Innovative liver surgery saves 2-year-old Omani girl |  |
- Innovative liver surgery saves 2-year-old Omani girl
- Seven-foot tall woman draws crowds in Bengal
- Why smoking is 'BAD' for the Fallopian tube -- and increases the risk of ectopic pregnancy
- A high intake of certain dietary fats associated with lower live birth rates in IVF
- Safety indicators confirmed for common treatment of heart defect
- How do you turn 10 minutes of power into 200? Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency
- EPSRC congratulates Sir John Armitt on inaugural Major Projects Award
- Exposure to violence has long-term stress effects among adolescents
| Innovative liver surgery saves 2-year-old Omani girl Posted: 03 Jul 2012 11:49 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, July 3 - A two-year-old Omani girl suffering from acute liver failure was literally given a new slice of life by Chennai doctors through an innovative procedure called auxiliary liver transplant. Prior to her operation, Yasmin faced coma and eventual death. Airlifted to Chennai and referred to liver specialist Naresh Shanmugam of the city's Global Health City hospital, Yasmin was suffering from brain swelling, blood coagulopathy, very high ammonia and jaundice. Instead of removing her own liver and performing a full transplant, the doctors transplanted a slice of her uncle's liver. London based specialist Mohamed Rela, who pioneered this technique -which uses the organ's self-regenerative properties - at London's Kings College hospital, performed the 10 hour surgery on April 21. According to the doctors, within next four days, the transplanted slice of liver gained some functionality. - a small portion of donor liver could be transplanted alongside the native liver; this transplanted liver would work as a temporary dialysis machine, said Shanmugam. When the native liver regenerates after few months time, the transplanted liver dies. The patient could - live with their own liver in a healthy manner, he added. He expressed hope that Yasmin's liver would resume full functionality in another six months. --Indo-Asian News service nw/vd/vm http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| Seven-foot tall woman draws crowds in Bengal Posted: 03 Jul 2012 05:31 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Kolkata, July 3 - Standing at over seven feet and weighing nearly 120 kg, 25-year-old Siddika Parvin from West Bengal's South Dinajpur district is hogging the limelight, specially after being hospitalised following a respiratory disorder. After she was admitted to the Balurghat district hospital late Monday night, people have been thronging the hospital to see the giant. Unable to control the crowds, hospital authorities had to call police to disperse them. Resident of Srirampur village under Banshihari block in the district which is some 462 km from Kolkata, Siddika's daily intake of food consists of nearly six kgs of rice, besides a big basket of puffed rice. At the hospital, Siddika is being served with six bananas, four pounds of bread and two litres of milk as breakfast, two kg of boiled rice along with vegetables and fish for lunch and dinner. The eldest of three daughters of daily wagers Afasuddin Mandal and Mansura Bibi, Siddika started growing abnormally since the age of 10, before which she was like any other girl going to school and doing regular chores. Ever since her abnormal growth, she had to skip school as people started making fun of her, making it difficult to continue her studies, says her mother. Sarthak Sensharma, the doctor treating Siddika, said a tumour in her pituitary gland has caused higher secretion of hormones resulting in her abnormal growth in height and weight which in medical parlance is called gigantism. Gigantism refers to abnormally high linear growth due to excessive action of insulin-like growth factor while the epiphyseal growth plates are open during childhood, said Sensharma adding that she needs to go for an immediate surgery as her obesity was leading to other health problems including a respiratory disorder. Contrary to reports that her daily wager parents were unable to feed her resulting to her hospitalisation, district magistrate Durga Das Goswami as well as Sensharma claimed... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| Why smoking is 'BAD' for the Fallopian tube -- and increases the risk of ectopic pregnancy Posted: 03 Jul 2012 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Istanbul, 3 July 2012: Cigarette smoke reduces the production of a Fallopian tube gene known as BAD, which helps explain the link between smoking and ectopic pregnancy. The finding, from scientists led by Drs Andrew Horne and Colin Duncan at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Reproductive Health in Edinburgh, UK, was described today at the annual meting of ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) in Istanbul. Ectopic pregnancy - when the embryo implants outside the uterus and in the Fallopian tube - occurs in up to 2% of all pregnancies and is the most common cause of maternal death in early pregnancy. There is currently no way to prevent an ectopic pregnancy, and the condition must be treated by abdominal surgery or, when the ectopic is small and stable, by injection of a drug called methotrexate. In presenting background information to the study, Dr Horne explained that ectopic pregnancy is the result of a combination of factors affecting the transport of the developing embryo from the Fallopian tube to the uterus and changes in the tubal environment which allow early implantation to occur. Smoking is known to be a major risk factor, but how smoking changes the environment of the Fallopian tube for an ectopic pregnancy to occur has so far remained largely unknown. For the purpose of this study, Dr Horne's group first exposed cells from the Fallopian tube to a breakdown product of nicotine called cotinine. They then showed that cotinine had a negative effect on genes known to be associated with cell death (or apoptosis), and in particular with a gene called BAD. In a further study the researchers showed that BAD expression was reduced in the Fallopian tube of women who were smokers. Dr Horne explained that changes in the production of BAD and related genes are seen in the uterus as it prepares for normal implantation of the embryo and early pregnancy. A reduction in the expression of BAD is... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| A high intake of certain dietary fats associated with lower live birth rates in IVF Posted: 03 Jul 2012 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Istanbul, 3 July 2012: Women with a higher intake of dietary saturated fats have fewer mature oocytes available for collection in IVF, according to results of a study from the Harvard School of Public Health funded by the US National Institutes of Health. The study investigated the effect of dietary fat (classified as total, saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, omega 6, omega 3 and trans) on a range of preclinical and clinical outcomes in women having IVF. Results showed that the intake of saturated fat was inversely related to the number of mature oocytes retrieved, while polyunsaturated fat consumption was inversely associated with early embryo quality.(1) Dietary fat intake has been previously studied for its effect on reproductive health; for example, a high intake of trans-fats has been associated with ovulatory infertility (as in polycystic ovary syndrome) and miscarriage, while saturated fats have been related to lower sperm concentrations. But so far little has been known about the effect of dietary fat intake on the outcome of fertility treatment. The results of this study were presented today at the annual meeting of ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) by Dr Jorge Chavarro, Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, USA. The study took place among 147 women having IVF at the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center. Preclinical assessments included oocyte development, fertilisation, embryo quality and cleavage rate, while clinical outcomes (pregnancy, live birth) were recorded in all women who had embryo transfer. The women were also categorised into tertiles of fat intake, with outcomes compared in relation to the lowest tertile. Results were controlled for other sources of energy, infertility diagnosis, ovarian stimulation protocol, body mass index (BMI) and smoking status. Following statistical analysis it was found that women with... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| Safety indicators confirmed for common treatment of heart defect Posted: 03 Jul 2012 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A new study by medical scientists coordinated from the University of Manchester has for the first time used patients' results to establish that safety indicators for people taking anticoagulant drugs to regulate a common heart condition are correct. More than 760,000 patients in the UK have atrial fibrillation (AF), a defect that causes an irregular heart rate. It is also known to increase the risk and severity of stroke. The main treatment used to regulate the condition is an anticoagulant drug called warfarin which prevents the blood from forming clots so easily. This treatment also lowers the risk of a stroke by about two thirds. The recommendation to use anticoagulation for patients with AF was circulated to all NHS hospitals and practices last year in a Commissioning Safety Document. However, there are risks associated with the drug as too little anticoagulation results in thrombosis but too much can result in haemorrhage. Both can be fatal. Patients therefore require frequent monitoring and dose adjustments. Part of monitoring is measuring a patients' international normalized ratio (INR). In healthy people, the INR is about 1.0. For patients on anticoagulants, the INR typically should be between 2.0 and 3.0. However there had been no large scale studies to establish the danger INR level in patients with AF. Medical scientists working with the European Action on Anticoagulation which is organised from the University of Manchester tested 5839 patients with AF. The INR for each case was monitored by blood tests which were independently assessed. Any clinical events, such as bleeding or thrombosis, were also monitored and matched to the patient's INR reading. The study found that in patients starting to take anticoagulation therapy who had a bleeding episode 9.5% had at least one INR result that was greater than 5.0. This was significantly higher than in the 4.6% of patients who had a bleeding episode but did not develop... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| How do you turn 10 minutes of power into 200? Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency Posted: 03 Jul 2012 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A robot that drives into an industrial disaster area and shuts off a valve leaking toxic steam might save lives. A robot that applies supervised autonomy to dexterously disarm a roadside bomb would keep humans out of harm's way. A robot that carries hundreds of pounds of equipment over rocky or wooded terrain would increase the range warfighters can travel and the speed at which they move. But a robot that runs out of power after ten to twenty minutes of operation is limited in its utility. In fact, use of robots in defense missions is currently constrained in part by power supply issues. DARPA has created the M3 Actuation program, with the goal of achieving a 2,000 percent increase in the efficiency of power transmission and application in robots, to improve performance potential. Humans and animals have evolved to consume energy very efficiently for movement. Bones, muscles and tendons work together for propulsion using as little energy as possible. If robotic actuation can be made to approach the efficiency of human and animal actuation, the range of practical robotic applications will greatly increase and robot design will be less limited by power plant considerations. M3 Actuation is an effort within DARPA's Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (M3) robotics program, and adds a new dimension to DARPA's suite of robotics research and development work. By exploring multiple aspects of robot design, capabilities, control and production, we hope to converge on an adaptable core of robot technologies that can be applied across mission areas, said Gill Pratt, DARPA program manager. Success in the M3 Actuation effort would benefit not just robotics programs, but all engineered, actuated systems, including advanced prosthetic limbs. Proposals are sought in response to a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). DARPA expects that solutions will require input from a broad array of scientific and engineering specialties to understand, develop... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| EPSRC congratulates Sir John Armitt on inaugural Major Projects Award Posted: 03 Jul 2012 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Sir John Armitt CBE, Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and former Chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), has been honoured as the first recipient of the Royal Academy of Engineering's Major Projects Award. As the engineer responsible for delivering the London 2012 Games infrastructure, he has delivered the massive project on time and to budget while under intense scrutiny from the rest of the world. The project has consistently met targets throughout the building phase and set new benchmarks for sustainable construction and technical expertise, thanks to Sir John's leadership in coordinating the work of hundreds of professionals to create new London landmarks. He was pivotal in all aspects of the Olympic and Paralympic Games infrastructure project, including: finance, engineering, environment, management and external relations, as well as acting as an ambassador for the project in explaining its complexities to the public. Congratulating Sir John on his award Professor David Delpy, EPSRC's Chief Executive, said: On behalf of EPSRC's Council, Executive and staff, I'd like to congratulate Sir John on this landmark achievement. The Games and their legacy of world class facilities for the athletes of the future will be a fitting tribute to Sir John and the spirit of 2012. Nominating Sir John for the award, Professor Peter Guthrie OBE, Head of the Centre for Sustainable Development and Professor for Sustainable Development at the University of Cambridge, said: Sir John Armitt is as close as it gets to a complete civil engineer today whose achievements and reputation are on the scale of the great Victorian engineers. He has embraced the opportunity to deliver one of the most prestigious, visible and successful engineering projects in the last 50 years. Ray O'Rourke KBE, Chairman and Chief Executive of Laing O'Rourke, said: The success of the London 2012 project hinged on Sir John's... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| Exposure to violence has long-term stress effects among adolescents Posted: 03 Jul 2012 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Children who are exposed to community violence continue to exhibit a physical stress response up to a year after the exposure, suggesting that exposure to violence may have long-term negative health consequences, according researchers at Penn State and University College London. We know that exposure to violence is linked with aggression, depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms and academic and cognitive difficulties in the short term, but little is known about the long-term effects of such exposure, said Elizabeth Susman, Jean Phillips Shibley Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Penn State. Our data show that the stress reaction to violence exposure is not just immediate. There's an effect that endures. The scientists recruited 124 adolescents, ranging in age from 8 to 13 and living in small city and rural communities, to participate in the study. Most studies of the effects of exposure to violence look at children who live in inner cities and urban communities, said Melissa Peckins, biobehavioral health graduate student, Penn State. Our study is unique because we focused on children who live in small towns, so they are not children you would normally expect to be exposed to a lot of violence. Also, these were healthy children without a history of reported maltreatment. The researchers gave each of the adolescents a questionnaire, which identified their lifetime exposure to violence and exposure within the past 12 months. They then gave the adolescents the beginning of a story and asked them to complete it in front of two mock judges, whom they were told were evaluating their responses and performances for later comparison to those of other children the same age. Following the story-completion task, adolescents were also given a serial subtraction task. The story completion task and mental arithmetic task are commonly used to elicit a stress response in laboratory settings, Peckins said. Our... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
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