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Sepsis Involved In High Percentage Of Hospital Deaths

Sepsis Involved In High Percentage Of Hospital Deaths

An analysis that included approximately 7 million hospitalizations finds that sepsis contributed to 1 in every 2 to 3 deaths, and most of these patients had sepsis at admission, according to a study published by JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American Thoracic Society International Conference.
Sepsis, the inflammatory response to infection, affects millions of patients worldwide. However, its effect on overall hospital mortality has not been fully measured, according to background information in the article.

A New Hypothesis About A Theory: The 80-Year Quest To Turn Light Into Matter

A New Hypothesis About A Theory: The 80-Year Quest To Turn Light Into Matter

Physicists say they have discovered how to create matter from light - a feat thought impossible when the idea was first theorized 80 years ago. There is just one problem. In order to test the newest hypothesis, a new& machine would have to be built.
In just one day over several cups of coffee in a tiny office at Imperial College London, three physicists believe they worked out a relatively simple way to physically prove a theory first devised by scientists Breit and Wheeler in 1934. Yes, they solved a puzzle that has eluded the rest of the world in an afternoon. Well, on paper.

Gum Disease Bacteria May Cause Heart Disease

Gum Disease Bacteria May Cause Heart Disease

A University of Florida study shows that the same bacteria that cause gum disease also promotes heart disease – a discovery that could change the way heart disease is diagnosed and treated. Researchers report their findings today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
"We report evidence that introduction of oral bacteria into the bloodstream in mice increased risk factors for atherosclerotic heart disease. Our hope is that the American Heart Association will acknowledge causal links between oral disease and increased heart disease. That will change how physicians diagnose and treat heart disease patients," says Irina M. Velsko, a graduate student in the University of Florida's College of Medicine, who presented the data.

The Myth Of Urine Sterility

The Myth Of Urine Sterility

There is a reason why peeing in your house is not actually a good idea - but some doctors have perpetuated the idea that urine is sterile by using that as a test for urinary tract infections.
Not that you should ever use Wikipedia for anything, but the non-expert hacktivists there botch the urine entry as further evidence. And every year the myth is debunked but it persists.
Bacteria live in the bladders of healthy women, researchers from Loyola University Chicago noted again, this time at the 114th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Boston.

Bacteria In Mouth May Diagnose Pancreatic Cancer

Bacteria In Mouth May Diagnose Pancreatic Cancer

Patients with pancreatic cancer have a different and distinct profile of specific bacteria in their saliva compared to healthy controls and even patients with other cancers or pancreatic diseases, according to research presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. These findings could form the basis for a test to diagnose the disease in its early stages.
"Our studies suggest that ratios of particular types of bacteria found in saliva may be indicative of pancreatic cancer," says Pedro Torres of San Diego State University who presented the research.

Watch New AIDS Virus Particles Form

Watch New AIDS Virus Particles Form

Researchers have devised a way to watch newly forming AIDS virus particles emerge or "budd" from infected human cells.
They have also found that a protein named ALIX gets involved during the final stages of virus replication, not earlier, as was believed previously.

Most Frequent Emergency Room Patients Are Drug Addicts

Most Frequent Emergency Room Patients Are Drug Addicts

The vast majority of so-called "super-frequent user" patients who seek care in the Emergency Department - a patient is considered a super-frequent user if they visit the emergency room at least 10 times a year  - have a substance abuse addiction, according to a Henry Ford Hospital analysis.
ER physicians have long said that patients who frequent the ER for their care have a substance abuse addiction but few studies have actually measured the rate of addiction of these patients.
The  findings presented Saturday at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) annual meeting in Dallas found that super-frequent users seeking pain-relief narcotics were more often women. 
The study's key findings:

Negative Iron Balance Predicts Acute Heart Failure Survival

Negative Iron Balance Predicts Acute Heart Failure Survival

Athens, 17 May 2014: Negative iron balance predicts survival in patients with acute heart failure, according to research presented for the first time today at the Heart Failure Congress 2014 in Athens, Greece. The Congress is the main annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology.
Professor Ewa Jankowska, first author of the study, said: "Patients with acute heart failure have a major collapse in homeostasis. Iron is a key micronutrient that is required for the maintenance of homeostasis. Iron is needed for cellular metabolism and deficiency leads to severely impaired energy metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction."

DEKA Arm System: FDA Approves Prosthetic That Can Perform Complex Tasks Using Electrical Signals

DEKA Arm System: FDA Approves Prosthetic That Can Perform Complex Tasks Using Electrical Signals

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today allowed marketing of the DEKA Arm System, the first prosthetic arm that can perform multiple, simultaneous powered movements controlled by electrical signals from electromyogram (EMG) electrodes. Deka calls it "Luke", after Luke Skywalker of "Star Wars" fame, and the project was funded by DARPA. EMG electrodes detect electrical activity caused by the contraction of muscles close to where the prosthesis is attached. The electrodes send the electrical signals to a computer processor in the prosthesis that translates them to a specific movement or movements.

Water Pipe Smoking Causes Significant Exposure To Nicotine And Cancer-causing Agents

Water Pipe Smoking Causes Significant Exposure To Nicotine And Cancer-causing Agents

PHILADELPHIA — Young adults who smoked water pipes in hookah bars had elevated levels of nicotine, cotinine, tobacco-related cancer-causing agents, and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in their urine, and this may increase their risk for cancer and other chronic diseases, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Transgenic Mice Produce Both Omega-3 And Omega-6 Fatty Acids On Carbohydrate Diet

Transgenic Mice Produce Both Omega-3 And Omega-6 Fatty Acids On Carbohydrate Diet

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have developed a transgenic mouse that synthesizes both the omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids within its tissues on a diet of carbohydrates or saturated fats. Called "essential" because they are necessary to maintain important bodily functions, omega fatty acids cannot naturally be synthesized by mammals and therefore must be acquired by diet. Significant evidence suggest that the ratio of dietary omega-6 to omega-3 has important implications for human health, further increasing interest in the development of foods rich in omega-3s, which are found in certain species of fish as well as some nuts and green vegetables.