Month: December 2014

After promising clinical trials, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a drug called Saxenda for chronic weight management that will be available by prescription to overweight and obese adults. Intended to accompany a diet and exercise plan, Saxenda is a once-daily injection of an imitation of the hormone GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide) that tells the brain when the stomach is full. The treatment is not without risks, amongst which include pancreatitis, gall bladder disease,

German cities emit several times less light per capita than comparably sized American cities, according to a recent publication in the journal Remote Sensing. The size of the gap grew with city size, as light per capita increased with city size in the USA but decreased with city size in Germany. The study also examined regional differences, and surprisingly found that light emission per capita was higher in cities in the former East of Germany

IMAGE: Layout of businesses, nightlife and leisure areas in Madrid using Twitter are illustrated here. The uncolored part corresponds to residential areas. view more Credit: V. y E. Frías-Martínez Millions of Twitter users are constantly reporting where they are and what they are doing. With this information, two Spanish computer science experts suggest using geolocalized tweets for urban planning and land use. They have already done it in Manhattan, Madrid and London and have been able

IMAGE: The framework of the evolvable architecture is shown. view more Credit: ©Science China Press How to improve the existing architecture to meet kinds of requirements is the key topic in the future Internet research. Professor Xu Ke and his group from Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology (TNList), Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University set out to tackle this problem. They have developed a novel evolvable Internet architecture framework under the

IMAGE: This image shows a roundworm egg (Ascaris sp.) with a typical undulating membrane. view more Credit: University of Basel, IPAS This news release is available in German. As part of an international project, researchers at the Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science center (IPAS) at the University of Basel examined samples from the “Basel-Gasfabrik” Celtic settlement, at the present day site of Novartis. The settlement was inhabited around 100 B.C. and is one of the most

Already known to cut proteins, the enzyme SPPL3 turns out to have additional talents, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins. In its newly discovered role, SPPL3 works without cutting proteins to activate T cells, the immune system’s foot soldiers. Because its structure is similar to that of presenilin enzymes, which have been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, the researchers believe their findings could shed more light on presenilin functions, in addition to providing new

IMAGE: The ratio of degraded zooxanthella (Symbiodinium) cells (black bars) expelled from the two coral species are shown. Bars show the normal (white) and degraded (black) forms of zooxanthellae. Dotted lines… view more Credit: Fujise et al., PLOS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114321, Fig. 4 Coral bleaching, which often results in the mass mortality of corals and in the collapse of coral reef ecosystems, has become an important issue around the world, with the number of coral reefs

When it comes to setting life goals large and small, people tend to follow one of two paths: Either they become laser-focused on the step-by-step plan and stick to it faithfully, or they take detours when road blocks arise. So which method — focused or flexible — is the best one to follow? They both are, according to television host and best-selling author Steve Harvey. “You have to put blinders on and say, ‘I’m laser

Estradiol, a type of estrogen, enhances the levels and activity in mice of an enzyme that drives life-threatening allergic reactions, according to researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study results may help explain why women frequently experience more severe allergic reactions compared to men. Furthermore, the results reaffirm the importance of accounting for gender in the design of animal experiments. Anaphylaxis

Egyptian health authorities on Monday reported the country’s 10th death this year from bird flu, as well as the first case of H5N1 infection in the capital. The death occurred last week in the southern province of Aswan, health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said. In the capital, a 42-year-old man was diagnosed and quarantined on December 26, the 25th case of bird flu in the country this year but the first infection reported in

A new year is here, and with it another chance to start fresh, be bold or at the very least, bravely put one foot in front of the other. That can, of course, be far easier said than done, which is why we’re turning to 15 of our favorite badass women, for some of their best (and, well, badass) advice. Here are 15 nuggets to help you start off 2015 with a bang: 1. “Of

Hi Therapists, I feel like I know you all pretty well now. You’ve been in my home with my son for almost a year. Four, five, six days a week, you’re here. You’ve seen me in my pajamas, watched me do laundry and cook dinner. I spend more time with you than I do with my friends or family. We chat, I sit and listen to the sessions, I ask questions. But mostly, I watch.

After reading this post on a woman who hates sex because of her childhood sexual abuse history, a reader suggested that I write a post for partners of people who have experienced sexual abuse.  This is a great idea, since this often comes up in couples counseling.  By the time they come in for treatment, there have likely been many years during which the partner abused in childhood has not enjoyed sex (if she ever did),

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Dozens of new Ebola cases have erupted in Liberia, near the border with Sierra Leone, Liberian health officials warned Monday, marking a setback amid recent improvements. The flare-up is due to a number of factors including people going in and out of Liberia and traditional practices such as the washing of bodies, said Liberia’s Assistant Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah. Forty-nine cases were reported in western Grand Cape Mount County between December

1 Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, 555 University Avenue, Toronto M5G 1X8, ON, Canada 2 Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada 3 Center for Cerebrovascular Research, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, University of California, San Francisco, USA 4 Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, USA 5 Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michaels Hospital, Toronto, Canada

Flavobacterium is the type genus of the family Flavobacteriaceae in the phylum Bacteroidetes. Flavobacterium was proposed by Bergey et al.1,2] and the description was emended by Bernardet et al. 3]. Flavobacterium species have been isolated from various environments, including seawater, freshwater, river sediments, and soil 4-8]. Members of the genus Flavobacterium are Gram-negative, rod-shaped, yellow-pigmented, aerobic bacteria. At the time of writing, about 118 Flavobacterium species with validly published names have been described 9]; however,

World Journal of Surgical Oncology 2014, 12:399 doi:10.1186/1477-7819-12-399 Published: 29 December 2014

The genome of H. zincidurans strain B6T contains 31 genes related to heavy metal resistance, especially to zinc resistance (Table 6). Zinc is an essential but also toxic metal for living being 2,43]. The concentration of zinc inside bacterial cells is maintained by importing limitation, efflux, accumulation and sequestration 44,45]. H. zincidurans strain B6T possesses four heavy metal translocating P-type ATPases (HALZIN_733, HALZIN_1240, HALZIN_2196 and HALZIN_2262), which may participate in the transport of Zn2+, Mn2+, Cu2+,

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i i TED speakers share their stories about intense curiosity. iStock hide caption itoggle caption iStock TED speakers share their stories about intense curiosity. iStock In this playlist, stories about the curious nature of spaghetti, the power of quiet minds, and a quest to build a toaster from scratch. These TED Radio Hour stories will make you curious and maybe even ignite some creative ideas of your own.

Japan on Monday ordered the slaughter of some 42,000 chickens as officials announced the country’s second bird flu outbreak in less than a month. DNA tests confirmed the H5 strain of the virus at a farm in the southwestern prefecture of Miyazaki after its owner reported Sunday that several chickens had died suddenly, the local government said. Officials began the slaughter on Monday and asked farms within a 10 kilometre (6.2 mile) radius not to

A man has died from the H7N9 bird flu strain in eastern China, state media reported Monday, at the end of a year in which cases of the virus have accelerated. The deceased man was one of two recent cases reported in the city of Yongkang in Zhejiang. They were the third and fourth in the province “since the start of winter”, the China News Service reported. The death emerged as hospitals in Hong Kong

In poor, mostly Latino areas of Denver, Colorado, people who suffer cardiac arrest are less likely to get help in part because distrust of law enforcement and language barriers stop bystanders from calling 911 or learning CPR, researchers say. “We always sort of take it for granted the people will call 911, and this is the first study to really take a step back and say, gosh there’s real barriers that we need to talk

ZURICH (Reuters) – Roche Holding AG said U.S. health regulators have approved its Ebola test for emergency use in response to the world’s worst outbreak of the disease in West Africa. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Roche’s LightMix Ebola Zaire rRT-PCR Test for use on patients with signs and symptoms of Ebola Zaire virus infection, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement. Roche said the LightMix test can generate results in

The laboratory technician who may have been exposed to Ebola in a mishap last week at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is showing no signs of the disease, the U.S. Ebola coordinator said on Sunday. “Only one technician was exposed. So far she’s showing no signs of having the disease. She’s being monitored every day,” Ron Klain, named by President Barack Obama in October to lead the U.S. response to Ebola,

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Dozens of new Ebola cases have erupted in Liberia, near the border with Sierra Leone, Liberian health officials warned Monday, marking a setback amid recent improvements. The flare-up is due to a number of factors including people going in and out of Liberia and traditional practices such as the washing of bodies, said Liberia’s Assistant Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah. Forty-nine cases were reported in in western Grand Cape Mount County between

ZURICH (Reuters) – Roche Holding AG said U.S. health regulators have approved its Ebola test for emergency use in response to the world’s worst outbreak of the disease in West Africa. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Roche’s LightMix Ebola Zaire rRT-PCR Test for use on patients with signs and symptoms of Ebola Zaire virus infection, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement. Roche said the LightMix test can generate results in

Research Zhipeng Sun and Nengwei Zhang World Journal of Surgical Oncology 2014, 12:397 doi:10.1186/1477-7819-12-397 Published: 29 December 2014 Abstract (provisional) Background In the clinical practice of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, response markers are very important. We aimed o investigate whether tumor markers CEA(carcino-embryonic antigen), CA19-9(carbohydrate antigen 19-9), CA72-4(carbohydrate antigen 72-4), and CA125(carbohydrate antigen 125) can be used to evaluate the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and to evaluate the diagnosis and prognosis value of four tumor markers in the

i i Tina Wolf demonstrates the use of a syringe to community members in Lindenhurst, N.Y., during an overdose prevention training. Georgia Dolan-Reilly (left), of the Suffolk County Prevention Resource Center helped with course. Kevin Hagen for NPR hide caption itoggle caption Kevin Hagen for NPR Tina Wolf demonstrates the use of a syringe to community members in Lindenhurst, N.Y., during an overdose prevention training. Georgia Dolan-Reilly (left), of the Suffolk County Prevention Resource Center

South Korean health authorities said Monday they are investigating a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul after photographs emerged online showing medical staff partying in an operating theatre. In one selfie, posted on photo-sharing app Instagram, staff in scrubs stand around a candlelit birthday cake—with an apparently unconscious patient lying on a bed behind them. Another picture showed a staffer, wearing a mask and a surgery gown, jokingly placing a gel breast implant over her chest

China has dismissed eight officials after pork from pigs infected with a “highly contagious virus” was found to have entered the market, state media said Monday. The country’s latest food scandal was revealed in an investigation by state broadcaster China Central Television which said the annual revenue of the tainted pork was more than 20 million yuan ($3.2 million). The meat had come from slaughterhouses in the city of Gaoan in central Jiangxi province and

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Authorities in Liberia say there have been dozens of new Ebola cases erupting along the border with Sierra Leone. The announcement by Assistant Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah on Monday marks a setback for Liberia, which has seen the number of cases stabilize somewhat after having been the hardest hit country in West Africa. Nyenswah blamed the flare-up on a number of factors including people going in and out of the country

Health workers wearing personal protective equipment pray at an Ebola treatment center run by Doctors Without Borders in Monrovia, Liberia, Oct. 27, 2014.ZOOM DOSSO/AFP/Getty Images This year, three West African countries found themselves at the center of the biggest public health crisis the world has seen in decades. Since the Ebola outbreak was first reported in March, the deadly disease has swept through Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, killing more than 7,500 people and sickening

1 Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Ottawa Hospital – General Campus, 501 Smyth Road, C.P. 711, Ottawa K1H 8 L6, ON, Canada 2 School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA 3 Research Dept of Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 7HB, UK 4 Dept of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Health Information Research Unit, McMaster University, CRL Building, 1280 Main Street

Archives of Public Health 2014, 72:48 doi:10.1186/2049-3258-72-48 Published: 29 December 2014

Researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia University Medical Center studied the impact of text message reminders for the second dose of influenza vaccine required for many young children to protect them against the virus. The findings showed that sending text message reminders both increased receipt of the second dose of the vaccine by the end of the season as well as brought children in sooner to be vaccinated. When educational information

BMC Public Health 2014, 14:1325 doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-1325 Published: 29 December 2014

Trials 2014, 15:513 doi:10.1186/1745-6215-15-513 Published: 29 December 2014

1 School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia 2 Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia 3 Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia 4 Hunter Medical Research Institute, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia 5 School of Human Movement Studies, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia 6 Inner West Sydney Medicare Local, Ashfield, NSW, Australia 7

1 PET Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 801 Howard Avenue, New Haven 06520-8048, CT, USA 2 Research Team for Neuroimaging, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan 3 Department of Neurological Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo 113-0022, Japan 4 Department of Radiological Technology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University of Science, Hokkaido 006-8585, Japan 5 Faculty of Sports and Health Studies, Hosei University, Tokyo 194-0298, Japan For all author

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/ no comments Subscription required All research articles in Critical Care are open access. The journal also publishes a range of other articles that are available to subscribers.

1 Centre de génomique humaine, Faculté de médecine et de pharmacie, Université Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco 2 Département de génétique médicale, Institut National d’Hygiène, Rabat, Morocco 3 Centre National de Référence en Néonatologie et en Nutrition, Rabat, Morocco 4 Génétique Médicale, Centre de génomique humaine, Faculté de médecine et de pharmacie, Université Mohammed V, Rabat, Maroc 5 Pédiatrie, Centre National de Référence en Néonatologie et en Nutrition, Université Mohammed V, Rabat, Maroc 6 Génétique Médicale,

1 UMR AGAP, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (Inra), Centre Inra de Corse, San Giuliano, F-20230, France 2 Centro de Protección Vegetal y Biotecnología, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), Moncada, 46113, Valencia, Spain 3 UMR AGAP, Centre de coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), TA A-108/02, Montpellier, 34398, Cedex 5, France For all author emails, please log on.

1 Department of Animal Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706, USA 2 Department of Animal Sciences, Biometry and Genetics Branch, University of Yuzuncu Yil, Van 65080, Turkey 3 Department of Animal Sciences, Federal University of Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys, Minas Gerais, Brazil For all author emails, please log on.

1 PET Center, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, 325 Sec. 2, Cheng-Kung Road, Taipei 114, Taiwan 2 PET Center, Department of Nuclear Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, 7, Chung-Shan S. Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan 3 Departments of Medical Research and Nuclear Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, 135, Nan-Hsiao Street, Changhua 500, Taiwan 4 Department of Biology and Anatomy, National Defense Medical Center, 161 Sec. 6, Min-Chuan East Road, Taipei 114, Taiwan 5 PET Center,

1 Faculdade de Nutrição, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Rua Gomes Carneiro, 1 Sala 239, Pelotas, CEP 96020-220, RS, Brazil 2 College of Medicine, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, 6900 Lake Nona Blvd., Orlando 32827, FL, USA 3 Center of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China 4 Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, Brazil 5 Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de

1 Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology, University of Turin School of Medicine, Via Genova 3, Turin, 10126, Italy 2 Radiotherapy Department, AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy 3 ENT Surgery Department, AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy For all author emails, please log on.

BMC Public Health 2014, 14:1326 doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-1326 Published: 29 December 2014

1 Departamento de Zootecnia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil 2 GenSys Consultores Associados S/S, Porto Alegre, Brazil 3 Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada 4 Embrapa Southern Region Animal Husbandry, Bagé, Brazil 5 National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Brasília, Brazil 6 The Semex Alliance, Guelph, ON, Canada For all author emails, please log on.

By Tim Hepher and Andrew Callus LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) – The AirAsia plane that went missing on Sunday is young by commercial aircraft standards. It has also worked hard and lacks real time engine diagnostics, in accordance with its role as a short-haul aircraft. Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501, an Airbus 320-200 with 162 people aboard, lost contact with Jakarta air traffic control at 6:17 a.m. (1917 ET) after taking off from Surabaya airport in Indonesia bound

The U.S. Ebola response coordinator is calling the mishandling of materials that led to a lab technician’s possible exposure to the virus “unacceptable.” Ebola Response Coordinator Ron Klain told CBS television’s ‘ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the incident at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab carried no risk to the public because of protocols and procedures in place. Klain says the CDC technician, who may have come into contact with a

i i Recent research has shown that zebra finches sing differently when drunk, but not whether they know enough of the lyrics to get through “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” or “I Will Survive.” Liza Gross/Courtesy Public Library of Science hide caption itoggle caption Liza Gross/Courtesy Public Library of Science Recent research has shown that zebra finches sing differently when drunk, but not whether they know enough of the lyrics to get through “Don’t Stop Believin’

It’s that time of the year — New Year’s resolutions are upon us. According to the University of Scranton, Journal of Clinical Psychology, only 8 percent percent of people actually successfully achieve their New Year’s resolutions goals. According to the study the No. 1 resolution on the list is, you guessed it, weight loss. The goal of staying fit and healthy isn’t that far behind and comes in at number five. These numbers are kind

The perfect gluten-free alternative to the classic snack! You’ll need: 1 quart sized container of mushrooms (baby portobello or white) 1 cup quinoa 1/2 medium sized red onion 2 medium sized carrots 4 cloves of garlic 1 small bunch of parsley Salt (pink himalayan or sea salt) Black pepper Coconut oil Bring 2 cups of salted water and the quinoa to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes or until tender. Wash

I am excited for the new year to begin. Yes, for the first time in many years I am actually welcoming this coming year of 2015 with open arms. I am excited for the endless possibilities, the great memories and the “aha moments” I will have. The reason why this is such a shocking confession is because I feel like I have been a person who has had a pessimistic view of the world. Growing

By Yoga Journal Anyone who knows me knows I teach alignment — a lot of it. Actually, “a lot” doesn’t begin to cover it. I am anatomically focused and driven to try to understand how the body functions mechanically (as evidenced by my Alignment Cues Decoded series on YogaJournal.com). Patanjali never said anything about anatomy or alignment, though. So why bother? I actually have two very specific reasons for teaching alignment and anatomy; one is

With the winter solstice come and gone, those of us who live in the northern hemisphere can now expect increasingly longer days and shorter nights. I can fondly remember how much I looked forward to this time of the year as child — a prolonged escape from the confining classroom, a vast swath of unstructured time, and of course, the prospect of presents to unwrap. But something happened along the way — I grew up,

“No fat,” “oat fiber,” “multigrain flakes,” “helps lower cholesterol.” Cereal boxes make all kinds of claims to get you to pick them for your health. Buyer beware… even cereals that include lots of fiber and whole grains usually have 3-4 teaspoons of sugar per cup of cereal. “In fact, worldwide we are consuming about 500 extra calories a day from sugar. That’s just about what you would need to consume if you wanted to gain a

Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014, 12:128 doi:10.1186/1477-7827-12-128 Published: 28 December 2014

Fluids and Barriers of the CNS 2014, 11:27 doi:10.1186/2045-8118-11-27 Published: 28 December 2014

When Kent Cochrane survived a motorcycle accident in 1981, he emerged with types of amnesia so rare that his brain became one of the most studied in history. He died this year at 62.

Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014, 12:129 doi:10.1186/1477-7827-12-129 Published: 28 December 2014

(HealthDay)—If you’re one of the many Americans who plan to lose weight next year, there are a number of things you can do to improve your chances of success, an expert says. “It should be clear by now that there is no one diet that works for everyone,” Jill Ashbey-Pejoves, lead dietitian at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, N.Y., said in a hospital news release. “The best diet is the one that works for

An EU aid shipment including vehicles and medical equipment for the three west African nations hardest hit by the Ebola epidemic has arrived in Guinea, officials said Sunday. The Dutch navy’s largest ship, the Karel Doorman, arrived in Guinea on Saturday and was due to also stop in Sierra Leone and Liberia, a statement from the EU delegation said. The aid delivered to Guinea included enriched flour, some 20 all-terrain vehicles, ambulances and medical equipment

Ask anyone who’s ever had food poisoning, and they’ll tell you that it’s an experience that they wouldn’t wish on their worst enemy. If you’d prefer never to experience foodborne illness for yourself, there are several things worth keeping in mind. What we call “food poisoning” takes several forms, and they’re all quite unpleasant, to say the least. You can contract a foodborne illness by eating food contaminated by bacteria, viruses, or parasites, as well

About a dozen years ago my wife, Debbie, gave me the most transformative gift I have ever received. It literally changed the trajectory of my life (and hers) forever. This sounds like I am setting you up to write about the birth of one of my kids. I love my kids. They are awesome… and a “gift” in many ways. But I’m not actually trying to be that esoteric here. I am talking about a

When I was a young girl, I dreamed of being a writer. Then life happened. I listened to everyone but my own soul, the dream of a writing career feel by the wayside, and I followed a much more traditional career path. Then the voice of my inner spirit and guide started pestering me loudly. And once again, I decided I would become a writer. This is how I did it. I researched and read

A few months ago, not for the first time, I forgot something important. My wife suggested I talk to my doctor about my memory. I got defensive. She had to be wrong. I was always the guy who remembered everything, from baseball stats to the B-sides of obscure singles to phone numbers I hadn’t dialed in decades. But recently, finding my eyeglasses and keys had required more and more sleuthing, my sense of direction had