lung tissue, with scarring that is similar to some human systemic autoimmune disorders. The human Bic/miRNA-155 gene, which is 96% identical with the mature mouse microRNA, is located in a region of chromosome 21 associated with asthma, pollen sensitivity and atopic dermatitis. Hence it is thought that the equivalent human microRNA may be linked with the onset of some immune diseases.
"This dramatic finding reflects a large amount of work by collaborating groups," said Professor Allan Bradley, Director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "Showing that knocking out a microRNA has such dramatic effects opens new doors to understanding this novel class of gene regulation, with consequences for human health and disease. Our work builds upon the sequences of the human and mouse genomes, the power of computer analysis and microarray work and exemplifies why whole-organism research can bring understanding that cannot be developed in any other way."
The study emphasises the value of the ES cell based knockout technology, currently being pursued on a large scale through the KOMP and EUCOMM programmes at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. This success illustrates the power of the mouse to reveal function and indicates a wider role for microRNAs in animals with large genomes.
BABRAHAM INSTITUTE
Cambridge
CB2 4AT
babraham.ac
Buy Valtrex Without Prescription
The researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, The Babraham Institute, The Gurdon Institute and University of Cambridge, suggest that the corresponding human gene will have a similar role. This discovery provides insights into what makes our immune systems tick, what underpins diseases of the immune system like lymphoma development or autoimmunity, and how these minuscule molecules may be harnessed as effective therapeutic agents.
MicroRNAs, also known as short interfering (si) RNAs, are copied from DNA but do not contain code for protein. Rather they control gene activity by binding to specific related sequences, thereby interfering with a gene's ability to produce the proteins that co-ordinate cellular activities.
Previous research showed that miR-155 was active in cells of the immune system and over-activity of miR-155 has been reported in B-cell lymphomas and solid tumours, implicating this region of the genome in cancer. The research team, led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, targeted the Bic/microRNA-155 gene in embryonic stem cells, which they used to transfer the mutation into mice.
"Very little is known about the function of the hundreds of microRNA genes," said Dr Antony Rodriguez, lead author on the paper from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "Although plentiful, this class of gene had never before been knocked out in mice, the best model for human disease. But we simply did not know whether microRNA knockouts would have an effect in mice: previous knockout studies in nematode worms suggested that most microRNAs were not essential. Our findings were dramatically different."
The effects of the miR-155 knockout swept across the immune system; although knockout of miR-155 did not appear to affect normal growth and development of cells in the immune system, three critical components that normally orchestrate the immune response, T-cells, B-cells and dendritic cells, performed less well. The ability of T-cells to produce chemical signals called cytokines, regulators of the immune response, was disrupted. Antibody production by B cells was dramatically reduced and dendritic cells, which normally 'present' foreign proteins to the immune system to activate a response in T-cells, were unable to do so.
"These findings demonstrate the importance of this level of control in the immune system and will lead immunologists to rethink how the immune system works," said Dr Martin Turner, Head of the Laboratory of Lymphocyte Signalling and Development at the Babraham Institute.
To uncover how miR-155 might cause such widespread disruption, the team used microarray analysis to spot the genes whose activity was altered in the immune cells of the knockouts. The activity of over 150 genes with a large range of biological functions was reduced by miR-155, of particular note the gene c-Maf, which normally increases cytokine production and is critical for T-cell function. The team showed that miR-155 interacted directly with c-Maf, reducing its activity with consequences for activation of other genes, production of an effective immune response and susceptibility to autoimmunity and infection.
The knockout mice also develop changes to lung tissue, with scarring that is similar to some human systemic autoimmune disorders. The human Bic/miRNA-155 gene, which is 96% identical with the mature mouse microRNA, is located in a region of chromosome 21 associated with asthma, pollen sensitivity and atopic dermatitis. Hence it is thought that the equivalent human microRNA may be linked with the onset of some immune diseases.
"This dramatic finding reflects a large amount of work by collaborating groups," said Professor Allan Bradley, Director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "Showing that knocking out a microRNA has such dramatic effects opens new doors to understanding this novel class of gene regulation, with consequences for human health and disease. Our work builds upon the sequences of the human and mouse genomes, the power of computer analysis and microarray work and exemplifies why whole-organism research can bring understanding that cannot be developed in any other way."
The study emphasises the value of the ES cell based knockout technology, currently being pursued on a large scale through the KOMP and EUCOMM programmes at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. This success illustrates the power of the mouse to reveal function and indicates a wider role for microRNAs in animals with large genomes.
BABRAHAM INSTITUTE
Cambridge
CB2 4AT
babraham.ac
Buy Valtrex Without Prescription
American College Of Medical Informatics Inducts 8 Fellows
Following their recent election, eight new Fellows were inducted into the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI), at ceremonies that followed the opening of AMIA's 34th Annual Symposium on Biomedical and Health Informatics in Washington, DC, where more than 2,000 informatics professionals have gathered for five days of scientific sessions and panels on policy and ethical issues, EHRs and achieving meaningful use, translational bioinformatics and biomedicine, clinical research informatics, data mining and information extraction, and many other topics related to the science of informatics and its application areas. Incoming ACMI President Jim Cimino, MD, FACMI, welcomed the following Fellows to the College:
Elmer V. Bernstam, MD, MSE, MS, University of Texas-Houston, School of Health Information Sciences
Aziz Boxwala, MD, PhD, University of California at San Diego
Kenneth H. Buetow, Ph.D., National Cancer Institute
Rebecca Crowley, MD, MSIS, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine
Stephen Downs, SM, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Christoph U. Lehmann, MD, Johns Hopkins University
Jack Li, MD, PhD, Taipei Medical University
Marco F. Ramoni, PhD (posthumously)
Dr. Cimino, Chief of the Laboratory for Clinical Informatics Development at the NIH Clinical Center, observed, "ACMI Fellows and the designation of FACMI will become more well known as the entire health system moves to adopt informatics--an emerging medical specialty-- and meaningful use of health information technology as an incremental part of modernizing the health sector for the computer age. These Fellows are way ahead of the curve, which is to say they are at the top of their fields: in clinical practice, in medical research, in medical education, and in patient care."
Source:
Keosha Burns
American Medical Informatics Association
Buy Diflucan Without Prescription
Elmer V. Bernstam, MD, MSE, MS, University of Texas-Houston, School of Health Information Sciences
Aziz Boxwala, MD, PhD, University of California at San Diego
Kenneth H. Buetow, Ph.D., National Cancer Institute
Rebecca Crowley, MD, MSIS, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine
Stephen Downs, SM, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Christoph U. Lehmann, MD, Johns Hopkins University
Jack Li, MD, PhD, Taipei Medical University
Marco F. Ramoni, PhD (posthumously)
Dr. Cimino, Chief of the Laboratory for Clinical Informatics Development at the NIH Clinical Center, observed, "ACMI Fellows and the designation of FACMI will become more well known as the entire health system moves to adopt informatics--an emerging medical specialty-- and meaningful use of health information technology as an incremental part of modernizing the health sector for the computer age. These Fellows are way ahead of the curve, which is to say they are at the top of their fields: in clinical practice, in medical research, in medical education, and in patient care."
Source:
Keosha Burns
American Medical Informatics Association
Buy Diflucan Without Prescription
Latest Threat To Humanity Posed By Killer Military Robots
A robotics expert at the University of Sheffield will today (27 February 2008) issue stark warnings over the threat posed to humanity by new robot weapons being developed by powers worldwide.
In a keynote address to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Professor Noel Sharkey, from the University's Department of Computer Science, will express his concerns that we are beginning to see the first steps towards an international robot arms race. He will warn that it may not be long before robots become a standard terrorist weapon to replace the suicide bomber.
Many nations are now involved in developing the technology for robot weapons, with the US Department of Defence (DoD) being the most significant player. According to the Unmanned Systems Roadmap 2007-2013 (published in December 2007), the US propose to spend an estimated $4 billion by 2010 on unmanned systems technology. The total spending is expected to rise above $24 billion.
Over 4,000 robots are currently deployed on the ground in Iraq and by October 2006 unmanned aircraft had flown 400,000 flight hours. Currently there is always a human in the loop to decide on the use of lethal force. However, this is set to change with the US giving priority to autonomous weapons - robots that will decide on where, when and who to kill.
Others are now embarking on robot weapons programmes in Europe and other allied countries such as Canada, South Korea, South Africa, Singapore and Israel. China, Russia and India are also embarking on the development of unmanned aerial combat vehicle. The US DoD report is unsure about the activity in China but admits that they have strong infrastructure capability for parallel developments in robot weapons.
Professor Sharkey, who is famously known for his roles as chief judge on the TV series Robot Wars and as onscreen expert for the BBCВґs TechnoGames, said: "The trouble is that we can't really put the genie back in the bottle. Once the new weapons are out there, they will be fairly easy to copy. How long is it going to be before the terrorists get in on the act""
"With the current prices of robot construction falling dramatically and the availability of ready-made components for the amateur market, it wouldn't require a lot of skill to make autonomous robot weapons."
Professor Sharkey is reluctant to explain how such robots could be made but he points out that a small GPS guided drone with autopilot could be made for around ВЈ250.
The robotics expert is also concerned with a number of ethical issues that arise from the use of autonomous weapons. He added: "Current robots are dumb machines with very limited sensing capability. What this means is that it is not possible to guarantee discrimination between combatants and innocents or a proportional use of force as required by the current Laws of War.
"It seems clear that there is an urgent need for the international community to assess the risks of these new weapons now rather than after they have crept their way into common use."
Professor Sharkey's talk will be at a one-day conference at RUSI in Whitehall on 27 February 2008.
Noel Sharkey is a Professor of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, Professor of Public Engagement and EPSRC Senior Media Fellow at the University of Sheffield UK.
Click here for further reading about Professor Sharkey's research into autonomous-robotics.
Source: Lindsey Bird
University of Sheffield
Buy Furazolidone Without Prescription
In a keynote address to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Professor Noel Sharkey, from the University's Department of Computer Science, will express his concerns that we are beginning to see the first steps towards an international robot arms race. He will warn that it may not be long before robots become a standard terrorist weapon to replace the suicide bomber.
Many nations are now involved in developing the technology for robot weapons, with the US Department of Defence (DoD) being the most significant player. According to the Unmanned Systems Roadmap 2007-2013 (published in December 2007), the US propose to spend an estimated $4 billion by 2010 on unmanned systems technology. The total spending is expected to rise above $24 billion.
Over 4,000 robots are currently deployed on the ground in Iraq and by October 2006 unmanned aircraft had flown 400,000 flight hours. Currently there is always a human in the loop to decide on the use of lethal force. However, this is set to change with the US giving priority to autonomous weapons - robots that will decide on where, when and who to kill.
Others are now embarking on robot weapons programmes in Europe and other allied countries such as Canada, South Korea, South Africa, Singapore and Israel. China, Russia and India are also embarking on the development of unmanned aerial combat vehicle. The US DoD report is unsure about the activity in China but admits that they have strong infrastructure capability for parallel developments in robot weapons.
Professor Sharkey, who is famously known for his roles as chief judge on the TV series Robot Wars and as onscreen expert for the BBCВґs TechnoGames, said: "The trouble is that we can't really put the genie back in the bottle. Once the new weapons are out there, they will be fairly easy to copy. How long is it going to be before the terrorists get in on the act""
"With the current prices of robot construction falling dramatically and the availability of ready-made components for the amateur market, it wouldn't require a lot of skill to make autonomous robot weapons."
Professor Sharkey is reluctant to explain how such robots could be made but he points out that a small GPS guided drone with autopilot could be made for around ВЈ250.
The robotics expert is also concerned with a number of ethical issues that arise from the use of autonomous weapons. He added: "Current robots are dumb machines with very limited sensing capability. What this means is that it is not possible to guarantee discrimination between combatants and innocents or a proportional use of force as required by the current Laws of War.
"It seems clear that there is an urgent need for the international community to assess the risks of these new weapons now rather than after they have crept their way into common use."
Professor Sharkey's talk will be at a one-day conference at RUSI in Whitehall on 27 February 2008.
Noel Sharkey is a Professor of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, Professor of Public Engagement and EPSRC Senior Media Fellow at the University of Sheffield UK.
Click here for further reading about Professor Sharkey's research into autonomous-robotics.
Source: Lindsey Bird
University of Sheffield
Buy Furazolidone Without Prescription
EPA Funds $2.25 Million To Research Connection Between Biodiversity And Disease
Biodiversity has long been recognized by EPA as critical for environmental well-being. Humans rely on healthy ecosystems to provide food, clean air, and drinking water. But less understood is the connection between disease and biodiversity (the number and variety of plants and animals found in a geographic region). Recent studies suggest that maintaining biodiversity may protect us against diseases such as Lyme disease and West Nile encephalitis, the disease caused by West Nile Virus.
Changing land use and development have altered natural ecosystems greatly in the last 50 years, contributing to a decline in biodiversity. At the same time, there has been a rise in new infectious diseases as well as infectious diseases previously thought to be under control. To find out if there is a connection; EPA has funded three interdisciplinary teams to explore the links between biodiversity and human health.
The grants, totaling $2.25 million, support research programs working to better understand and characterize the mechanisms that link environmental stressors, such as deforestation and climate change, to the loss of biodiversity and the transmission of infections diseases to people. The grants are funded by EPA's Office of the Science Advisor and the Agency's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, run by EPA's Office of Research and Development.
"Biodiversity loss and emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases are both of great concern," said George Gray, EPA Science Advisor and assistant administrator of the Office of Research and Development. "With these grants, we can explore the possible linkages, so that policy-makers can make better decisions on land use and development, ecosystems, and integrated pest management - and possibly reduce or even prevent human disease."
These three grants will bring together ecologists, biologists, public health experts, earth scientists, and social scientists. Together, they will integrate data on ecosystems, human health, and man-made stressors such as deforestation to investigate how environmental factors and people's behaviors contribute to disease transmission. The research will inform and also involve decision-makers to consider how land use and management decisions, as well as decisions on integrated pest management, can protect both human health and the environment.
The grants funded by EPA were awarded to:
Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, $750,000 - will investigate how differences in animal community composition affect the risk of Lyme disease transmission in Duchess County, NY.
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, $749,995 - will investigate the relationships between diversity in plant, bird, and mosquito populations and West Nile virus prevalence in urban wetland communities in northern NJ. The research team will also consider how people's attitudes about and behaviors in these wetlands affect their risk of disease transmission.
University of California, Los Angeles, CA, $749,296 - will investigate the role of migratory birds in West Nile Virus transmission and use earth observations to better understand how climate and anthropogenic changes to the environment might predict risk.
For more information on these grants: es.epa/ncer/07biodiversity
EPA's Biodiversity Research: es.epa/ncer/biodiversity/
EPA's Office of Research and Development: epa/ord
Source: Melissa Anley-Mills
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Buy Fosamax Without Prescription
Changing land use and development have altered natural ecosystems greatly in the last 50 years, contributing to a decline in biodiversity. At the same time, there has been a rise in new infectious diseases as well as infectious diseases previously thought to be under control. To find out if there is a connection; EPA has funded three interdisciplinary teams to explore the links between biodiversity and human health.
The grants, totaling $2.25 million, support research programs working to better understand and characterize the mechanisms that link environmental stressors, such as deforestation and climate change, to the loss of biodiversity and the transmission of infections diseases to people. The grants are funded by EPA's Office of the Science Advisor and the Agency's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, run by EPA's Office of Research and Development.
"Biodiversity loss and emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases are both of great concern," said George Gray, EPA Science Advisor and assistant administrator of the Office of Research and Development. "With these grants, we can explore the possible linkages, so that policy-makers can make better decisions on land use and development, ecosystems, and integrated pest management - and possibly reduce or even prevent human disease."
These three grants will bring together ecologists, biologists, public health experts, earth scientists, and social scientists. Together, they will integrate data on ecosystems, human health, and man-made stressors such as deforestation to investigate how environmental factors and people's behaviors contribute to disease transmission. The research will inform and also involve decision-makers to consider how land use and management decisions, as well as decisions on integrated pest management, can protect both human health and the environment.
The grants funded by EPA were awarded to:
Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, $750,000 - will investigate how differences in animal community composition affect the risk of Lyme disease transmission in Duchess County, NY.
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, $749,995 - will investigate the relationships between diversity in plant, bird, and mosquito populations and West Nile virus prevalence in urban wetland communities in northern NJ. The research team will also consider how people's attitudes about and behaviors in these wetlands affect their risk of disease transmission.
University of California, Los Angeles, CA, $749,296 - will investigate the role of migratory birds in West Nile Virus transmission and use earth observations to better understand how climate and anthropogenic changes to the environment might predict risk.
For more information on these grants: es.epa/ncer/07biodiversity
EPA's Biodiversity Research: es.epa/ncer/biodiversity/
EPA's Office of Research and Development: epa/ord
Source: Melissa Anley-Mills
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Buy Fosamax Without Prescription
High Chocolate Consumption May Reduce Heart Disease Risk By One Third
Consuming lots of chocolate appears to reduce the risk of developing heart disease by one third, researchers from the University of Cambridge, England reported in the BMJ (British Medical Journal) and the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Paris, France.
Dr Oscar Franco and team explain that their study confirms findings revealed in previous research that the consumption of chocolate is associated with improved heart health. However, they emphasize that they have not been able to rule out other unmeasured confounding factors, and suggest that additional studies are needed.
According to WHO (World Health Organization), almost 23.6 million people worldwide are expected to die from heart disease by the year 2030. Several factors, including diet, exercise, body weight control and lifestyle changes could help reduce the risk of heart disease, the authors wrote.
Chocolate has been found to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which have a positive impact on human health, including regulating insulin sensitivity and controlling blood pressure, several recent studies have revealed.
Nevertheless, nobody was sure how eating chocolate helps human health. So, Dr. Franco and team set out to review a number of scientific studies to determine what the impact of eating chocolate might be on cardiovascular events, such as stroke and heart attack.
They assessed the data in seven studies which included 114,009 individuals - some of them had existing heart problems while others did not. One study was cross-sectional, six were cohort studies, none of them were randomized.
They compared the highest chocolate consumers with the lowest in each study. In order to minimize bias, they took into account variations in study design and quality.
The researchers found that:
Five studies showed evidence that eating a lot of chocolate reduced the risk of cardiovascular events.
Those who ate the most chocolate had a 37% lower risk of having a cardiovascular event compared to those who ate the least.
The highest chocolate consumers had a 29% lower incidence of stroke compared to the lowest chocolate consumers.
Heart failure incidence did not appear to be impacted by variations in chocolate consumption.
None of the studies focused on either milk or dark chocolate, and included chocolate desserts, biscuits chocolate bars and drinks.
Bearing in mind that most of the chocolate we buy in shops and supermarkets are high in calories, the researchers say that people must be careful when interpreting these findings. Commercially available chocolate has approximately 500 calories per 100 grams. High chocolate consumption of commercially available chocolate may lead to weight gain, which in turn raises the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes type 2.
Attempts should be made to reduce the current sugar and fat content of chocolate, given that it appears to have benefits for heart health, the authors wrote.
They concluded in an Abstract in the journal:
"Based on observational evidence, levels of chocolate consumption seem to be associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of cardiometabolic disorders. Further experimental studies are required to confirm a potentially beneficial effect of chocolate consumption."
Christian Nordqvis
Buy Gentamicin Without Prescription
Dr Oscar Franco and team explain that their study confirms findings revealed in previous research that the consumption of chocolate is associated with improved heart health. However, they emphasize that they have not been able to rule out other unmeasured confounding factors, and suggest that additional studies are needed.
According to WHO (World Health Organization), almost 23.6 million people worldwide are expected to die from heart disease by the year 2030. Several factors, including diet, exercise, body weight control and lifestyle changes could help reduce the risk of heart disease, the authors wrote.
Chocolate has been found to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which have a positive impact on human health, including regulating insulin sensitivity and controlling blood pressure, several recent studies have revealed.
Nevertheless, nobody was sure how eating chocolate helps human health. So, Dr. Franco and team set out to review a number of scientific studies to determine what the impact of eating chocolate might be on cardiovascular events, such as stroke and heart attack.
They assessed the data in seven studies which included 114,009 individuals - some of them had existing heart problems while others did not. One study was cross-sectional, six were cohort studies, none of them were randomized.
They compared the highest chocolate consumers with the lowest in each study. In order to minimize bias, they took into account variations in study design and quality.
The researchers found that:
Five studies showed evidence that eating a lot of chocolate reduced the risk of cardiovascular events.
Those who ate the most chocolate had a 37% lower risk of having a cardiovascular event compared to those who ate the least.
The highest chocolate consumers had a 29% lower incidence of stroke compared to the lowest chocolate consumers.
Heart failure incidence did not appear to be impacted by variations in chocolate consumption.
None of the studies focused on either milk or dark chocolate, and included chocolate desserts, biscuits chocolate bars and drinks.
Bearing in mind that most of the chocolate we buy in shops and supermarkets are high in calories, the researchers say that people must be careful when interpreting these findings. Commercially available chocolate has approximately 500 calories per 100 grams. High chocolate consumption of commercially available chocolate may lead to weight gain, which in turn raises the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes type 2.
Attempts should be made to reduce the current sugar and fat content of chocolate, given that it appears to have benefits for heart health, the authors wrote.
They concluded in an Abstract in the journal:
"Based on observational evidence, levels of chocolate consumption seem to be associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of cardiometabolic disorders. Further experimental studies are required to confirm a potentially beneficial effect of chocolate consumption."
Christian Nordqvis
Buy Gentamicin Without Prescription
Is There A Meaningful Difference Between Healthcare IT Consulting Firms For Staff Augmentation?
maxIT Healthcare LLC (maxIT), a leading professional services company for healthcare providers, scored the highest results in the staff augmentation category of a recent report published by KLAS, one of the healthcare industry's leading associations.
According to an independent report from healthcare executives and professionals published in February of 2009 by KLAS entitled "Maximizing Your Consulting Investment: A Report on Healthcare IT Consulting Services," there is a growing demand for clinical application specialists. "Clinical application specialists are in high demand. Seventy-four percent of those interviewed were using consulting firms for clinical application specialists," according to the KLAS report.
In the Staff Augmentation section of the healthcare IT consulting services report, KLAS stated, "Of the four firms with enough engagements for clinical application consultants to be rated (CSC, CTGHS, maxIT Healthcare, and Vitalize), maxIT Healthcare scored the highest, receiving especially high marks for the quality of their consultants."
The KLAS report continued, "The bottom line is that Staff Augmentation is all about finding the right people to match the provider's needs. Beacon Partners and Hayes Management have done a great job providing quality GE specialists, whereas maxIT Healthcare has shown to be the most successful in providing qualified resources for a wide range of applications. CTGHS, Vitalize Consulting, and ACS also have solid application specialists. Providers should look for firms that can quickly deliver high-quality, experienced resources who are a good fit for their internal IT team."
According to KLAS, "As one of the larger staff augmentation firms outside the full-service firms, maxIT Healthcare is vendor neutral and excels when it comes to integrating with the clients' teams and providing trustworthy, well-screened consultants. This firm has consultants that have hospital experience and strong product knowledge. In this report, maxIT Healthcare is one of the top three firms in the Staff Augmentation category." KLAS also said, "Staff augmentation work is a sweet spot for this high-performing firm. As one of the larger staff augmentation firms in the healthcare industry, maxIT Healthcare has experienced consultants, works with a number of different vendor products, and does a good job of matching consultants to opportunities."
"With today's shrinking budgets, hiring freezes, and tomorrow's increasing need for technology-based efficiency, healthcare providers are looking closely at outsourced IT support. maxIT is one of the leading firms providing quality consultants and lower costs than other firms. We are delighted to see these kinds of results that validate what we have known all along - healthcare organizations need to see value. These results show that maxIT is answering those needs," says Parker Hinshaw of maxIT Healthcare.
About KLAS
KLAS is a research firm specializing in monitoring and reporting the performance of healthcare vendors. KLAS' mission is to improve delivery, by independently measuring vendor performance for the benefit of our healthcare provider partners, consultants, investors and vendors. Working together with executives from more than 4,500 hospitals and over 2,500 clinics, KLAS delivers timely reports, trends and statistics, which provide a solid overview of vendor performance in the industry. KLAS measures the performance of software, professional services and medical equipment vendors.
About maxIT Healthcare
maxIT Healthcare has been completely focused on Healthcare Information Technology since its inception 8 years ago. maxIT Healthcare employs over 300 full-time consultants who have functional and technical implementation expertise deploying leading commercially available healthcare software solutions from major Healthcare Information Technology companies. maxIT's key goals are to contribute to our client's success and to provide a supportive culture for our professional consultants and associates.
Source: maxIT Healthcare LLC
Buy Albenza Without Prescription
According to an independent report from healthcare executives and professionals published in February of 2009 by KLAS entitled "Maximizing Your Consulting Investment: A Report on Healthcare IT Consulting Services," there is a growing demand for clinical application specialists. "Clinical application specialists are in high demand. Seventy-four percent of those interviewed were using consulting firms for clinical application specialists," according to the KLAS report.
In the Staff Augmentation section of the healthcare IT consulting services report, KLAS stated, "Of the four firms with enough engagements for clinical application consultants to be rated (CSC, CTGHS, maxIT Healthcare, and Vitalize), maxIT Healthcare scored the highest, receiving especially high marks for the quality of their consultants."
The KLAS report continued, "The bottom line is that Staff Augmentation is all about finding the right people to match the provider's needs. Beacon Partners and Hayes Management have done a great job providing quality GE specialists, whereas maxIT Healthcare has shown to be the most successful in providing qualified resources for a wide range of applications. CTGHS, Vitalize Consulting, and ACS also have solid application specialists. Providers should look for firms that can quickly deliver high-quality, experienced resources who are a good fit for their internal IT team."
According to KLAS, "As one of the larger staff augmentation firms outside the full-service firms, maxIT Healthcare is vendor neutral and excels when it comes to integrating with the clients' teams and providing trustworthy, well-screened consultants. This firm has consultants that have hospital experience and strong product knowledge. In this report, maxIT Healthcare is one of the top three firms in the Staff Augmentation category." KLAS also said, "Staff augmentation work is a sweet spot for this high-performing firm. As one of the larger staff augmentation firms in the healthcare industry, maxIT Healthcare has experienced consultants, works with a number of different vendor products, and does a good job of matching consultants to opportunities."
"With today's shrinking budgets, hiring freezes, and tomorrow's increasing need for technology-based efficiency, healthcare providers are looking closely at outsourced IT support. maxIT is one of the leading firms providing quality consultants and lower costs than other firms. We are delighted to see these kinds of results that validate what we have known all along - healthcare organizations need to see value. These results show that maxIT is answering those needs," says Parker Hinshaw of maxIT Healthcare.
About KLAS
KLAS is a research firm specializing in monitoring and reporting the performance of healthcare vendors. KLAS' mission is to improve delivery, by independently measuring vendor performance for the benefit of our healthcare provider partners, consultants, investors and vendors. Working together with executives from more than 4,500 hospitals and over 2,500 clinics, KLAS delivers timely reports, trends and statistics, which provide a solid overview of vendor performance in the industry. KLAS measures the performance of software, professional services and medical equipment vendors.
About maxIT Healthcare
maxIT Healthcare has been completely focused on Healthcare Information Technology since its inception 8 years ago. maxIT Healthcare employs over 300 full-time consultants who have functional and technical implementation expertise deploying leading commercially available healthcare software solutions from major Healthcare Information Technology companies. maxIT's key goals are to contribute to our client's success and to provide a supportive culture for our professional consultants and associates.
Source: maxIT Healthcare LLC
Buy Albenza Without Prescription
St. Jude Medical Announces Opening Of European Advanced Learning Center For Continuing Physician Education In Heart Disease Therapies
St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) announced the official opening of the St. Jude Medical Advanced Learning Center, in Brussels, Belgium, offering education and training in advanced, evidence-based therapies for physicians who treat heart disease.
The center's curricula include cardiac rhythm management (CRM), electrophysiology treatments of heart rhythm conditions, heart valve replacement and repair, vascular closure after interventional procedures and the repair of openings in the septum, the wall that separates the heart's left and right sides. Presented in small groups and including simulations, the training programs are designed to increase physician familiarity and experience with various technologies and procedures.
"The opening of St. Jude Medical's first Advanced Learning Center demonstrates our commitment to physicians as they seek to improve patient outcomes and lower risks," said Denis Gestin, president of the St. Jude Medical International Division. "The training and hands-on experiences at the center will help develop physician knowledge and skills on the safe, effective use of St. Jude Medical products to enhance patient care."
The center's curriculum in interventional electrophysiology (EP) has received Continuing Medical Education (CME) accreditation from the European Board for Accreditation in Cardiology (EBAC). It is designed to train physicians in ablation therapy for the treatment of heart rhythm conditions. Prof. G. Hindricks, M.D., of Herzcentrum Leipzig in Leipzig, Germany and P. Della Bella, M.D., of Centro Cardiologico Monzino in Milan, Italy, are the center's course directors for the Interventional EP Curriculum.
In addition to learning in instructional sessions, course participants gain first-hand experience in the use of St. Jude Medical advanced medical technology through innovative training tools. The center is equipped with virtual reality simulators that enable physicians to practice implanting leads in the left and right sides of the heart, ablating targeted heart tissues using EP procedures to treat abnormal heart rhythms and performing transseptal procedures. A wet lab allows physicians to increase effectiveness in valve replacement and repair, and a cardiac rhythm simulator lets physicians hone their skills in programming pacemakers, ICDs and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices.
"For physicians who treat heart disease, the arrival of new advanced technologies continuously challenges us to learn about them, gain hands-on experience and achieve control in their use," said Peter T. Mortensen, M.D., of Skejby University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark. "The St. Jude Medical Advanced Learning Center provides physicians with a new option for gaining valuable experience that, when used according to best practices, leads to improved patient outcomes in the clinic."
Source
St. Jude Medical
Buy Fusidic Acid Without Prescription
The center's curricula include cardiac rhythm management (CRM), electrophysiology treatments of heart rhythm conditions, heart valve replacement and repair, vascular closure after interventional procedures and the repair of openings in the septum, the wall that separates the heart's left and right sides. Presented in small groups and including simulations, the training programs are designed to increase physician familiarity and experience with various technologies and procedures.
"The opening of St. Jude Medical's first Advanced Learning Center demonstrates our commitment to physicians as they seek to improve patient outcomes and lower risks," said Denis Gestin, president of the St. Jude Medical International Division. "The training and hands-on experiences at the center will help develop physician knowledge and skills on the safe, effective use of St. Jude Medical products to enhance patient care."
The center's curriculum in interventional electrophysiology (EP) has received Continuing Medical Education (CME) accreditation from the European Board for Accreditation in Cardiology (EBAC). It is designed to train physicians in ablation therapy for the treatment of heart rhythm conditions. Prof. G. Hindricks, M.D., of Herzcentrum Leipzig in Leipzig, Germany and P. Della Bella, M.D., of Centro Cardiologico Monzino in Milan, Italy, are the center's course directors for the Interventional EP Curriculum.
In addition to learning in instructional sessions, course participants gain first-hand experience in the use of St. Jude Medical advanced medical technology through innovative training tools. The center is equipped with virtual reality simulators that enable physicians to practice implanting leads in the left and right sides of the heart, ablating targeted heart tissues using EP procedures to treat abnormal heart rhythms and performing transseptal procedures. A wet lab allows physicians to increase effectiveness in valve replacement and repair, and a cardiac rhythm simulator lets physicians hone their skills in programming pacemakers, ICDs and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices.
"For physicians who treat heart disease, the arrival of new advanced technologies continuously challenges us to learn about them, gain hands-on experience and achieve control in their use," said Peter T. Mortensen, M.D., of Skejby University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark. "The St. Jude Medical Advanced Learning Center provides physicians with a new option for gaining valuable experience that, when used according to best practices, leads to improved patient outcomes in the clinic."
Source
St. Jude Medical
Buy Fusidic Acid Without Prescription
Scientists Guide Immune Cells With Light And Microparticles
A team led by Yale University scientists has developed a new approach to studying how immune cells chase down bacteria in our bodies. Their findings are described in the November 15 issue of Nature Methods Advanced Online Publication.
When bacteria enter our bodies they secrete molecules, leaving behind chemical trails as they move through our system. It has been known for some time that immune cells follow these trails in order to hunt the bacteria. However, studying exactly how immune cells process these chemical signals has been challenging.
Now a team of scientists - led by Eric Dufresne, the John J. Lee Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Holger Kress, a postdoctoral associate in the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science - has developed a way to create artificial chemical trails that can be shaped in three dimensions over time. By controlling the chemical trails, the team was able to control the movements of neutrophils - immune cells in the blood - and study how they are able to respond to these signals.
The team used sponge-like microparticles, designed by the laboratory of Tarek Fahmy, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Yale, that mimicked bacteria by slowly releasing a characteristic bacterial "scent." They then moved these microparticles using focused beams of light to control the pattern of released chemicals over space and time, stimulating the immune cells to respond. The neutrophils can be seen following the microparticles on videos produced by the researchers.
"By fusing recent advances in optical and materials science, we've developed a new approach to control chemical microenvironments with light," said Dufresne, who developed holographic optical tweezers - the underlying technology used to manipulate the microparticles - in the late 1990s. "Until now, people have used optical tweezers to move physical objects. We've demonstrated that they can also be used to manipulate chemical gradients."
The team used two different chemicals, one of which attracted the cells and another that repelled them, to demonstrate how they could direct the neutrophils into moving along a path, either toward or away from the microparticles. They could also examine how the cells responded when there were conflicting signals sent by several of the artificial bacteria.
Chemotaxis - the migration of cells based on chemical signals in their environment - plays an important role in a number of biological processes and diseases beyond the immune system. "Understanding how cells move in response to chemical stimuli can help us better understand how a single egg develops into a complex organism or how brain cells grow into a network of neurons in a growing embryo, or how cancer cells spread through the body," Kress said. "This technique could give biologists insight into the ways many different types of cells respond to environmental stimuli in a wide range of situations."
Authors of the paper include Holger Kress, Jin-Gyu Park, Cecile Mejean, Jason Forster, Jason Park, Yong Zhang, Dianqing Wu, Tarek Fahmy and Eric Dufresne (all of Yale University); Spencer Walse (U.S. Department of Agriculture); Orion D Weiner (University of California, San Francisco).
The research was funded by the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Source: Suzanne Taylor Muzzin
Yale University
Buy Atarax Without Prescription
When bacteria enter our bodies they secrete molecules, leaving behind chemical trails as they move through our system. It has been known for some time that immune cells follow these trails in order to hunt the bacteria. However, studying exactly how immune cells process these chemical signals has been challenging.
Now a team of scientists - led by Eric Dufresne, the John J. Lee Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Holger Kress, a postdoctoral associate in the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science - has developed a way to create artificial chemical trails that can be shaped in three dimensions over time. By controlling the chemical trails, the team was able to control the movements of neutrophils - immune cells in the blood - and study how they are able to respond to these signals.
The team used sponge-like microparticles, designed by the laboratory of Tarek Fahmy, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Yale, that mimicked bacteria by slowly releasing a characteristic bacterial "scent." They then moved these microparticles using focused beams of light to control the pattern of released chemicals over space and time, stimulating the immune cells to respond. The neutrophils can be seen following the microparticles on videos produced by the researchers.
"By fusing recent advances in optical and materials science, we've developed a new approach to control chemical microenvironments with light," said Dufresne, who developed holographic optical tweezers - the underlying technology used to manipulate the microparticles - in the late 1990s. "Until now, people have used optical tweezers to move physical objects. We've demonstrated that they can also be used to manipulate chemical gradients."
The team used two different chemicals, one of which attracted the cells and another that repelled them, to demonstrate how they could direct the neutrophils into moving along a path, either toward or away from the microparticles. They could also examine how the cells responded when there were conflicting signals sent by several of the artificial bacteria.
Chemotaxis - the migration of cells based on chemical signals in their environment - plays an important role in a number of biological processes and diseases beyond the immune system. "Understanding how cells move in response to chemical stimuli can help us better understand how a single egg develops into a complex organism or how brain cells grow into a network of neurons in a growing embryo, or how cancer cells spread through the body," Kress said. "This technique could give biologists insight into the ways many different types of cells respond to environmental stimuli in a wide range of situations."
Authors of the paper include Holger Kress, Jin-Gyu Park, Cecile Mejean, Jason Forster, Jason Park, Yong Zhang, Dianqing Wu, Tarek Fahmy and Eric Dufresne (all of Yale University); Spencer Walse (U.S. Department of Agriculture); Orion D Weiner (University of California, San Francisco).
The research was funded by the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Source: Suzanne Taylor Muzzin
Yale University
Buy Atarax Without Prescription
Cloud Computing Speeds Trauma Care
An electronic, cloud-based approach to sharing radiology files with other medical institutions is expediting the care of UC San Diego Health System trauma patients. The method is currently being used to speed the diagnosis and treatment of patients sent to UC San Diego Medical Center-Hillcrest from remote area hospitals.
"The efficiency and reliability of cloud computing is excellent," said Jeanne Lee, MD, trauma surgeon at UC San Diego Health System. "It is an advance in the way we exchange medical information between health care facilities. This benefits our trauma patients for diagnoses and treatment and cuts down on redundant imaging."
Hospitals have traditionally shared radiology files by burning images to a CD and then sending the disc via courier or a virtual private network (VPN). Using a cloud-based technology, called Electronic Medical Information Exchange or eMix, crucial imaging files and reports can be transmitted via the Internet in advance of a patient's arrival.
"The file sharing we've done with the cloud-based process has been trouble-free," said Amy Radonich, assistant director, Imaging Services at UC San Diego Health System. "Burning CDs and using VPNs are workaround solutions that are prone to problems. We're addressing those issues by using this web-based form of technology."
Until recently, files of trauma patients were sent from El Centro to UCSD Medical Center-Hillcrest in the ambulance or air transport. At times, the exchange would fail due to lost or unreadable CDs. In these cases, the patients were often re-imaged upon arrival, which exposed them to additional radiation, and delayed treatment.
Because it is web-based, cloud-based technology often overcomes the issue of incompatible IT systems. There is no software or hardware for the user facility to maintain and the files can be transferred in minutes with a few computer clicks.
Source:
University of California, San Diego Health Sciences
Buy Levonorgestrel Without Prescription
"The efficiency and reliability of cloud computing is excellent," said Jeanne Lee, MD, trauma surgeon at UC San Diego Health System. "It is an advance in the way we exchange medical information between health care facilities. This benefits our trauma patients for diagnoses and treatment and cuts down on redundant imaging."
Hospitals have traditionally shared radiology files by burning images to a CD and then sending the disc via courier or a virtual private network (VPN). Using a cloud-based technology, called Electronic Medical Information Exchange or eMix, crucial imaging files and reports can be transmitted via the Internet in advance of a patient's arrival.
"The file sharing we've done with the cloud-based process has been trouble-free," said Amy Radonich, assistant director, Imaging Services at UC San Diego Health System. "Burning CDs and using VPNs are workaround solutions that are prone to problems. We're addressing those issues by using this web-based form of technology."
Until recently, files of trauma patients were sent from El Centro to UCSD Medical Center-Hillcrest in the ambulance or air transport. At times, the exchange would fail due to lost or unreadable CDs. In these cases, the patients were often re-imaged upon arrival, which exposed them to additional radiation, and delayed treatment.
Because it is web-based, cloud-based technology often overcomes the issue of incompatible IT systems. There is no software or hardware for the user facility to maintain and the files can be transferred in minutes with a few computer clicks.
Source:
University of California, San Diego Health Sciences
Buy Levonorgestrel Without Prescription
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society And Memgen Announce New Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Clinical Trial
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and Memgen, LLC jointly announce the beginning of a new clinical trial of ISF35, a cancer vaccine, at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
LLS is collaborating on this trial in the hopes that it will speed the development and approval of a novel approach aimed at treating patients with fludarabine refractory and/or 17p deleted chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Doctors at UCSD have already begun treating the first patient with ISF35. They plan to enroll up to twelve patients. These patients will receive a vaccine expressing an immune-boosting molecule, ISF35 (Immune Stimulatory Factor 35), followed by three courses of rituximab plus the chemotherapy drugs fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FCR).
"This clinical study builds upon three previous trials already completed at M.D. Anderson and here at UCSD," said Januario E. Castro, M.D., assistant clinical professor at the UCSD School of Medicine and the Moores Cancer Center, who leads the work. "Those trials showed remarkable results for ISF35 in patients with high risk and treatment-resistant CLL. Most importantly, ISF35 was well-tolerated with only minimal side effects, reduced CLL cells and lymph nodes in nearly every patient, and when combined with chemotherapy produced complete or partial remissions in patients with 17p deleted CLL."
"There is a clear unmet medical need for new therapies to treat refractory or relapsed CLL, and in particular 17p- patients," said Louis J. DeGennaro, Ph.D., LLS's chief scientific officer. "Our goal is to bring new treatment options to these patients quickly."
About Memgen, LLC
Memgen is a clinical stage biotechnology company with offices in Dallas and San Diego. Memgen was founded four years ago to develop non-toxic and targeted active immunotherapies for the treatment of cancers. Its lead product, ISF35, has demonstrated potent anti-leukemic activity as a single agent and is well-tolerated. ISF35 generates none of the immunosuppressive activities associated with standard cancer treatments.
For more information about Memgen, visit memgenbio
About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society(R), headquartered in White Plains, NY, with 68 chapters in the United States and Canada, is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, LLS has invested more than $600 million in research specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Last year alone, LLS made 5.1 million contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
LLS
Buy Chloramphenicol Without Prescription
LLS is collaborating on this trial in the hopes that it will speed the development and approval of a novel approach aimed at treating patients with fludarabine refractory and/or 17p deleted chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Doctors at UCSD have already begun treating the first patient with ISF35. They plan to enroll up to twelve patients. These patients will receive a vaccine expressing an immune-boosting molecule, ISF35 (Immune Stimulatory Factor 35), followed by three courses of rituximab plus the chemotherapy drugs fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FCR).
"This clinical study builds upon three previous trials already completed at M.D. Anderson and here at UCSD," said Januario E. Castro, M.D., assistant clinical professor at the UCSD School of Medicine and the Moores Cancer Center, who leads the work. "Those trials showed remarkable results for ISF35 in patients with high risk and treatment-resistant CLL. Most importantly, ISF35 was well-tolerated with only minimal side effects, reduced CLL cells and lymph nodes in nearly every patient, and when combined with chemotherapy produced complete or partial remissions in patients with 17p deleted CLL."
"There is a clear unmet medical need for new therapies to treat refractory or relapsed CLL, and in particular 17p- patients," said Louis J. DeGennaro, Ph.D., LLS's chief scientific officer. "Our goal is to bring new treatment options to these patients quickly."
About Memgen, LLC
Memgen is a clinical stage biotechnology company with offices in Dallas and San Diego. Memgen was founded four years ago to develop non-toxic and targeted active immunotherapies for the treatment of cancers. Its lead product, ISF35, has demonstrated potent anti-leukemic activity as a single agent and is well-tolerated. ISF35 generates none of the immunosuppressive activities associated with standard cancer treatments.
For more information about Memgen, visit memgenbio
About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society(R), headquartered in White Plains, NY, with 68 chapters in the United States and Canada, is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, LLS has invested more than $600 million in research specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Last year alone, LLS made 5.1 million contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
LLS
Buy Chloramphenicol Without Prescription
Cold/Flu Breakthrough Remedy Undergoes NCI-Sponsored Trial In Leukemia Patients: Canada
Cancer patients - with their weakened immune systems - are particularly vulnerable when the cold and flu season hits. To help, the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) is sponsoring a landmark trial to see whether a unique Canadian cold remedy - COLD-FX - can help.
The trial will examine whether using the #1 pharmacist recommended cold and flu fighting product in Canada - ginseng extract COLD-FX - reduces infections in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients; enabling them to remain healthier to fight their disease. Cancer patients have weakened immune systems to begin with, usually as a result of chemotherapy or radiation.
The trial will be conducted by American cancer and infectious diseases experts at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina. Wake Forest currently oversees approximately 150 cancer trials and is regarded as one of America's leading cancer research facilities.
The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, involving 336 patients, was originally planned to include up to 19 U. S research sites. However, in approving the study, the NCI accelerated the process - targeting completion over a single cold and flu season. To assist in recruitment, it also opened up its cancer trials support unit network of more than 1,500 cancer research sites across the U.S.
The NCI says on its website that the trial is important because both the cancer and its treatment, "…can impair immune system functioning and markedly increase risk of infection, the most common complication…" of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. "Two randomized, controlled trials have shown that an extract of North American Ginseng, called CVT-E002 (COLD-FX), can significantly reduce the risk of ARI [acute respiratory infection] in older adults," the website says.
In the battle against respiratory infections, there are few effective and economical treatment options. Apart from COLD-FX, there is no known clinical proven therapy for both prevention and treatment that naturally enhances the immune system to fight viral respiratory infections.
A recently reported three-year, multi-center study of COLD-FX, involving 780 participants, demonstrated that it cut infections by one-third in seniors taking the flu shot. The trial also showed that using a combo of COLD-FX and a flu shot provided greater protection than using the flu shot alone. This research complemented earlier clinical trials that formed the basis of Canada's regulatory approval of 400 milligrams of COLD-FX daily to reduce the frequency, severity and duration of cold and flu symptoms by boosting the immune system.
Source: Warren Michaels
CV Technologies Inc.
Buy Cefaclor Without Prescription
The trial will examine whether using the #1 pharmacist recommended cold and flu fighting product in Canada - ginseng extract COLD-FX - reduces infections in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients; enabling them to remain healthier to fight their disease. Cancer patients have weakened immune systems to begin with, usually as a result of chemotherapy or radiation.
The trial will be conducted by American cancer and infectious diseases experts at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina. Wake Forest currently oversees approximately 150 cancer trials and is regarded as one of America's leading cancer research facilities.
The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, involving 336 patients, was originally planned to include up to 19 U. S research sites. However, in approving the study, the NCI accelerated the process - targeting completion over a single cold and flu season. To assist in recruitment, it also opened up its cancer trials support unit network of more than 1,500 cancer research sites across the U.S.
The NCI says on its website that the trial is important because both the cancer and its treatment, "…can impair immune system functioning and markedly increase risk of infection, the most common complication…" of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. "Two randomized, controlled trials have shown that an extract of North American Ginseng, called CVT-E002 (COLD-FX), can significantly reduce the risk of ARI [acute respiratory infection] in older adults," the website says.
In the battle against respiratory infections, there are few effective and economical treatment options. Apart from COLD-FX, there is no known clinical proven therapy for both prevention and treatment that naturally enhances the immune system to fight viral respiratory infections.
A recently reported three-year, multi-center study of COLD-FX, involving 780 participants, demonstrated that it cut infections by one-third in seniors taking the flu shot. The trial also showed that using a combo of COLD-FX and a flu shot provided greater protection than using the flu shot alone. This research complemented earlier clinical trials that formed the basis of Canada's regulatory approval of 400 milligrams of COLD-FX daily to reduce the frequency, severity and duration of cold and flu symptoms by boosting the immune system.
Source: Warren Michaels
CV Technologies Inc.
Buy Cefaclor Without Prescription
Call For System That Rewards The Delivery Of High Quality Health Care At A Reasonable Price
In the February issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Mayo Clinic President and CEO Denis Cortese, M.D., and Chief Administrative Officer Robert Smoldt, call for a reimbursement system based on value rather than the current "pay-for-performance" system used by many insurers, including Medicare. A "Pay for Value" reimbursement system, as proposed by Cortese and Smoldt, would reward hospitals for achieving good patient outcomes at lower costs, thereby improving health care quality and restraining spending far better than "piecemeal" pay-for-performance plans that encourage adherence to evidence-based standards.
"The most basic measure of a hospital's quality starts with its patients' mortality, taking into account how sick they were when they were admitted," explains Dr. Cortese. "Did they live, or not? This risk-adjusted mortality varies significantly among hospitals, but very little of that outcome variation relates to compliance with these pay-for-performance process standards."
The authors suggest a "Pay for Value" model that would increase insurance payments to health care providers whose patient mortality and patient satisfaction - as measured by whether the patient would recommend the provider to a friend - are better than average, and whose costs over time are below average. Hospitals with worse outcomes, less-satisfied patients and higher costs would have their insurance reimbursements slightly reduced.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last year focused on the typical pay-for-performance approach so common today. In that article mortality variation among hospitals treating heart attack patients was examined. Differences in how well hospitals followed Medicare's key process guidelines, such as use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, only accounted for 6 percent of the risk-adjusted variation in patient survival. "We can't build a comprehensive enough checklist of process measures to yield the quality improvement our country needs," says Dr. Cortese. "To raise the quality of health care throughout the nation, we need to measure and reward outcomes and efficiency."
"Efficient providers delivering high-quality care at lower costs should be rewarded," Smoldt says. "You really do get what you pay for. If we continue to subsidize inefficiency by paying for more inputs, regardless of how much they contribute to better outcomes, we will keep seeing costs increase without a comparable quality improvement."
In their commentary, Cortese and Smoldt compare the actual performance of four teaching hospitals, identified as Hospital A -- Hospital D, in the western United States based on their value analysis, calculated by combining mortality and patient satisfaction, and dividing by a measure of total Medicare costs in the last six months of patients' lives. Hospital C was average in both outcomes and costs; Hospital D achieved significantly better outcomes at lower-than-average cost. Hospital A achieved respectable outcomes but at high cost, while Hospital B had both higher costs and poorer outcomes.
Under the authors' proposal, Hospital D would be rewarded with higher reimbursements, while a portion of the payments for hospitals A and B would be withheld to provide incentives for them to make necessary changes to improve outcomes and reduce costs so they would receive the full payments in the future.
"We need to align the incentives in the system to patients' interests," Dr. Cortese says. "They want good outcomes in a system that treats them respectfully, at a reasonable cost. They don't want expensive, invasive tests and procedures that aren't going to improve their lives. We need a system that focuses on the ends we're trying to achieve, not an incomplete menu of means."
"Pay for Value looks at both sides of the equation, quality and cost, and defines quality in a way that is meaningful to patients," Smoldt concludes. "Pay-for-performance projects have mostly focused on inputs and processes. To have a health system that delivers the best care to every patient over a lifetime, America needs a more comprehensive approach to the problem."
The commentary is available online at mayoclinicproceedings/.
A peer-review journal, Mayo Clinic Proceedings publishes original articles and reviews dealing with clinical and laboratory medicine, clinical research, basic science research and clinical epidemiology. Mayo Clinic Proceedings is published monthly by Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research as part of its commitment to the medical education of physicians. The journal has been published for more than 80 years and has a circulation of 130,000 nationally and internationally. Articles are available online at mayoclinicproceedings/.
Contact: Lee Aase
Mayo Clinic
Buy Zithromax Without Prescription
"The most basic measure of a hospital's quality starts with its patients' mortality, taking into account how sick they were when they were admitted," explains Dr. Cortese. "Did they live, or not? This risk-adjusted mortality varies significantly among hospitals, but very little of that outcome variation relates to compliance with these pay-for-performance process standards."
The authors suggest a "Pay for Value" model that would increase insurance payments to health care providers whose patient mortality and patient satisfaction - as measured by whether the patient would recommend the provider to a friend - are better than average, and whose costs over time are below average. Hospitals with worse outcomes, less-satisfied patients and higher costs would have their insurance reimbursements slightly reduced.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last year focused on the typical pay-for-performance approach so common today. In that article mortality variation among hospitals treating heart attack patients was examined. Differences in how well hospitals followed Medicare's key process guidelines, such as use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, only accounted for 6 percent of the risk-adjusted variation in patient survival. "We can't build a comprehensive enough checklist of process measures to yield the quality improvement our country needs," says Dr. Cortese. "To raise the quality of health care throughout the nation, we need to measure and reward outcomes and efficiency."
"Efficient providers delivering high-quality care at lower costs should be rewarded," Smoldt says. "You really do get what you pay for. If we continue to subsidize inefficiency by paying for more inputs, regardless of how much they contribute to better outcomes, we will keep seeing costs increase without a comparable quality improvement."
In their commentary, Cortese and Smoldt compare the actual performance of four teaching hospitals, identified as Hospital A -- Hospital D, in the western United States based on their value analysis, calculated by combining mortality and patient satisfaction, and dividing by a measure of total Medicare costs in the last six months of patients' lives. Hospital C was average in both outcomes and costs; Hospital D achieved significantly better outcomes at lower-than-average cost. Hospital A achieved respectable outcomes but at high cost, while Hospital B had both higher costs and poorer outcomes.
Under the authors' proposal, Hospital D would be rewarded with higher reimbursements, while a portion of the payments for hospitals A and B would be withheld to provide incentives for them to make necessary changes to improve outcomes and reduce costs so they would receive the full payments in the future.
"We need to align the incentives in the system to patients' interests," Dr. Cortese says. "They want good outcomes in a system that treats them respectfully, at a reasonable cost. They don't want expensive, invasive tests and procedures that aren't going to improve their lives. We need a system that focuses on the ends we're trying to achieve, not an incomplete menu of means."
"Pay for Value looks at both sides of the equation, quality and cost, and defines quality in a way that is meaningful to patients," Smoldt concludes. "Pay-for-performance projects have mostly focused on inputs and processes. To have a health system that delivers the best care to every patient over a lifetime, America needs a more comprehensive approach to the problem."
The commentary is available online at mayoclinicproceedings/.
A peer-review journal, Mayo Clinic Proceedings publishes original articles and reviews dealing with clinical and laboratory medicine, clinical research, basic science research and clinical epidemiology. Mayo Clinic Proceedings is published monthly by Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research as part of its commitment to the medical education of physicians. The journal has been published for more than 80 years and has a circulation of 130,000 nationally and internationally. Articles are available online at mayoclinicproceedings/.
Contact: Lee Aase
Mayo Clinic
Buy Zithromax Without Prescription
Change Of Political Power In States Likely Will Lead To New Laws Restricting Abortion Access
"[E]mboldened by major changes in the political landscape, with conservative Republicans making large gains," dozens of state legislatures are considering legislation that would restrict access to abortion care, the New York Times reports. According to NARAL Pro-Choice America spokesperson Ted Miller, 29 governors, up from 21 last year, are considered abortion-rights opponents, the Times reports. Fifteen states have both a Legislature and governor who oppose abortion rights, compared with 10 states last year. According to Elizabeth Nash, who tracks state abortion policies at the Guttmacher Institute, it is likely that more measures restricting abortion will pass this year than last, despite budget pressures in most states. The Times reports that 30 laws restricting abortion access were adopted in 2010 in at least nine states.
Buy Cipro Without Prescription
According to the Times, abortion-rights opponents are focusing on trying to place restrictions on abortion earlier in pregnancy than current laws allow, require women seeking abortions to first view ultrasounds and prohibit insurers participating in the health insurance exchanges from offering abortion coverage. In particular, the shift to more conservative governors seems to have opened new opportunities for opponents of abortion rights, the Times reports. Michael Gonidakis, executive director of Ohio Right to Life, said, "This is the best climate for passing pro-life laws in years. [Ohio has] a pro-life governor and a brand new pro-life speaker. We're pro-life from top to bottom."
Abortion-rights supporters say that last year's elections concerned the economy and the role of government, meaning that newly elected officials do not have a mandate to work on social issues. Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said, "We now are concerned about a real overreaching by some state legislators and governors that will make it very difficult for women to access reproductive care" (Eckholm, New York Times, 1/21).
Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
© 2010 National Partnership for Women & Families. All rights reserved.
Buy Cipro Without Prescription
Genetic Basis Of Alopecia Areata Established - May Soon Lead To New Treatments For Hair Loss Sufferers
A team of investigators led by Columbia University Medical Center has uncovered eight genes that underpin alopecia areata, one of the most common causes of hair loss, as reported in a paper in the July 1, 2010 issue of Nature. Since many of the genes are also implicated in other autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes - and treatments have already been developed that target these genes - this discovery may soon lead to new treatments for the 5.3 million Americans suffering from hair loss caused by alopecia areata.
According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, alopecia areata is a common autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere. It affects approximately two percent of the population overall. While it affects both men and women equally, it is diagnosed more often in women, since they are more likely to seek treatment.
Among the eight genes, one stands out for its potential role in the onset of alopecia areata. The gene, called ULBP3, is known to act as a homing beacon for cytotoxic cells that can invade and quickly destroy an organ. Normally, ULBP3 is not present in hair follicles, but the ULBP3 proteins are abundant in hair follicles affected by alopecia areata. The proteins attract cells marked by a killer cell receptor, known as NKG2D. In addition to ULBP3, two other genes are expressed in the hair follicle, while the five remaining genes are involved in the immune response.
"Finding the initial genes underlying alopecia areata is a big step forward, but the nature of the genes is even more exciting," said Angela M. Christiano, Ph.D., professor of dermatology and genetics & development at Columbia University Medical Center, and lead author of the study. "There seems to be a shared mechanism among organs that express NKG2D danger signals as part of the initiating process. And since drugs are already in development that target these pathways - because they are being tested to treat rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and other diseases where the NKG2D receptor is involved - we may soon be able to test these drugs in clinical trials for alopecia areata. Finally, we have the possibility of developing drugs that specifically target the mechanism behind the disease."
For years, alopecia areata was thought to be related to psoriasis because both are inflammatory diseases where T cells attack the skin. For this reason, psoriasis drugs have been tested in clinical trials for alopecia areata, but without much success. In this research, Dr. Christiano and her team found few genes in common to both diseases. Rather, they showed that alopecia areata genes have more in common with those implicated in rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, and type 1 diabetes.
"This research is very exciting as alopecia areata affects a huge number of people worldwide, and there are very few treatments for it - resulting in an enormous unmet medical need," said Vicki Kalabokes, president and CEO of the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, which funded Dr. Christiano's early pilot studies on the genetic basis of alopecia areata. "Hair loss is life-altering - sufferers, especially children, experience social stigma. It affects their quality of life and can lead to long-term psychosocial impact."
A huge source of frustration for patients is not being able to predict the progression of disease, which is highly unpredictable. Alopecia areata usually starts with one or more small, round patches on the scalp and may progress to total scalp hair loss (alopecia totalis) or complete body hair loss (alopecia universalis). Hair may grow back in or fall out again at any time, and the disease course is different for each person. Treatments often involve steroid injections into the scalp or other affected site of hair loss, topical foams, irritant factors, and rarely, systemic steroids.
To address this problem of not being able to predict disease progression, Dr. Christiano and her team looked for a correlation between how many genes (each gene comes in two pairs) people with different severities of alopecia areata carried, and found that people who carried 13-14 genes had disease that did not progress, while those with 16 or more most often progressed to alopecia universalis (total baldness).
With this new data, she is developing a genetic test that, with reasonable certainty, can predict the severity of disease.
This research was conducted using more than 1,000 samples from the National Alopecia Areata Registry, a patient registry for alopecia areata funded by the National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. Columbia University Medical Center is one of five collection sites nationwide.
"The advantage of this large sample size is that we can be sure that this group of genes was identified with a high statistical significance and did not happen by chance," said Dr. Christiano. "The next step is to replicate this study in future research."
Authors of the paper:
Lynn Petukhova1, Madeleine Duvic2, Maria Hordinsky3, David Norris4, Vera Price5, Yutaka Shimomura1, Hyunmi Kim1, Pallavi Singh1, Annette Lee6, Wei V. Chen7, Katja C. Meyer8, Ralf Paus8,9, Colin A.B. Jahoda10, Christopher I. Amos7, Peter K. Gregersen6, Angela M. Christiano1,11
Affiliations:
1Department of Dermatology, Columbia University, New York, NY;
2Department of Dermatology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX;
3Department of Dermatology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN;
4Department of Dermatology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO;
5Department of Dermatology, UCSF, San Francisco, CA;
6The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, North Shore LIJHS, Manhasset, NY;
7Department of Epidemiology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX;
8Department of Dermatology, University of LГјbeck, LГјbeck, Germany;
9School of Translational Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK;
10Department of Biological Sciences, University of Durham, Durham, UK;
11Department of Genetics & Development, Columbia University, New York, NY.
This work was supported in part by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) of the N.I.H.
Source: Columbia University Medical Center
Buy Vibramycin Without Prescription
According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, alopecia areata is a common autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere. It affects approximately two percent of the population overall. While it affects both men and women equally, it is diagnosed more often in women, since they are more likely to seek treatment.
Among the eight genes, one stands out for its potential role in the onset of alopecia areata. The gene, called ULBP3, is known to act as a homing beacon for cytotoxic cells that can invade and quickly destroy an organ. Normally, ULBP3 is not present in hair follicles, but the ULBP3 proteins are abundant in hair follicles affected by alopecia areata. The proteins attract cells marked by a killer cell receptor, known as NKG2D. In addition to ULBP3, two other genes are expressed in the hair follicle, while the five remaining genes are involved in the immune response.
"Finding the initial genes underlying alopecia areata is a big step forward, but the nature of the genes is even more exciting," said Angela M. Christiano, Ph.D., professor of dermatology and genetics & development at Columbia University Medical Center, and lead author of the study. "There seems to be a shared mechanism among organs that express NKG2D danger signals as part of the initiating process. And since drugs are already in development that target these pathways - because they are being tested to treat rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and other diseases where the NKG2D receptor is involved - we may soon be able to test these drugs in clinical trials for alopecia areata. Finally, we have the possibility of developing drugs that specifically target the mechanism behind the disease."
For years, alopecia areata was thought to be related to psoriasis because both are inflammatory diseases where T cells attack the skin. For this reason, psoriasis drugs have been tested in clinical trials for alopecia areata, but without much success. In this research, Dr. Christiano and her team found few genes in common to both diseases. Rather, they showed that alopecia areata genes have more in common with those implicated in rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, and type 1 diabetes.
"This research is very exciting as alopecia areata affects a huge number of people worldwide, and there are very few treatments for it - resulting in an enormous unmet medical need," said Vicki Kalabokes, president and CEO of the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, which funded Dr. Christiano's early pilot studies on the genetic basis of alopecia areata. "Hair loss is life-altering - sufferers, especially children, experience social stigma. It affects their quality of life and can lead to long-term psychosocial impact."
A huge source of frustration for patients is not being able to predict the progression of disease, which is highly unpredictable. Alopecia areata usually starts with one or more small, round patches on the scalp and may progress to total scalp hair loss (alopecia totalis) or complete body hair loss (alopecia universalis). Hair may grow back in or fall out again at any time, and the disease course is different for each person. Treatments often involve steroid injections into the scalp or other affected site of hair loss, topical foams, irritant factors, and rarely, systemic steroids.
To address this problem of not being able to predict disease progression, Dr. Christiano and her team looked for a correlation between how many genes (each gene comes in two pairs) people with different severities of alopecia areata carried, and found that people who carried 13-14 genes had disease that did not progress, while those with 16 or more most often progressed to alopecia universalis (total baldness).
With this new data, she is developing a genetic test that, with reasonable certainty, can predict the severity of disease.
This research was conducted using more than 1,000 samples from the National Alopecia Areata Registry, a patient registry for alopecia areata funded by the National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. Columbia University Medical Center is one of five collection sites nationwide.
"The advantage of this large sample size is that we can be sure that this group of genes was identified with a high statistical significance and did not happen by chance," said Dr. Christiano. "The next step is to replicate this study in future research."
Authors of the paper:
Lynn Petukhova1, Madeleine Duvic2, Maria Hordinsky3, David Norris4, Vera Price5, Yutaka Shimomura1, Hyunmi Kim1, Pallavi Singh1, Annette Lee6, Wei V. Chen7, Katja C. Meyer8, Ralf Paus8,9, Colin A.B. Jahoda10, Christopher I. Amos7, Peter K. Gregersen6, Angela M. Christiano1,11
Affiliations:
1Department of Dermatology, Columbia University, New York, NY;
2Department of Dermatology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX;
3Department of Dermatology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN;
4Department of Dermatology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO;
5Department of Dermatology, UCSF, San Francisco, CA;
6The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, North Shore LIJHS, Manhasset, NY;
7Department of Epidemiology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX;
8Department of Dermatology, University of LГјbeck, LГјbeck, Germany;
9School of Translational Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK;
10Department of Biological Sciences, University of Durham, Durham, UK;
11Department of Genetics & Development, Columbia University, New York, NY.
This work was supported in part by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) of the N.I.H.
Source: Columbia University Medical Center
Buy Vibramycin Without Prescription
ACP Calls On Candidates To Create Improved US Health-Care System
All candidates running for office in 2008 should commit to an agenda to create a health care system for the United States that is second to none the American College of Physicians (ACP) said in its annual report on The State of the Nation's Health Care. In its report, ACP offers a five-point Candidate's Pledge designed to gain candidate commitments to support a series of recommendations.
The recommendations result from a new ACP evidence-based policy paper, Achieving a High-Performance Health Care System with Universal Access: What the United States Can Learn from Other Countries. Published in the Jan. 1 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP's flagship journal, the paper noted that the U.S. health care system falls well below what residents of other industrialized nations receive from their health care systems.
"In 2008, we will spend more on health care than any other industrialized country," David C. Dale, MD, FACP, the president of ACP declared. "And we will get much less in return."
Much of the recent public policy discussion about the U.S. health care system has focused on comparative considerations, Dr. Dale noted. By making use of data from a number of respected sources, ACP's paper and report serve to:
* Illustrate how health care in the United States lags behind other countries.
* Explain why other countries' health care systems out-perform the United States.
* Propose specific policies for consideration by the presidential candidates to create a health care system that is second to none
* Provide a general analysis of how the current proposals from the leading presidential candidates compare to ACP's policy benchmarks.
* Propose immediate action items that President Bush and the 110th Congress can take to help - transition to a high performing health care system.
* Describe what health care in the United States would be like if ACP's proposals are implemented.
"It is not enough to study why the United States has a health care system that is behind other industrialized countries," said Robert Doherty, ACP's senior vice president of Governmental Affairs and Public Policy. "Today ACP is asking candidates to commit to the following pledge:"
A Candidate's Pledge to Make the U.S. Health Care System Second to None
I pledge to work toward enactment of legislation to provide Americans with health care that is second to none. To achieve this, I will advocate policies to:
1. Guarantee by law that everyone has access to affordable health coverage. Coverage should be without regard to their place of employment, place of residence within the United States, or income.
2. . Provide every person with access to a primary care physician. Create workforce and payment polices to increase the numbers of primary care physicians, recognize the value of primary care, and support care organized through a patient-centered medical home.
3. Increase public investment in health information technologies (HIT). Provide positive incentives to physicians to overcome the HIT cost barrier.
4. Reduce administrative expenses. Create a uniform billing system for all health insurance transactions at the point of care. Reform the medical liability system using proven legal reforms.
5. Increase funding for research. Fund basic and applied medical research, health services research, and independent research on the effectiveness, costs and benefits of different treatments compared to each other.
ACP will send copies of the pledge to all of the announced Democratic and Republican presidential candidates as well as to all members of Congress who are running for re-election. ACP will ask for their endorsement of the pledge.
Although some Americans have access to excellent health care, the fact that the U.S. lags behind every other industrial country in access and is second to last in quality - even though we spend the most - should be a wake-up call to all candidates who are seeking election in 2008.
This report, ACP says, is a call-to-action to its members, the candidates, and U.S. elected leaders to commit to comprehensive health care reforms based on ACP's paper:
* By providing ACP's members - 125,000 internists and medical students nationwide - with a Web-based tool to evaluate the candidates' positions (www.acponline/advocacy/where_we_stand/election) based on ACP's benchmarks for a high performing system, it hopes to challenge the candidates to embrace ACP's proposals and to help our members evaluate the candidates accordingly.
* ACP's Candidate's Pledge provides a specific way for its members to ask candidates - especially those running for Congress - to commit to the specific elements described in the pledge.
* Finally, ACP urges President Bush and the 110th Congress to take immediate steps in 2008 to help transition to a higher performing health care system for all.
Dr. Dale described what a U.S. health care system that truly was second to none would be like:
* Everyone would have affordable health coverage.
* Everyone would have access to a primary care physician to help guide them through the health care system (patient-centered medical home) - supported by public policies to assure a sufficient supply of primary care physicians.
* Physicians' compensation would be based not just on how many services are provided, but also for their effectiveness in improving quality, coordinating care, and for preventive services.
* Primary care physicians would receive higher compensation commensurate with their critical role in helping patients get high quality and efficient care.
* Patients would be able to receive unbiased information on quality and costs and be rewarded with positive incentives to use health care wisely.
* Paper claims would disappear and be replaced with a simple electronic billing system that all insurers would honor - just like all banks honor ATM cards.
* Patients and their physicians would have electronic health records to provide them with evidence-based treatment guidelines, laboratory and diagnostic test results, medication lists, and medical histories at the point of care.
* Patients and doctors would be able to choose among different treatment options based on independent research on their clinical effectiveness, costs and benefits compared to each other.
* Patients and physicians would have access to the latest medical advances resulting from scientific research.
Most importantly, patients in the U.S. would have accessible, high quality, equitable, and efficient care that is the envy of the world.
Americans, by our nature, do not like to be second best to anyone, ACP's State of the Nation's Health Care briefing concluded. It said that, instead of accepting a health care system that ranks well below other democratic and industrialized nations, voters should insist that our politicians pledge to support policies that will create the best health care system in the world.
The American College of Physicians is the nation's largest medical specialty organization. Membership is composed of 125,000 internal medicine physicians (internists) and medical students. Internists provide the majority of health care to adults in America. Internists are specialists in adult medicine and provide comprehensive care to adult patients.
Source: David Kinsman
American College of Physicians
Buy Diamox Without Prescription
The recommendations result from a new ACP evidence-based policy paper, Achieving a High-Performance Health Care System with Universal Access: What the United States Can Learn from Other Countries. Published in the Jan. 1 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP's flagship journal, the paper noted that the U.S. health care system falls well below what residents of other industrialized nations receive from their health care systems.
"In 2008, we will spend more on health care than any other industrialized country," David C. Dale, MD, FACP, the president of ACP declared. "And we will get much less in return."
Much of the recent public policy discussion about the U.S. health care system has focused on comparative considerations, Dr. Dale noted. By making use of data from a number of respected sources, ACP's paper and report serve to:
* Illustrate how health care in the United States lags behind other countries.
* Explain why other countries' health care systems out-perform the United States.
* Propose specific policies for consideration by the presidential candidates to create a health care system that is second to none
* Provide a general analysis of how the current proposals from the leading presidential candidates compare to ACP's policy benchmarks.
* Propose immediate action items that President Bush and the 110th Congress can take to help - transition to a high performing health care system.
* Describe what health care in the United States would be like if ACP's proposals are implemented.
"It is not enough to study why the United States has a health care system that is behind other industrialized countries," said Robert Doherty, ACP's senior vice president of Governmental Affairs and Public Policy. "Today ACP is asking candidates to commit to the following pledge:"
A Candidate's Pledge to Make the U.S. Health Care System Second to None
I pledge to work toward enactment of legislation to provide Americans with health care that is second to none. To achieve this, I will advocate policies to:
1. Guarantee by law that everyone has access to affordable health coverage. Coverage should be without regard to their place of employment, place of residence within the United States, or income.
2. . Provide every person with access to a primary care physician. Create workforce and payment polices to increase the numbers of primary care physicians, recognize the value of primary care, and support care organized through a patient-centered medical home.
3. Increase public investment in health information technologies (HIT). Provide positive incentives to physicians to overcome the HIT cost barrier.
4. Reduce administrative expenses. Create a uniform billing system for all health insurance transactions at the point of care. Reform the medical liability system using proven legal reforms.
5. Increase funding for research. Fund basic and applied medical research, health services research, and independent research on the effectiveness, costs and benefits of different treatments compared to each other.
ACP will send copies of the pledge to all of the announced Democratic and Republican presidential candidates as well as to all members of Congress who are running for re-election. ACP will ask for their endorsement of the pledge.
Although some Americans have access to excellent health care, the fact that the U.S. lags behind every other industrial country in access and is second to last in quality - even though we spend the most - should be a wake-up call to all candidates who are seeking election in 2008.
This report, ACP says, is a call-to-action to its members, the candidates, and U.S. elected leaders to commit to comprehensive health care reforms based on ACP's paper:
* By providing ACP's members - 125,000 internists and medical students nationwide - with a Web-based tool to evaluate the candidates' positions (www.acponline/advocacy/where_we_stand/election) based on ACP's benchmarks for a high performing system, it hopes to challenge the candidates to embrace ACP's proposals and to help our members evaluate the candidates accordingly.
* ACP's Candidate's Pledge provides a specific way for its members to ask candidates - especially those running for Congress - to commit to the specific elements described in the pledge.
* Finally, ACP urges President Bush and the 110th Congress to take immediate steps in 2008 to help transition to a higher performing health care system for all.
Dr. Dale described what a U.S. health care system that truly was second to none would be like:
* Everyone would have affordable health coverage.
* Everyone would have access to a primary care physician to help guide them through the health care system (patient-centered medical home) - supported by public policies to assure a sufficient supply of primary care physicians.
* Physicians' compensation would be based not just on how many services are provided, but also for their effectiveness in improving quality, coordinating care, and for preventive services.
* Primary care physicians would receive higher compensation commensurate with their critical role in helping patients get high quality and efficient care.
* Patients would be able to receive unbiased information on quality and costs and be rewarded with positive incentives to use health care wisely.
* Paper claims would disappear and be replaced with a simple electronic billing system that all insurers would honor - just like all banks honor ATM cards.
* Patients and their physicians would have electronic health records to provide them with evidence-based treatment guidelines, laboratory and diagnostic test results, medication lists, and medical histories at the point of care.
* Patients and doctors would be able to choose among different treatment options based on independent research on their clinical effectiveness, costs and benefits compared to each other.
* Patients and physicians would have access to the latest medical advances resulting from scientific research.
Most importantly, patients in the U.S. would have accessible, high quality, equitable, and efficient care that is the envy of the world.
Americans, by our nature, do not like to be second best to anyone, ACP's State of the Nation's Health Care briefing concluded. It said that, instead of accepting a health care system that ranks well below other democratic and industrialized nations, voters should insist that our politicians pledge to support policies that will create the best health care system in the world.
The American College of Physicians is the nation's largest medical specialty organization. Membership is composed of 125,000 internal medicine physicians (internists) and medical students. Internists provide the majority of health care to adults in America. Internists are specialists in adult medicine and provide comprehensive care to adult patients.
Source: David Kinsman
American College of Physicians
Buy Diamox Without Prescription
Internet Training Takes Stroke Education Around The Globe
National Stroke Association and i3CME have partnered to deliver free National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) exams using an innovative trainingcampus platform.
The online NIHSS exams provide a free and easily accessible form of continuing education for emergency physicians, neurologists, nurses, clinical researchers and medical students. This is the first curriculum to focus on the NIH Stroke Scale education, validated and developed specifically for global internet use.
"Leveraging the internet to distribute the NIH Stroke Scale will bring this important tool to healthcare professionals across the nation, ultimately influencing National stroke Association's mission to reduce the incidence and impact of stroke," Jim Baranski, Chief Executive Officer, National Stroke Association.
The NIH Stroke Scale is a series of questions administered with patients to assess acute stroke and determine the severity of the stroke before treatment is decided upon and administered. Use of the NIHSS includes documentation of neurologic status and outcome, data collection for planning safe nursing care and standardization of information exchanges between nurse caregivers and other health care professionals.
To access the NIHSS exams in English, practitioners can go to nihss-english.trainingcampus/.
About national stroke association
National Stroke Association is the only national organization in the United States that focuses 100% of its efforts on stroke. National Stroke Association achieves its mission to lower the incidence and impact of stroke by developing compelling community outreach programs, calling for continued improvement in the quality of stroke patient care, and educating both healthcare professionals and the general public about stroke.
stroke
About i3CME
i3 CME develops and delivers certified educational activities for health care professionals that are high-quality, fair-balanced, evidence-based, and grounded in demonstrated methodologies. The goal of all i3 CME activities is to effect change in participant behavior that has a positive impact on health care outcomes. i3 CME offers educational methods and formats that meet the multiple needs of the adult learner and designs educational initiatives at the global, national, regional, and local levels while recognizing that the needs of the learner are central to the design process.
i3 CME is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide CME for physicians and is also approved as a provider of CE in nursing by the Utah Nurses Association, which is accredited as an approver of continuing education in nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation, and in psychology by the American Psychological Association. Additionally, i3 CME cosponsors with the University of Florida College of Pharmacy (UFCOP), which is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmaceutical education. These affiliations allow i3 CME to offer certified educational activities to a broad range of health care providers.
About trainingcampus
TrainingCampus provides free turnkey educational platforms and tools to the healthcare and clinical research industry. Established in 1999, TrainingCampus developed a single sign-on platform for the International Electronic Education Network™ (IEEN) in order to provide standardized diagnostic clinical scales through a proprietary database platform. Internationally, the TrainingCampus™ platform now delivers hundreds of independent and multi-therapeutic educational programs from governments, for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
trainingcampus
National Stroke Association
Buy Meclizine Without Prescription
The online NIHSS exams provide a free and easily accessible form of continuing education for emergency physicians, neurologists, nurses, clinical researchers and medical students. This is the first curriculum to focus on the NIH Stroke Scale education, validated and developed specifically for global internet use.
"Leveraging the internet to distribute the NIH Stroke Scale will bring this important tool to healthcare professionals across the nation, ultimately influencing National stroke Association's mission to reduce the incidence and impact of stroke," Jim Baranski, Chief Executive Officer, National Stroke Association.
The NIH Stroke Scale is a series of questions administered with patients to assess acute stroke and determine the severity of the stroke before treatment is decided upon and administered. Use of the NIHSS includes documentation of neurologic status and outcome, data collection for planning safe nursing care and standardization of information exchanges between nurse caregivers and other health care professionals.
To access the NIHSS exams in English, practitioners can go to nihss-english.trainingcampus/.
About national stroke association
National Stroke Association is the only national organization in the United States that focuses 100% of its efforts on stroke. National Stroke Association achieves its mission to lower the incidence and impact of stroke by developing compelling community outreach programs, calling for continued improvement in the quality of stroke patient care, and educating both healthcare professionals and the general public about stroke.
stroke
About i3CME
i3 CME develops and delivers certified educational activities for health care professionals that are high-quality, fair-balanced, evidence-based, and grounded in demonstrated methodologies. The goal of all i3 CME activities is to effect change in participant behavior that has a positive impact on health care outcomes. i3 CME offers educational methods and formats that meet the multiple needs of the adult learner and designs educational initiatives at the global, national, regional, and local levels while recognizing that the needs of the learner are central to the design process.
i3 CME is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide CME for physicians and is also approved as a provider of CE in nursing by the Utah Nurses Association, which is accredited as an approver of continuing education in nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation, and in psychology by the American Psychological Association. Additionally, i3 CME cosponsors with the University of Florida College of Pharmacy (UFCOP), which is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmaceutical education. These affiliations allow i3 CME to offer certified educational activities to a broad range of health care providers.
About trainingcampus
TrainingCampus provides free turnkey educational platforms and tools to the healthcare and clinical research industry. Established in 1999, TrainingCampus developed a single sign-on platform for the International Electronic Education Network™ (IEEN) in order to provide standardized diagnostic clinical scales through a proprietary database platform. Internationally, the TrainingCampus™ platform now delivers hundreds of independent and multi-therapeutic educational programs from governments, for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
trainingcampus
National Stroke Association
Buy Meclizine Without Prescription
Uninsured Kids In Middle Class Have Same Unmet Needs As Poor
Nationwide, uninsured children in families earning between $38,000 and $77,000 a year are just as likely to go without any health care as uninsured children in poorer families. More than 40 percent of children in those income brackets who are uninsured all year see no physicians and have no prescriptions all year, according to new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center.
"There's an assumption that children in families with higher income levels don't need insurance, that they are uninsured but are somehow still receiving health care anyway," said Laura Shone, Dr.P.H., M.S.W., an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center and author of the study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. "This study shows that in reality, a large percentage of these children don't receive any care at all - which pediatricians say is unacceptable, and parents know is unrealistic. Even healthy, older children need to see their physicians at least once over the course of a year."
Overall, almost 3 million uninsured children had no medical care and no prescription use for a full year, according to an analysis of nationally representative data from the 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Of those, about 1.6 million children may qualify for public coverage but are not enrolled, and about 1 million more could be covered through expansions that were proposed yet vetoed at the national level in late 2007. The percentage of uninsured children who forego all health care for a full year is:
55 percent at 0 to 100 percent of the federal poverty level ($0 to $19,157 for a family of four)
51 percent at 101 to 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($19,158 to $38,314)
42 percent at 201 to 300 percent of the federal poverty level ($38,315 to $57,471)
44 percent at 301 to 400 percent of the federal poverty level ($57,472 to $76,628)
30 percent for those over 400 percent of the federal poverty level ($78,629 and above)
Since 1997, the national State Children's Health Insurance Program has provided health insurance to low-income children who are not eligible for Medicaid and do not have private coverage. Under the federal law, states received grants of federal dollars to help with costs of insurance expansions, and they had several options for how to expand coverage for children using those dollars.
A pediatric research team at the University of Rochester Medical Center has been studying Child Health Plus (New York's state-specific plan beginning in 1991, which in 1997, received federal approval to become the state's SCHIP plan) since its inception. Earlier research by this team has shown that the program greatly increases children's access to primary care, preventive care, as well as other needed health care. SCHIP markedly reduces children's unmet health care needs and reduces pre-existing racial disparities in access, unmet need and continuity of care. Parents of children with asthma and special health care needs were more satisfied and better able to afford care and medications for their child's condition once enrolled.
When the program came up for federal renewal last year, there were several sources of disagreement over whether to expand the program. In addition to debating the potential funding source for the expansion, the executive and legislative branches held different expectations as to how often families would leave private insurance for the public program, particularly at the higher income levels (200 to 400 percent of the federal poverty level).
Congress has extended SCHIP at flat funding, with no expansion. Questions remain about whether current funding will continue to cover those already enrolled. Since expansion was vetoed at the national level, New York's Governor David Paterson has signed state-level proposals to expand Child Health Plus in New York using only state monies. Several other states are considering similar state-level expansions.
Source: Becky Jones
University of Rochester Medical Center
Buy Lumigan Online no Prescription
"There's an assumption that children in families with higher income levels don't need insurance, that they are uninsured but are somehow still receiving health care anyway," said Laura Shone, Dr.P.H., M.S.W., an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center and author of the study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. "This study shows that in reality, a large percentage of these children don't receive any care at all - which pediatricians say is unacceptable, and parents know is unrealistic. Even healthy, older children need to see their physicians at least once over the course of a year."
Overall, almost 3 million uninsured children had no medical care and no prescription use for a full year, according to an analysis of nationally representative data from the 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Of those, about 1.6 million children may qualify for public coverage but are not enrolled, and about 1 million more could be covered through expansions that were proposed yet vetoed at the national level in late 2007. The percentage of uninsured children who forego all health care for a full year is:
55 percent at 0 to 100 percent of the federal poverty level ($0 to $19,157 for a family of four)
51 percent at 101 to 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($19,158 to $38,314)
42 percent at 201 to 300 percent of the federal poverty level ($38,315 to $57,471)
44 percent at 301 to 400 percent of the federal poverty level ($57,472 to $76,628)
30 percent for those over 400 percent of the federal poverty level ($78,629 and above)
Since 1997, the national State Children's Health Insurance Program has provided health insurance to low-income children who are not eligible for Medicaid and do not have private coverage. Under the federal law, states received grants of federal dollars to help with costs of insurance expansions, and they had several options for how to expand coverage for children using those dollars.
A pediatric research team at the University of Rochester Medical Center has been studying Child Health Plus (New York's state-specific plan beginning in 1991, which in 1997, received federal approval to become the state's SCHIP plan) since its inception. Earlier research by this team has shown that the program greatly increases children's access to primary care, preventive care, as well as other needed health care. SCHIP markedly reduces children's unmet health care needs and reduces pre-existing racial disparities in access, unmet need and continuity of care. Parents of children with asthma and special health care needs were more satisfied and better able to afford care and medications for their child's condition once enrolled.
When the program came up for federal renewal last year, there were several sources of disagreement over whether to expand the program. In addition to debating the potential funding source for the expansion, the executive and legislative branches held different expectations as to how often families would leave private insurance for the public program, particularly at the higher income levels (200 to 400 percent of the federal poverty level).
Congress has extended SCHIP at flat funding, with no expansion. Questions remain about whether current funding will continue to cover those already enrolled. Since expansion was vetoed at the national level, New York's Governor David Paterson has signed state-level proposals to expand Child Health Plus in New York using only state monies. Several other states are considering similar state-level expansions.
Source: Becky Jones
University of Rochester Medical Center
Buy Lumigan Online no Prescription
Medicare Must Be Addressed Before U.S. Can Overhaul Health Care System, Opinion Piece States
"Fiscally speaking, the U.S. government has been living on borrowed time for decades" because it "has promised massively expensive benefits -- mainly Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- heedless of the enormous tax burdens these promises implicitly place on our children and grandchildren," according to a Washington Times opinion piece by Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, Stuart Butler, vice president for domestic policy issues at the Heritage Foundation and Isabel Sawhill, a senior economic studies fellow at the Brookings Institution.
According to the authors, "If the Wall Street crisis has taught us nothing else, it has shown there are financial limits -- even for America." They write, "Health care reform is a good and noble goal. But if we do only that -- without fundamentally redesigning the Medicare commitment -- our grandchildren will inherit a crushing financial burden." The authors state, "Medicare has led before and can do it again," asking, "Why hold Medicare reform hostage to a global 'fix' of health care?"
The authors recommend that the U.S. government:"Use Medicare to leverage wholesale change in reimbursement policies, encourage use of electronic medical records, and experiment with new health care delivery methods" and allow "competitive bidding on medical equipment for home-based seniors";
"Reduce the commitments we've made -- seriously, but fairly," such as by reducing Medicare Parts B and D premium subsidies for upper-income beneficiaries;
"Look for savings in Medicare payments," for example, by reducing Medicare Advantage payments; and
"Finally, put Medicare (and Social Security and Medicaid) on a budget, with automatic 'triggers' to make sure spending stays within budgeted amounts" (Bixby et al., Washington Times, 11/18).
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Buy Probenecid Without Prescription
According to the authors, "If the Wall Street crisis has taught us nothing else, it has shown there are financial limits -- even for America." They write, "Health care reform is a good and noble goal. But if we do only that -- without fundamentally redesigning the Medicare commitment -- our grandchildren will inherit a crushing financial burden." The authors state, "Medicare has led before and can do it again," asking, "Why hold Medicare reform hostage to a global 'fix' of health care?"
The authors recommend that the U.S. government:"Use Medicare to leverage wholesale change in reimbursement policies, encourage use of electronic medical records, and experiment with new health care delivery methods" and allow "competitive bidding on medical equipment for home-based seniors";
"Reduce the commitments we've made -- seriously, but fairly," such as by reducing Medicare Parts B and D premium subsidies for upper-income beneficiaries;
"Look for savings in Medicare payments," for example, by reducing Medicare Advantage payments; and
"Finally, put Medicare (and Social Security and Medicaid) on a budget, with automatic 'triggers' to make sure spending stays within budgeted amounts" (Bixby et al., Washington Times, 11/18).
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Buy Probenecid Without Prescription
Decision By Democratic Presidential Candidate Clinton To Suspend Campaign Decreases Prospects For Individual Health Insurance Mandate, Wall Street
The recent decision by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) to suspend her campaign "will deal a blow to supporters of a key element in the tussle over universal health coverage: the idea that all Americans be required to buy or have health insurance," the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, the issue of an individual mandate, which represented an "important tenet of Sen. Clinton's health care plan and the only substantive difference" between her proposal and the plan of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), has become "dominant ... in the national discussion over how to expand coverage to the country's nearly 50 million uninsured."
However, with the decision by Clinton to suspend her campaign on Saturday, the "concept of a broad insurance mandate lost its most prominent platform" and "is likely to fade from the national stage" for the remainder of this election, the Journal reports. Obama, whose health care proposal would require health insurance for children, "hasn't ruled out" an individual mandate as an "option down the road," but he maintains that such a mandate would prove "ineffective without first making insurance plans affordable," according to the Journal. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) opposes an individual health insurance mandate.
Robert Laszewski, a health care consultant and analyst, said, "Neither of the two presidential candidates still standing believes it's necessary," adding, "So we're not going to have anyone talking about it."
In addition, after "gaining considerable political ground, especially at the state level, the concept has suffered other setbacks lately, too," with the recent failure of a California bill that would have implemented an individual mandate and "mixed" results for a Massachusetts law that includes such a mandate, the Journal reports (Fuhrmans/Goldstein, Wall Street Journal, 6/7).
NBC's "Nightly News" on Sunday included a comparison of the differences between McCain and Obama on health care and other issues (Cowan, "Nightly News," NBC, 6/8).
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Buy Clofazimine Without Prescription
However, with the decision by Clinton to suspend her campaign on Saturday, the "concept of a broad insurance mandate lost its most prominent platform" and "is likely to fade from the national stage" for the remainder of this election, the Journal reports. Obama, whose health care proposal would require health insurance for children, "hasn't ruled out" an individual mandate as an "option down the road," but he maintains that such a mandate would prove "ineffective without first making insurance plans affordable," according to the Journal. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) opposes an individual health insurance mandate.
Robert Laszewski, a health care consultant and analyst, said, "Neither of the two presidential candidates still standing believes it's necessary," adding, "So we're not going to have anyone talking about it."
In addition, after "gaining considerable political ground, especially at the state level, the concept has suffered other setbacks lately, too," with the recent failure of a California bill that would have implemented an individual mandate and "mixed" results for a Massachusetts law that includes such a mandate, the Journal reports (Fuhrmans/Goldstein, Wall Street Journal, 6/7).
NBC's "Nightly News" on Sunday included a comparison of the differences between McCain and Obama on health care and other issues (Cowan, "Nightly News," NBC, 6/8).
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Buy Clofazimine Without Prescription
Many Adults Believe Issue Of The Uninsured Should Serve As Top U.S. Health Priority, Poll Finds
About 42% of U.S. adults believe the federal government should make the issue of the uninsured a top health priority over the next two years, according to a new WSJ/Harris Interactive poll, the Wall Street Journal reports. The poll, conducted between Oct. 8 and Oct. 10, included responses from a nationally representative sample of 2,384 adults. According to the poll, 42% of respondents cited "reducing the percentage of Americans without health insurance" as one of the top two health care issues, followed by Medicare reform (28%) and moderating out-of-pocket health care costs (26%). Most respondents said that, although health care issues will have some effect on their votes in the November elections, other issues are more important, the poll found. In addition, a plurality of respondents believes by between two and three to one margins that Democrats would address various health care issues more effectively than Republicans, according to the poll. The poll found that 37% of respondents believe Democrats would more effectively address the issue of the uninsured, compared with 11% who believe Republicans would address the issue more effectively. However, one-third of respondents believe there's no difference between the parties in addressing the issue of the uninsured and 22% are uncertain, the poll found (Bright, Wall Street Journal, 10/24).
"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Buy Sporanox Without Prescription
"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Buy Sporanox Without Prescription
Health Coaches Help Improve Employee Health, Lower Employer Cost
An increasing number of employers are offering health coaching services as a way to improve employee health and keep health care costs down, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Most programs offer employees telephone coaching over the course of one year, but some programs provide face-to-face contact with a nurse.
Health coaching programs at one time mostly were directed at "employees with chronic health conditions," but the "use of personalized, telephone coaching has since proved to be a cost-effective way to help many employees make lifestyle-behavior changes," the Sentinel reports. For example, sales-finance lender BB&T, which has had a health coaching program in place for more than 20 years, estimates that more than 90% of its employees participate in the program and that annually, the company spends $1,100 less on health costs per employee than other banking companies.
Employees who participate in health coaching programs can receive a variety of incentives, including discounts on monthly health insurance premiums or financial rewards (Wessel, Orlando Sentinel, 9/10).
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Buy Ursodiol Without Prescription
Health coaching programs at one time mostly were directed at "employees with chronic health conditions," but the "use of personalized, telephone coaching has since proved to be a cost-effective way to help many employees make lifestyle-behavior changes," the Sentinel reports. For example, sales-finance lender BB&T, which has had a health coaching program in place for more than 20 years, estimates that more than 90% of its employees participate in the program and that annually, the company spends $1,100 less on health costs per employee than other banking companies.
Employees who participate in health coaching programs can receive a variety of incentives, including discounts on monthly health insurance premiums or financial rewards (Wessel, Orlando Sentinel, 9/10).
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Buy Ursodiol Without Prescription
Self-Powered Nanosensors
By combining a new generation of piezoelectric nanogenerators with two types of nanowire sensors, researchers have created what are believed to be the first self-powered nanometer-scale sensing devices that draw power from the conversion of mechanical energy. The new devices can measure the pH of liquids or detect the presence of ultraviolet light using electrical current produced from mechanical energy in the environment.
Based on arrays containing as many as 20,000 zinc oxide nanowires in each nanogenerator, the devices can produce up to 1.2 volts of output voltage, and are fabricated with a chemical process designed to facilitate low-cost manufacture on flexible substrates. Tests done with nearly one thousand nanogenerators - which have no mechanical moving parts - showed that they can be operated over time without loss of generating capacity.
Details of the improved nanogenerator and self-powered nanosensors were scheduled to be reported March 28 in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
"We have demonstrated a robust way to harvest energy and use it for powering nanometer-scale sensors," said Zhong Lin Wang, a Regents professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "We now have a technology roadmap for scaling these nanogenerators up to make truly practical applications."
For the past five years, Wang's research team has been developing nanoscale generators that use the piezoelectric effect - which produces electrical charges when wires made from zinc oxide are subjected to strain. The strain can be produced by simply flexing the wires, and current from many wires can be constructively combined to power small devices. The research effort has recently focused on increasing the amount of current and voltage generated and on making the devices more robust.
In the paper, Wang and collaborators report on a new configuration for the nanowires that embeds both ends of the tiny structures in a polymer substrate. The wires can then generate current as they are compressed in a flexible nanogenerator enclosure, eliminating the contact with a metallic electrode that was required in earlier devices. Because the generators are completely enclosed, they can be used in a variety of environments.
"We can now grow the wires chemically on substrates that are foldable and flexible and the processing can now be done at substrate temperatures of less than 100 degrees Celsius - about the temperature of coffee," explained Wang. "That will allow lower cost fabrication and growth on just about any substrate."
The nanogenerators are produced using a multi-step process that includes fabrication of electrodes that provide both Ohmic and Shottky contacts for the nanowires. The arrays can be grown both vertically and laterally. To maximize current and voltage, the growth and assembly requires alignment of crystalline growth, as well as the synchronization of charging and discharging cycles.
Production of vertical nanogenerators begins with growing zinc oxide nanowires on a gold-coated surface using a wet chemical method. A layer of polymethyl-methacrylate is then spun-coated onto the nanowires, covering them from top to bottom. Oxygen plasma etching is then performed, leaving clean tips on which a piece of silicon wafer coated with platinum is placed. The coated silicon provides a Shottky barrier, which is essential for maintaining electrical current flow.
The alternating current output of the nanogenerators depends on the amount of strain applied. "At a strain rate of less than two percent per second, we can produce output voltage of 1.2 volts," said Wang. "The power output is matched with the external load."
Lateral nanogenerators integrating 700 rows of zinc oxide nanowires produced a peak voltage of 1.26 volts at a strain of 0.19 percent. In a separate nanogenerator, vertical integration of three layers of zinc oxide nanowire arrays produced a peak power density of 2.7 milliwatts per cubic centimeter.
Wang's team has so far produced two tiny sensors that are based on zinc oxide nanowires and powered by the nanogenerators. By measuring the amplitude of voltage changes across the device when exposed to different liquids, the pH sensor can measure the acidity of liquids. An ultraviolet nanosensor depends on similar voltage changes to detect when it is struck by ultraviolet light.
In addition to Wang, the team authoring the paper included Sheng Xu, Yong Qin, Chen Xu, Yaguang Wei, and Rusen Wang, all from Georgia Tech's School of Materials Science and Engineering.
The new generator and nanoscale sensors open new possibilities for very small sensing devices that can operate without batteries, powered by mechanical energy harvested from the environment. Energy sources could include the motion of tides, sonic waves, mechanical vibration, the flapping of a flag in the wind, pressure from shoes of a hiker or the movement of clothing.
"Building devices that are small isn't sufficient," Wang noted. "We must also be able to power them in a sustainable way that allows them to be mobile. Using our new nanogenerator, we can put these devices into the environment where they can work independently and sustainably without requiring a battery."
Source:
John Toon
Georgia Institute of Technology Research News
Buy Ditropan Without Prescription
Based on arrays containing as many as 20,000 zinc oxide nanowires in each nanogenerator, the devices can produce up to 1.2 volts of output voltage, and are fabricated with a chemical process designed to facilitate low-cost manufacture on flexible substrates. Tests done with nearly one thousand nanogenerators - which have no mechanical moving parts - showed that they can be operated over time without loss of generating capacity.
Details of the improved nanogenerator and self-powered nanosensors were scheduled to be reported March 28 in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
"We have demonstrated a robust way to harvest energy and use it for powering nanometer-scale sensors," said Zhong Lin Wang, a Regents professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "We now have a technology roadmap for scaling these nanogenerators up to make truly practical applications."
For the past five years, Wang's research team has been developing nanoscale generators that use the piezoelectric effect - which produces electrical charges when wires made from zinc oxide are subjected to strain. The strain can be produced by simply flexing the wires, and current from many wires can be constructively combined to power small devices. The research effort has recently focused on increasing the amount of current and voltage generated and on making the devices more robust.
In the paper, Wang and collaborators report on a new configuration for the nanowires that embeds both ends of the tiny structures in a polymer substrate. The wires can then generate current as they are compressed in a flexible nanogenerator enclosure, eliminating the contact with a metallic electrode that was required in earlier devices. Because the generators are completely enclosed, they can be used in a variety of environments.
"We can now grow the wires chemically on substrates that are foldable and flexible and the processing can now be done at substrate temperatures of less than 100 degrees Celsius - about the temperature of coffee," explained Wang. "That will allow lower cost fabrication and growth on just about any substrate."
The nanogenerators are produced using a multi-step process that includes fabrication of electrodes that provide both Ohmic and Shottky contacts for the nanowires. The arrays can be grown both vertically and laterally. To maximize current and voltage, the growth and assembly requires alignment of crystalline growth, as well as the synchronization of charging and discharging cycles.
Production of vertical nanogenerators begins with growing zinc oxide nanowires on a gold-coated surface using a wet chemical method. A layer of polymethyl-methacrylate is then spun-coated onto the nanowires, covering them from top to bottom. Oxygen plasma etching is then performed, leaving clean tips on which a piece of silicon wafer coated with platinum is placed. The coated silicon provides a Shottky barrier, which is essential for maintaining electrical current flow.
The alternating current output of the nanogenerators depends on the amount of strain applied. "At a strain rate of less than two percent per second, we can produce output voltage of 1.2 volts," said Wang. "The power output is matched with the external load."
Lateral nanogenerators integrating 700 rows of zinc oxide nanowires produced a peak voltage of 1.26 volts at a strain of 0.19 percent. In a separate nanogenerator, vertical integration of three layers of zinc oxide nanowire arrays produced a peak power density of 2.7 milliwatts per cubic centimeter.
Wang's team has so far produced two tiny sensors that are based on zinc oxide nanowires and powered by the nanogenerators. By measuring the amplitude of voltage changes across the device when exposed to different liquids, the pH sensor can measure the acidity of liquids. An ultraviolet nanosensor depends on similar voltage changes to detect when it is struck by ultraviolet light.
In addition to Wang, the team authoring the paper included Sheng Xu, Yong Qin, Chen Xu, Yaguang Wei, and Rusen Wang, all from Georgia Tech's School of Materials Science and Engineering.
The new generator and nanoscale sensors open new possibilities for very small sensing devices that can operate without batteries, powered by mechanical energy harvested from the environment. Energy sources could include the motion of tides, sonic waves, mechanical vibration, the flapping of a flag in the wind, pressure from shoes of a hiker or the movement of clothing.
"Building devices that are small isn't sufficient," Wang noted. "We must also be able to power them in a sustainable way that allows them to be mobile. Using our new nanogenerator, we can put these devices into the environment where they can work independently and sustainably without requiring a battery."
Source:
John Toon
Georgia Institute of Technology Research News
Buy Ditropan Without Prescription
Phase III Study Of Rituxan In Lupus Nephritis Did Not Meet Primary Endpoint
Genentech, Inc. (NYSE:DNA) and Biogen Idec (Nasdaq:BIIB) announced that a Phase III study of Rituxan® (rituximab) plus mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and corticosteroids in patients with lupus nephritis did not meet its primary endpoint of significantly reducing disease activity at 52 weeks. The primary endpoint evaluated improvements in kidney response as measured by standard laboratory tests used to assess kidney health. A preliminary analysis of the safety data did not reveal any new or unexpected safety signals in patients receiving Rituxan.
Lupus nephritis is an inflammation of the kidney and a complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus), an autoimmune disease. Lupus nephritis can lead to a progressive loss of kidney function and may result in kidney failure in the most severe cases. Lupus nephritis occurs in approximately one-third of people with SLE.
"We are disappointed that Rituxan did not show a significant benefit in patients with lupus nephritis, a complex and serious disease. Using the insights from this study, we will continue to look for new approaches to the treatment of lupus," said Hal Barron, M.D., Genentech's senior vice president, development and chief medical officer.
"We would like to acknowledge the investigators and patients who participated in the LUNAR study for their important contribution to our understanding of this challenging disease," said Evan Beckman, M.D., Biogen Idec's senior vice president of Immunology Research and Development. "We plan to analyze the full set of data from this study and share the findings at an upcoming scientific meeting."
About the Study
This Phase III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center study included 144 patients with Class III or IV lupus nephritis from approximately 60 sites in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. Study participants were treated with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and corticosteroids and were randomized 1:1 to receive Rituxan or placebo in two infusions, 15 days apart. The patients were retreated six months later with the same regimen. MMF, an immunosuppressive drug, is commonly used in the treatment of lupus nephritis. Patients were evaluated for efficacy at weeks 24 and 52. The majority of patients are being monitored for at least 78 weeks.
The primary endpoint of the study was the proportion of patients who achieved a complete renal response (significant reduction of disease activity from baseline including normalization of kidney function) or partial renal response (reduction of disease activity from baseline including no further loss of kidney function) after 52 weeks of treatment as assessed by improvements in renal function, urinary sediment and proteinuria. Proteinuria refers to an abnormal amount of protein in the urine and is a well-recognized sign of potential kidney damage.
Detailed safety data from the study is currently being evaluated. The incidence of overall adverse events and serious adverse events including infections and infusion reactions was comparable between the Rituxan and placebo treatment groups. Side effects occurring more frequently in the Rituxan arm included: leukopenia (12.3 percent in the Rituxan arm versus 4.2 percent in the placebo arm), neutropenia (5.5 percent in the Rituxan arm versus 1.4 percent in the placebo arm) and hypotension (11.0 percent in the Rituxan arm versus 4.2 percent in the placebo arm). The companies continue to monitor the long-term safety of Rituxan treatment.
About Lupus Nephritis
Lupus nephritis is a frequent and often severe complication of lupus, an autoimmune disease where a person's own immune system attacks healthy tissues and cells, causing inflammation and damaging multiple organs and systems in the body including the skin, joints, kidneys, and the brain. Lupus nephritis can result in loss of function or complete kidney failure. Lupus nephritis affects approximately 30-40 percent1 of the 400,000 people with lupus2. Most people with lupus nephritis experience periods of illness called flares, and periods of wellness, or remission. Some experience weight gain, high blood pressure, dark urine and swelling (edema) around the eyes, legs, ankles or fingers. Currently, there is no cure for lupus or lupus nephritis.
About Rituxan®
Rituxan, discovered by Biogen Idec, is a therapeutic antibody that first received FDA approval in November 1997 for the treatment of relapsed or refractory, low-grade or follicular, CD20-positive, B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It was also approved in the European Union under the trade name MabThera® in June 1998. Rituxan received FDA approval in February 2006 for the treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in combination with CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone) or other anthracycline-based chemotherapy regimens in previously untreated patients.
In February 2006, Rituxan also received FDA approval in combination with MTX to reduce signs and symptoms in adult patients with moderately-to-severely active RA who have had an inadequate response to one or more TNF antagonist therapies. In January 2008, Rituxan was approved to slow the progression of structural damage in adult patients with moderately-to-severely active RA who have had an inadequate response to one or more TNF-antagonist therapies. Rituxan is the first treatment for RA that selectively targets immune cells known as CD20-positive B-cells. Rituxan does not target the entire immune system.
CD20 is not found on stem cells, pro-B cells (B-cell precursors), normal plasma cells, or other normal tissues. Rituxan does not target plasma cells. These cells make antibodies that help fight infections.
Rituxan does not target stem cells in the bone marrow, and B-cells can usually regenerate and gradually return to normal levels after retreatment with Rituxan in about 12 months for most patients.
In addition, Rituxan received FDA approval in September 2006 for first-line treatment of previously-untreated patients with follicular NHL in combination with CVP (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisolone) chemotherapy and also for the treatment of low-grade NHL in patients with stable disease or who achieve a partial or complete response following first-line treatment with CVP chemotherapy.
Rituxan has more than 10 years of clinical experience across all indications and more than 1,000,000 patient exposures worldwide.
Rituxan is also being studied in other autoimmune diseases with significant unmet medical needs, including antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis.
Rituxan Safety
Rituxan can cause serious side effects, some of which can be life-threatening, including: Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML), infusion reactions, Tumor Lysis Syndrome (TLS), and severe skin reactions. Other serious and life-threatening side effects with Rituxan include: hepatitis B virus reactivation, heart problems, infections, and stomach and bowel problems. Common side effects during Rituxan infusions include: fever, headache, chills and shakes, nausea, itching, hives, cough, sneezing, and throat irritation or tightness.
Please visit gene or call 1-800-821-8590 for the Rituxan full prescribing information, including Boxed WARNINGS, Medication Guide, and additional important safety information.
Genentech and collaborators are leading research in the field of immunology by developing a pipeline of potential agents for various immune-mediated diseases, with ongoing clinical trials in lupus, RA, MS and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis.
Genentech and Biogen Idec co-market Rituxan in the United States, and Roche markets MabThera in the rest of the world, except Japan, where Rituxan is co-marketed by Chugai and Zenyaku Kogyo Co. Ltd.
About Genentech
Founded more than 30 years ago, Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines for patients with significant unmet medical needs. The company has headquarters in South San Francisco, California and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DNA. For additional information about the company, please visit gene.
About Biogen Idec
Biogen Idec creates new standards of care in therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs. Founded in 1978, Biogen Idec is a global leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative therapies. Patients in more than 90 countries benefit from Biogen Idec's significant products that address diseases such as lymphoma, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. For product labeling, press releases and additional information about the company, please visit biogenidec.
Citations:
1. Wallace DJ. Lupus in the kidney and urinary tract in: The Lupus Book: A Guide for Patients and Families, Third Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005:145-151.
2. Chakravarty EF, Bush TM, Manzi S et al. Prevalence of adult systemic lupus erythematosus in California and Pennsylvania in 2000: estimates obtained using hospitalization data. Arthritis Rheum 2007;56:2092-2096.
Biogen Idec
View drug information on Rituxan.
Buy Dexamethasone Without Prescription
Lupus nephritis is an inflammation of the kidney and a complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus), an autoimmune disease. Lupus nephritis can lead to a progressive loss of kidney function and may result in kidney failure in the most severe cases. Lupus nephritis occurs in approximately one-third of people with SLE.
"We are disappointed that Rituxan did not show a significant benefit in patients with lupus nephritis, a complex and serious disease. Using the insights from this study, we will continue to look for new approaches to the treatment of lupus," said Hal Barron, M.D., Genentech's senior vice president, development and chief medical officer.
"We would like to acknowledge the investigators and patients who participated in the LUNAR study for their important contribution to our understanding of this challenging disease," said Evan Beckman, M.D., Biogen Idec's senior vice president of Immunology Research and Development. "We plan to analyze the full set of data from this study and share the findings at an upcoming scientific meeting."
About the Study
This Phase III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center study included 144 patients with Class III or IV lupus nephritis from approximately 60 sites in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. Study participants were treated with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and corticosteroids and were randomized 1:1 to receive Rituxan or placebo in two infusions, 15 days apart. The patients were retreated six months later with the same regimen. MMF, an immunosuppressive drug, is commonly used in the treatment of lupus nephritis. Patients were evaluated for efficacy at weeks 24 and 52. The majority of patients are being monitored for at least 78 weeks.
The primary endpoint of the study was the proportion of patients who achieved a complete renal response (significant reduction of disease activity from baseline including normalization of kidney function) or partial renal response (reduction of disease activity from baseline including no further loss of kidney function) after 52 weeks of treatment as assessed by improvements in renal function, urinary sediment and proteinuria. Proteinuria refers to an abnormal amount of protein in the urine and is a well-recognized sign of potential kidney damage.
Detailed safety data from the study is currently being evaluated. The incidence of overall adverse events and serious adverse events including infections and infusion reactions was comparable between the Rituxan and placebo treatment groups. Side effects occurring more frequently in the Rituxan arm included: leukopenia (12.3 percent in the Rituxan arm versus 4.2 percent in the placebo arm), neutropenia (5.5 percent in the Rituxan arm versus 1.4 percent in the placebo arm) and hypotension (11.0 percent in the Rituxan arm versus 4.2 percent in the placebo arm). The companies continue to monitor the long-term safety of Rituxan treatment.
About Lupus Nephritis
Lupus nephritis is a frequent and often severe complication of lupus, an autoimmune disease where a person's own immune system attacks healthy tissues and cells, causing inflammation and damaging multiple organs and systems in the body including the skin, joints, kidneys, and the brain. Lupus nephritis can result in loss of function or complete kidney failure. Lupus nephritis affects approximately 30-40 percent1 of the 400,000 people with lupus2. Most people with lupus nephritis experience periods of illness called flares, and periods of wellness, or remission. Some experience weight gain, high blood pressure, dark urine and swelling (edema) around the eyes, legs, ankles or fingers. Currently, there is no cure for lupus or lupus nephritis.
About Rituxan®
Rituxan, discovered by Biogen Idec, is a therapeutic antibody that first received FDA approval in November 1997 for the treatment of relapsed or refractory, low-grade or follicular, CD20-positive, B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It was also approved in the European Union under the trade name MabThera® in June 1998. Rituxan received FDA approval in February 2006 for the treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in combination with CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone) or other anthracycline-based chemotherapy regimens in previously untreated patients.
In February 2006, Rituxan also received FDA approval in combination with MTX to reduce signs and symptoms in adult patients with moderately-to-severely active RA who have had an inadequate response to one or more TNF antagonist therapies. In January 2008, Rituxan was approved to slow the progression of structural damage in adult patients with moderately-to-severely active RA who have had an inadequate response to one or more TNF-antagonist therapies. Rituxan is the first treatment for RA that selectively targets immune cells known as CD20-positive B-cells. Rituxan does not target the entire immune system.
CD20 is not found on stem cells, pro-B cells (B-cell precursors), normal plasma cells, or other normal tissues. Rituxan does not target plasma cells. These cells make antibodies that help fight infections.
Rituxan does not target stem cells in the bone marrow, and B-cells can usually regenerate and gradually return to normal levels after retreatment with Rituxan in about 12 months for most patients.
In addition, Rituxan received FDA approval in September 2006 for first-line treatment of previously-untreated patients with follicular NHL in combination with CVP (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisolone) chemotherapy and also for the treatment of low-grade NHL in patients with stable disease or who achieve a partial or complete response following first-line treatment with CVP chemotherapy.
Rituxan has more than 10 years of clinical experience across all indications and more than 1,000,000 patient exposures worldwide.
Rituxan is also being studied in other autoimmune diseases with significant unmet medical needs, including antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis.
Rituxan Safety
Rituxan can cause serious side effects, some of which can be life-threatening, including: Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML), infusion reactions, Tumor Lysis Syndrome (TLS), and severe skin reactions. Other serious and life-threatening side effects with Rituxan include: hepatitis B virus reactivation, heart problems, infections, and stomach and bowel problems. Common side effects during Rituxan infusions include: fever, headache, chills and shakes, nausea, itching, hives, cough, sneezing, and throat irritation or tightness.
Please visit gene or call 1-800-821-8590 for the Rituxan full prescribing information, including Boxed WARNINGS, Medication Guide, and additional important safety information.
Genentech and collaborators are leading research in the field of immunology by developing a pipeline of potential agents for various immune-mediated diseases, with ongoing clinical trials in lupus, RA, MS and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis.
Genentech and Biogen Idec co-market Rituxan in the United States, and Roche markets MabThera in the rest of the world, except Japan, where Rituxan is co-marketed by Chugai and Zenyaku Kogyo Co. Ltd.
About Genentech
Founded more than 30 years ago, Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines for patients with significant unmet medical needs. The company has headquarters in South San Francisco, California and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DNA. For additional information about the company, please visit gene.
About Biogen Idec
Biogen Idec creates new standards of care in therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs. Founded in 1978, Biogen Idec is a global leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative therapies. Patients in more than 90 countries benefit from Biogen Idec's significant products that address diseases such as lymphoma, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. For product labeling, press releases and additional information about the company, please visit biogenidec.
Citations:
1. Wallace DJ. Lupus in the kidney and urinary tract in: The Lupus Book: A Guide for Patients and Families, Third Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005:145-151.
2. Chakravarty EF, Bush TM, Manzi S et al. Prevalence of adult systemic lupus erythematosus in California and Pennsylvania in 2000: estimates obtained using hospitalization data. Arthritis Rheum 2007;56:2092-2096.
Biogen Idec
View drug information on Rituxan.
Buy Dexamethasone Without Prescription
Подписаться на:
Комментарии (Atom)