Policies to promote healthy ageing often emphasize a healthy diet and maintaining physical activity. But currently there is little good evidence to support the benefits of improved nutrition and increased physical activity levels for older adults from low-income or transition economies. Alan Dangour from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom, and colleagues report this week in PLoS Medicine the outcomes of the Cost-effectiveness Evaluation of a Nutritional supplement and EXercise program for older people — CENEX — which evaluated whether Chile's ...

In this week's PLoS Medicine, Stephan Harbarth from the University of Geneva, Switzerland and colleagues argue that the International Health Regulations (IHR) should be applied to the global health threat of antimicrobial resistance. They say that certain events marking the emergence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, especially those involving new pan-resistant strains for which there are no suitable treatments, may constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and are notifiable to WHO under the IHR notification requirement. In an ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Each year, more than two million critically ill patients are transferred from one hospital emergency department (ED) to another for appropriate care. With the ability to successfully import data from a CD-ROM containing the patient's diagnostic medical images, hospitals may be able to significantly reduce unnecessary medical imaging tests, some of which expose patients to radiation. These findings are reported in a new study published in the July issue of Radiology. According to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, the implementing ...

A new study found that treatment-resistant epilepsy (TRE) is common in idiopathic autism. Early age at the onset of seizures and delayed global development were associated with a higher frequency of resistance to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Full findings appear online in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of developmental disabilities that can significantly impact social interaction, ...

An analysis of data from Medicare beneficiaries who underwent hip replacement or subsequent follow-up corrective surgery between 1991 and 2008 indicates that the length of hospital stay after surgery declined during this time period, as did the proportion of patients discharged home, while there was an increase in the rate of hospital readmissions and discharge to a skilled care facility, according to a study in the April 20 issue of JAMA. "Total hip arthroplasty [replacement] is a safe and effective therapy for patients with advanced degenerative joint disease. In recent ...

DURHAM, N.C.--Deforestation in parts of the Peruvian Amazon has increased six-fold in recent years as small-scale miners, driven by record gold prices, blast and clear more of the lowland rainforest, according to a new Duke University-led study. The study, published today in the online journal PLoS ONE, combined NASA satellite imagery spanning six years with economic analyses of gold prices and mercury imports to document the forces responsible for deforestation in Peru's biologically diverse Madre de Dios region. Roughly 7,000 hectares, or about 15,200 acres, of pristine ...

Cancer survival rates could improve soon with whole-genome sequencing, according to two studies published in the April 20, 2011, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that describe the first clinical applications of the high-tech process in patients with cancer. The papers are remarkable examples of the power that genomic data hold for patients with a cancer diagnosis, according to an accompanying editorial by Boris Pasche, M.D., deputy director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center and professor of medicine, and Devin ...

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say antibodies to a non-human sugar molecule commonly found in people may be useful as a future biomarker for predicting cancer risk, for diagnosing cancer cases early and, in sufficient concentration, used as a treatment for suppressing tumor growth. The work was led by Richard Schwab, MD, assistant clinical professor of medicine, and Ajit Varki, MD, professor of medicine and cellular and molecular medicine, with other faculty at the UCSD Moores Cancer Center and the UCSD Glycobiology Research ...

For the first time in 27 years, clinical diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease dementia have been revised, and research guidelines for earlier stages of the disease have been characterized to reflect a deeper understanding of the disorder. The National Institute on Aging/Alzheimer's Association Diagnostic Guidelines for Alzheimer's Disease outline some new approaches for clinicians and provides scientists with more advanced guidelines for moving forward with research on diagnosis and treatments. They mark a major change in how experts think about and study Alzheimer's ...

HUNTSVILLE, Ala - The international team of the ENCODE, or Encyclopedia Of DNA Elements project, has created an overview of its ongoing large-scale efforts to interpret the human genome sequence. The April 19 publication of "A User's Guide to the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE)" in the journal PLoS Biology provides a guide for using the vast amounts of high-quality data and resources produced so far by the project. All of the data, tools to study them, and the paper itself are freely available through multiple websites accessible through encodeproject.org. "This ...

Two new studies highlight the power of sequencing cancer patients' genomes as a diagnostic tool, helping doctors decide the best course of treatment and researchers identify new cancer susceptibility mutations that can be passed from parent to child. Both studies, by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, are reported April 20 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In one case, sequencing the genome of a 39-year-old woman with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) uncovered a novel genetic mistake, leading doctors to change the course ...

New insight into the physiology of cardiac muscle may lead to the development of therapeutic strategies that exploit an inherent protective state of the heart. The research, published by Cell Press online on April 19th in the Biophysical Journal, discovers a state of cardiac muscle that exhibits a low metabolic rate and may help to regulate energy use and promote efficiency in this hard-working and vital organ. Muscle cells are highly specialized cells that are able to physically contract and produce force. Many variables contribute to the active generation of force, ...

Britain's soil bacteria have been mapped for the first time in the most comprehensive study of a country's soil biodiversity to date. The results are published today (20 April 2011) in the journal Environmental Microbiology. To complete the map the scientific team, from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH), Newcastle University and the University of Oxford, analysed over 1000 soil cores from England, Scotland and Wales, examining microbial DNA sequences in the laboratory to map bacterial biodiversity. The research was carried out using samples collected for the ...

The first research to actively analyze adult male sea turtles (Caretta caretta) using satellite tracking to link geography with pollutants has revealed the potential risks posed to this threatened species by manmade chemicals. The research, published today in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, examines the different levels of chemicals in the blood of both migratory and residential turtles. "The risks posed by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) remain largely a mystery for threatened loggerhead sea turtles," said lead author Jared Ragland from the College of Charleston, ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Researchers at Brown University have found that specific genetic variations can predict how persistently people will believe advice they are given, even when it is contradicted by experience. The story they tell in a paper in the April 20 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience is one of the byplay between two brain regions that have different takes on how incoming information should influence thinking. The prefrontal cortex (PFC), the executive area of the brain, considers and stores incoming instructions such as the advice of other ...

After the acute treatment window closes, the only effective treatment for stroke is physical/occupational therapy. Now scientists from Children's Hospital Boston report a two-pronged molecular therapy that leads to significant recovery of skilled motor function in a rat model of stroke. Their findings are reported April 20 in the Journal of Neuroscience. By combining two molecular therapies—each known to promote some recovery on its own—the researchers achieved more nerve growth and a greater recovery of motor function than with either treatment alone. One therapy, inosine, ...

DALLAS – April 19, 2011 – Curbing carbohydrates is more effective than cutting calories for individuals who want to quickly reduce the amount of fat in their liver, report UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers. "What this study tells us is that if your doctor says that you need to reduce the amount of fat in your liver, you can do something within a month," said Dr. Jeffrey Browning, assistant professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern and the study's lead author. The results, available online and in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Clinical ...

A potential vaccine against bacteria that cause serious gastric disorders including stomach cancer may be a step closer following a pioneering study by a University of Guelph chemist. In the first published study of its kind, a team led by Prof. Mario Monteiro, Department of Chemistry, found a carbohydrate-based antigen caused mice to develop antibodies against a common bacterium linked to gastric cancer. "This is the first jab at a sugar-based vaccine against Helicobacter pylori," said Monteiro, who completed the study with former undergrad student Stacey Britton. Their ...

A massive database cataloging the human genome's functional elements -- including genes, RNA transcripts, and other products -- is being made available as an open resource to the scientific community, classrooms, science writers, and the public, thanks to an international team of researchers. In a paper that will be published in the journal PLoS Biology on 19 April 2011, the project -- called ENCODE (Encyclopedia Of DNA Elements) -- provides an overview of the team's ongoing efforts to interpret the human genome sequence, as well as a guide for using the vast amounts of ...

Fraser Yachts is pleased to announce three new yachts available for charter in the Mediterranean for the 2011 summer season. The M/Y Turquoise built by Proteksan Turquoise Yachts in 2011, with 54.4 metres in length is able to sleep 12 guests comfortably in 6 statesrooms. With the capability to sleep 13 crew members, you can be sure that on this luxury yacht, you will get the highest levels of service in the most modern of surroundings. The Turquoise is available this summer 2011, at two price brackets. During special events, this luxury yacht for charter is available for ...

LOS ANGELES—(April 19, 2011)—Stepping outside to smoke a cigarette may not be enough to protect the lungs and life of a pregnant woman's unborn child, according to a new study in the American Journal of Physiology. The study, by researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed), found prenatal exposure to toxic components of a newly recognized category of tobacco smoke—known as "thirdhand smoke"—can have as serious or an even more negative impact on an infants' lung development as postnatal or childhood exposure to ...

University of Adelaide researchers have shown for the first time how peppermint helps to relieve Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which affects up to 20% of the population. In a paper published this week in the international journal Pain, researchers from the University's Nerve-Gut Research Laboratory explain how peppermint activates an "anti-pain" channel in the colon, soothing inflammatory pain in the gastrointestinal tract. Dr Stuart Brierley says while peppermint has been commonly prescribed by naturopaths for many years, there has been no clinical evidence until now to ...

The fisheries sector Trade Fair in Spain —Sinaval-Eurofishing 2011— was the scenario chosen by Azti-Tecnalia (the technological centre specialising in marine and food research) to present two technologies employed by its researchers aimed at enhancing energy efficiency in the sector. In concrete, it involves a system for the management of fuel consumption on board vessels and a system of monitoring and computer-simulation of fishing gears. The commercial fisheries sector is having to face up to the challenge of undertaking responsible fishing practices that guarantee ...

Patients admitted to hospital with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) face a sixfold greater risk of death if they become infected with Clostridium difficile, a new study has found. The researchers say IBD patients should be screened on admission to protect them from serious illness. IBD, consisting of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, affects around 240,000 people in the UK and its symptoms include abdominal pain and diarrhoea. When sufferers experience a bout of severe symptoms, they often need to be admitted to hospital. C. difficile bacteria are present naturally ...

Just a month after Beta release, AdoreStudio Ltd is launching a full-featured version of Adore Puzzle. This logical game features an intriguing game plot which allows users to take a fascinating tour of the most popular places in Europe without leaving their PC. This new free game with its carefully designed plot will bring enjoyment to all casual game lovers, like Shooting Blocks, AdoreStudio's first game. The game has two modes - Puzzle and Slide. After solving one level the user gets an opportunity to explore more countries and solve more puzzles/slides. Within each ...