World Heart Federation Warns That Burden Of Tobacco Epidemic Continues To Worsen Societies And Economies – 6 M People Will Die And $500 Billion Lost

G-20 leaders pledged to provide the International Monetary Fund with $500 billion to help struggling economies, sparking global controversy. Yet startling research shows that the combined costs of tobacco-related death and related productivity losses, healthcare expenditures, employee absenteeism, and widespread environmental harm are responsible for draining the same amount – $500 billion – from the global economy each year and it receives much less attention than it deserves.

ProspectIP Has Agreed Licensing Deals For Two Inventors And Products, A Device That Aims To Prevent (DVT) And A Safety Opener For Glass Vials, UK

A University initiative to commercialise novel business ideas and inventions has secured its first two licensing agreements and attracted a further £400,000 in funding.

De Montfort University (DMU), Leicester, set up ProspectIP following a £2 million pilot funding award from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in 2006. The project has already resulted in the launch of new products under direct contracts with entrepreneurs.

Is There Any Medicine That Would Immediately Reduce Edema?

Question:

I treated my ankles which had a skin rash with some Clobetasol. About 4 days later, both knees and my lower thighs developed edema, which could be reduced with legs elevated. It hasn`t gotten any worse, but I think the edema is a result of perhaps applying too much Clobetasol. I was searching the web and found out not too worry unless the edema lasted longer than 2 weeks. I`m assuming the steroid will eventually work its way through my blood system. Is there any food or over the counter drug I should take to hasten this? Would a doctor be able to prescribe a medicine that would act immediately to reduce the edema? I hope this goes away on its own. The Clobetasol treatment was a one time application, but I covered both ankles perhaps too generously. I`ve had no other previous incidents of edema in my claves, knees and lower thighs. Thank you.

Sen. Grassley Considers Proposing Legislation That Would Require Not-for-Profit Hospitals To Spend A Minimum Amount On Charity Care, More

Senate Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) might propose legislation in the first quarter of 2009 that would attempt to hold not-for-profit hospitals accountable for the billions of dollars in tax exemptions they receive annually, according to members of Grassley’s staff, the Wall Street Journal reports. Grassley is working on the legislation with other Senate members, including Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.). The aides noted that Grassley first plans to urge the Treasury Department to reinstate charity care requirements that the Internal Revenue Service eliminated in 1969 before proposing new legislation.

Model Unravels Rules That Govern How Genes Are Switched On And Off

For years, scientists have struggled to decipher the genetic instruction book that details where and when the 20,000 genes in a human cell will be turned on or off. Different genes operate in each cell type at different times, and this careful orchestration is what ultimately distinguishes a brain cell from a liver or skin cell.

Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have developed a model of gene expression in yeast that predicts with a high degree of accuracy whether a gene will be switched on or off. The study is now available in the advance online publication of

FRC: New Mental Health Studies Dispel Myth That Abortion Is A ‘Non-Event’

Two new studies out this week add to the body of research evidence clearly showing again that abortion is associated with increased risk of adverse mental health effects. The two peer-reviewed papers were published in the British Journal of Psychiatry and the Journal of Psychiatric Research. Both had strong methodology and controls for confounding or alternate variables.

“The results of both studies add to the strong body evidence detailing the causal association between abortion and mental health disorders,” said Moira Gaul, Family Research Council’s Director of Women’s and Reproductive Health. “Additionally, these findings continue to reinforce important implications concerning informed consent in health care. Women in this country deserve quality health care which provides accurate information on the associated risks accompanying abortion,” added Gaul.

Secreted Protein Sends Signal That Fat Is On The Way

After you eat a burger and fries or other fat-filled meal, a protein produced by the liver may send a signal that fat is on the way, suggests a report in the December issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication.

Researchers have found in mice that the liver produces a protein called adropin, which rises in response to high-fat foods and falls after fasting. The protein seems to play a role in governing the activity of other metabolic genes, particularly those involved in the production of lipids from carbohydrates. Studies of the protein in obese animals suggest that it also plays a role in insulin response and in preventing the buildup of fat in the liver (a condition known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease), the researchers said.

Scientists Identify A Molecule That Coordinates The Movement Of Cells

Even cells commute. To get from their birthplace to their work site, they sequentially attach to and detach from an elaborate track of exceptionally strong proteins known as the extracellular matrix. Now, in research to appear in the October 3 issue of Cell, scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Rockefeller University show that a molecule, called ACF7, helps regulate and power this movement from the inside – findings that could have implications for understanding how cancer cells metastasize.

Illinois Gov. Blagojevich’s Amendatory Veto Could Jeopardize Bill That Would Grant Uninsured State Residents Discounts On Hospital Care

Final passage of a bill that would give Illinois residents without health insurance a discount on hospital care could be jeopardized because of an amendatory veto by Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), the Chicago Tribunereports. The bill — which would have guaranteed uninsured Illinoisans the “most generous discounts in the U.S.,” capped their annual spending hospital care and applied to an estimated 775,000 families in the state — passed unanimously in the House and Senate last spring after extensive negotiations with the Illinois attorney general’s office.

Research Suggests That Cigarettes’ Power May Not Be In Nicotine Itself

There may be a very good reason why coffee and cigarettes often seem to go hand in hand.

A Kansas State University psychology professor’s research suggests that nicotine’s power may be in how it enhances other experiences. For a smoker who enjoys drinking coffee, the nicotine may make a cup of joe even better.

And that may explain why smoking is so hard to quit.

“People have very regimented things they do when they smoke,” said Matthew Palmatier, assistant professor of psychology at K-State. “If you think about where people smoke or who they smoke with, you realize that it occurs in very specific places, often with a specific group of people. Maybe it’s a reason why nicotine is so addictive – if you get used to having that extra satisfaction from things you normally enjoy, not having nicotine could reduce the enjoyment in a given activity.