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Species conservation profile of a critically endangered endemic for the Azores spider

Subject to continuing population decline due to a number of factors, an exclusively cave-dwelling (troglobitic) spider endemic to the Azores is considered as Critically Endangered according to the IUCN Red List criteria.

Most states report medicaid covers children's key mental health services but gaps remain

August 31, 2016 -- A national study by researchers at the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health--- shows an uneven picture of states' use of Medicaid to help families with young children gain access to mental health services.

Tight DNA packaging protects against 'jumping genes,' potential cellular destruction

CHAPEL HILL, NC - UNC School of Medicine researchers discovered that the major developmental function of heterochromatin - a form of tight DNA packaging found in chromosomes - is likely to suppress activity of virus-like DNA elements known as transposons or "jumping genes," which can otherwise copy and paste themselves throughout the genome, potentially destroying important genes, and causing cancers and other diseases.

Doctors: Beware of low diastolic blood pressure when treating hypertension

By analyzing medical records gathered over three decades on more than 11,000 Americans participating in a federally funded study, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have more evidence that driving diastolic blood pressure too low is associated with damage to heart tissue.

Induced labor after water breakage poses no harm to mothers or babies, TAU research finds

A new Tel Aviv University study has determined that natural, spontaneous deliveries and induced deliveries following the rupture of the amniotic sac in the mother share similar neonatal outcomes, contradicting common wisdom.

It's a boy: Controlling pest populations with modified males

Populations of New World screwworm flies - devastating parasitic livestock pests in Western Hemisphere tropical regions - could be greatly suppressed with the introduction of male flies that produce only males when they mate, according to new research from North Carolina State University, the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, the Panama-United States Commission for the Eradication and Prevention of Screwworm (COPEG) and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Immersion pulmonary edema may cause swimming deaths during triathlons

Heart abnormalities linked to immersion pulmonary edema were present in a greater-than-expected proportion of triathletes who died during the competition's swim portion, according to a study led by researchers at Duke Health.

The findings, published Aug. 29 in the journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, are based on an analysis of autopsy reports of people who died in the United States and Canada between 2008 and 2015 while participating in triathlons. Triathlon competitions involve consecutive races of swimming, bicycling and running.

Gastric bypass is better than other procedures for sustainable weight loss

Gastric bypass surgery is more effective for weight loss and long-term weight maintenance than are other surgical procedures and non-surgical treatment, according to a study led by researchers at Duke Health and the Durham VA Medical Center.

The study's findings, published Aug. 31 in the journal JAMA Surgery, are based on the analysis of ten years of medical records for veterans who underwent one of three different weight-loss surgery procedures at VA medical centers or community hospitals reimbursed by the VA.

Career advice for young allergy patients

Approximately one-third of apprentices in Germany are at elevated risk of occupational asthma, allergies, and dermatitis. In this edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, Katja Radon et al. use a systematic search of the literature as the basis for investigating the advice doctors should give to young people with allergic sensitization or a manifest prior allergic disorder, regarding their future careers (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2016; 113: 519-24).

Findings about protein could open door to new class of antibiotics

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Researchers have made the first-ever detailed, atomic-level images of a peroxiredoxin, which has revealed a peculiar characteristic of this protein and might form the foundation for a new approach to antibiotics.

Scientists at Oregon State University have used X-ray crystallography, a powerful technique that can reveal structures down to their individual atoms, to study the fundamental nature and behavior of this peroxiredoxin. Their findings were announced today in the journal Structure.

Food puzzles enhance feline wellbeing

Greater understanding of the importance of environmental enrichment in enhancing an animal's physical and social environment is bringing benefits for pet cats - particularly those that are kept solely indoors.

Study finds heart infections increasing among younger injection drug users

Serious heart infections caused by injection drug use are on the rise, particularly among young whites, according to a new study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases, now available online. Based on an analysis of health care claims data, the study found an increasing proportion of injection drug users hospitalized with infective endocarditis who were younger than 34 years old, white, and female, suggesting demographic shifts that mirror similar trends seen in the nationwide opioid epidemic.

Synthetic heart valves could help surgeons improve surgical skills

A UBC invention has made it possible for doctors to vastly improve their bypass surgery techniques without relying on animals.

The invention--synthetic heart valves, arteries and veins made of polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel--was created by researchers at UBC's Okanagan campus

The polyvinyl "tissue" makes it possible for surgeons and medical residents to practise bypass surgery using the synthetic material as opposed to the current practice of using the arteries and veins of dead pigs or human cadavers.

Endangered right whale population threatened by entanglements & declining birth rate

BOSTON (Aug. 31, 2016) -The most endangered large whale species in the Atlantic is threatened by increasing rates of lethal and debilitating entanglements and a dramatic 40% decline in birth rates since 2010. About 500 North Atlantic right whales still survive after two decades period of modest annual growth, but the two new emerging trends are casting doubt on the species overall recovery.

Standing up to childhood obesity by not sitting as much in school

Changing a classroom from standard desks to standing desks, has a significant effect on the body mass index (BMI) percentile of students, according to a study co-led by University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences researcher Monica Wendel, Dr.P.H., M.A., and her Texas A&M University collaborators.