Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigs, have grown in popularity as an alternative to traditional cigarette smoking. But health experts and consumer advocates have raised concerns over their safety. Now scientists report in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology new measurements of potentially toxic compounds in e-cigarette vapor and factors that affect these levels.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (Wednesday, July 27, 2016) -- Using data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), a new study has found that women with reproductive-period durations of less than 30 years had a 37% increased risk of type 2 diabetes compared with women whose reproductive durations were somewhere in the middle (36 to 40 years). Researchers were surprised to learn that women with longer reproductive-period durations (45 years or more) were at a 23% higher risk than women with medium-length periods.
Bottom Line: Among patients with melanoma, those who received both ipilimumab (Yervoy) and local peripheral treatments such as radiotherapy or electrochemotherapy had significantly prolonged overall survival compared with those who received only ipilimumab, according to a retrospective clinical study.
Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Immunology Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
PORTLAND, Ore., July 27, 2016 -- Women who begin menopause before age 46 or after 55 have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study of more than 124,000 women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative, a large national trial aimed at preventing disease in postmenopausal women.
The study, led by Kaiser Permanente researcher Erin LeBlanc, MD, MPH, was published today in the journal Menopause, the official journal of the North American Menopause Society.
Plant scientists at Lancaster University, with support from the University of Illinois, have made an important advance in understanding the natural diversity of a key plant enzyme which could help us address the looming threat of global food security.
Rubisco is the central enzyme responsible for photosynthesis in plants, it enables them to absorb carbon from the atmosphere, which they depend upon to live and grow. But until now, the extent of natural diversity of Rubisco across plant species was relatively unknown.
NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) is releasing a video titled "Microbiomics: The Living World In and On You" to highlight microbial research on the International Space Station. HRP's Twins Study uses omics to study Scott and Mark Kelly's microbiome, which is the collection of each individual's microbes. Omics is an evolving field integrating collections of measurements, biomolecules and sub-disciplines to provide a more complete picture of health. It includes the studies of DNA, RNA, proteins, environment and metabolites, in addition to the microbiome.
The Open Orthopaedics Journal recently published "Inter-rater Reliability of Sustained Aberrant Movement Patterns as a Clinical Assessment of Muscular Fatigue" by: Frank Aerts, PT, DSc, OCS, CMPT, CMP, CMET; Kathy Carrier, PT, DSc, CLT-LANA; and Becky Alwood, OTR, MHS, CLT .
A patient's response to a therapeutic exercise program depends on the effectiveness of the program and the value of its delivery system. When utilizing exercise as a therapeutic intervention, rehab providers are encouraged to pay attention to therapeutic exercise design, dosing and implementation.
A DNA analysis of living and extinct species of mysterious New Zealand wrens may change theories around the country's geological and evolutionary past.
A University of Adelaide study into New Zealand's acanthisittid wrens has provided compelling evidence that, contrary to some suggestions, New Zealand was not completely submerged under the ocean around 21 to 25 million years ago.
In biological terms, a cell is the smallest functional entity of living organisms. The human body contains an enormous number of cells: somewhere in the region of 10 to 100 trillion, depending on a person's size and weight. Most of these cells perform specific functions in the body and are called differentiated cells. Stem cells, on the other hand, are able to continuously divide to produce more stem cells and differentiated cells, thereby providing an endless supply of differentiated cells. Certain cells in the body have a relatively short life span.
Livestock medications can impair beneficial organisms that break down dung. Too high a dosage of ivermectin, a common drug against parasites, harms coprophilous organisms, for instance. The toxicity of new livestock medications therefore needs to be verified in ecotoxicological tests with individual animal species such as the common yellow dung fly, the barn fly or a dung beetle. This involves determining the lethal dose leading to the death of half the maggots (LD50 test).
The study of the mechanism of reactivation of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibited by organophosphates (OP) is still a challenge for theoretical chemists since mechanistic studies, involve electronic transfer and breaking and formation of chemical bonds. The solution for this is the Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics (QM/MM) approach. The QM/MM approach has been implemented with docking, Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics methods. As many configurations are generated in the MM step, the number of QM calculations required in a hybrid QM/MM simulation is too high.
With the aid of platinum catalysts, it is possible to efficiently produce hydrogen. However, this metal is rare and expensive. Researchers have discovered an alternative that is just as good, but less costly.
The mineral pentlandite is a potential new catalyst for hydrogen production. As described in the journal Nature Communications, it works just as efficient as the platinum electrodes commonly used today. In contrast to platinum, pentlandite is affordable and found frequently on Earth.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A study conducted at Nationwide Children's Hospital has found that a new chemotherapy is effective against both pediatric and adult cancers, and that it allows other chemotherapies to more readily reach their targets. The study published online Monday, July 25, in the journal Pharmaceutical Research describes a novel class of antitumor amphiphilic amines (RCn) based on a tricyclic amine hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic linear alkyl tail of variable length.
Researchers at Osaka University, Japan uncovered the mechanisms that suppress the propagation of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) with the potential of improving pathological liver conditions. Using model mice, they confirmed that when a certain enzyme is inhibited, HCV particle production is reduced leading to an improvement of pathological liver conditions. They thereby identified a new drug target for the development of new HCV drugs.
Research into Africa's first 'screen-and-treat' programme for hepatitis B suggests the initiative may reduce deadly complications of the virus.
The new findings, from researchers at a number of international institutions including Imperial College London and the Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia, also suggest the initiative is feasible and cost-effective.
Thursday 28 July marks World Hepatitis Day.