PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Experts question aspects of certain Ebola guidelines

2014-12-01
(Press-News.org) Various guidelines for caring for patients infected with Ebola virus are being issued from different national and state public health authorities, professional societies, and individual hospitals. Experts are questioning aspects of some of the guidelines that go beyond current CDC recommendations, especially those that call for suspending certain routine lab tests.

The authors of a Transfusion commentary note that most individuals with suspected Ebola virus disease will have a fever due to another cause, and forgoing such testing may compromise patients' health more than any reduction in the risks to laboratory personnel.

The authors also state that it is imperative for all laboratory directors to work with institutional infection control and safety personnel to evaluate their hospital policies on potentially infectious patients in order to provide a safe environment for their patients and employees.

"We are anxious for a balanced, thoughtful discussion of the best way to prepare for the potential of increasing numbers of Ebola suspects across a spectrum of healthcare institutions in the developed world, and believe that the key is recognition of risk and application of well characterized infection prevention and control recommendations," said co-author Dr. Louis Katz. "Suspending aspects of care or automatically transferring patients to other facilities may not be an effective response to the prevention of healthcare-associated transmission if more cases are repatriated than we have seen to date."

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

How terrorist attack survivors view their interactions with the media

2014-12-01
Among survivors of the 2011 Utøya Island terrorist attack in Norway, most perceived contact with media as a positive experience. Among those who allowed themselves to be interviewed by the media, 13% found the experience distressing and 11% regretted participating. Taking part in media interviews was not associated with post-traumatic stress reactions among survivors, but negative evaluations and regrets about participation were. "Media representatives need to understand that they may add to the burden of survivors if they are not sufficiently careful, and clinicians ...

Study: Cheaper private health care prices mean more medicare spending

2014-12-01
When private prices for health care services decrease, Medicare spending increases, according to a new study. The finding raises the possibility that physicians and hospitals may be shifting some services to Medicare when they stand to make more money by doing so -- though further research will be needed to clearly identify the cause, according to the study's authors. The study, conducted by the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, is the first in a series of attempts to mine reams of health care spending data gathered by the Institute of Medicine ...

Penn research shows way to design 'digital' metamaterials

Penn research shows way to design digital metamaterials
2014-12-01
VIDEO: Nader Engheta, the H. Nedwill Ramsey professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science, explains the basic premise behind metamaterials, and how they achieve... Click here for more information. Metamaterials, precisely designed composite materials that have properties not found in natural ones, could be used to make light-bending invisibility cloaks, flat lenses and other otherwise impossible devices. Figuring out the ...

Scientists identify most ancient pinworm yet found

Scientists identify most ancient pinworm yet found
2014-12-01
An egg much smaller than a common grain of sand and found in a tiny piece of fossilized dung has helped scientists identify a pinworm that lived 240 million years ago. It is believed to be the most ancient pinworm yet found in the fossil record. The discovery confirms that herbivorous cynodonts -- the ancestors of mammals -- were infected with the parasitic nematodes. It also makes it even more likely that herbivorous dinosaurs carried pinworms. Scott Gardner, a parasitologist and director of the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology ...

The nutritionists within

The nutritionists within
2014-12-01
This news release is available in German. Microbial partners are important for the nutrition of many insects. They help detoxify and digest food, but also provide essential nutrients that insects need in order to survive. The European firebug Pyrrhocoris apterus and the African cotton stainer Dysdercus fasciatus feed mainly on plant seeds that are poor sources of essential B vitamins. Scientists of the Max Planck Research Group Insect Symbiosis at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, together with colleagues at the Friedrich Schiller University, ...

Brain folding

2014-12-01
This news release is available in German. The neocortex is the part of the brain that enables us to speak, dream, or think. The underlying mechanism that led to the expansion of this brain region during evolution, however, is not yet understood. A research team headed by Wieland Huttner, director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, now reports an important finding that paves the way for further research on brain evolution: The researchers analyzed the gyrencephaly index, indicating the degree of cortical folding, of 100 mammalian brains ...

Reduced-impact logging supports diversity of forests almost as well as leaving them alone

Reduced-impact logging supports diversity of forests almost as well as leaving them alone
2014-12-01
When it comes to logging, it may be possible to have our timber and our tropical forests, too. The key, according to a report in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on December 1, is careful planning and the use of reduced-impact logging (RIL) practices that avoid unnecessary damage to the surrounding forest. "Four million square kilometres of tropical forest are designated for logging globally," says Jake Bicknell of the University of Kent in the United Kingdom, noting that this represents an area larger than the size of India. "Even if we could improve timber harvesting ...

Researchers identify genetic mutation responsible for serious disorder common in Inuit

2014-12-01
Researchers have identified the cause for a disorder common in Inuit people that prevents the absorption of sucrose, causing gastrointestinal distress and failure to thrive in infants. The study, published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), identified a genetic mutation responsible for the disorder, called congenital sucrose-isomaltase deficiency (CSID). CSID is a rare disorder in people of European descent, but is more common in Inuit people living in northern Canada, Greenland and Alaska, with rates estimated between 5% and 10%. The disorder prevents the ...

Ciliopathies lie behind many human diseases

2014-12-01
In recent years, cilia, microscopic, tentacle-like extensions from biological cells, have risen from relative obscurity and are now considered important to the understanding of many human afflictions. In a December BioScience article, George B. Witman, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Jason M. Brown, of Salem State University, describe recent discoveries involving cilia-related diseases (called "ciliopathies") and highlight "model" species that could be useful for systematic study of ciliopathies. Cilia perform a broad range of functions, including ...

NASA satellites provide triple coverage on Tropical Storm Sinlaku

NASA satellites provide triple coverage on Tropical Storm Sinlaku
2014-12-01
Tropical Storm Sinlaku made landfall in east-central Vietnam bringing some moderate to heavy rainfall with it. NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's TRMM and GPM satellites analyzed the rainfall rates occurring in Sinlaku before it made landfall while NASA's Terra satellite spotted the storm as it came ashore in Vietnam. Tropical Storm Sinlaku formed on November 26, 2014 over the southeastern Philippines. As a tropical depression Sinlaku caused flooding in areas of the Visayas and Mindanao. The storm then moved west and crossed the South China Sea where it ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet

Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice

Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast

Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds

The experts that can outsmart optical illusions

Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk

Scientists uncover novel immune mechanism in wheat tandem kinase

Three University of Virginia Engineering faculty elected as AAAS Fellows

Unintentional drug overdoses take a toll across the U.S. unequally, study finds

A step toward plant-based gelatin

ECMWF unveils groundbreaking ML tool for enhanced fire prediction

[Press-News.org] Experts question aspects of certain Ebola guidelines