400,000-plus women raped in Congo yearly: study
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More than 400,000 women are raped in the Democratic Republic of Congo every year, according to a study by U.S. researchers published Wednesday, but the United Nations has expressed doubt over the findings.
Congo, which has a population of around 60 million, has endured decades of conflict, characterized by the use of brutal sexual violence against civilians, with mass rapes still regular in the largely lawless eastern provinces.
The study, which used nationwide data collected by the government between 2006 and 2007, found that on average 1,100 women were raped every day in the vast central African country.
Lessening the Dangers of Radiation
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For diagnosing head and neck ailments, tests that use radiation are always less desirable than those that don’t. Otolaryngologists have a wide range of techniques available to them, including CT or “CAT” scans, MRI and ultrasound. CT uses significant radiation and MRI a lower amount, but ultrasound is a non-invasive, non-radiating technique. It does not require injection of radioactive contrast material and has no side effects.
Now, a new study by Tel Aviv University exploring the efficacy of expensive and invasive CT scans has found that, in some cases, they don’t offer a clinical advantage over a simple, inexpensive ultrasound procedure.
In his study, Dr. Michael Vaiman of Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine compared the efficacy of CT versus ultrasound scans for locating vertebral arteries in the throat, an important assessment that must be completed before a surgeon operates in the neck area of the body.
Vitamin D deficiency in pneumonia patients associated with increased mortality
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A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that adult patients admitted to the hospital with pneumonia are more likely to die if they have Vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D is known to be involved in the innate immune response to infection.
The team of researchers at Waikato Hospital and the Universities of Waikato and Otago, measured vitamin D in the blood samples of 112 adult patients admitted with community acquired pneumonia during the winter at the only acute-care hospital in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Oncolytic viruses effectively target and kill pancreatic cancer stem cells
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Oncolytic viruses quickly infect and kill cancer stem cells, which may provide a treatment for tumors that are resistant to conventional chemotherapy and radiation, particularly pancreatic cancer, according to new research from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. The findings are especially important since pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis and is difficult to detect and treat at early stages.
Investigators led by Joyce Wong, MD, surgical researcher with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, investigated whether they could use oncolytic viruses, which are naturally occurring viruses that have been genetically engineered to be safe and express tracking genes, as a possible therapy against pancreatic cancer stem cells. These stem cells are thought to cause disease recurrence and metastasis, even after therapy, and oncolytic viruses may offer a new treatment strategy.
“What we learned is that oncolytic viruses have been engineered to selectively target cancer cells and have a low toxicity profile in animal studies,” said Dr. Wong. “Targeting the cancer stem cell may enhance our ability to eradicate tumors and prevent future recurrence of disease.”
Red Cross delivers first relief aid to Deraa
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Aid workers from the Red Cross and Red Crescent on Thursday delivered their first emergency relief supplies to the southern Syrian city of Deraa, cradle of an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, a spokesman said.
The one-day visit granted by Syrian authorities coincided with an announcement that its army units have begun to leave Deraa, but residents described a city still under siege.
A convoy of two trucks carrying drinking water and two trucks with food and first aid materials accompanied the team of 13 experts from the Syrian Red Crescent and International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan said.
House Republicans back away on Medicare overhaul
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Congressional Republicans on Thursday backed away from a contentious plan to overhaul Medicare that President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats have turned into a weapon against them for next year’s elections.
House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman David Camp said his panel will not advance a Republican proposal to privatize Medicare for future retirees because it stands no chance of getting passed by the Democratic-led Senate. But Camp said the powerful tax-writing committee will act on any compromise reached on a deficit reduction plan.
“I’m interested in finding a way forward that will get signed into law,” Camp told reporters at an event sponsored by Health Affairs, a health policy journal.
Study suggests prolonged bottle feeding increases the risk of obesity
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Experts agree that obesity prevention should begin before children enter school. But due to a lack of conclusive data, health care providers often have trouble advising parents about which interventions are the most beneficial. A new study soon to be published in The Journal of Pediatrics suggests that limiting prolonged bottle use in children may be an effective way to help prevent obesity.
Dr. Robert Whitaker and Rachel Gooze of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University, and Dr. Sarah Anderson of The Ohio State University College of Public Health, analyzed data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort, a large national study of children born in 2001. They analyzed data from 6750 children to estimate the association between bottle use at 24 months of age and the risk of obesity at 5.5 years of age.
Of the children studied, 22% were prolonged bottle users, meaning that at 2 years of age they used a bottle as their primary drink container and/or were put to bed with a calorie-containing bottle. Nearly 23% of the prolonged bottle users were obese by the time they were 5.5 years old. “Children who were still using a bottle at 24 months were approximately 30% more likely to be obese at 5.5 years, even after accounting for other factors such as the mother’s weight, the child’s birth weight, and feeding practices during infancy,” Dr. Whitaker notes.
Nonprofit Health Organizations Increase Health Literacy Through Social Media
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As the presence of social media continues to increase as a form of communication, health organizations are searching for the most effective ways to use the online tools to pass important information to the public. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that nonprofit organizations and community groups appear to be more actively engaged in posting health information and interacting with the public on Twitter than other types of health-related organizations, such as health business corporations, educational institutions and government agencies.
“Twitter may be more appealing to nonprofit organizations because it creates a barrier-free environment that allows these organizations to share important information through real-time exchanges without significant efforts,” said Hyojung Park, a doctoral candidate at the Missouri School of Journalism. “Unlike business organizations such as pharmaceutical companies, nonprofit health organizations and advocacy groups may suffer from lack of funding, staff, and other resources in developing and implementing communication strategies for health intervention and promotion programs. Thus, it is likely that nonprofit organizations and support groups recognize the rapid growth of Twitter and its value as an inexpensive but highly effective communication tool.”
In her study, Park explored how health-related organizations use Twitter, which is a popular social media outlet, to promote health literacy in society and to raise awareness of their brands and manage their images.
Grape tomato products recalled for salmonella risk
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A supplier of grape tomatoes for Taylor Farms Pacific, Inc. has recalled the product for possible salmonella contamination, the government said late on Monday.
Products using the recalled tomatoes were sold in Albertsons, Raley’s, Safeway, Savemart, Sam’s Club and Walmart stores in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Utah, according to a statement from the Food and Drug Administration.
The recalled tomatoes were used in a variety of products from prepared and packaged salads, to products sold at the stores’ deli counters. The products have sell-by dates between April 27 and May 9.
Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates on Rise Among Medicare Beneficiaries Due to Expansion of Coverage
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Colorectal cancer screening rates increased for Medicare beneficiaries when coverage was expanded to average-risk individuals, but racial disparities still exist, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
“Despite the expansion of Medicare coverage for colorectal cancer screening, disparities persisted among the ethnic groups we examined,” said Arica White, Ph.D., M.P.H., former doctoral student at The University of Texas School of Public Health, part of UTHealth. In 1998, Medicare began covering fecal occult blood test (FOBT) annually and sigmoidoscopy coverage every 4 years for average-risk beneficiaries and in July 2001 coverage was expanded to include colonoscopy for average-risk beneficiaries every 10 years.
The research is published in the May issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
Rare deep-sea starfish stuck in juvenile body plan
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Columbus, OH – A team of scientists has combined embryological observations, genetic sequencing, and supercomputing to determine that a group of small disk-shaped animals that were once thought to represent a new class of animals are actually starfish that have lost the large star-shaped, adult body from their life cycle.
In a paper for the journal Systematic Biology (sysbio.oxfordjournals.org), Daniel Janies, Ph.D., a computational biologist in the department of Biomedical Informatics at The Ohio State University (OSU), leveraged computer systems at the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) to help support his contention that class-level status of Xyloplax does not reflect their evolutionary history.
“Although Xyloplax does not represent a new class, it an even more interesting animal now because it represents a rare example of how natural selection can shape the whole the life cycle,” he explained. “By omitting the large adult stage, Xylopax found how to make a living in the nooks and crannies of sunken timbers on the deep-sea floor.”
Little fingers, big trouble: Yale study sheds light on child self-unbuckling
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It can be quite jarring for a parent or caregiver to look in the rearview mirror while driving and see their child roaming around the backseat free of their safety restraints. A study on child self-unbuckling by Yale School of Medicine researchers reveals that most children who first unbuckle were age three and under and that many children unbuckle while the vehicle is in motion—putting them at a 3.5-fold increased risk for serious injuries.
“We found that young children might acquire the motor skills to unbuckle from restraints before developing the cognitive ability to understand the necessity of automotive restraints,” said Lilia Reyes, M.D., clinical fellow in Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, Section of Emergency Medicine, who will present the results of the study at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Denver, Colo. on May 1.
“This pilot study elucidates a potential safety hazard in child motor vehicle restraint that needs to be addressed,” said Reyes, who points to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data showing that motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death among 4- to 8-year-olds.
Movement + academics = success
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When schools cut physical education programs so students can spend more time in the classroom, they may be missing a golden opportunity to promote learning, according to research to be presented Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver.
The study adds to growing evidence that exercise is good not only for the body but also the mind. It also shows that physical education and academic instruction need not be mutually exclusive.
Researchers Kathryn L. King, MD, and Carly J. Scahill, DO, pediatric residents at the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital, led by William S. Randazzo, MD, FAAP, and James T. McElligott, MD, sought to determine how implementing a daily physical activity program that incorporated classroom lessons would affect student achievement. First- through sixth-graders at an academically low-scoring elementary school in Charleston, S.C., took part in the program 40 minutes a day, five days a week. Prior to initiation of the program, students spent 40 minutes per week in physical education classes.
Washington governor vetoes medical pot licensing bill
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Washington’s governor on Friday vetoed most provisions of bill to establish state licensing for cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana, saying she did not want to put state employees at risk of federal prosecution.
Governor Christine Gregoire said she was swayed by a legal opinion issued earlier this month by federal prosecutors threatening to crack down not only on dispensary owners and growers but on state regulators enforcing the proposed law.
The Democratic-controlled legislature passed the bill in response to a recent proliferation of storefront dispensaries that are neither explicitly permitted nor banned under the 1998 voter-approved state law legalizing pot for medical purposes.
U.S. envoy: Gaddafi troops raping, issued Viagra
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The U.S. envoy to the United Nations told the Security Council on Thursday that troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi were increasingly engaging in sexual violence and some had been issued the impotency drug Viagra, diplomats said.
Several U.N. diplomats who attended a closed-door Security Council meeting on Libya told Reuters that U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice raised the Viagra issue in the context of increasing reports of sexual violence by Gaddafi’s troops.
“Rice raised that in the meeting but no one responded,” a diplomat said on condition of anonymity. The allegation was first reported by a British newspaper.
