Body

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found a link between pre-existing nutritional deficits and immune dysfunction and the risk of hepatitis E infection during pregnancy.

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 12, 2016 - Sedentary behavior is associated with poor cardiovascular health and diabetes in adults with severe obesity, independent of how much exercise they perform, a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health-led study showed for the first time.

Triticale is an artificial grain type stemming from a cross between wheat and rye. Since the 1960s, triticale has been cultivated in many places as a feed grain and had proved very resistant to mildew attack. This fungal pathogen causes huge losses in cereal production. In the case of wheat, for example, the fungus can reduce the harvest by up to 45%. But triticale fields were infected for the first time in 2001, and mildew is now being reported in many triticale growing regions in Europe.

Comparison of the mildew genome confirms: The new form is a hybrid

Scientists from Germany and Spain have discovered a way to create a BioLED by packaging luminescent proteins in the form of rubber. This innovative device gives off a white light which is created by equal parts of blue, green and red rubber layers covering one LED, thus rendering the same effect as with traditional inorganic LEDs but at a lower cost.

To establish an infection in the urinary tract, bacteria must be able to withstand the tremendous forces of urine flow so they’re not simply washed away. New research is giving scientists a remarkable view of a strange, spring-like shock absorber used by the most common cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs) to survive and thrive where other bacteria cannot. By better understanding how these bugs anchor themselves to the urinary tract lining, doctors will be able to devise new drugs and vaccines to stop them.

Most Common Cause of UTIs

Researchers have conducted the first ever trials of smart pills that can measure intestinal gases inside the body, with surprising results revealing some unexpected ways that fibre affects the gut.

Intestinal gases have been linked to colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but their role in health is poorly understood and there is currently no easy and reliable tool for detecting them inside the gut.

London, January 12, 2016 - International liver cancer guidelines could be preventing patients from getting life-saving treatments in developing countries, according to a new study published in the journal Heliyon. The authors of the research are calling for treatment guidelines that are more tailored to developing countries, to help save lives.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer, accounting for approximately 75% of all primary liver cancer cases. Globally, it causes 745,000 deaths a year, making it the second most lethal cancer in the world.

UC Davis plant scientists have identified an enzyme that appears to play a key role in the insect-transmitted bacterial infection of grapevines with Pierce's disease, which annually costs California's grape and wine industries more than $100 million.

Chicago, Jan. 12, 2016 - Using statins before and after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery can help reduce cardiac complications, such as atrial fibrillation, following surgery and also can reduce the risk of death during and after surgery, according to a review article posted online today by The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. The article will appear in the February issue of the journal.

Key Points:

There are small easy steps that we can take to tackle the burgeoning problem of obesity. One of those solutions is surprisingly simple: use smaller plates.

There have been over 50 studies examining whether or not smaller plates help in reducing consumption. Despite all these studies, there is surprisingly little consensus on the effect of smaller plates. Some find that smaller plates help reduce consumption, but others do not.

This news release is available in French.

1. Task Force Publishes Final Recommendations on Screening for Breast Cancer

Women ages 50 to 74 should be screened regularly; women in their 40s should make an individual decision in partnership with their doctors.

In a comprehensive modeling study, researchers from UC Davis and other institutions have found that breast cancer screening with digital mammography poses only a small risk of radiation-induced breast cancer for most women. However, the research showed increased risk for women with large breasts or breast implants, who must often receive extra screening views, increasing their radiation exposure.

A systematic review of the scientific literature on dense breasts by researchers at UC Davis and other institutions has found that determinations of breast density can be unreliable and that as many as 19 percent of women are re-categorized as dense rather than non-dense or vice versa from one mammogram to the next. The study also found that supplemental diagnostic screenings for women with dense breasts find additional breast cancers but also greatly increase false positive results.

WASHINGTON (Jan. 11, 2016) -- New and comprehensive analyses from six independent research teams examining breast cancer screening intervals have produced a unanimous finding -- that mammography screening every two years for average risk women ages 50 to 74 offers a favorable balance of benefits to harm.

The conclusion is consistent with the same groups' analyses published in 2009, even with newly added data from digital mammography, advanced treatments and molecular tumor subtypes.