An experimental treatment is offering new hope to patients fighting one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.
Researchers at Indiana University Health Neuroscience and the IU Simon Cancer Center are recruiting participants for a clinical study investigating the effectiveness of DCVax-Brain, a customized vaccine made from a patient?s own white blood cells to battle glioblastoma multiforme tumors, also known as GBM. They are one of the most common, and most difficult to treat, types of brain tumors.
The new treatment is customized specifically for each patient.
?(It?s) using the patients? own tumor to create a vaccine. What they do is they take the patient?s cells and either educate or mobilize those cells to attack the patient?s own tumor,? said Dr. Stephanie Wagner, Medical Director of the IU Simon Cancer Center neuro-oncology program.
IU Health is the only site in Indiana offering the treatment. So far, the results have shown the vaccine has the ability to extend a patient?s life expectancy from an average of six months to nearly three years.
If you are interested in joining the study, you can contact Dr. Wagner at 317-962-3172, or email her at swagner@iuhealth.org
More information about the study is available online.
With more triple-digit heat in the forecast, millions of people in the Mid-Atlantic area were without power on Saturday after violent storms with 80-mph gusts toppled trees, cut power lines and killed four people.
Ohio also saw up to 1 million homes and businesses without power Saturday morning due to the storm front overnight, and at least one person died there.
Forecasters warned of more dangerously high temperatures Saturday. It should top 100 degrees in areas across 25 states, a heat scenario impacting 47 million people, the Weather Channel's Julie Martin said on NBC's TODAY show.
The storms cut power more than 2 million homes and businesses across the Mid-Atlantic area -- including 1.5 million in the Washington, D.C., area, NBCWashington.com reported.
"We have more than half our system down," said Myra Oppel, a spokeswoman for Pepco, a utility serving the D.C. area that had 400,000 customers without power after 80 mph gusts knocked down trees and power lines.
"This is definitely going to be a multi-day outage," Oppel added -- not good news for those relying on air-conditioning to deal with the muggy, triple-digit temperatures this weekend.
Repairing damage "is a monumental task," added Ed McDonough, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Emergency Management. "This is something that is going to take days, not hours."
Water restrictions were? ordered in Montgomery and Prince George's counties because the storms had knocked out power to its filtration plants and other facilities.
And the high heat prompted the AT&T National golf tournament at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., to close the competition to spectators and volunteers on Saturday.
4 deaths in D.C. area
Fallen trees were blamed for two deaths in Springfield, Va. ? a 90-year-old woman in her home and a man driving a car.
Two others died in Virginia as well, but details were not available, NBCWashington.com reported.
In addition, a park police officer was injured by an uprooted tree in northern Virginia, and an 18-year-old man was struck by a power line. He was in stable condition after receiving CPR.
Damage in the D.C. area included a rooftop blown off a 7-story apartment building, and dozens of damaged homes.
Widespread power outages were reported from Indiana to New Jersey.
On Friday, the nation's capital reached 104 degrees ? its hottest June day on record.
'Everything good is down': Storm knocks out Netflix, Instagram
The heat is also suspected to have been the cause of the deaths of two young brothers in eastern Tennessee, Reuters reported. The boys, aged 3 and 5, had been playing outside Thursday. The younger boy died Thursday, and the older boy on Friday afternoon, according to Eric Blach, administrator for the Bradley County Medical Examiner's Office.
Video: How hot will it get this weekend? (on this page)
In Kansas City, Mo., city health officials said Friday they were investigating the deaths of three area residents, including a baby boy, to determine if they were heat-related, according to Reuters.
Early Saturday, the National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings for parts of Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee and Arizona.
It said the temperatures could get "dangerously hot."
Weather.com published a map of the U.S. showing areas at risk of severe thunderstorms Saturday, with an area from Iowa to the Mid-Atlantic at risk.
"Another round of widespread damaging winds may materialize in these hard-hit areas," it warned. "A second area of severe weather is possible for the central and northern Plains, but those storms may be more isolated in nature."
It said severe thunderstorms typically form at the northern edge of areas of excessive heat.
"A powerful derecho developed Friday over Indiana and marched eastward across Ohio, the Virginias and into Maryland and Delaware, causing widespread wind damage with gusts over 90 miles per hour in some cases," it added.
Slideshow: Summertime living (on this page)
West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency after more than 500,000 customers in 27 counties were left without electricity because of the storm.
More than 20 elderly residents at an apartment home in Indianapolis were displaced when the facility lost power due to a downed tree.
The storms also toppled three tractor trailers on Interstate 75 near Findlay, Ohio.
At least four utility poles fell on a road in Columbus, Ohio, making it too dangerous for people in four cars to get out, police said. One person was taken to a hospital.
Washington's Metrorail subway trains were returned to their endpoints due to the storms and related damage late Friday.
Video: Drought hits cattle ranchers' wallets (on this page)
"It has had a widespread effect on the region," Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said early Saturday.
He said about 17 train stations were operating on backup power due to local power outages, but that he didn't anticipate service being disrupted on Saturday.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Bees shed light on human sweet perception and metabolic disordersPublic release date: 29-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sandra Leander sandra.leander@asu.edu 480-965-9865 Arizona State University
Researchers identify connection between sugar sensitivity, diabetic physiology and metabolism
TEMPE, Ariz. Scientists at Arizona State University have discovered that honey bees may teach us about basic connections between taste perception and metabolic disorders in humans. By experimenting with honey bee genetics, researchers have identified connections between sugar sensitivity, diabetic physiology and carbohydrate metabolism. Bees and humans may partially share these connections.
In a study published in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics (Public Library of Science), Gro Amdam, an associate professor, and Ying Wang, a research scientist, in the School of Life Sciences in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, explain how for the first time, they've successfully inactivated two genes in the bees' "master regulator" module that controls food-related behaviors. By doing so, researchers discovered a possible molecular link between sweet taste perception and the state of internal energy.
"A bee's sensitivity to sugar reveals her attitude towards food, how old the bee is when she starts searching for nectar and pollen, and which kind of food she prefers to collect," said Wang, lead author of the paper. "By suppressing these two 'master' genes, we discovered that bees can become more sensitive to sweet taste. But interestingly, those bees also had very high blood sugar levels, and low levels of insulin, much like people who have Type 1 diabetes."
In Amdam's honey bee lab at ASU, scientists suppressed two genes including vitellogenin, which is similar to a human gene called apolipoprotein B, and ultraspiracle, which partners with an insect hormone that has some functions in common with the human thyroid hormone. The team is the first in the world to accomplish this double gene-suppressing technique. Researchers used this method to understand how the master regulator works.
"Now, if one can use the bees to understand how taste perception and metabolic syndromes are connected, it's a very useful tool," said Amdam, who also has a honey bee laboratory at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. "Most of what we know about deficits in human perceptions is from people who are very sick or have had a brain trauma. We know shockingly little about people in this area."
The researchers are now considering how, exactly, the bees' sweet taste was enhanced by the experiment. The most metabolically active tissue of the bee, called the fat body, may hold the key. The fat body is similar to the liver and abdominal fat in humans, in that it helps store nutrients and create energy.
Amdam explains that taste perception evolved as a survival mechanism, for bees as well as for people. For example, bitter foods may be poisonous or sweet taste may signal foods rich in calories for energy. For all animals, taste perception must communicate properly with one's internal energetic state to control food intake and maintain normal life functions. Without this, poorly functioning taste perception can contribute to unhealthy eating behaviors and metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity.
"From this study, we realized we can take advantage of honey bees in understanding how food-related behaviors interact with internal metabolism, as well as how to manipulate these food-related behaviors in order to control metabolic disorders," added Amdam.
###
In addition to Amdam and Wang, the team included former ASU research partners Colin Brent, a research entomologist with the USDA, and Erin Fennern, now with Oregon Health Science University.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Bees shed light on human sweet perception and metabolic disordersPublic release date: 29-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sandra Leander sandra.leander@asu.edu 480-965-9865 Arizona State University
Researchers identify connection between sugar sensitivity, diabetic physiology and metabolism
TEMPE, Ariz. Scientists at Arizona State University have discovered that honey bees may teach us about basic connections between taste perception and metabolic disorders in humans. By experimenting with honey bee genetics, researchers have identified connections between sugar sensitivity, diabetic physiology and carbohydrate metabolism. Bees and humans may partially share these connections.
In a study published in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics (Public Library of Science), Gro Amdam, an associate professor, and Ying Wang, a research scientist, in the School of Life Sciences in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, explain how for the first time, they've successfully inactivated two genes in the bees' "master regulator" module that controls food-related behaviors. By doing so, researchers discovered a possible molecular link between sweet taste perception and the state of internal energy.
"A bee's sensitivity to sugar reveals her attitude towards food, how old the bee is when she starts searching for nectar and pollen, and which kind of food she prefers to collect," said Wang, lead author of the paper. "By suppressing these two 'master' genes, we discovered that bees can become more sensitive to sweet taste. But interestingly, those bees also had very high blood sugar levels, and low levels of insulin, much like people who have Type 1 diabetes."
In Amdam's honey bee lab at ASU, scientists suppressed two genes including vitellogenin, which is similar to a human gene called apolipoprotein B, and ultraspiracle, which partners with an insect hormone that has some functions in common with the human thyroid hormone. The team is the first in the world to accomplish this double gene-suppressing technique. Researchers used this method to understand how the master regulator works.
"Now, if one can use the bees to understand how taste perception and metabolic syndromes are connected, it's a very useful tool," said Amdam, who also has a honey bee laboratory at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. "Most of what we know about deficits in human perceptions is from people who are very sick or have had a brain trauma. We know shockingly little about people in this area."
The researchers are now considering how, exactly, the bees' sweet taste was enhanced by the experiment. The most metabolically active tissue of the bee, called the fat body, may hold the key. The fat body is similar to the liver and abdominal fat in humans, in that it helps store nutrients and create energy.
Amdam explains that taste perception evolved as a survival mechanism, for bees as well as for people. For example, bitter foods may be poisonous or sweet taste may signal foods rich in calories for energy. For all animals, taste perception must communicate properly with one's internal energetic state to control food intake and maintain normal life functions. Without this, poorly functioning taste perception can contribute to unhealthy eating behaviors and metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity.
"From this study, we realized we can take advantage of honey bees in understanding how food-related behaviors interact with internal metabolism, as well as how to manipulate these food-related behaviors in order to control metabolic disorders," added Amdam.
###
In addition to Amdam and Wang, the team included former ASU research partners Colin Brent, a research entomologist with the USDA, and Erin Fennern, now with Oregon Health Science University.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
If one of your resolutions for the New Year was to find, or improve, a relationship that you can be committed to then it may be easier than you thought. Commitment in the new year, or anytime, isn?t that hard to achieve but you must follow some simple rules if you want to succeed.
Commitment in the new year will come down to one basic thing: are you really sure that you want to make a commitment with a certain person?
Obvious, I know. But do you have any idea how many people completely overlook this one simple rule? So many people think they want to be in a committed relationship but in many cases it isn?t even about them and what they want, it?s more about what they think they should do.
For example, when we get to a certain age we are under a lot of pressure to ?settle down?. The pressure can sometimes come from our parents, our friends and even society.
It?s easy to confuse that pressure with our own wants and needs. Many times people will lie to themselves and convince themselves that yes, they really do want to settle down when in reality they don?t want to but they feel guilty and feel like they are doing something wrong.
When you do something, pretty much anything, just because you think you should, even though you don?t really want to, you are just setting yourself up for failure.
Before you start going down the ?commitment? road, stop and take a deep breath and make sure it really is what you want to do.
While compromise is an important ingredient to any successful relationship, whether a romantic one or not, this isn?t something to compromise on.
If you really aren?t in a place where you want to be in a committed relationship but you go along with it because it is what your partner wants or you are feeling pressured to do it, you will fail.
A committed relationship can be challenging in the best of times and if it is something you don?t even really want, it will be that much harder to keep that promise and truly commit to the relationship.
Another thing to keep in mind is that too many people will tell you that ?a relationship takes work? or ?relationships are hard?. How many times have you heard that from someone?
Well, I think that is wrong. I have been in both good and bad relationships and I can tell you that when you are in a good relationship it really isn?t work at all. There is very little need for compromise since the two of you will see eye to eye on many issues.
When you do need to compromise it is a true compromise where both of you give a little. Not what some people call compromise which is when only one person is doing the giving and the other is doing most of the taking.
Make sure before you promise to take the relationship to the next level that you are truly in a relationship with the best possible person for you.
Increasing your commitment in the new year can help you and your partner find true happiness and deepen the bond between you. Just don?t go into it blindly or you may really regret it with time.
Practice Fusion is the frontrunner in the fevered race to become?the electronic medical record platform, and today it finished raising a $34 million Series C led by hedge fund Artis Ventures?to make sure it wins and lead it towards an IPO. Practice Fusion's valuation is now around a half a billion dollars, it tells me. Startups trying to compete? "We're squashing them" founder and CEO Ryan Howard tells me. It now hosts 40 million patient records of its 150,000 doctor clients, up from ?25 million records and 130,000 doctors seven months ago. The money will fund a patient acquisition strategy, the build-out of its app platform, hires, and attracting more docs to ditch pen and paper for more efficient, accessible electronic records. Howard beams?"We're excited to light it up. The company's on fire, growth is maddening. The problem needs to be solved."
There are lots of businesses, by making use of computers encourage on-line security training to become made available to any or all workforce in every business units. Most are fantastic safety videos that may help save businesses a lot of cash. Safety instruction is not a brand new concept, it has became on-line.
A person could possibly argue that a bunch working in workplaces may not need to be trained regularly regarding health in addition to safety, nonetheless this is not true, everyone at just about any level in a company, company even in school or studying institution, where you will find people, training is necessary. Nonetheless when it comes to industrial and production line individuals it is mandatory.
Manufacturers have made available Buy Safety Videos on-line to ensure well being and safety for many years. The amazing fact is that being on-line it reaches a larger potential audience and covers virtually all levels of work. Consequently many more individuals tend to be reached concerning safety training.
Equipping individuals with safe practices coaching shows that businesses are not only preoccupied with the company, but additionally with the well-being of all employees from the administration staff to the floor workers. Implementing coaching online is essential to meet up with your compliance training requirements.
The advantage acquired by employee training is the fact that it can keep your work on schedule also in production. An accident, particularly when it occurs to an essential associate of your staff, may hijack a project and also postpone it for months. Sometimes minor accidental injuries, could halt and also hurt the manufacturing schedule. No matter your job, all can greatly take advantage of the safety videos, show casing the various situations which one could possibly face within the work place.
There are lots of considerations why safety coaching is crucial and also critical part to businesses and also manufacturers. Exactly where you discover workers, no matter what the status, there is constantly a risk to safety. It should be top priority to ensure safety coaching. Safety training as well as osha coaching will be an important part to the wellbeing of all individuals.
Online coaching can decrease costs within the work environment. There are lots of businesses and also companies that fail to see how they or their workers can benefit from supplying safety coaching classes for their workers. But research have shown that expenses are a lot lower when utilizing on-line training, than really employing someone to continually bring safety coaching to all. Video or online coaching may be life saving to all.
On-line well being and safety courses, where you least anticipate it. Visit http://www.safetyinstruction.com ? you will find all of the information you will need regarding safety training within the workplace. Safety coaching at workplace can and does save lives.
For more information about Online Safety Training visit our website: Online Health & Safety Courses
If you are wanting to know when you contain the appropriate knowledge to be able to start up a redecorating task, then its finest that you just inform yourself on the things you should do. With regards to something such as home remodeling, you want to be certain that you realize just as much as you may in order to improve your home to the very best of ability, look at this write-up to help you help your self.
Get no-VOC paints for your residence. Standard paints include dangerous chemical substances, but no-VOC paints are made without having and therefore are eco friendly. They job equally well as standard paints and cost a bit more.
As you may begin your house advancement task, take care not to demolish too quickly. It will always be smart to discover what is powering a drawer or wall surface before demolishing it. If power aspects were actually damaged, it may be expensive to create the required maintenance.
When commencing any home improvement activities, be sure you correctly evaluate the level of work to be completed. Rest and jot down a misplaced of what you should do. Seek out a 2nd judgment to make sure you haven?t missed anything within your examination. Once you know precisely what should be carried out, it will be possible to economize.
Exercise very good protection strategies when undertaking assignments to enhance your own home. If doing work in your house or anywhere else exactly where gas might be existing, shut off the gasoline to the period. Development operate in close proximity to petrol outlines is fairly harmful. Understand the positioning of the shutoff device! You should also be sure you?re aware about exactly where your fuel lines are to make sure that you don?t by accident success a single.
Natural hardwood kitchen cabinets are a great concept should you be considering shifting things in your kitchen. Timber cabinets are strong, to enable them to put up with a lot of use without exhibiting dress in. Kitchen cabinets are typically created from maple, cherry and oak. These may also be colored or tarnished, it really is very easy to re-mark them also.
Older office chair or chair cushions tend to get level or lumpy. A great way to provide them back to live is to put them outside the house in the sunshine. Sun light dries up excess moisture content and restores the springiness. Turn the pillows and don?t depart them out in the sunshine very long, given that they may become faded.
To improve the appearance of your bath rooms, consider providing them with a fresh glaze. A glaze can brighten up a dingy bathroom, and might bring it from searching donned to gleaming and thoroughly clean. The installation of new floor tile within your washroom is a very costly undertaking, but re-glazing the existing tile job may cost not more than a couple of 100 $ $ $ $. The need for a property could be elevated at the bargain value through glazing.
Before getting right down to cleaning the insides of your own cabinets, provide them with a fast complete with all the vacuum. This way you can eliminate all reduce dirt that could be seated there. Make use of a soft mix of soap and water to clean off the shelf types of surface. Commence cleaning up near the top of the drawer, then development downwards. You can also put in new shelf liners and correct cracked elements.
To acquire a fresh look from the cooking area, it?s not necessary to rip the cupboards or toss about a huge amount of cash. You can make a large modify with a bit of color. Apply a jacket of polish or some other kind of accomplish when you find yourself done painting. Investigation some ways to get it done on the net, select some ways it is perfect for you together with improve your appearance.
There are several telltale symptoms to look for that signal maintenance are important with a deck. Exist irregular or cracked panels? Are there fingernails or toenails or anchoring screws sticking out? Are some of the panels dry rotted?
Often, refacing your cupboards or exchanging doors and equipment will likely be precisely what your cabinets require. Absolutely swapping all your units could cost lots of money. Even so, the price is quite a bit reduced if you wish to reface the cabinet doorways rather. Your home will appear clean and new and you also won?t must spend lots of cash.
As was stated previously, too little information can make home improvements projects appear more challenging they then are. As you now hold the inspiration and data from this article, you should be more confident inside your abilities to produce a distinction in your house. Practical, no-nonsense info like this will make it easier for you to finish your selected task promptly and within finances.
There is more content available on flat roofs take a look at Denyse S. Swantner?s site there is a lot of information not outlined in this post, visit Author?s blog to discover more.
The reason why personal development crucial? Self improvement not only improves your own personal ability to Air Jordan Pas Cher thrive on the planet, but it additionally makes it much simpler for other individuals to relate to you. This short article will describe a few ways that you can existing a confident image of yourself and boost your development inside your self improvement targets.
An incredible self improvement suggestion is always to stay disciplined. It is really not very easy to boost on your own. It will take hard work and commitment to truly come up with a beneficial transform in your life. It is rather crucial that you know this and keep oneself self-disciplined when any sort of temptations develop.
Take a look at how far you?ve appear. Right after concentrating on your self for quite a while, you?ll start to see adjustments. Every so often think about the optimistic alterations you?ve mad and the way a lot you?ve changed. This will make you are feeling happy with on your own and launch you toward Air Jordan a lot more fantastic changes.
Learn from the faults of others. It may feel as if you will find the possible ways to screw up in every conceivable way. Fortunately, this is not correct. You won?t reside of sufficient length to create every single blunder seen to man. This is why it can be essential to consider the blunders made by all those near you and also to study from them.
The best way to successfully improve your daily life is to get the help of men and women close to you. Any issues you could come across will always be going to be more difficult by trying and cope with it on your own. Rather, get an assistance process in your own life that will motivate you.
Test out your choices. Put on new hobbies, personality traits as well as other Jordan Femme private details for sizing. You might encounter new ways to express oneself that could come in a natural way and communicate your values with ease. This is an excellent way to represent yourself in new, honest ways to other people and will keep your persona powerful.
When working on your personal development be sure you keep a positive frame of mind. It may look hard when you are attempting to improve things that you look at as unfavorable, but put a positive rewrite upon it, as negativity can make it more unlikely that you just will be successful in generating the modifications you wish to make.
Values perform a big part in the achievement of objectives. Determine your ideals initially and make targets to make sure they Air Jordan Pas Cher are in alignment. Should they contradict the other person you will then be not able to make advancement, for you may be doing work towards oneself with a very basic levels. So, truthfully determine the principles that issue for you, in detail. Then, use that information about yourself, as a way to set up goals that match your greatest principles in everyday life.
To summarize, personal development desired goals demand your continual vigilance. As you can tell, this job can experience fantastic rewards. When you strive to enhance yourself, it Air Jordan Pas Cher improves your self confidence and the self-confidence others keep in you. It?s clear that no person is definitely an tropical island, so these guidelines have been created with a social and challenging entire world in mind.
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Good news for aging eyesPublic release date: 28-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Erin White ewhite@northwestern.edu 847-491-4888 Northwestern University
Debilitating eyesight problems are on the decline for older Americans
CHICAGO --- Today's senior citizens are reporting fewer visual impairment problems than their counterparts from a generation ago, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. Improved techniques for cataract surgery and a reduction in the prevalence of macular degeneration may be the driving forces behind this change, the researchers said.
"From 1984 until 2010, the decrease in visual impairment in those 65 and older was highly statistically significant," said Angelo P. Tanna, M.D., first author of the study. "There was little change in visual impairments in adults under the age of 65."
The study, published in the journal Ophthalmology, shows that in 1984, 23 percent of elderly adults had difficulty reading or seeing newspaper print because of poor eyesight. By 2010, there was an age-adjusted 58 percent decrease in this kind of visual impairment, with only 9.7 percent of elderly reporting the problem.
There was also a substantial decline in eyesight problems that limited elderly Americans from taking part in daily activities, such as bathing, dressing or getting around inside or outside of the home, according to the study.
"The findings are exciting, because they suggest that currently used diagnostic and screening tools and therapeutic interventions for various ophthalmic diseases are helping to prolong the vision of elderly Americans," Tanna said.
Tanna is the vice chairman of ophthalmology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and an attending physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Stephen Kaye, of the Institute for Health & Aging and Disability Statistics Center, University of California, is the second author of the study.
The study used self-reported data collected from 1984 to 2010 through two major population-based surveys, the National Health Interview Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation.
Survey questions revealed how vision problems can impact the daily activities and quality of life of Americans and helped researchers analyze trends in the prevalence of visual impairment of adults in the United States.
While this study didn't identify any of the causes of the change in the prevalence of visual impairment, Tanna said there are three likely reasons for the decline:
Improved techniques and outcomes for cataract surgery
Less smoking, resulting in a drop in the prevalence of macular degeneration
Treatments for diabetic eye diseases are more readily available and improved, despite the fact that the prevalence of diabetes has increased
Future studies should identify which treatment strategies help prevent vision in older adults and then make those treatments available to as many people as possible, Tanna said.
###
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Good news for aging eyesPublic release date: 28-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Erin White ewhite@northwestern.edu 847-491-4888 Northwestern University
Debilitating eyesight problems are on the decline for older Americans
CHICAGO --- Today's senior citizens are reporting fewer visual impairment problems than their counterparts from a generation ago, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. Improved techniques for cataract surgery and a reduction in the prevalence of macular degeneration may be the driving forces behind this change, the researchers said.
"From 1984 until 2010, the decrease in visual impairment in those 65 and older was highly statistically significant," said Angelo P. Tanna, M.D., first author of the study. "There was little change in visual impairments in adults under the age of 65."
The study, published in the journal Ophthalmology, shows that in 1984, 23 percent of elderly adults had difficulty reading or seeing newspaper print because of poor eyesight. By 2010, there was an age-adjusted 58 percent decrease in this kind of visual impairment, with only 9.7 percent of elderly reporting the problem.
There was also a substantial decline in eyesight problems that limited elderly Americans from taking part in daily activities, such as bathing, dressing or getting around inside or outside of the home, according to the study.
"The findings are exciting, because they suggest that currently used diagnostic and screening tools and therapeutic interventions for various ophthalmic diseases are helping to prolong the vision of elderly Americans," Tanna said.
Tanna is the vice chairman of ophthalmology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and an attending physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Stephen Kaye, of the Institute for Health & Aging and Disability Statistics Center, University of California, is the second author of the study.
The study used self-reported data collected from 1984 to 2010 through two major population-based surveys, the National Health Interview Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation.
Survey questions revealed how vision problems can impact the daily activities and quality of life of Americans and helped researchers analyze trends in the prevalence of visual impairment of adults in the United States.
While this study didn't identify any of the causes of the change in the prevalence of visual impairment, Tanna said there are three likely reasons for the decline:
Improved techniques and outcomes for cataract surgery
Less smoking, resulting in a drop in the prevalence of macular degeneration
Treatments for diabetic eye diseases are more readily available and improved, despite the fact that the prevalence of diabetes has increased
Future studies should identify which treatment strategies help prevent vision in older adults and then make those treatments available to as many people as possible, Tanna said.
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
If you play tennis, you can dramatically improve your game by training yourself to focus your eyes faster. You can practice this by approaching the net more closely than you do in ordinary play. Attempting to return shots from this close distance will force you to focus on the ball more quickly. This helps to improve reaction times.
The benefits of fitness are not only physical. If you start a new workout routine, your mental health will improve as well. Working out releases endorphins creating a sense of euphoria. You can be much more confident in yourself after you look and feel good. In some ways, therefore, a few workouts may be all that stands between you and happiness.
Drink milk after your workout. It is filled with protein, and it tastes good, too. Milks contains essential fats and proteins, which is why it?s what newborn humans and animals typically drink. Your body mass index will also improve from the consumption of these nutrients.
Fitness begins with a healthy heart. Some things, like being overweight, can really put pressure on your heart. Keeping fit and exercising can not only improve your heart health, but keep your weight healthy. However, it is also necessary for your to change your diet. Reduce your caloric intake by decreasing your consumption of foods high in saturated fats, while increasing your intake of fiber and vegetables.
Many people think whole grain foods are mainly breakfast foods, such as cereals and bread. It?s perfectly find to eat healthy grains for breakfast that you may typically eat at meals later in the day. Bran, polenta, wild rice and quinoa are all great to to add to omelets, muffins or other morning meals. Use them in a wide variety of meal choices, from stir-fry dishes to soups to crock pot recipes. These ingredients make it far easier to consume plenty of whole grains.
We said before there are a lot of ways to stay healthy and look great when you getting fit. As the advice in this article shows, making the first steps towards physical fitness can be easy and fun. Then, you?ll see your fitness will improve quicker than you may imagine.
If you are having a hard time to get started on your diet plan, there are specific actions that you can take to turn it into a habit! You can learn how to get fit and be happier.
...And the Nexus Q is official. Google's first consumer electronics product will naturally work with the Nexus 7 tablet for media-streaming. It's designed to hold court in your living room, pulling content from the cloud and working with the Google play music app to let you share playlists with friends. Anyone with an Android device will be able to take control of the Q to play music or videos from their library; basically, everyone can be the DJ. Under the hood, there's an OMAP 6640 processor -- the same as in the Galaxy Nexus. There's also dual-band WiFi and Ethernet, along with NFC and Bluetooth. The device will go for $299, with shipping starting in mid-July.
Harry Reid earned gentle praise from his GOP counterpart Tuesday for running a good, bipartisan operation these past several weeks. But the Senate may not be able to clear its entire near-term agenda before the Independence day recess because Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) won?t allow a measure extending the FEMA?s National Flood Insurance Program for five years to move forward until he gets a vote on legislation declaring that human life begins at conception.
?Just trying to get a vote for the people who elected me,? Paul told TPM in the Capitol Tuesday evening. ?If he?ll give me a free-standing vote, I?ll take a free-standing vote anytime. He hasn?t been really forthcoming with offering a free-standing vote on it.?
The current NFIP authorization expires at the end of July, right in the middle of hurricane season. And though it?s feasible that the Senate could put a long-term extension to bed well before then, Reid says he won?t let Paul link his ?personhood? amendment to a disaster insurance.
?I have been very patient working with my Republican colleagues in allowing relevant amendments on issues, and sometimes we even do non-relevant amendments,? Reid said Tuesday. ?But really, on flood insurance? After all the work that?s been put on this bill, this is ridiculous that somebody says ?I?m not going to let this bill go forward unless I have a vote on when life begins.??
That leaves Paul exposed to the same political recriminations House Republicans faced last year when they flirted with the idea of requiring that disaster relief funds be offset with cuts elsewhere in the federal budget. And while there?s time left for Paul and Senate leaders to work out an alternative arrangement, Reid?s happy to let Paul suffer the consequences in the meantime.
?We?ll either do flood insurance with amendments dealing with flood insurance or we won?t do it,? Reid said.
Paul?s not budging yet.
?Yeah, can you believe that they?re exasperated with me?? Paul jested.
Abortion, Harry Reid, Personhood, Rand Paul Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
Don't let Carly's leather skinsuit fool you -- Magenta may be rebranding with a focus on high-speed network flash, but it hasn't forgotten the budget base it's built upon. Starting this July, the operator's bringing its prepaid and monthly4G no contract plans to shoppers at over 6,000 Dollar General stores. Cost-conscious consumers that take the plunge won't have the luxury of cherry-picking their chosen device, though, as only Samsung's t139 (a modest flip phone, remember those?) will be on offer. Need to know more? Then click on past the break for the official presser.
The Galaxy S III was widely tipped to possess a Wolfson digital-to-analog converter for high quality audio output -- a feature not seen in this range since the first Galaxy S. That notion has just been confirmed by the Scottish electronics firm itself, which says its WM1811 Audio Hub has been selected for use in Sammy's flagship. The chip promises "crystal clear voice call quality" and "enriched audio playback for music and video" thanks to its 24-bit hi-fi DAC, active noise reduction circuits and other wizardry. The GS II, meanwhile, used a Yamaha DAC to convert digital data (e.g. in an mp3 file) into an analog signal that could drive a speaker (for example in your headphones), but even if most people couldn't hear the difference, audiophiles have insisted they preferred the sound in the older Galaxy. Check out the More Coverage links for further reading.
'It's pretty much my favorite part,' one 'Fifty Shades' reader tells MTV News of planned movie. By Josh Wigler, with reporting by Uptin Saiidi
"Fifty Shades of Grey" book cover Photo: The Writer's Coffee Shop
NEW YORK, NY — Perhaps it's too hot for even an R rating, but regardless of an MPAA ruling, this much is clear: A "Fifty Shades of Grey" movie is inevitable. Fans are chomping down on their leather belts of choice in anticipation of the live-action take on Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele — indeed, the dream casting calls are already pouring out with no signs of slowing.
With so many iconic scenes already in the making, it's almost impossible to ask fans to pick only one that they're most excited to see— but for some "Fifty Shades" readers, the decision is a no-painer.
"The scene I would like to see the most on the big screen is the elevator scene," fan Sean Barnett told MTV News during a "Fifty Shades of Grey" signing at Barnes & Noble in New York's Union Square last month. Fellow fan Morgan Nazarzideh had to agree: "When the movie comes out, I'm waiting for the elevator scene to happen. It's pretty much my favorite part."
They weren't alone in their requests for a raunchy elevator scene, but that wasn't the only moment fans are pining for. In fact, "Fifty Shades" readers Christina Regalbuto and Jennifer Lubrano are already looking toward the potential sequel, "Fifty Shades Darker," to see how steamy Christian and Ana's relationship can get.
"The scene I'm excited to see is from the second book, when she finally gets to touch him for the first time," said Regalbuto, referring to the long-awaited moment in E.L. James' second "Fifty Shades" novel. Stemming from that, Lubrano added: "Also from the second book, when he proposes to her. That's a big, dramatic scene."
Fan Manuel Lemus said that, in the end, there are simply too many coveted moments from "Fifty Shades of Grey" to pick only one most-anticipated movie moment.
"I'm excited to see everything, to be honest with you," he said. "I really enjoyed reading this book. I'm excited. I can't wait [for the movie]."
Which "Fifty Shades" scenes are you most looking forward to seeing? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below!
So, what exactly is a Yammer? Well, it's a simple social network designed not to connect you with family or college roommates, but with with your coworkers. The platform has had some success, but its most high profile moment may be today's announcement that Microsoft had purchased the company. Rumors had been circulating for about a week, but now Redmond has made it official and issued a press release announcing its plan to purchase the startup for $1.2 billion in cash. Yammer will continue to live on as a stand alone service, which should make its 5 million users and countless Fortune 500 customers happy. But Microsoft will certainly be looking to fold its features into its own suite of enterprise offerings, like SharePoint and Office 365. For more info check out the PR after the break.
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Public release date: 29-Jun-2012
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