All forms of diabetes is a severe illness which can cause many essential overall health difficulties as well as lead to death or even effectively managed. Information is energy, and studying just as much as you may about diabetes mellitus can help you to effectively deal with your illness, making it possible to reside a cheerful regular daily life. The following write-up provides numerous very helpful tips on diabetes mellitus.
For those who have diabetes mellitus, you ought to incorporate some carbohydrates in what you eat. Reduced-carb diet plans will not be generally best for individuals suffering from diabetes mellitus because they often prevent against obtaining enough necessary nutrient elements, including dietary fiber. For those who have enough sugars in what you eat, you will additionally have plenty of power.
The “glycemic directory” number for a food shows how probable your meals are to effect blood sugar levels as a result of ingredients. Remember, the lower the GI number, the more effective for a diabetic person!
Pregnant women ought to continue to be in touch with their medical professional to assist in very early detection or protection against gestational diabetes mellitus. Unless you get before this disorder, you happen to be taking a chance on the two the fitness of you and your youngster. It is possible to acquire prescription medications that may not hurt the baby plus your medical professional will help you put in place a diet.
It is possible to lose fat and combat against your diabetes mellitus by getting a run. Try using the neighborhood school’s rainforest health and fitness center right after several hours to accomplish chin ups. Or, you should use typical products in the home as weights to raise.
You are going to keep your daily life is going to be much easier to manage in the event you keep prepared. For example, keep the blood glucose levels meter plus your insulin in close proximity to each other and make use of them as well daily if necessary. Make tests a program and get it done as well and in the same manner therefore you never ever miss a step.
A lower blood sugar impulse could realistically trigger substantial blood glucose levels readings, so do not be way too involved. There may be two factors behind this. 1, your body could be discharging bodily hormones in response to reduced glucose levels. Two, you could be consuming too much in response to the reduced looking at. When this occurs, attempt decreasing your regular meal by 50 % and verify your glucose levels a thirty minutes later on.
The diabetic person is at great necessity of understanding what is needed for their body’s overall health, and the way to decrease injury from diabetes mellitus. We offer some sound advice on this page which will help people with diabetes and those that assist care for them.
Over the last 5 years, synthetic stimulants known as "bath salts" have become more popular amongst recreational drug users because of their easy unrestricted availability over the Internet and at convenience stores. There are virtually no regulations in place to restrict the sale of these stimulants.
According to recent studies, bath salts are frequently used by compulsive drug users, and have already been linked to several deaths caused by the bath salt mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone or "meow- meow"). In view of these incidents, several countries have subsequently banned the production, possession, and sale of mephedrone and other cathinone derivative drugs.
Mephedrone was placed on Schedule 1 under the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Act for Controlled Substances for a one-year period in October 2011. The decision is pending, depending on further study.
C.J. Malanga, MD, PhD, an associate professor of neurology, pediatrics and psychology at North Carolina's University School of Medicine, who is also a member of the UNC's Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies remarked:
"Basically, the DEA was saying we don't know enough about these drugs to know how potentially dangerous they could be, so we're going to make them maximally restricted, gather more data, and then come to a more reasoned decision as to how we should classify these compounds."
New research, published online in the June 21 issue of the journal Behavioral Brain Research provides striking evidence that mephedrone, like cocaine, does have potential for abuse and addiction. Research leader Malanga said: "The effects of mephedrone on the brain's reward circuits are comparable to similar doses of cocaine. As expected our research shows that mephedrone likely has significant abuse liability."
First author J. Elliott Robinson, MD/PhD student at UNC underscores that mephedrone and other potentially addictive stimulants "inappropriately activate brain reward circuits that are involved in positive reinforcement. These play a role in the drug 'high' and compulsive drug taking."
In an animal study, the team subjected laboratory mice to intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS). The technique, developed in the 50s, measures a drug's ability to activate reward circuits by training animals to perform a behavioral task, such as pressing a lever or switch using their nose to receive a reward. In this study the mice had to spin a wheel. The technique targets a direct application to stimulate brain pathways involved in reward perception.
The adult mice were implanted with brain stimulating electrodes and the researchers measured their wheel spinning effort before, during and after the animals were given various doses of mephedrone or cocaine.
Malanga stated:
"One of the unique features of ICSS is that all drugs of abuse, regardless of how they work pharmacologically, do very similar things to ICSS: they make ICSS more rewarding. Animals work harder to get less of it [ICSS] when we give them these drugs."
The results of the experiment were as anticipated. The team found that cocaine elevated the ability of mice to self-reward through stimulation. Malanga continued: "And what we found, which is new, is that mephedrone does the same thing. It increases the rewarding potency of ICSS just like cocaine does. "
Malanga concluded that the study supports the hypothesis that mephedrone and similar drugs could have a substantial amount of potential to be addictive, "and justifies the recent legislation to maintain maximum restriction to their access by the Food and Drug Administration."
President Obama enforced the law of the legislation passed by the Congress to permanently prohibit the sale of bath salts in the U.S. on July 9, 2012.
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Background: To quantify the contribution of locally implemented prevention programmes in contributing to reductions in treatment and care costs by averting HIV infections among those who inject drugs this study calculates net financial benefit of providing harm reduction programmes using information from services being implemented in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China (2005 and 2010). Methods: Information was collected to assess cost of providing methadone treatment (MMT) and needle and syringe programmes (NSP). HIV incidence was estimated among people who inject drugs (PWID). HIV infections averted were calculated. Net benefit was assessed by estimating costs of providing prevention programmes and comparing these to the costs of providing care. Results: An estimated 5678 (range 3982-7599) HIV infections were averted between 2005 and 2010 and the net financial benefit of providing harm reduction programmes compared to treatment and care costs for HIV infections averted was USD 4.383 million during the same time period. Conclusion: These results demonstrate the net and accumulating benefit of investing in harm reduction programmes for PWID in Urumqi. The return on investment has been progressively increasing during the time period studied and it is clear that these cost savings will continue to accrue with the continued implementation of HIV prevention interventions in the community that include harm reduction programmes targeted at PWID.
For every one of these anxious regarding the opportunity difficulties of antibiotics, ear infection therapies household may very well be the answer for you personally. You’ll find really quite a few prescription drugs, if you want that they commence hunting typical although you might be having issues from an ear infection. A central issue, could you do to reduce the indications or symptoms or signs must be to force from a heat H2O and salt inside a bag to his ear. A distinctive suggests of technique options will require to more than likely which has a range of drops of tea tree oil, it were the situation of the variety of all-natural antibiotic. It should be talked about however, the tea tree oil may well quite possibly carry on distress about the pores and skin if used also generously. You may also assume about an extract from a range of unique wellness connected cultures Alternative title. Alternative is generally a blend of St. John’s well worth, garlic also as other vegetation which might be most likely employed for a homeopathic form of anesthesia to alleviate struggling resulting from an ear infection. That is certainly definitely, ought to truly be pointed out which may have executed just one point with facet Alternative affiliated. But only one can validate that he’s pure, which can be generally known as Visalia maneuvers. This maneuver will most likely be to open up the tubes. Some state which will support pull your ears. To get this maneuver basically a deep breath, then shut your mouth and pinch your nose and blow gently. Be conscious to not fly and substantially significantly also problematic, since it is extremely possible, is damage in the path of the ear, in the event you will. Also, I truly isn’t going to most likely try this strategy when you’ve bought an infection, this tends to most likely only be for earache. There exists also an excellent decide to use a take a look at acquiring some painkillers and anti-inflammatory medicines to reduce quite a few using the characters affiliated having an ear infection. It may be handy to reduce applying warmth before the ear soreness, some keep in mind. I’m creating an make an effort to function with, almost certainly, a heating pad or conceivably cleanse up cloth which could are now heated. Like most ailments, is peaceful crucial that you assist the body mend by alone. Ear drops undoubtedly are a various recognized solution, but make sure that that has a wellness care supplier in advance of applying anything over-the-counter chat. Many individuals get a glance at rather garlic or onion juice diluted although within the ears, even suggesting which you lie down together with his ear to a bag of salt for screening and counseling if you need to get rid of considerable quantities of pus. A center ear infection might extremely perfectly be very common in a lot more youthful youthful kids, and once you use a youngster with all round wellness issues is exceptionally essential that you simply only chat to some health practitioner in the earliest option, endeavor some household options for ear infections and incidental for that the majority effective hope.
Researchers from the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) have published a new study entitled "Melanoma induction by ultraviolet A but not ultraviolet B radiation requires melanin pigment" in the June issue of the journal Nature Communications, which clarifies various misconceptions about tanning.
De Fabo, am emeritus professor at SMHS comments:
"This is the first time that UV-induced melanin formation (tanning), traditionally thought to protect against skin cancer, is shown to be directly involved in melanoma formation in mammals. Skin melanoma is the most lethal of the skin cancers.
Our study shows that we were able to discover this new role for melanin by cleanly separating UVA from UVB and exposing our experimental melanoma animal model with these separated wavebands using our unique UV light system designed and set up at GW. Dermatologists have been warning for years there is no such thing as a safe tan and this new data appears to confirm this."
The team decided to examine how melanoma formed in response to accurately, spectrally defined ultraviolet wavelengths and biologically relevant doses in mammals.
Unlike ultraviolet B radiation (280-320 nm), which initiates the development of melanoma in a pigment-independent manner linked to direct ultraviolet B DNA damage, ultraviolet A (320-400 nm) requires the presence of melanin pigment and is linked to oxidative DNA damage within melanocytes.
The team discovered two ultraviolet pathways that depended on a certain wavelength for the induction of CMM, and found that melanin played an important and unexpected role in the melanocyte in melanoma genesis.
De Fabo declares:
"Also new is our discovery that UV induction of melanin, as a melanoma-causing agent, works when skin is exposed only to UVA and not UVB radiation. This is especially important since melanoma formation has been correlated with sun bed use as many epidemiological studies have shown. One possible reason for this is that tanning lamps are capable of emitting UVA radiation up to 12 times, or higher, the UVA intensity of sunlight at high noon. Melanin plus UVA is known to cause photo-oxidation, a suspected, but still to be proved, mechanism for the formation of melanoma as we describe in our study."
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'Safe Suntans Do Not Exist, Researchers Say'
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With more than 500 athletes competing in this year's Games, our nations is practically guaranteed to come down with a serious cause of Olympic Fever. The only known cure? Grab a fellow rabid fan (or a few) and find the best possible spot to watch all the action.
While you might think there's no better place then your couch—and the nearest TV set—you've got a far better shot of cheering Team USA onto gold when you do it out in public, with a few dozen (or a few thousand) of your closest friends.
These five US cities, which range from well-known sporting meccas to the breeding grounds of future Olympic champions, top our list of the hottest spots to check out the games. Whether you're already there—or planning to make a road trip—you'll soon find yourself in the middle of the frenzied masses cheering on our champs in the red, white and blue.
Background: Globally, efforts aimed at the prevention of childhood obesity have led to the implementation of a range of school-based interventions. This study assessed whether augmenting physical activity (PA) within the school setting resulted in increased daily PA and decreased overweight/obesity levels in 6-9-year-old children. Methods: Across the first to third primary school years, PA of 84 girls and 92 boys was objectively monitored five times (each for seven successive days) using Yamax pedometer (step counts) and Caltrac accelerometer (activity energy expenditure AEE - kcal/kg per day). Four schools were selected to participate in the research (2 intervention, 2 controls), comprising intervention (43 girls, 45 boys) and control children (41 girls, 47 boys). The study was non-randomized and the intervention schools were selected on the basis of existing PA-conducive environment. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures examined the PA programme and gender effects on the step counts and AEE. Logistic regression (Enter method) determined the obesity and overweight occurrence prospect over the course of implementation of the PA intervention. Results: There was a significant increase of school-based PA during schooldays in intervention children (from 1718 to 3247 steps per day; and from 2.1 to 3.6 Kcal/Kg per day) in comparison with the control children. Increased school-based PA of intervention children during schooldays contributed to them achieving >10,500 steps and >10.5 Kcal/Kg per school day across the 2 years of the study, and resulted in a stop of the decline in PA levels that is known to be associated with the increasing age of children. Increased school-based PA had also positive impact on leisure time PA of schooldays and on PA at weekends of intervention children. One year after the start of the PA intervention, the odds of being overweight or obese in the intervention children was almost three times lower than that of control children (p<0.005), and these odds steadily decreased with the duration of the intervention. Conclusions: The findings suggest that school-based PA (Physical Education lessons, PA during short breaks and longer recesses, PA at after-school nursery) in compatible active environments (child-friendly gym and school playground, corridors with movement and playing around corners and for games) plays a vital role in obesity and overweight reduction among younger pupils.
Human diversity in Africa is greater than any place else on Earth. Differing food sources, geographies, diseases and climates offered many targets for natural selection to exert powerful forces on Africans to change and adapt to their local environments. The individuals who adapted best were the most likely to reproduce and pass on their genomes to the generations who followed.
That history of inheritance is written in the DNA of modern Africans, but it takes some investigative work to interpret. In a report to be featured on the cover of the Aug. 3 issue of the journal Cell, University of Pennsylvania geneticists and their colleagues analyze the fully sequenced genomes of 15 Africans belonging to three different hunter-gatherer groups and decipher some of what these genetic codes have to say about human diversity and evolution.
The study, led by Sarah Tishkoff, a Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor with appointments in the School of Arts and Sciences' biology department and the Perelman School of Medicine's genetics department, tells several stories.
It identifies several million previously unknown genetic mutations in humans. It finds evidence that the direct ancestors of modern humans may have interbred with members of an unknown ancestral group of hominins. It suggests that different groups evolved distinctly in order to reap nutrition from local foods and defend against infectious disease. And it identifies new candidate genes that likely play a major role in making Pygmies short in stature.
"Our analysis sheds light on human evolution, because the individuals we sampled are descended from groups that may have been ancestral to all other modern humans," Tishkoff said. "A message we're seeing is that even though all the individuals we sampled are hunter-gatherers, natural selection has acted differently in these different groups."
The researchers sequenced the genomes of five men from each of three hunter-gatherer groups: the Hadza and the Sandawe of Tanzania and the Western Pygmies of Cameroon. The three differ greatly from one another in appearance, in language, in the environments they occupy and in cultural practices, though the Hadza and the Sandawe live just 200 kilometers apart.
"We purposefully picked three of the most diverse hunter-gatherer groups," Tishkoff said, "because they have not been very well represented in other genome sequencing projects, which tend to focus on majority populations in Africa. This is a unique and important dataset."
The researchers used a method that involves sequencing each strand of DNA more than 60 times on average. This redundancy makes the sequencing highly accurate, giving the geneticists confidence that any mutations they identify are real and not errors. Scanning these sequences, the researchers found 13.4 million genetic variants, or locations in the genome where a single nucleotide differed from other human sequences; at the time they were discovered, 5 million were new to science.
"It was awe-inspiring," Lachance, a postdoctoral researcher, said, "to find millions of new variants that we never knew existed in our species. It's humbling but invigorating to think about how to make sense of all this diversity."
Only about 72,000 of these variants were in regions of the DNA that code for genes. The rest were in non-coding regions, which may influence how and whether genes are expressed.
"Our study underscores the importance of noncoding regions of the genome, particularly for regulating gene expression," Tishkoff said. "That has important implications for anyone doing biomedical research because, if they're only looking at the coding regions, they're missing information that may be critically important for normal human variation as well as disease susceptibility."
The researchers also used the genomes to investigate ancient human interbreeding.
Using a statistical method, the team detected partial sequences in all three populations that appear to have derived from a hominin different from Homo sapiens. Much as recent studies have found evidence that modern humans interbred with Neanderthals, these new findings suggest that the ancestors of modern humans in Africa mated with individuals from another hominin lineage. This archaic lineage appears to have diverged from the modern human lineage several hundred thousand years ago, around the same time that Neanderthals diverged from Homo sapiens.
"Fossils degrade fast in Africa so we don't have a reference genome for this ancestral lineage," Akey said, "but one of the things we're thinking is it could have been a sibling species to Neanderthals."
Evidence of interbreeding with an archaic lineage, known as introgression, was found in all three groups tested.
"Given that introgression is present in these very diverse groups," Vernot said, "I think we can now say that this seems to be a pretty universal aspect of human history."
In an additional analysis, the researchers looked for major differences among the genomes of the three groups, signs that the populations evolved differently to adapt to their specific environments. Among the variations that stood out were genes related to immune-system function, smell and taste. These findings suggest that adaptations to local diseases and local foods were important in how the groups evolved.
Finally, building on previous research from Tishkoff and colleagues that sought an explanation for why Pygmies are all short - men standing only 4'11" on average - the researchers looked for variants that were common in the Pygmies of Cameroon but rare or absent in the other groups. They found several genes located near these mutations that act on the pituitary gland, a "master regulator" responsible for metabolism, growth, sexual development and immunity.
"We would have never found these strong candidate genes for short stature," Lachance said, "if we hadn't looked at multiple genomic sequences from these isolated populations. It hints at the power of what you can do when you sample multiple genomes and compare them at a population scale."
Tishkoff's group plans to sequence the genomes from more Africans - a task that new technology has made faster and cheaper than ever before - to increase their sample size. With more genomic data, scientists will better their understanding of how evolution acted on humans throughout the last several hundred thousand years and even how certain mutations may predispose certain people to disease.
"Our study emphasizes the critically important role of next-generation genome sequencing for elucidating the genetic basis of both normal variable traits in humans as well as identifying the genetic basis of human disease risk," Tishkoff said.
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'Studying Genetic Basis Of Normal Variable Traits In Humans And Human Disease Risk Reveals Ancient Interbreeding In Africa's Hunter-Gatherers'
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Men’s Fitness caught up with London 2012 gold medal hopeful Tyson Gay between sprints at his home base training facility outside Orlando, FL just days out from his 100-meter showdown against reigning fastest-man-in-the-world Usain Bolt. Gay discusses his training, nutrition and mindset leading up the most important race of his career.
You were battling with a hamstring injury for a while. How are things now?
Yeah, I’ve definitely gotten over that. Now my hamstrings are real strong and real healthy. I’ve had a couple setbacks because of my hip surgery that I had last year so I’m doing everything to take caution. It’s almost fully recovered—it’s just dragging along.
What does your daily training schedule look like?
I get up in the morning at around eight and head over to the track. I do rehab work, abs and some stuff for my hip flexors. Then I do my drills and some easy strides. After that, around noon, I go into the weight room and lift weights for an hour, a little bit longer maybe. Then I go outside and do grass runs.
What does your weight room workout look like?
I’m doing more power lifting in the weight room, and before that I usually do some auxiliary lifts with the machines. I’m doing a lot of deadlifts and front squats. I’m doing a little bit of endurance lifting as well just to work my tendons, and I do a couple Olympic lifts like power cleans, too.
How are you structuring your reps and sets for maximum power gains?
I’m doing four sets of six when I’m lifting for power. I’m always trying to get stronger. Some days I may do higher reps.
What's your toughest workout or drill?
One of my toughest workouts would be on the track and it’s called a “400 Breakdown.” That’s where you run 300 meters, rest for 30 seconds, and then run 100 while you still have that lactic acid buildup. So you have two sets of those and then after that you do mat runs. Basically, you stand on a high-jump mat and do four sets of high knees for 30 seconds, and then as soon as you get off there you have to run 200 meters on the track with all that lactic acid still in your legs. You don’t look forward to doing it, but when you do it you really see the benefits.
Sounds tough. What kind of diet do you have fueling your training?
I’m on a very high-protein diet. I’ve added more fruits and vegetables to my diet because I’ve been going so heavy on the meat and carbs that I have to take it a little bit easier. I consume over 3,000 calories a day.
What kinds of supplements are you taking these days?
I’m drinking EAS Myoplex protein right now. I do krill oil. I haven’t done glutamine this year. I do BCAAs, carbs and creatine, and I just stick to that.
For every one of these anxious regarding the opportunity difficulties of antibiotics, ear infection therapies household may very well be the answer for you personally. You’ll find really quite a few prescription drugs, if you want that they commence hunting typical although you might be having issues from an ear infection. A central issue, could you do to reduce the indications or symptoms or signs must be to force from a heat H2O and salt inside a bag to his ear. A distinctive suggests of technique options will require to more than likely which has a range of drops of tea tree oil, it were the situation of the variety of all-natural antibiotic. It should be talked about however, the tea tree oil may well quite possibly carry on distress about the pores and skin if used also generously. You may also assume about an extract from a range of unique wellness connected cultures Alternative title. Alternative is generally a blend of St. John’s well worth, garlic also as other vegetation which might be most likely employed for a homeopathic form of anesthesia to alleviate struggling resulting from an ear infection. That is certainly definitely, ought to truly be pointed out which may have executed just one point with facet Alternative affiliated. But only one can validate that he’s pure, which can be generally known as Visalia maneuvers. This maneuver will most likely be to open up the tubes. Some state which will support pull your ears. To get this maneuver basically a deep breath, then shut your mouth and pinch your nose and blow gently. Be conscious to not fly and substantially significantly also problematic, since it is extremely possible, is damage in the path of the ear, in the event you will. Also, I truly isn’t going to most likely try this strategy when you’ve bought an infection, this tends to most likely only be for earache. There exists also an excellent decide to use a take a look at acquiring some painkillers and anti-inflammatory medicines to reduce quite a few using the characters affiliated having an ear infection. It may be handy to reduce applying warmth before the ear soreness, some keep in mind. I’m creating an make an effort to function with, almost certainly, a heating pad or conceivably cleanse up cloth which could are now heated. Like most ailments, is peaceful crucial that you assist the body mend by alone. Ear drops undoubtedly are a various recognized solution, but make sure that that has a wellness care supplier in advance of applying anything over-the-counter chat. Many individuals get a glance at rather garlic or onion juice diluted although within the ears, even suggesting which you lie down together with his ear to a bag of salt for screening and counseling if you need to get rid of considerable quantities of pus. A center ear infection might extremely perfectly be very common in a lot more youthful youthful kids, and once you use a youngster with all round wellness issues is exceptionally essential that you simply only chat to some health practitioner in the earliest option, endeavor some household options for ear infections and incidental for that the majority effective hope.
Men’s Fitness caught up with London 2012 gold medal hopeful Tyson Gay between sprints at his home base training facility outside Orlando, FL just days out from his 100-meter showdown against reigning fastest-man-in-the-world Usain Bolt. Gay discusses his training, nutrition and mindset leading up the most important race of his career.
You were battling with a hamstring injury for a while. How are things now?
Yeah, I’ve definitely gotten over that. Now my hamstrings are real strong and real healthy. I’ve had a couple setbacks because of my hip surgery that I had last year so I’m doing everything to take caution. It’s almost fully recovered—it’s just dragging along.
What does your daily training schedule look like?
I get up in the morning at around eight and head over to the track. I do rehab work, abs and some stuff for my hip flexors. Then I do my drills and some easy strides. After that, around noon, I go into the weight room and lift weights for an hour, a little bit longer maybe. Then I go outside and do grass runs.
What does your weight room workout look like?
I’m doing more power lifting in the weight room, and before that I usually do some auxiliary lifts with the machines. I’m doing a lot of deadlifts and front squats. I’m doing a little bit of endurance lifting as well just to work my tendons, and I do a couple Olympic lifts like power cleans, too.
How are you structuring your reps and sets for maximum power gains?
I’m doing four sets of six when I’m lifting for power. I’m always trying to get stronger. Some days I may do higher reps.
What's your toughest workout or drill?
One of my toughest workouts would be on the track and it’s called a “400 Breakdown.” That’s where you run 300 meters, rest for 30 seconds, and then run 100 while you still have that lactic acid buildup. So you have two sets of those and then after that you do mat runs. Basically, you stand on a high-jump mat and do four sets of high knees for 30 seconds, and then as soon as you get off there you have to run 200 meters on the track with all that lactic acid still in your legs. You don’t look forward to doing it, but when you do it you really see the benefits.
Sounds tough. What kind of diet do you have fueling your training?
I’m on a very high-protein diet. I’ve added more fruits and vegetables to my diet because I’ve been going so heavy on the meat and carbs that I have to take it a little bit easier. I consume over 3,000 calories a day.
What kinds of supplements are you taking these days?
I’m drinking EAS Myoplex protein right now. I do krill oil. I haven’t done glutamine this year. I do BCAAs, carbs and creatine, and I just stick to that.
When Hillary Clinton took the stage at the 19th International AIDS conference, protesters tried to drown her out. However, she was the epitome of grace under fire. Acknowledging them with a smile, she said, "What would an AIDS conference be without a little protesting". Then she pointed out that, "part of the reason we have come as far as we have is because so many people all over the world have not been satisfied that we have done enough."
That statement stayed with me throughout the conference as I listened to activists talk about the reasons why seemingly amazing new developments in prevention were not as uncomplicated as they seemed. There has been an ongoing theme of sexuality as a human right implicit and explicit in conversations about such diverse topics as circumcision, treatment as prevention, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
So many fascinating questions have been discussed over the course of this week. Many of them have to do with human rights, including:
When access to treatment isn't available for every HIV positive person who needs it, is it ethical to talk about PrEP?
Does referring to treatment as prevention marginalize the HIV positive people who need that treatment as treatment? Does it treat thm as merely vectors of disease?
Why do many doctors focus more on prevention for the uninfected than treating the infected?
Is it ethical to deny PrEP to people because it might increase their risk taking behaviors when we don't make similar judgements outside the area of sexual health?
As part of her speech, Secretary Clinton said, "I have seen and experienced how difficult it is to talk about a disease that is transmitted in the way that AIDS is. But if we're going to beat AIDS, we can't afford to avoid sensitive conversations." I couldn't agree more. Right now, it looks as though some of the most sensitive conversations are going to be about the interaction between sexuality and human rights.
Kampala — Early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for adults infected with HIV in rural Sub-Saharan Africa can generate widespread economic benefits, researchers have found.
In a study presented today at the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington DC, United States, researchers from Uganda and the US found that HIV-infected adults with high CD4+ counts - a health status benchmark for HIV-positive people - are able to work on average 30 per cent more hours each day than people with low CD4+ counts.
Furthermore, their children's school enrolment rates were 15 per cent higher than those of children with parents showing low CD4+ counts.
CD4+ counts are a measure of immune system strength. Normal CD4 blood levels are 500-1200 per microlitre. When infected with HIV, the body's CD4 count begins to fall, and when levels reach 350 cells per microlitre, it is recommended that the person begins ART treatment. When a CD4 count reaches less than 200 cells per microlitre, the person is said to have developed AIDS.
This new study is part of a wider project called the Sustainable East Africa Research in Community Health (SEARCH) Collaboration, run by the University of California, San Francisco, the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, and Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.
Although the effect of treatment on some socio-economic indicators has been assessed before, this study represents the first population-level research into how socio-economic indicators differ among persons at various stages of HIV infection, and how rapidly people lose their ability to work.
It is based on a strategy known as 'test and treat' that combines universal testing (regular testing for all people in countries with high HIV prevalence), improved access to care, and early ART treatment.
Early HIV treatment, given long before people start to become ill or develop AIDS symptoms, keeps individuals relatively healthy. It also keeps transmission rates within communities lower, as - due to their suppressed or undetectable HIV viral loads - the infectiousness of HIV-positive people is reduced, the researchers say.
"When treatment is delayed, even if it is not yet [showing] full blown AIDS, the body is disturbed by opportunistic infections and is weakened," said Hakim Sendagire, a microbiology lecturer at the Makerere University College of Health Sciences. "Therefore early treatment would enable people to have healthier bodies and to work for longer periods of time and fend for their families."
Through its guidelines, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has already endorsed early treatment for people with a 250 to 350 CD4+ count, especially for pregnant women.
Joseph Matovu, a behavioural change expert at the School of Public Health Makerere University, told SciDev.Net that people needed to be educated to see the benefits of early treatment, but that adherence would need to be emphasised so that any side effects are minimised.
"Although the study's recommendations are good in terms of prevention, they could cause further resistance to drugs because people might not adhere [to treatment programmes] if they are not actually showing signs of HIV-related illness," Matovu said.
By analyzing the waste using urinary biomarkers, researchers can reliably detect actual drug consumption in cities. A large group of scientists has for the first time conducted a comparative study of illegal drug consumption in 19 European cities based on wastewater analysis. The findings are published in the specialist journal Science of the Total Environment.
The four Spanish cities, Barcelona, Castelló de la Plana, Santiago de Compostela and Valencia had a higher consumption of cannabis and cocaine compared with other drugs like ecstasy and methamphetamines.
The study was a collaboration of Research centers and universities from 11 European countries. The teams collected urban wastewater from 19 European cities during one week in March 2011 and used urinary biomarkers to test the samples for cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy, cannabis and methamphetamines. The analysis enabled researchers to estimate each of the 19 cities' drug consumption. The teams normalized the results according to the size of the city investigated, so that larger cities like London or Barcelona could be directly compared with smaller cities like Castelló de la Plana or Santiago de Compostela.
According to the results, the highest consumption of cocaine in milligrams per day per 1,000 inhabitants was found in Antwerp, followed by Amsterdam, Valencia, Eindhoven and Barcelona. In Castelló, the consumption of cocaine is comparable with cities like Utrecht or London, and slightly higher than Santiago, which had the same level of consumption as Brussels, Milan or Paris. In contrast, cocaine consumption in Nordic countries was observed to be low in comparison. According to estimations, 365 kilograms of cocaine are consumed daily, which, according to the UN's Office of Drugs and Organized Crime relates to about 10 to 15% of the worldwide cocaine consumption.
Unlike cocaine, methamphetamines consumption was observed to be higher in North and North-western Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and the Czech Republic. The teams noted that drugs belonging to the group of amphetamines, methamphetamines and amphetamines were the main drugs found in European wastewater. Neither of these drugs were found in the wastewater from Castelló, whilst Barcelona's, Valencia's and Santiago's wastewater showed low to medium levels of these drugs, which were lower compared with the levels detected in the north of Europe.
The teams did not detect MDMA (Ecstasy) in Castelló, although they found that Valencia and Santiago had around half of the consumption of Barcelona. However, ecstasy consumption was much lower than compared with Holland and Belgium.
Unsurprisingly, the highest consumption of cannabis was found in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, followed by France and Spain. The researchers have taken Spain's strategic position in marijuana trafficking into account, which has expanded the cannabis market. The cannabis consumption in Barcelona, Castelló and Santiago was relatively high, and marginally higher compared to the consumption per capita in Valencia.
Drug consumption surveillance programs are very beneficial tools for developing efficient policing legislations, but also to assess the efficacy of current policies to tackle the drug addiction problem.
Prior to analyzing the wastewater, measuring drug consumption was typically based on surveys conducted in different sectors of society including consumers with different addiction levels, such as the general public. Researchers also used additional information from police data for drug seizures, data on hospital admissions and other medical data. However, these methods proved to be significantly unreliable, in particular with regard to illegal drug use, since these studies were based on surveys. Another negative factor for the traditional methods of measuring drug consumptions is that results are usually obtained on an annual basis and over a large geographical area, usually by state.
In contrast, the wastewater analysis approach of analyzing wastewater from water purification plants (EDAR) enabled the research centers to obtain reliable information of the overall consumption of investigated drugs in real-time.
According to project co-coordinator of the collaborative project, Kevin Thomas, a NIVA researcher, the wastewater analysis provides important information alongside current estimation methods. Thomas explains: "Via waste water investigation we can estimate a city's drug consumption. Furthermore, we can quickly measure changes in consumption habits over a short period of time. For example, we can determine if there has been a massive drug disposal via drainage when police raids or drugs seizes take place."
The same approach has already been applied to a second study that has been conducted in 2012 in several European cities, and can be used in any other country or city. The researchers conclude:
"With the necessary economic support, we have the opportunity to be able to better understand, for the first time, what worldwide drug consumption currently is, trends, or the introduction of new drugs onto the market via the study of biomarkers in waste waters."
Written by Petra Rattue Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
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The London 2012 Olympic games are finally upon us, and the man at the top of everyone's must-watch list couldn't be more ready.
At just 27 years old, Michael Phelps is already a seasoned veteran in the world of swimming. This year will mark his third time making an appearance at the summer Olympics. In 2008, he broke Mark Spitz's record for most gold medals won in a single Olympic Games with eight.
Listen to Michael Phelps talk to Men's Fitness about how he prepared himself physically and mentally for the Games.
Catch a glimpse of the unique workout routine that keeps Phelps in peak shape. Think you can handle it?
More often than not, our pets can experience some of the same problems that we do. One such example is that dogs can also suffer from allergies. Fortunately, there are numerous ways for dog allergies treatment so it is more of a matter of finding out exactly what the cause for the allergic reaction is.
Dogs, like people, show allergic symptoms when the immune system recognizes a certain substance as dangerous. These substances are present in everyday life and most dogs are not affected by them. However, a dog with allergies will have a reaction to the substance whenever it inhales, ingests or comes into contact with the substance. The manner in which it affects the dog depends on the allergen itself.
There are many things that a dog can have an allergic reaction to but a few examples are pollen, fleas, mold spores, dust, cleaning products, insecticidal shampoos, certain food ingredients, as well as many others.
Any dog can become susceptible to an allergen at any point of its life. There are, however, some specific breeds of dogs that are more likely to develop allergies such as terriers, setters, retrievers and flat-faced breeds.
Some ways that you can determine if your dog has allergies is if the dog has itchy skin (manifested by excessive scratching), excessive sneezing, runny eyes, diarrhea and vomiting. The dog should be taken to be checked by a veterinarian if any of these symptoms become present. The veterinarian will advise the best treatment once a series of tests have been performed to accurately determine what is causing the allergies.
Each allergen has its own specific type of treatment. Fleas are commonly a cause for allergies and can be remedied with flea control programs and products. Bathing the dog once a week relieves the itching sensation and also removes environmental allergens such as pollen. It is advised that you consult a veterinarian on what type of shampoo to use for bathing the dog as the wrong type of shampoo can possibly worsen the allergies. Cleaning the dog’s bedding and vacuuming areas of the house where dust accumulates is an effective way of treating dust allergies. A more difficult form of treatment is needed if the dog develops a food allergy. A veterinarian will put the dog on a special diet until the allergies have stopped manifesting. The allergen is identified when the dog is reintroduced to its old foods.
There are also a variety of allergy injections, medications and supplements that can either prevent or help treat allergies. These should only be administered to the dog with instructions by a veterinarian.
Most dog allergies treatments are simple and don’t require much more special attention to the dog. The only important step is determining with the help a veterinarian what the allergen is that is causing the reaction so a treatment can be advised.
More often than not, our pets can experience some of the same problems that we do. One such example is that dogs can also suffer from allergies. Fortunately, there are numerous ways for dog allergies treatment so it is more of a matter of finding out exactly what the cause for the allergic reaction is.
Dogs, like people, show allergic symptoms when the immune system recognizes a certain substance as dangerous. These substances are present in everyday life and most dogs are not affected by them. However, a dog with allergies will have a reaction to the substance whenever it inhales, ingests or comes into contact with the substance. The manner in which it affects the dog depends on the allergen itself.
There are many things that a dog can have an allergic reaction to but a few examples are pollen, fleas, mold spores, dust, cleaning products, insecticidal shampoos, certain food ingredients, as well as many others.
Any dog can become susceptible to an allergen at any point of its life. There are, however, some specific breeds of dogs that are more likely to develop allergies such as terriers, setters, retrievers and flat-faced breeds.
Some ways that you can determine if your dog has allergies is if the dog has itchy skin (manifested by excessive scratching), excessive sneezing, runny eyes, diarrhea and vomiting. The dog should be taken to be checked by a veterinarian if any of these symptoms become present. The veterinarian will advise the best treatment once a series of tests have been performed to accurately determine what is causing the allergies.
Each allergen has its own specific type of treatment. Fleas are commonly a cause for allergies and can be remedied with flea control programs and products. Bathing the dog once a week relieves the itching sensation and also removes environmental allergens such as pollen. It is advised that you consult a veterinarian on what type of shampoo to use for bathing the dog as the wrong type of shampoo can possibly worsen the allergies. Cleaning the dog’s bedding and vacuuming areas of the house where dust accumulates is an effective way of treating dust allergies. A more difficult form of treatment is needed if the dog develops a food allergy. A veterinarian will put the dog on a special diet until the allergies have stopped manifesting. The allergen is identified when the dog is reintroduced to its old foods.
There are also a variety of allergy injections, medications and supplements that can either prevent or help treat allergies. These should only be administered to the dog with instructions by a veterinarian.
Most dog allergies treatments are simple and don’t require much more special attention to the dog. The only important step is determining with the help a veterinarian what the allergen is that is causing the reaction so a treatment can be advised.
When it comes to buying gear for a triathlon, you’ve got more variables to consider than just any one-sport race. You use different muscle groups to move from the swim to bike to run. So to avoid injury, and to save precious seconds on your time, you’ll want the best-fit gear to ensure fast, smooth transitions during your tri.
The fastest way to browse? Hit the web. But before you plug in your credit card digits, make certain you try gear at your local store before making the investment. Patience is crucial when you’re searching for the right tri-gear, no matter how fast those shoes look. “Everybody is built differently,” says Jimmy Wills, 30, who has raced triathlons for the past 15 years and competed in the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in 2007. “Don't just buy something based on how it looks or what you’ve read.” In your prelim gear search, stay focused on your needs, avoiding fancy gear gimmicks. Wills advises triathletes to invest in the essentials upfront to train safely and comfortably. “Then you can start accumulating cool ‘want’ pieces to improve performance or just look faster.”
To jump-start your list, Men’s Fitness scoped out the season’s top-quality triathlon gear. For the newbie racer to the professional triathlete, these products will help hone your race time and keep you comfortable during practice.
Background: Many human infections are transmitted through contact with animals (zoonoses), including household pets. Although pet ownership is common in most countries and non-pet owners may have frequent contact with pets, there is limited knowledge of the public's pet contact practices and awareness of zoonotic disease risks from pets. The objective of this study was to characterize the general public's knowledge, attitudes and risks related to pet ownership and animal contact in southern Ontario, Canada. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to individuals at two multi-physician clinics in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada during 2010. A single adult from each household was invited to participate in the study. Results: Seventy five percent (641/853) of individuals approached completed the questionnaire. Pet ownership and contact were common; 64% of participants had a pet in their household and 37% of non-pet owning households had a member with at least weekly animal contact outside the home. Pet ownership was high (55%) for households with individuals at higher risk for infections (i.e., < 5 yrs, > 64 yrs, immunocompromised). Most respondents (64%) indicated that they had never received information regarding pet-associated disease risks. When given a list of 11 infectious pathogens, respondents were only able to correctly classify just over half on their potential to be transmitted from pets to people (mean 6.4); independently, pet owners and those who recalled receiving information in the past about this topic were able to make significantly more correct identifications. Pet (36%) and non-pet owning households (10%) reported dog or cat bites or scratches during the preceding year. Households with individuals at higher risk for an infection did not differ from the remaining households regarding their perceived disease risk of pets, zoonotic disease knowledge, recall of being asked by their medical provider if they owned any pets, or recall of having received information regarding pet-associated disease risks and preventive measures. Conclusions: These results suggest that there is a need for accessible zoonotic disease information for both pet and non-owning households, with additional efforts made by veterinary, human and public health personnel. Immediate educational efforts directed toward households with individuals at higher risk to infections are especially needed.
Music does more than lift your mood—it may also be an all-natural pain reliever. Previous studies have found that listening to music helps people workout longer than those who don't listen to tunes. Now another study finds that participants who concentrate on songs while receiving safe electric shocks cut pain levels by 17 percent overall, and it’s twice as effective at slashing pain levels for highly anxious types as compared to their less-anxious counterparts, according to the Journal of Pain.
Don't just zone out to the beat if you're in acute pain: The key to using music to reduce this type of pain is active listening. "Study participants listened to specific melodies that they knew well and identified deviations in the songs, such as a jump in pitch or octave," says lead study author David Bradshaw, Ph.D., of the Pain Research Center at the University of Utah.
So how does concentrating on music work to ease pain exactly? Many of the same brain pathways that process music also process pain. Focusing on music engages your mind and triggers emotional responses to compete with pain pathways so you have less resources leftover to process aches. "Engaging your mind with music can also help alter your sense of time so you worry less about what's happening in the moment," says Dr. Bradshaw.
Researchers speculate that actively listening to music might work best for easing acute pain, such as the kind you feel post-surgery, while getting an endoscopy or shot, or when sitting in the dentist's chair.
As far as which type of music is the most powerful acute pain reliever, that’s entirely up to whatever kind moves you most. "The really important thing is that it's music you know well enough to follow and that can maintain your interest over time," says Dr. Bradshaw. "If you listen to rock music all the time in your car, then rock music will probably be the best pain reducer for you because it is most likely to keep you emotionally and cognitively absorbed." So the next time you have to get a cavity drilled, tune into your own soundtrack on your iPod to really help slash your pain levels.
