Guest Post – Page 1011 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Obesity Has Doubled Since 1980, Major Global Analysis of Risk Factors Reveals

By Guest PostFebruary 16, 2011Healthaustralasia, Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, blood pressure, body mass index, cholesterol, diastolic blood pressure, global problems, goodarz danaei, gretchen stevens, heart disease risk factors, high income countries, hypertension, lancet, majid ezzati, North America, obese, obesity, risk factor, southeast asia, western countries, WHO, world health organization

*Study shows western high-income countries have achieved impressive progress in lowering hypertension and cholesterol*

The worldwide prevalence of obesity has nearly doubled since 1980, according to a major study on how three important heart disease risk factors have changed across the world over the last three decades. The study, published on Feb. 4 in three papers in the Lancet, looked at all available global data to assess how body mass index, blood pressure and cholesterol changed between 1980 and 2008.

The study shows that in 2008, more than one in ten of the world’s adult population was obese, with women more likely to be obese than men. An estimated 205 million men and 297 million adult women were obese – a total of more than half a billion adults worldwide. (more…)

‘Growing Economy Sparks Change in Chinese Mating Preferences’

By Guest PostFebruary 15, 2011Culturechinese, chinese men, cultural changes, economic income, mate preferences, mate selection, mating preferences

AUSTIN, Texas — As China’s economy continues to grow, more young adults desire potential mates with good financial prospects, according to new psychology research from The University of Texas at Austin. (more…)

IBM Introduces New Systems to Bring More Efficiency to Data Centers Run Amok

By Guest PostFebruary 15, 2011Technologyblade network technologies, bnt, chips, data centers, database applications, datapower xI50z, dave michlowski, ex5 blade system, hardware, high-performance computing, hpc, ibm, medical informatics, microsoft exchange, ras, software, storwize rapid application storage, system x, systems, tivoli storage, websphere, workloads, xI50, zbx, zenterprise bladecenter extension

*Continues Ongoing Investments in Innovative Workload-Optimized Systems*

ARMONK, N.Y. – 15 Feb 2011: IBM today announced workload-optimized systems to help companies manage a range of more demanding workloads that are placing new stresses on already over-taxed data centers.

The offerings, which span IBM’s systems portfolio, represent IBM’s continued investment in systems integrated and optimized across chips, hardware and software, for a range of work at a time when companies face unprecedented amounts of data and are under pressure to become more efficient in managing and drawing timely insights from the information. (more…)

Quest for Designer Bacteria Uncovers a Spy

By Guest PostFebruary 15, 2011Sciencebacteria helper, biosensors, coerce bacteria, directed evolution, escherichia coli, james bardwell, mcgill university, molecular assistant, shu quan, spy

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Scientists have discovered a molecular assistant called Spy that helps bacteria excel at producing proteins for medical and industrial purposes.

Bacteria are widely used to manufacture proteins used in medicine and industry, but the bugs often bungle the job. Many proteins fall apart and get cut up inside the bacteria before they can be harvested. Others collapse into useless tangles instead of folding properly, as they must in order to function normally. (more…)

Patient Privacy Should be Respected Abroad and Online

By Guest PostFebruary 15, 2011Culture, Healthamerican medical student, developing countries, dominican republic, ecuador, erik black, ethical gray area, Facebook, federal guidelines, haiti, health care providers, lindsay thompson, medical students, patient, patient privacy, reed van deusen, social media, spring break, terry kind, unauthorized photo, united states, web

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Taking an unauthorized photo of a patient and posting it on Facebook is a giant no-no for health-care providers, who follow strict federal guidelines protecting patient privacy.

But what if the patient is a little girl in Ecuador receiving a vaccine from an American medical student, who’s in the country on a medical outreach trip? Although taking photos of patients in developing countries and posting them on the Web may not be illegal, it’s not ethical, say researchers from the University of Florida.

It’s long been a common practice for health care providers to snap photos while volunteering their time in developing countries, generally to bring back evidence of the conditions patients face there. But reporting in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, UF College of Medicine researchers say providers should treat patients’ privacy with the same reverence no matter where the care takes place. (more…)

Why Are Vines Overtaking the American Tropics?

By Guest PostFebruary 15, 2011Environment, ScienceAmazon, american tropics, barro colorado island, beauty kingdom, bolivian smazon, brazil, carbon, carbon storage, el nino events, english ivy, forest canopy, forests, french guiana, human communities, impact on animals, japanese honeysuckle, kudzu, liana vines, milwaukee, oliver phillips, oriental bittersweet, panama, planet, Smithsonian, south carolina, stefan schnitzer, subtropical forests, tropical forests, united states, vines

A Million-Dollar Question

Sleeping Beauty’s kingdom was overgrown by vines when she fell into a deep sleep. Researchers at the Smithsonian in Panama and the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee received more than a million dollars from the U.S. National Science Foundation to discover why real vines are overtaking the American tropics. Data from eight sites show that vines are overgrowing trees in all cases.

“We are witnessing a fundamental structural change in the physical make-up of forests that will have a profound impact on the animals, human communities and businesses that depend on them for their livelihoods,” said Stefan Schnitzer, research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. (more…)

Does Social Anxiety Disorder Respond to Psychotherapy? Brain Study Says Yes

By Guest PostFebruary 14, 2011Culture, Healthbrain, brain electrical interactions, capital punishment, delta beta coupling, diane santesso, disorder, eegs, electroencephalograms, emotion, hamilton, louis schmidt, martin antony, medication, nervous system, neurological effects, ontario, ontario mental health foundation, physiologic change, psychotherapy, randi mccabe, real-time, rene sommer, same-sex marriage, social anxiety, vladimir miskovic

When psychotherapy is helping someone get better, what does that change look like in the brain? This was the question a team of Canadian psychological scientists set out to investigate in patients suffering from social anxiety disorder. Their findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science.

Social anxiety is a common disorder, marked by overwhelming fears of interacting with others and expectations of being harshly judged. Medication and psychotherapy both help people with the disorder. But research on the neurological effects of psychotherapy has lagged far behind that on medication-induced changes in the brain. (more…)

Microsoft Shows New Features and Future Direction as Momentum Builds for Windows Phone 7

By Guest PostFebruary 14, 2011Technologyachim berg, andy lees, barcelona, bing, camera app, internet explorer 9, jp wollersheim, marathon, Microsoft, mobile world congress, network, nokia, nokia windows phones, spain, sprint, verizon, windows phone 7, xbox live, zune

*At the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain, Microsoft leaders announced upcoming new features for Windows Phone 7 and provided a glimpse into the new phone’s early feedback and growing momentum*

BARCELONA, Spain – Feb. 14, 2011 – Microsoft today kicked off Mobile World Congress by giving people a glimpse of what the rest of the year will bring for Windows Phone 7. Among the updates are several new features, a booming app marketplace, and the integration of even more Microsoft products with the phone.

A concrete example of the company’s vision is the new strategic partnership with Nokia. “This partnership will combine the strengths of our two companies, and fuel our growth as we build the global Windows Phone ecosystem. This is a great win for us, for Nokia, and for our existing and new customers around the world,” said Andy Lees, president of Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business. (more…)

Author Archives: Guest Post