Maharashtra textile town in grip of jaundice |  |
- Maharashtra textile town in grip of jaundice
- Million year old groundwater in Maryland water supply
- Weight-loss surgery increases alcohol use disorders over time
- Mason environmentalist awarded Blue Planet Prize for lifetime achievement in conservation
- SLU designs new NIH-funded program to help institutions address research wrongdoing
- Microbiome analysis helps understand cause of chronic sinus condition, suggests cure
- Researchers search for viruses to save honeybees
| Maharashtra textile town in grip of jaundice Posted: 18 Jun 2012 09:20 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Kolhapur -, June 18 - More than 500 new cases of jaundice have been reported from the textile town of Ichalkaranji in Kolhapur district in the last four days and the disease has killed at least 12 people in the last one month, officials said Monday. Kolhapur health department suspect that the consumption of contaminated water of Panchganga river by the people is the cause behind the recent rise in cases of jaundice in Ichalkaranji. Since May 15, there have been 3,803 cases of jaundice in the city and so far 12 people have already succumbed to the disease, a city health official told IANS. Ichalkaranji is 40 km from the district headquarters of Kolhapur and 450 km from Mumbai. On Thursday, the figure of those infected with jaundice stood at 3,300 patients and with 503 new cases in the last four days, the figure has gone to 3,803 patients. Over 1,500 patients have been treated and discharged since May 15, while over 300 patients are still under medical care in hospitals across the city. Over 70 pregnant women have also been hit with jaundice so far, the official said. A pregnant lady doctor Deepali Admuthe and a government official, Krishna Chavan had also succumbed to jaundice. All schools have been declared closed till June 22. The town gets it water supply from two rivers namely Panchganga and Krishna. Water supply from Krishna has been stopped since last two months owing to repair work and we suspect that the contaminated water of Panchganga is the cause of the disease, Dr Harshala Vedak, Kolhapur's district health officer told IANS. http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| Million year old groundwater in Maryland water supply Posted: 18 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A portion of the groundwater in the upper Patapsco aquifer underlying Maryland is over a million years old. A new study suggests that this ancient groundwater, a vital source of freshwater supplies for the region east of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, was recharged over periods of time much greater than human timescales. Understanding the average age of groundwater allows scientists to estimate at what rate water is re-entering the aquifer to replace the water we are currently extracting for human use, explained USGS Director Marcia McNutt. This is the first step in designing sustainable practices of aquifer management that take into account the added challenges of sea level rise and increased human demand for quality water supplies. This new study from the USGS, the Maryland Geological Survey (MGS) and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) documents for the first time the occurrence of groundwater that is more than one million years old in a major water-supply aquifer along the Atlantic Coast. The oldest groundwater was found in the deepest parts of the aquifer, but groundwater even in shallower parts of the aquifer is tens to hundreds of thousands years old. Groundwater age indicates the length of time that a sample of water has been in the ground since infiltrating from the land surface. This study reveals that modern pumping in southern Maryland west of the Chesapeake Bay and on the Eastern Shore is tapping groundwater resources that have accumulated in the aquifer over multiple cycles of climate change and are not quickly recharging. The analysis shows that water flowed from the land surface into the deep aquifer during cooler periods in earth's history, when glaciers covered much of the northeastern U.S. and sea level was about 125 meters lower than it is today. During warmer periods in earth's history, such as in modern times, higher sea levels slow recharge of fresh water to the aquifer, due to a lower... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| Weight-loss surgery increases alcohol use disorders over time Posted: 18 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Adults who had a common bariatric surgery to lose weight had a significantly higher risk of alcohol use disorders (AUD) two years after surgery, according to a study by a National Institutes of Health research consortium. Researchers investigated alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorders symptoms in 1,945 participants from the NIH-funded Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS), a prospective study of patients undergoing weight-loss surgery at one of 10 hospitals across the United States. Within 30 days before surgery, and again one and two years after surgery, study participants completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification (AUDIT) test. The test, developed by the World Health Organization, identifies symptoms of alcohol use disorders, a condition that includes alcohol abuse and dependence, commonly known as alcoholism. Study participants were categorized as having AUD if they had at least one symptom of alcohol dependence, which included not being able to stop drinking once started, or alcohol-related harm, which included not being able to remember, or if their total AUDIT score was at least 8 (out of 40). About 70 percent of the study participants had Roux-en-Y (RYGB) gastric bypass surgery, which reduces the size of the stomach and shortens the intestine, limiting food intake and the body's ability to absorb calories. Another 25 percent had laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery, which makes the stomach smaller with an adjustable band. About 5 percent of the patients had other, less common weight-loss surgeries. Among participants who had the RYGB procedure, 7 percent reported symptoms of alcohol use disorders prior to surgery. There was no significant increase in AUD one year after surgery. However, by the second year after surgery, 10.7 percent of patients reported symptoms of AUD, a relative increase of more than 50 percent compared to pre-surgical rates. One in 8 LABS study... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| Mason environmentalist awarded Blue Planet Prize for lifetime achievement in conservation Posted: 18 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Thomas Lovejoy, University Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University, was awarded the 21st annual Blue Planet Prize, the international environmental award sponsored by the Asahi Glass Foundation in Japan. The Blue Planet prizes are awarded to individuals or organizations each year that make outstanding achievements in scientific research and its application in helping to solve global environmental problems. Lovejoy accepted the award during a press conference in Rio on June 17, and will receive a prize of 50 million Yen (approximately $626,000). He received the award for pioneering work in biodiversity science and conservation, including how human-caused habitat fragmentation causes biodiversity loss. It's a pleasure to join in congratulating both our esteemed faculty member and the commitments to biodiversity which he so ably represents, says Peter Stearns, Provost of George Mason University. His work is a central part of our larger educational and research program on sustainability. Lovejoy's career spans multiple decades and includes many creative and important contributions to research on the severe impact of land use on biodiversity and ecosystems. He began his career in the mid-60s, researching ecosystems in the Amazon rainforest. This led to the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, the largest long-term experiment in the history of landscape ecology. Now in its 33rd year, the project was responsible for showing that fragmentation of animal habitats is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, along with climate change. Lovejoy was one of the first to point out that the Amazon rainforest was in crisis and was a pioneer in educating the public of this problem. His work in policy included the first published projection of global extinction rates. Lovejoy also developed debt-for-nature swaps, in which a portion of a nation's foreign debt is forgiven in exchange for investments... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| SLU designs new NIH-funded program to help institutions address research wrongdoing Posted: 18 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) ST. LOUIS -- A $500,000 grant to Saint Louis University's Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics will fund the first ever remediation program to aid institutions when they discover researchers who have engaged in wrongdoing or unprofessional behavior. The Restoring Professionalism and Integrity in Research (RePAIR) program is expected to launch in November 2012. The one-year grant from the National Institutes of Health comes to SLU through its partnership with the Washington University Institute for Clinical and Translational Science. Maintaining the public's trust and support is critical to the success of research. As the first program of its kind aimed at correcting problematic research practices, RePAIR will provide an important mechanism to support ethical researcher practices and maintain the public's trust, said Raymond Tait, Ph.D., vice president for research at SLU and a member of the RePAIR advisory committee. James DuBois, Ph.D., D.Sc., project director and the Hubert Maeder Professor of Health Care Ethics at SLU, and his team kicked off the project in January with a needs assessment that was sent to 194 medical schools and comprehensive doctoral institutions. Of the 129 institutions that responded, 96 percent had investigated cases of wrongdoing in the past two years. On average, these institutions investigated four cases per year. Offenses ranged from minimal procedure violations to more extreme cases of data falsification, fabrication or plagiarism. The results of the assessment confirmed that wrongdoing in research is a widespread problem. It also highlighted the fact that institutions have very few options for responding to these cases, DuBois said. Overall, the consequences for the accused researcher are minimal. According to DuBois, on one extreme, researchers get a slap on the wrist -- the institution issues a letter of reprimand and may increase oversight of the wrongdoer. Some institutions also offer... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| Microbiome analysis helps understand cause of chronic sinus condition, suggests cure Posted: 18 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A study of the microbiome of the human nose provides clues to the cause of a chronic sinus condition and potential strategy for a cure. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco report their findings today at the 2012 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is characterized by inflammation of the nasal and paranasal sinuses lasting over 12 weeks. Patients suffering from this disease experience a variety of symptoms including congestion, fatigue, and even depression and it can lead to other conditions such as asthma, meningitis and aneurysms. Annually, it is estimated to be responsible for as many as 22 million office visits and more than 500,000 emergency department visits in the U.S. with healthcare costs reaching as high as $3.5 billion. The causes of chronic rhinosinusitis are not completely understood. This has hampered development of long-lasting, definitive treatments. With the fast-growing body of literature that demonstrates associations between the human microbiome composition and several diseases such as asthma and obesity, we hypothesized that a nasal microbiome exists and plays a role in CRS development, says Nabeetha Nagalingam, a researcher on the study. In the study Nagalingam and colleagues compared the nasal microbial communities of 10 CRS patients and 10 healthy individuals. They found that patients with CRS had a depleted nasal microbiome, characterized by a significant reduction in bacterial diversity and an overgrowth of one type of bacteria, Corynebacterium spp. We investigated our hypothesis that C. tuberculostearicum in the setting of a depleted microbiome can induce pathophysiology consistent with sinusitis using a mouse model, says Nagalingam. To recreate a depleted microbiome, mice were administered antibiotics for 7 days before they were infected with C. tuberculostearicum. Mice who were given the antibiotic before exposure... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| Researchers search for viruses to save honeybees Posted: 18 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) In an effort to save the dwindling honeybee population researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas are looking to viruses to help treat one of the most destructive and widespread bee brood diseases in the United States. They report their findings today at the 2012 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Our food supply depends on the actions of millions of insects such as the common honeybee. Due to the importance of honeybees a pollinators in the agriculture of the United States and therefore the current and future food supply, honeybee health is of great concern, says Diane Yost, a researcher on the study. American Foulbrood Disease (AFD) is the most widespread and destructive brood disease affecting honeybees. It is caused by a bacterial pathogen, Paenibacillus larvae. Young honeybee larvae become infected when they ingest the bacterial spores in their food. Infected larvae normally die after their cells are sealed. The bacteria eventually die as well but not before producing millions of spores. While there are some chemical treatments that can be used to hold AFD in check they must be continued indefinitely. Once the treatment is suspended the American foulbrood spores germinate successfully again leading to a disease outbreak. Because the spores can survive up to 40 years, many states require diseased hives to be burned completely. Yost and her colleagues are researching an alternative treatment for AFD. They are focusing on using bacteriophages, viruses that infect and kill specific bacteria, to target the bacteria responsible for AFD and eventually treat the disease. If an effective remedy for the disease could be developed, hives that are infected with the pathogen could be treated rather than burned, which is currently the only effective treatment, says Yost. The researchers conducted an extensive search for phage from environmental sources including samples from desert and garden... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
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