Bacteria that can help fight cancer

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Bacteria that can help fight cancer

New York, June 9 (IANS) A toxin secreted by a water and food-borne bacterium that can cause lethal infections in persons with liver disease, has the potential to prevent the growth of tumours, says a new study by Northwestern Medicine scientists.

"A toxin protein from the bacterium Vibrio vulnificus can inhibit tumour cell growth by cutting the protein Ras," researchers said.

"Ras is important for cell proliferation in cancer, so the toxin could potentially be developed as a treatment for different types of tumours," said one of the researchers Karla Satchell, professor in microbiology-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in the US.                  World Hot Topics Blog

"The bacterium uses the MARTX (multifunctional-autoprocessing repeats-in-toxin) toxin protein to inactivate Ras, increasing its own virulence and allowing it to spread throughout the host," the study said.

"It has been known that Ras has a role in cancer development and targeting Ras has been one of the hardest challenges of cancer research and drug discovery," Satchell said.

The findings appeared in the journal Nature Communications.

This World Hot Topics Blog is Originally from here :

https://in.news.yahoo.com/bacteria-help-fight-cancer-100404790.html

Toronto tunnel mystery solved, say police

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Toronto tunnel mystery solved, say police

Ottawa (AFP) - Toronto police said Monday they now know who dug a tunnel near a major sporting venue in the city -- a mystery that has been a source of widespread speculation and conspiracy theories.

In a statement, police said two young men stepped forward to acknowledge responsibility after authorities made a public plea for help to determine its purpose.

"The two men told investigators they built the tunnel for personal reasons," police said.

They added that their account has been verified, and that authorities "are satisfied there was neither criminal intent nor any threat to the people or city of Toronto." World Hot Topics Blog

The tunnel, which also is situated near Toronto's York University, was discovered by a wildlife official walking through woods. He spotted a piece of corrugated metal on the ground, lifted it up and found a passageway.

It was more than six feet (1.8 meters) high, almost three feet (0.9 meters) wide and about 33 feet (10 meters) long, and was hidden in a densely wooded area of the city, "well off the beaten path," deputy police chief Mark Saunders told a press conference last week.

Image released on February 24, 2015 by the Toronto Police shows the inside of a tunnel found near Yo …

Had it continued, the tunnel would have exited on the other side of a hill overlooking nearby tennis courts and a sports facility that will host the Pan American Games in July. World Hot Topics Blog

Its discovery provoked widespread speculation about who built it and why. 

National security officials were alerted, but suggestions the tunnel posed a threat were quickly dismissed. Police also said it was not a drug lab.

Online sleuths and media suggested it could be a survivalist's fallout shelter, a prank, or a niche home in Toronto's red hot condo market.

American horror writer Stephen King weighed in that it was likely a wormhole built by aliens.

Before it was filled in, the second in command of Canada's largest city police force described the interior of the tunnel as humid and warm.

The walls were lined with plywood and reinforced with wood framing. It was lit by an electric generator and a sump pump was used to keep it dry.

Police also found a bucket and pulleys and a wheelbarrow likely used in the dig.

As well, a rosary with a poppy attached was nailed to an inside wall, and discarded food and beverage containers point to someone having used the tunnel over the winter, Saunders said.

This World Hot Topics Blog is Originally from here :

http://news.yahoo.com/toronto-tunnel-mystery-solved-police-161413862.html

5 ways to survive Your first freeze.

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 5 ways to survive Your first freeze.

Editor's note: Charles W. (Chuck) Bryant is the co-host, with Josh Clark, of Discovery Channel's 'Stuff You Should Know.' The pair has released nearly 600 episodes of their award-winning show since 2008.

(CNN) -- If you're from, say, the Midwest or Northeast or Alaska, dealing with the cold is not only a way of life, but also a point of pride: You can take care of yourself, and you're not shy about pointing it out. But, as evidenced by this week's "polar vortex," cold weather can barrel through many parts of the country — Georgia, Florida, Arkansas — where people aren't used to sub-freezing temperatures.

There are some true life-threatening scenarios, like a car breaking down on a rural stretch of wintery road (always pack a blanket), but it can be dangerous even in your own home if you're caught without the necessities you need to keep warm, and this is especially true for the elderly.

If you're in a part of the United States new to this kind of severe weather, here are some suggestions to help you help yourself.

 World Hot Topics Blog

 1: Wind chill can kill

Wind chill is the effect of moving air on exposed skin, a term coined by Antarctic explorer Paul Siple in the late 1930s to help describe how wind figures into heat loss. He experimented with wind chill's effect by timing how long it took to freeze water in varying degrees of wind strength. If you're not used to bitter wind chill, realize that you need to take it seriously when preparing for any outdoor activities. Skin exposed for five minutes in below-zero wind chill conditions can get frostbite. Longer can do worse.

Two University of California at Berkeley economists found that deaths related to cold reduced the average life expectancy of Americans by a decade, if not more. In countries where people were exposed to 10 or fewer days a year, the death rate was substantially higher than in countries with at least 90 cold days a year.

Additionally, cold weather can leave us without our thinking caps, willing to do whatever it takes to warm up. This can indirectly lead to unexpected fatalities because of accidents relating to carbon monoxide poisoning and house fires.

 World Hot Topics Blog

 2: Hypothermia and layering

Hypothermia -- when your body temperature falls to 95 degrees F -- is a grim possibility if you're facing the cold without power, and layering your clothing is your best first defense against it. If you're experiencing slurred speech, stiff joints, a loss of coordination, uncontrollable shivering, loss of bladder control, puffy face or mental confusion, you could be suffering from hypothermia, which can be fatal. To combat this, get yourself into a warmer environment as soon as you can. Cover yourself with any items you can find -- blankets, sleeping bags, pillows. Just as you layer your upper body clothing, you should also layer what you have on your feet. Try a thin pair of nylon, silk or wool socks for starters -- then layer with additional wool socks. If you think a loved one is suffering from hypothermia, you should handle that person with great care, as the condition could make it easy for him or her to go into cardiac arrest.

Keep them horizontal and calm, and reassure them that they're going to be fine. Use each other's body heat to warm up by getting into a sleeping bag together or simply hugging each other tight to create warmth. And, of course, seek medical attention as soon as possible.

3: Wear a hat, despite the myth

You've probably heard the popular myth that you lose most of your body heat through your head. This myth was perpetuated by an outdated U.S. Army survival training manual that stated that 40% to 50% of our body heat is lost through the head. The truth is, you lose the same amount of heat through your head as you would any part of your body that is exposed to the elements However, you're way more likely to go out into the cold without a warm hat, than say, a shirt or a pair of shoes. But just because you don't lose more heat through your head doesn't mean you should leave your winter hat on the rack. Wearing a touque is a great way to assist your heavy coat, gloves, boots and snow pants in keeping all of you warm. Think of it as capping off your winter clothing plan.

 World Hot Topics Blog

4: Keep Hydrated

Hydration isn't just a warm weather worry. Many people forget that you need water in the freezing cold just as much as you do in hot weather. If your pipes are frozen, eating some snow or ice may seem like a great idea, but it will lower your core temperature and actually bring on dehydration. You can melt the snow or ice, but remember that while it can be safe to ingest in more remote locations, drinking water from melted "city snow" is a risk. You'll also want to avoid drinking only coffee or alcohol as a warming technique. I know this one is tough to resist since it may give you a short-term warm up, but it'll dehydrate you much more quickly. If you must indulge, remember to also drink plenty of water along with your coffee or toddy.

5: Light Your Fire

A fire is the best way to fight a winter chill if you're stuck in your home without power. And this means only fireplaces. You should never use your gas oven or stove to warm up under any circumstances as it could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. But if you have a fireplace or a kerosene heater you're in luck. Use your fireplace as your main heat source, and if you can, sleep in the room with it — just not too close and with a protective fire screen. The last thing you want to do is wake up to find that fire has moved from the fireplace to your living room carpet.

If this vortex leaves you worried that winters could be severe in your part of the country from now on, before the next one, make sure you have a nice stockpile of wood, as it will be tougher to find once a storm hits, and outages can last days or weeks depending on how severe the weather is and how competent our utility company is in restoring power.

And here's a new summer task to consider: Make sure your chimney is clear and clean before the chimney sweeps are all booked up — and the next vortex swoops down from the north.

This World Hot Topics Blog is Originally from here :
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/07/opinion/bryant-cold-weather/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

Kids' chemical injuries down, but may rise in summer

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Kids' chemical injuries down, but may rise in summer

By Kerry Grens

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Injuries from gasoline, lamp oil and similar chemicals have dropped considerably among small children in the last decade, according to a new study.

"It seems to decline right around 2000, 2001. That's when the Consumer Products Safety Commission mandated products be placed in child-resistant packaging," said Dr. Heath Jolliff, the study's lead author and associate medical director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus.

Summertime, however, brings extra risk for exposure to these types of poisonings, especially among toddlers.
 World Hot Topics Blog

"The kind of gasoline (used) with the lawnmowers, (fuel for) tiki torches and that sort of thing - because of the access, (children) get the exposure," said Dr. Jennifer Lowry, chief of Clinical Toxicology at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.

Fuels such as lamp oil for tiki torches, kerosene for camping stoves and gasoline, as well as turpentine and some lubricants are all hydrocarbons - a category of dangerous liquids that is the third leading cause of children's poisoning deaths, Jolliff and his colleagues write in the journal Pediatrics.

"We had had a child in our hospital who had been exposed to a hydrocarbon and was very ill. And I said, 'let's look at this subcategory since they tend to be very dangerous,'" Jolliff told Reuters Health.

 World Hot Topics Blog

To get a sense of broader trends in injuries resulting from these chemicals, the researchers gathered information from two large databases spanning the 10 years from 2000 through 2009.

One database includes emergency department records from about 100 hospitals across the U.S. The other has phone calls made to 57 regional poison control centers.

The researchers narrowed down the records to only those involving hydrocarbons and children five years old and younger - which totaled more than 40,000 patients treated in an emergency room and more than 65,000 phone calls to poison control.

They found that emergency room visits dropped over the study period, from roughly 19 out of every 100,000 kids in 2000 to about 14 of every 100,000 in 2009.

 World Hot Topics Blog

Similarly, calls to poison control centers also fell, from 34 calls for every 100,000 kids in 2000 to about 21 of every 100,000 in 2009.

Injuries were most common among one- and two-year-olds, and kerosene, lamp oil and lighter fluids resulted in the most serious injuries and hospitalizations. Lamp oil was linked to the highest percentage of deaths.

Although the researchers could not determine why poisonings appeared to become less frequent over the 10-year study period, Lowry, who didn't participate in the research, thinks that child-resistant caps on poisonous containers likely helped.

In 2001, the Consumer Product Safety Commission required that all household products containing hydrocarbons be sealed with child-resistant packaging.

In addition, "there was a big educational push in the early 2000s on hydrocarbons and how dangerous they were," Lowry told Reuters Health.

Although injuries declined over time, summertime each year brought a slight bump in cases.
Nearly 32 percent of emergency room visits and poison control calls came during the summer months, compared with 19 percent of emergency room visits and 17 percent of poison control calls during the winter.

 World Hot Topics Blog

Gasoline was the most common hydrocarbon involved in an injury, Jolliff's team found.

Nearly 32 percent of emergency department visits and 27.6 percent of poison control center calls concerned gasoline.

When the researchers looked through the medical records at the hospitals, they found a surprising cause.

"The number one reason was parents allowing their kids outside the automobile at the gas station, and kids pulled the hose out of the car and got splashed with it," said Jolliff.
What happens then is that because the liquid becomes a gas so quickly, the children inhale it into their lungs.

"It's very unsafe for children five and under to be out there helping to pump gas," said Lowry.
Jolliff said that although child-resistant packaging helps keeps kids out of dangerous chemicals, there is no such thing as child-proof containers.

Another recent study found that prescription drug poisonings among children is on the rise (see Reuters Health story of September 16, 2011 here: http://reut.rs/qIUKP9).
"We have to do better education on placement. One of the poison center mottos is 'up and away.' Keep them out of reach of children," said Lowry.

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This World Hot Topics Blog is Originally from here :
http://bit.ly/16d4isN Pediatrics, online May 6, 2013.

Placebo as good as most drugs for kids migraines

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Placebo as good as most drugs for kids migraines

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A drug-free placebo pill prevents migraines in kids and teens just as well as most headache medicines, according to a new review of past evidence.

Researchers found only two drugs known to help migraine-plagued adults reduced the frequency of kids' headaches better than a placebo. And even in those cases, the effect was small - a difference of less than one headache per month compared to the dummy pills.

"Parents should be aware that our medication choices aren't as good as they should be," said Dr. Jennifer Bickel, a neurologist and headache specialist at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Missouri.

Bickel, who wasn't involved in the new research, said no drugs have been rigorously tested and approved for preventing migraines in kids, so doctors have to rely on headache drugs made for adults.  World Hot Topics Blog

Those medicines, she added, are "not a miracle cure."

For cases when medication may not be enough, Bickel told Reuters Health, parents may want to look into relaxation techniques - such as meditation - for kids with chronic headaches.

According to data from the Cleveland Clinic, about 2 percent of young children and 7 to 10 percent of older kids and teenagers up to age 15 get migraines.

In their review, Dr. Jeffrey Jackson from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and his colleagues looked at 21 trials comparing headache drugs to each other or to placebos. They found only topiramate (marketed as Topamax) and trazodone (Oleptro and Desyrel) significantly reduced the frequency of headaches in kids and teens who got regular migraines.

Other adult headache prevention medicines, including flunarizine, propranolol and valproate, were of no help.

"All the drugs in our analysis have been found effective in adults with migraine headaches, but few were beneficial among children," Jackson's team wrote. World Hot Topics Blog

"This suggests there may be something different about pediatric migraines or that the response to treatment differs between children and adults."

Bickel said there is the least research on the one percent of kids who are most severely affected by migraines - those with chronic daily headaches. For those youth, "we don't have any evidence to suggest that the medications are enough," she added.

POWER OF PLACEBO?

In the new analysis, published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, placebo pills alone led to a drop in kids' headache frequency from between five and six headaches per month to three per month.

That may have to do with the effect of seeing a doctor and being reassured the pain isn't due to anything serious, Bickel said.

According to a report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published in the same journal issue, two drugs - almotriptan malate (Axert) and rizatriptan benzoate (Maxalt) - are approved to treat (but not prevent) headaches in kids and teens. World Hot Topics Blog

In a review of evidence provided to the FDA, Dr. William Rodriguez and his colleagues also found kids tended to get better after treatment with a placebo more often than adults - possibly related to their headaches lasting less time anyway.

For kids who get headaches once a week or less, Bickel said the pain can be treated with over the counter painkillers, or even just waited out in a quiet place.

This World Hot Topics Blog is Originally from here :

http://news.yahoo.com/placebo-good-most-drugs-kids-migraines-211617275.html