What’s passing for science today: Michael Vick Division
Dogs That Bite Children Have Often Not Bitten Kids Before
Science Daily — Dogs that bite children have often not bitten kids before, but they tend to have underlying behavioural or medical problems, indicates research in the journal Injury Prevention.
The research team analysed the circumstances surrounding 111 cases of dog bite over a period of four years. All the 103 dogs involved had bitten children and had been referred to the same veterinary behaviour clinic.
The analysis highlighted distinctive patterns of behaviour, but not among any particular breed.
Young children were much more likely to be bitten when dogs felt their food or other resources, such as toys, were under threat. Older children bore the brunt of dogs' territorial behaviour.
Children with whom the dog was familiar were more likely to be bitten in relation to food guarding, while unfamiliar children were more likely to be bitten in relation to territory guarding.
Behavioural analysis revealed that, the guarding of resources and territory were the most common causes of aggression among the dogs.
Three quarters also exhibited anxiety, when left by their owners, or when exposed to noise, such as thunderstorms or fireworks.
Demonstrable fear may signal a tendency towards biting when faced with a perceived threat, say the authors.
And young children in particular can be noisy and unpredictable in their movements, both of which could frighten an already anxious dog.
When the dogs were examined, half had medical conditions, most of which affected their bones or skin. But growths, eye problems, liver and kidney disease, hormonal problems and infections were also picked up.
The authors suggest that pain could have contributed to the dogs' behaviour. One in five dogs had never bitten anyone before, and two thirds had never bitten a child before.
Maybe it was just a bark for help.
Wine drinking mice everywhere offer a toast
Wine may help prevent diabetes, in mice
BEIJING, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Low doses of resveratrol -- found in the skins of red grapes and in red wine -- can improve the sensitivity of mice to insulin, a Chinese study found.
Insulin resistance is often characterized as the most critical factor contributing to the development of type 2 diabetes, so findings "provide a potential new therapeutic approach for preventing or treating" both conditions, Qiwei Zhai, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.
The study, published in Cell Metabolism, confirmed increased levels of the enzyme SIRT1, which earlier studies had linked to longevity, DNA repair and insulin secretion, improve insulin sensitivity in mice. Resveratrol is known to activate the SIRT1 enzyme, the researchers said.
The findings suggest that red wine might have some benefits for insulin sensitivity, but it needs to be confirmed by further investigation, the researchers said.
Drink up you rats. Nobody leaves this lab sober.
Breaking news: A supplement people take to build muscle builds muscle. Film at 11.
Creatine In Addition To Exercise Enhances Strength In Older Adults
While exercise is a proven way to prevent the loss of muscle mass, a new study led by McMaster researcher Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky shows that taking a combination of creatine monohydrate (CrM) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in addition to resistance exercise training provides even greater benefits.
The study to be published on Oct. 3 in PLoS One, involved 19 men and 20 women who were 65 years or older and took part in a six-month program of regular resistance exercise training.
"This data confirms that supervised resistance exercise training is safe and effective for increasing strength and function in older adults and that a combination of CrM and CLA can enhance some of the beneficial effects of training over a six month period," said Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics and medicine.
I didn't know you could get a PH. D in pointing out the obvious.
Maybe you should braise it in grain alcohol and coffee
Mothers again urged to eat fish. Advisory at odds with FDA guidance
Two years after the FDA advised pregnant women to limit fish consumption, a prominent
group of health professionals says 90 percent of women aren't eating enough.
The scientists' conclusion is at odds with the standard government advice issued in 2001 that
new mothers and mothers-to-be should eat no more than 12 ounces of seafood per week
because of concerns about mercury contamination.
"There is a big debate about what is safe," said Brown University professor Patricia Nolan, a
former state health officer of Rhode Island and one of the experts who drafted the new
guidelines. "There are really complex questions. That is why we are doing this."
At the core of the problem is the tension between the brain-bolstering nutrients in seafood and
concern over exposure to mercury, which builds up in the tissue of many marine species and is
toxic to nerve tissue.
That snapping you hear is the sound of people getting whiplash from trying to follow the latest dietary pronouncements. Don't worry. Just wait a few hours and whatever is good for you will change. I admit I don't know the facts here, but whenever someone says, "There are really complex questions, " the first thing I want to ask is just who is funding the study. Anything fishy?
The case involved scientists and doctors— how could there be a mistake?
Cancer-free woman underwent double mastectomy because of lab mix-up
Because of a mislabeled tissue sample that led to a misdiagnosis, Darrie Eason had both of her breasts removed to save her from a cancer that she never had.
Eason is a 35-year-old single mother who works in the accounts receivable department of a local community newspaper chain. She has a 15-year-old son.
In 2006, she was told she needed to undergo a radical double mastectomy because she had an invasive form of breast cancer.
“I just broke down and cried,” she recalled of the moment she got the diagnosis.
Eason went to another doctor for a second opinion, and was again told she had cancer. The doctor relied on the same mislabeled tissue sample.
“I was told I had lobular breast cancer, which everybody said would come back,” she told Vieira.
Armed with that information, she had both breasts removed and underwent the first phase of reconstructive surgery in May 2006.
While waiting to heal so she could begin chemotherapy, her surgeon, who had submitted removed tissue to a lab for routine testing, told her that something was wrong: She didn’t have cancer.
An investigation by the New York State Department of Health would reveal that the lab that handled her biopsy samples, CBLPath medical laboratory of Rye Brook, N.Y., had mixed up her sample with that of another woman.
The other woman, who actually did have breast cancer, was told she was cancer-free. Only when Eason’s error was discovered did the other woman, who has not been identified, learn that she had cancer.
The state report said “the most likely source of the error” was the technician engaging in a practice called “batching,” which involves handling more than one specimen at a time.
The state health department determined that CBLPath’s error was isolated and found “no systemic problems and no deficiencies” at the lab. Eason’s attorney, Steven Pegalis, told Vieira he’s not so sure.
“It may be one person, but personally I doubt it. One of the things we may learn is ‘Was there a system failure, and if so, what can be done to improve the system?’ Personally, I doubt this is a one-time event by someone who was careless for one time in his or her life,” he said.
Pegalis said he waited a year to file Eason’s lawsuit because he wanted to make certain that she didn’t sue someone who did nothing wrong, including the surgeons who operated in good faith on information they had no way of knowing was flawed.
“We didn’t want to include a physician who had done right by Darrie,” he said. “We spent some time making sure no physicians were involved in the case.” (MSNBC/The Today Show)
It’s enough to give multi-tasking a bad name.
And if I can’t be mayor, can I name myself duke? Prince?
A.C. Mayor Goes AWOL; Mystery Man Appoints Self
CBS 3/Philadelphia) Bob Levy, the Mayor of the New Jersey gambling mecca, went missing last week without notice, leaving a power vacuum in his absence.
A local business administrator, Domenic Cappella, recently proclaimed he was personally appointed acting Mayor by Levy himself before his strange disappearance, but has no proof of any agreement.
Residents demanded answers to the Mayoral mystery during a city council meeting Wednesday night. Unfortunately, City Council members could shed little light on Levy’s whereabouts.
“I would say AWOL, absolutely without leave. We don’t have an official word that has been delivered to city council on where the mayor is,” a city councilman said.
Levy’s disappearance could not come at a worse time, as rumors of upcoming arrests and resignations are flying during an FBI investigation into the city’s government.
Levy's attorney said his client is on extended medical leave, but would not give any further details.
Business Administrator Domenic Cappella said on September 26, Levy personally appointed him acting mayor, but could provide no concrete proof or explanation of their discussion.
“Before he was hospitalized, he made it known that I should be carrying on day to day business,” Cappella said.
But City Council members disagree, saying the only proof of Cappella’s alleged appointment is a memo written by Cappella designating himself.
“So for him to designate himself as the acting mayor is no different than if I were to designate myself as the acting mayor,” said attorney James Leonard Jr. “It’s completely without merit. It’s completely fraudulent and it’s not going to stand.”
Regardless of City Council’s opposition, Cappella said that he will not step down as he has a record of leadership.
“Ten years experience as an administrator, I run a $193 million budget, 1,500 employees, dealing with seven unions, saved the city tons of money,” Cappella said. “Let's put our differences to the side, let's move the city forward.”
After the tense and argumentative meeting Wednesday evening, the issue of who is in charge remains unsolved.
The City Council president did say he would take over the mayor's duties if the state were to say that it is legal.
Mayor Levy’s whereabouts are still unknown.
Construction plus jobs, plus votes, plus contracts, plus cash, minus the mayor equals democracy in action.
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