Monthly Archives: March 2012

American Oriental Bioengineering Inc. Announces Delay in Filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2011

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NEWARK,N.J., March 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. (NYSE: AOB - News) (the "Company"), today announced that its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, which was due on March 15, 2012, will not be timely filed. During the performance of Ernst & Young Hua Ming's audit for the 2011 fiscal year they noted certain inconsistencies. As a result, management and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors have agreed that the Audit Committee would immediately commence an independent investigation into the matters identified. Although the length of the investigation is uncertain at this time, the Company will endeavor to file the Form 10-K as soon as possible upon the completion of the investigation.

About American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc.

American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving health through the development, manufacture and commercialization of a broad range of prescription and over the counter products.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements made in this press release are forward-looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. The economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors identified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward looking statements in this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contact:

Hong Zhu 646-367-1765

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American Oriental Bioengineering Inc. Announces Delay in Filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2011

'Grey's Anatomy' recap: Flirting with Trouble

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Image credit: Vivian Zink/ABC

SAYING GOODBYECristina and nurse Emily helped guest star James Avery make an important decision regarding his husband

First order of business: Your regular recapper extraordinaire, Tanner Stransky, is out. So you're stuck with me for the duration of this recap. But I implore you to not pull the plug (pun intended) just yet. In last night's "One Step Too Far" several of the doctors caught the flirting bug. There's always a steady amount of flirting and sexploits -- it is Seattle Grace, the land of the dreamy doctors, after all -- but some pushed the boundaries. And as Meredith pointed out in her voiceover, "our intentions are always pure, but we also have the drive to push boundaries. So we're in danger of taking things too far." So let's dive right in...

Picking up where she left off a few weeks ago, Cristina was growing ever suspicious of Owen. And as a viewer, I still couldn't decide where I thought this was going. I hoped that Owen wasn't cheating, but the end of the last new episode, it really seemed as though Cristina might be right. Matters were only made worse by the presence of hot nurse Emily (Summer Glau). Her public flirting with Owen only made Cristina's paranoia grow.Cristina remained tense the entire episode, until she couldn't hold in her suspicious any longer: "Can you stop screwing my husband?" she yelled at Emily. Only, it turns out Emily was just flirting to get through her day. She has a boyfriend, and was never involved with Hunt. Both Cristina and I let out a sigh of relief.

But instead of easing our fears, the Grey's writers decided to drop a huge bomb in the last few seconds of the episode. And instead of burying it on the last page of the recap, we're going to talk about it now: Owen did cheat on Cristina, just not with Emily. Cristina finally worked up the nerve to tell Owen how she'd been feeling, but he didn't want to have the argument with her. She confessed she'd accused Emily of some extracurricular activity, but was relieved to hear that he "loves [her] so much that it hurts." At first, I was moved by his seemingly romantic gesture. Then, he reworded it: "It hurts to love you."

Owen admitted his transgressions. Fade to black. And we're all left in the lurch until a new Grey's -- at least two weeks away -- wondering what's going to happen next. Obviously, the biggest question is whom did he cheat with? My gut reaction is Teddy. They have history. But she's been so mad at him following Henry's death, it doesn't seem as likely. So unless it's a newbie, I'm fresh out of guesses. Share you thoughts on the mystery mistress in the comments.

NEXT: James Avery guest stars, and Debbie Allen returns...

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'Grey's Anatomy' recap: Flirting with Trouble

Gov. Perry’s stem-cell firm draws FDA scrutiny

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received a complaint alleging the Houston company involved in Gov. Rick Perry's unregulated adult stem-cell operation is a potential danger to patients and not in compliance with federal law.

In an eight-page letter sent last month, University of Minnesota bioethicist Leigh Turner called on the FDA to investigate Celltex Therapeutics Corp., which banks people's stem cells for future reinjection in the event of disease or injury. Perry was the company's first customer last year.

"It appears their business plan involves injecting or infusing on a for-profit, commercial basis non-FDA-approved adult stem cells into paying customers," Turner wrote in the Feb. 21 letter. "This plan conflicts with FDA regulations governing human stem cells."

An FDA spokeswoman declined comment, but Turner said an agency official told him the matter has been assigned to an investigator and is being taken seriously.

Celltex co-founder David Eller said Tuesday night he is confident the company will "meet all FDA specifications." He emphasized that Celltex doesn't administer stem cells, but stores and processes them at the behest of doctors who later reinject them into patients.

Dr. Stanley Jones, a Houston orthopedic surgeon, injected Perry's stem cells during his back surgery in July.

The plan by Celltex and Perry to make Texas a leader in the therapy have been controversial since details about the governor's procedure became known last summer. The therapy, drawing on the ability of adult stem cells to replenish dying cells, is promising but thought by most medical researchers to need much more clinical study before it is commercialized.

Stem cells are a kind of medicine known as biologics, therapy involving living cells rather than chemicals. Most medical experts say that adult stem-cell therapy involves more than the "minimal manipulation" the agency allows without its oversight because the cells are isolated, cultured in a laboratory and stored for some period of time before being reinjected.

The FDA has recently stepped up enforcement of unregulated adult stem cell activity, though legal experts interviewed last fall by the Chronicle said it was unclear whether the agency would look into Perry's procedure because he seemed fully informed and unharmed by it.

The Texas Medical Board is currently considering a policy that would require providers of stem cells and other experimental drugs to use them only with the permission of independent review committees that assess trials for patient safety. The policy comes up for final approval in April.

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Gov. Perry's stem-cell firm draws FDA scrutiny

Poor dental hygiene puts congenital heart disease patients at risk of further heart damage

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Public release date: 16-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: ESC Press Office press@escardio.org 33-049-294-8627 European Society of Cardiology

Copenhagen, 16 March 2012: Poor dental hygiene behaviours in patients with congenital heart disease are increasing their risk of endocarditis. Teens with congenital heart disease floss, brush and visit the dentist less than their peers. But they have healthier behaviours when it comes to alcohol, cigarettes and illicit drugs. Adults with single ventricle physiology (a type of congenital heart disease) also have poorer dental hygiene practices than their peers despite having better health behaviours overall.

The findings were presented in two studies at the 12th Annual Spring Meeting on Cardiovascular Nursing, 16-17 March, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"Patients with congenital heart disease are diagnosed and receive their initial treatment in childhood but this does not mean that they are cured," says the supervisor of both studies, Professor Philip Moons, professor in nursing science at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and guest professor at Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark. "They remain vulnerable for developing complications for instance we know that in patients with congenital heart disease, binge drinking can trigger life-threatening arrhythmias and good dental hygiene helps prevent endocarditis."

For the first study (FPN 34) 1, lifestyle information was collected from 429 adolescents with congenital heart disease aged 14-19 years from the longitudinal study i-DETACH (Information technology Devices and Education programme for Transitioning Adolescents with Congenital Heart disease). Of these, 401 were matched with a control of the same age and gender without congenital heart disease. All participants completed a questionnaire, developed by the research group of Professor Moons, which measures the use of alcohol, cigarettes and illicit drugs, dental care and physical activity. These behaviours are particularly important to the health of patients with congenital heart disease.

Using results from the questionnaire, the researchers calculated risk scores for 'substance use' (binge drinking; smoking; illicit drug use) and 'dental hygiene' (no dental visits; not brushing; not flossing) ranging from 0. An 'overall health risk score' (range 0) was calculated using the substance use risk score, dental hygiene risk score, and the absence of physical activity. The 3 risk scores were transformed to a scale ranging from 0 (no risk) to 100 (maximum risk). Scores were compared across different age groups.

In adolescents with congenital heart disease, substance use increased with age (p<0.001). Compared with matched controls, adolescents with congenital heart disease had significantly lower substance use (p<0.001) and health risk (p<0.001) scores, and significantly higher dental hygiene risk scores (p=0.04).

The results reveal that health risk behaviours are prevalent in adolescents with congenital heart disease and they increase with age. They also show that in general, the health behaviour of adolescents with congenital heart disease is better than their peers except for dental hygiene.

Professor Moons says: "The fact that adolescents with congenital heart disease have better health behaviour overall than the general population is understandable given the amount of input they have had from healthcare professionals over their lives. But we need to do more to understand why their dental hygiene is not as good as expected."

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Poor dental hygiene puts congenital heart disease patients at risk of further heart damage

Biopsy Sample Barcoding System Enhances Patient Safety at Beaumont

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ROYAL OAK Beaumont Health Systems Anatomic Pathology laboratory has installed a touch screen workflow system to barcode, track and re-confirm the identity of every biopsy sample through every step in the laboratory process.

The VentanaVantage workflow system, by Ventana Medical Systems Inc. in Tucson, Ariz., helps to improve patient safety in the Anatomic Pathology lab so the right biopsy results are provided to the right patient as quickly as possible.

Beaumont is the first health system in Michigan with multiple hospitals connected together in a network on the Vantage platform. Beaumonts three hospitals collectively process 102,898 biopsy samples a year.

This new system allows us to have an integrated, unbroken chain of custody for biopsy samples, says Mark Kolins, Beaumont Health System chair, pathology and laboratory medicine. It eliminates data re-entry and reduces labeling errors because patient information is entered into a computer only once and electronically transferred with barcodescanners throughout the process. It also allows us to locate any specimen or slide on any workstation or instrument, to eliminate misplaced patient samples. As part of the implementation, Beaumont Anatomic Pathology staff worked with Ventana to review and simplify workflow processes for faster turnaround times and greater efficiency.

The system also provides a lab performance dashboard to help lab leaders identify opportunities for improvement in quality, safety and efficiency.

Previously, samples were manually labeled multiple times throughout the laboratory process, with a higher chance of an error.

In the Anatomic Pathology laboratory, patient biopsy samples removed through surgery are transformed into a section of tissue on a glass slide. Through a series of steps, the tissue is transferred to different media. A physician specializing in anatomic pathology examines the tissue using a microscope to determine at a cellular level if cancer or another disease is present.

In addition to the Anatomic Pathology lab, Beaumont uses barcodingas a patient safety measure for blood specimens in its clinical laboratories. Barcodelabels are produced at the point of collection for the 5 million inpatient blood tests processed annually in Beaumonts clinical labs. Beaumonts outpatient blood draw sites also use barcoding.

Beaumont is in the process of implementing a barcoding system for inpatient medication administration.

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Biopsy Sample Barcoding System Enhances Patient Safety at Beaumont

How to cope with the ‘threat' of longevity

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You can't predict how long you'll live. Nonetheless, you still need to consider longevity as a key factor in creating and following a long-term investment strategy.

Your projected lifespan may be longer than you thought. Men who turned 65 in 2010 can expect to live another 18.6 years, while women who reached 65 then can anticipate another 20.7 years, according to the 2011 Social Security Trustees Report.

These figures are averages. Depending on your health and family history of longevity, you could well spend two or three decades in retirement.

Possibly because people are now realizing they may have to support themselves far longer than earlier generations did, they seem to be growing increasingly worried about running out of money in their later years.

A poll of people 44-75 years old, sponsored by Allianz Life Insurance, showed 61 percent said they fear depleting their assets more than they fear dying.

If you're worried about outliving your resources or if you think you may become one of those people what steps should you take now and during your retirement?

Here are a few ideas:

Keep investing. Put away as much money as you can afford for your retirement. Take advantage of tax-deferred accounts such as your 401(k) and traditional IRA, or tax-free accounts, such as a Roth IRA. Roth IRA earnings are tax-free if you've had your account at least five years and you don't start taking withdrawals until you're at least 59. Keep investing, year in, year out, despite inevitable market volatility you'll encounter along the way.

Reassess your retirement age. If you enjoy your work, you might consider staying at your job a few years later than first intended. Those extra years of income, not to mention extra contributions to your 401(k) and potentially bigger Social Security payouts, can make a big difference to your retirement lifestyle.

Delay taking Social Security. As laws stand, you can start taking Social Security as young as 62, but your monthly checks will be bigger when you reach your "full" retirement age. You'll get your biggest monthly Social Security checks if you wait until age 70, when they "max out," but many people feel waiting that long may not be worth it when weighing lost years of any payments against the unknown variable of life expectancy.

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How to cope with the ‘threat' of longevity

DNA links 3 rapes near Penn State campus to 1 man

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AP

DNA evidence has linked three rapes in State College to the same man, police said.

The crimes occurred between August 2010 and April 2011 near the Penn State campus.

In each case, police said a college-age woman walking alone on a street in the Highlands neighborhood was raped by a man she didn't know.

DNA evidence from each rape was sent to a state police lab for testing and police recently learned that all are from the same man, said Chief Tom King, State College Police Dept.

It's possible, King said, the man has left the area, but his DNA is now in a database.

Police think there could be additional victims and they hope they will come forward.

Copyright 2012 WFMZ. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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DNA links 3 rapes near Penn State campus to 1 man

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DNA analysis of blood leads to conviction in Tumwater crime

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JEREMY PAWLOSKI | Staff writer Published March 15, 2012 Modified March 15, 2012

DNA analysis of fresh blood left at a Tumwater restaurant after it was burglarized last year led to a mans conviction and sentencing Thursday for second-degree burglary.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Gary Tabor sentenced Damon Leroy Stevens to six and a half years in prison for the charge, a felony.

Stevens already is serving a prison sentence of five years and eight months on separate convictions that include an attempted burglary out of King County. The new sentence will run concurrent to Stevens sentence, meaning he will end up serving only an additional 10 months in prison.

Tabor pointed out during Stevens sentencing that Stevens has 12 prior felony convictions as an adult, including convictions for four other burglaries. Two of Stevens convictions involved a burglary of the Rusty Tractor Restaurant in Elma, and of Characters Corner, a bar in the Steamboat Island area, in 2010.

Stevens attorney, Alex Frix, said in court that most of Stevens burglary convictions occurred within a relatively short period as part of a spree attributed to Stevens former drug habit.

Tumwater Police Detective Jen Kolb asked the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab to analyze blood left at the Plaza Jalisco restaurant on Capitol Boulevard after a burglary there Feb. 7, 2011, court papers state. She said the blood was apparently left there after a suspect suffered a cut after breaking a plate-glass window to enter the restaurant after hours.

Kolb said she suspected that Stevens might be responsible because the methods were similar to those used in the robbery of the Rusty Tractor in Elma, which Stevens had been arrested on suspicion of committing.

The blood was compared to Stevens DNA profile, on record with the state Department of Corrections because of Stevens past convictions, court papers state. Analysis revealed a match.

(T)he estimated probability of selecting an unrelated individual at random from the U.S. population with a matching profile was 1 in 9.1 trillion, court papers state.

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DNA analysis of blood leads to conviction in Tumwater crime

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DNA key to burglary charges

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A bail hearing has offered a glimpse into how police gather DNA evidence used to link suspects to specific crimes.

In this case, DNA was used to allegedly connect a single suspect to two dated burglaries.

The Crowns case, Id suggest, is strong given the DNA evidence, Crown attorney Garry Rainnie said in Brandon court recently as he described the investigations.

Rainnies courtroom account offers a little insight into how city police use DNA to solve crimes. Police generally decline to describe investigation techniques.

On Oct. 21, 2007, around 4:30 a.m., someone broke into a home on Buttercup Bay as the resident and a number of party guests slept.

As the burglar dismantled a light fixture outside the kitchen window, he cut himself and left blood on the light, window frame and backsplash in the kitchen.

From inside the home, the intruder swiped a number of items that included some cash, cigarettes and a jacket that had the keys to a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am in the pocket.

The burglar then entered the parked car and took some more cash, although he left a small amount of blood behind.

Police took blood samples from the light fixture glass, the window frame and the backsplash.

Those were sent to an RCMP lab and the resulting DNA profiles were stored in the national DNA databank.

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DNA socking it to crime

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INCREASING DNA matches, including one from an sock, are helping police arrest more suspects.

The number of profiles held on the South Australian DNA database was almost 90,000 as of November 30 , up from 71,692 at June 30, 2010.

During 2010-11, DNA samples successfully contributed to 777 police investigations, up from 679 in 2009-10.

Police use a mouth swab to collect DNA samples from any person suspected of committing a serious offence - in accordance with the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Act - which can then be matched against DNA retrieved from crime scenes.

In the latest DNA match to assist an investigation, police arrested a man on Thursday in relation to a break-in and theft at a Melrose Park home in September He allegedly left a sock at the scene.

DNA found on the sock matched that of an 18-year-old man who was arrested and charged with aggravated serious criminal trespass and theft. It will be alleged the suspect broke into the house about 10.40pm on September 21 last year. He fled, leaving the sock behind, after the occupant of the house confronted him in the kitchen.

The man was remanded in custody to appear in the Holden Hill Magistrates Court in May.

A DNA match also led to the arrest of a man on Thursday in relation to a rape that occurred in Berri almost 25 years ago. Riverland Crime Investigation Branch detectives arrested the Berri man, 58, and charged him with one count of breaking into a premises and one count of rape, alleged to have occurred in 1988.

The arrest was the result of a re-examination of the cold case and forensic evidence, including DNA, police said.

SA Police DNA Management Unit officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Phil Hanley said a growing database of DNA profiles and improving technology was assisting the fight on crime.

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DNA socking it to crime

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Bizarre Science: Sexually Frustrated Flies Are Driven to Drink

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When she says no, the bottle beckons more brightly for men and for fruit flies, according to a new study that found that male flies that had been repeatedly spurned by females were more likely to turn to alcohol to self-medicate their frustration.

As a topic of study, drunk fruit flies may seem trifling, but what the findings reveal about the neurochemistry that drives behaviors like sex and eating may point the way to new drugs to fight both addiction and obesity.

Researchers performed several clever experiments to determine the relationship between sexual frustration and drinking in male flies. Some lucky males were allowed four days of mating for six-hour sessions at a time (each bout of fruit fly copulation takes 20 minutes) with an abundance of sexually receptive females the female-to-male ratio was a satisfying 5-to-1. The male flies were housed either together or alone.

The unlucky experimental group was introduced to females that had already mated and had no desire to mate again. The females ran away, kicked and stuck out their egg-laying organ to fend males off. The male flies underwent this exercise in sexual frustration and rejection three times a day, for an hour at a time, over four days. Again, some of the males were kept in containers with other male flies, while others were isolated.

A third group of males was exposed to the sad sight of decapitated virgin females a situation that resulted in sexual frustration, but no active rejection.

MORE: Do Monkeys Pay for Sex?

After these experiences, the flies were given a choice of ordinary food (yeast and sugar) or food that had been spiked with the kick of 30-proof spirits (yeast, sugar and 15% alcohol). Not surprisingly, the sexually rejected flies boozed much more than the mated group with those males that had been spurned and alone hitting the sauce the hardest. The flies that had been sexually frustrated but not rejected also drank more than those that had been allowed to mate. However, when flies that had first been rejected were later given a chance to mate, their extra preference for alcohol disappeared.

So what was going on in the flies brains? Researchers found that a neurotransmitter called neuropeptide F, or NPF, which seems to be linked with fruit flies reward system, was strongly predictive of whether the flies drank. NPF was low in sexually frustrated flies lower in flies that had been isolated than in those that had company in their misery which appeared to drive them to drink.

Both mating and drinking alcohol increased NPF levels. Moreover, when NPF levels were artificially reduced in mated flies, they continued to show an extra preference for alcohol just as if they hadnt mated. These data suggest that activity of the NPF system is regulated by at least two rewarding experiences, mating and [alcohol] intoxication, the authors write.

The researchers also found that activating the NPF system was itself pleasurable to the flies, suggesting that it may create the feeling of satisfaction associated with drinking and sex.

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Stoughton police chief set to return after FBI training

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The towns police chief is headed home after an extended training session with the FBI.

Police Chief Paul Shastany wrapped up 21/2 months at the invitation-only FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va. He will be back on the job Monday.

Classes at the academy include law, behavioral science, forensic science, understanding terrorism/terrorist mind sets, leadership development, communication and health/fitness. The academy has existed since 1935.

Executive Officer Robert Devine, who has been serving as acting chief in Shastanys absence, called it a momentous day in an email.

This is a huge occasion for all of us, and we couldnt be prouder of him, Devine wrote.

Shastany has been writing periodic updates on the training, posted on the departments Facebook page.

I cannot tell you how great this experience has been. I have many new friends, he wrote in his most recent post. We have come together as a team and will leave as individuals.

Shastany said he was inspired by the fellow law enforcement professionals he met during the training, including a New Jersey state police captain and a colonel in the Egyptian police force.

This experience was not so much about academics but rather about the character and commitment of the people, he wrote. The world is a better place because of the type of people that come here and serve their communities.

Justin Graeber may be reached at jgraeber@enterprisenews.com or follow him on Twitter @justingraeber.

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Stoughton police chief set to return after FBI training

'Grey's Anatomy' Recap: Cristina Learns the Truth About Owen

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S8E17: I've said it before and I'll say it again: the problem with Grey's Anatomy is that it's overly repetitive. The same characters go through the same type of problems in the same type of storylines week after week after week. And while it can sometimes be good to go with what works, the show has drastically lost that unique edge it once had and segued into a realm of predictability.

And while the characters are each suffering through their own sets of personal baggage, nothing is ever really accomplished. Whatever was a problem last week, is a problem this week and the week after that. Whether Derek's arguing with Meredith or Cristina's marriage is crumbling, nothing ever significantly changes enough to help drive the plot forward. What happened to the quirky catch phrases, forbidden love scandals, and impressive wow-factors we all grew to love? If Grey's doesn't up the surprise element soon, the foundation of this once solid show could potentially crumble, leaving nothing but a massive pile of "boring" in its wake.

"We can create problems where none exist." - Meredith Derek, who is clearly suffering from a case of amnesia, suggests that Meredith go back to working with him in neurology. If you recall, Meredith was removed from Derek's service earlier in the season after she was caught tampering with his Alzheimer's clinical trial. But sure, giving it another try sounds like a great idea.

Meredith agrees to assist in Derek's next surgery, which involves removing a cyst from a patient's brain. However, in the middle of the procedure, Derek is called away, leaving Lexie and Meredith to perform the procedure themselves. Everything's fine until Lexie spots a small tumor in the patients brain. And while they know they should get Derek's approval before removing it, Meredith instructs Lexie to take it out anyway, to save the patient from needing an extra surgery in the future. Of course, Derek is furious when he finds out since it was done without his or the patient's consent, however, Meredith assures him there was no harm done and everything's going to be fine. But it turns out she couldn't be more wrong. When the patient wakes up, she's unable to speak. Lexie accidentally damaged something in the brain while removing the tumor and the damage is irreversible. And while this unfortunate tragedy doesn't unhinge Mer-Der's relationship, it does make Derek realize (once again) that working with Meredith isn't a good idea. So we're right back to where we started with these two.

"Should Karev really be hooking up with the intern mom?" - Callie Callie is convinced there's definitely something going on between Alex Karev and intern Morgan, whose preemie baby is still struggling to stay alive. And while Alex remains in complete denial about it, there's definitely an interest there, at least on Morgan's part. And it doesn't seem like Alex is all that opposed to the idea, despite his constant protests. We all know he can't help but fall for a woman in need. Let's just hope this time things won't end in such heartache.

Meanwhile, Avery develops a new potential love interest as well. With his mother, Catherine Avery, back for a visit, Avery gets introduced to her assistant, who insists on spending the entire day by his side. And though Avery initially shows no interest in showing her around, the two of them eventually hit it off and hook up for a steamy rendezvous in the on call room (finally, that room gets some attention again). Perhaps this will help him in his attempt to get over his feelings for Lexie.

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'Grey's Anatomy' Recap: Cristina Learns the Truth About Owen

'Grey's Anatomy' recap: Flirting with Trouble

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Image credit: Vivian Zink/ABC

SAYING GOODBYECristina and nurse Emily helped guest star James Avery make an important decision regarding his husband

First order of business: Your regular recapper extraordinaire, Tanner Stranksy, is out. So you're stuck with me for the duration of this recap. But I implore you to not pull the plug (pun intended) just yet. In last night's "One Step Too Far" several of the doctors caught the flirting bug. There's always a steady amount of flirting and sexploits -- it is Seattle Grace, the land of the dreamy doctors, after all -- but some pushed the boundaries. And as Meredith pointed out in her voiceover, "our intentions are always pure, but we also have the drive to push boundaries. So we're in danger of taking things too far." So let's dive right in...

Picking up where she left off a few weeks ago, Cristina was growing ever suspicious of Owen. And as a viewer, I still couldn't decide where I thought this was going. I hoped that Owen wasn't cheating, but the end of the last new episode, it really seemed as thought Cristina might be right. Matters were only made worse by the presence of hot nurse Emily (Summer Glau). Her public flirting with Owen only made Cristina's paranoia grow.Cristina remained tense the entire episode, until she couldn't hold in her suspicious any longer: "Can you stop screwing my husband?" she yelled at Emily. Only, it turns out Emily was just flirting to get through her day. She has a boyfriend, and was never involved with Hunt. Both Cristina and I let out a sigh of relief.

But instead of easing our fears, the Grey's writers decided to drop a huge bomb in the last few seconds of the episode. And instead of burying it on the last page of the recap, we're going to talk about it now: Owen did cheat on Cristina, just not with Emily. Cristina finally worked up the nerve to tell Owen how she'd been feeling, but he didn't want to have the argument with her. She confessed she'd accused Emily of some extracurricular activity, but was relieved to hear that he "loves [her] so much that it hurts." At first, I was moved by his seemingly romantic gesture. Then, he reworded it: "It hurts to love you."

Owen admitted his transgressions. Fade to black. And we're all left in the lurch until a new Grey's -- at least two weeks away -- wondering what's going to happen next. Obviously, the biggest question is whom did he cheat with? My gut reaction is Teddy. They have history. But she's been so mad at him following Henry's death, it doesn't seem as likely. So unless it's a newbie, I'm fresh out of guesses. Share you thoughts on the mystery mistress in the comments.

NEXT: James Avery guest stars, and Debbie Allen returns...

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'Grey's Anatomy' recap: Flirting with Trouble

Experimental Pill May Ease Multiple Sclerosis Disability

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By Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, March 14 (HealthDay News) -- Yet another orally taken medication shows some promise in preventing relapse and disability for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, a new report suggests.

In the new study, laquinimod reduced the annual relapse rate by 23 percent, and disability progression by 36 percent.

"We found that laquinimod, as compared with placebo, reduced the rate of relapse and slowed the progression of disability in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis," the European researchers, led by Dr. Giancarlo Comi of the Institute of Experimental Neurology in Milan, wrote.

The study, which was funded by the drug's manufacturer, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, was published in the March 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease that damages the outside of nerve fibers in the central nervous system, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The brain, spine and optic nerves make up the central nervous system. Symptoms of the disease can include fatigue, numbness in the limbs, balance and coordination problems, bladder or bowel dysfunction, vision problems, pain and even paralysis, according to the society.

Most patients -- about 85 percent -- have a form of MS that's called relapsing-remitting, the society has reported. That means that people have periods where the disease is very active, and at other times the disease remits. During these periods of remission, there may be complete or partial recovery of function, and the disease doesn't progress during remission, according to the society.

All of the more than 1,100 people included in the current study had relapsing-remitting MS; the volunteers came from 139 sites in 24 countries. They were randomly assigned to receive a laquinimod pill or an inactive placebo once daily for 24 months.

The annual relapse rate for those on the active drug was 0.30 compared to 0.39 for those on a placebo, a reduction in relapse of 23 percent for those on the medication. During the study, 63 percent of those on the drug remained relapse-free compared to 52 percent of those on placebo.

Just over 11 percent of those taking laquinimod had confirmed disability progression compared to 15.7 percent of those on placebo, the researchers found.

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Experimental Pill May Ease Multiple Sclerosis Disability

Eye Disease As Marker Of Brain Health

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Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience Also Included In: Eye Health / Blindness;Alzheimer's / Dementia Article Date: 15 Mar 2012 - 13:00 PDT

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For the study, lead author Dr Mary Haan, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and colleagues, used data from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study and the Site Examination study, two sub-investigations of the Women's Health Initiative Clinical Trial of Hormone Therapy.

The findings, which they report in the 14 March online issue of Neurology, suggest that a simple eye test could look for early signs of retinopathy, and serve as a marker for cognitive changes linked to vascular disease. This would allow for earlier diagnosis and treatments that potentially reduce the progression of cognitive impairment to dementia.

Retinopathy usually results from Type II diabetes or high blood pressure (hypertension). So an early diagnosis of this eye disease could indicate early stages of these two conditions, allowing for timely changes in lifestyle or drug interventions, when they might have the most impact.

Haan told the press:

"Lots of people who are pre-diabetic or pre-hypertensive develop retinopathy."

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Eye Disease As Marker Of Brain Health

Fatty Foods May Damage Semen: Study

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Everyone knows saturated fat is bad in high amounts -- it might even kill you.

Anewstudy suggeststhat fat may also damage semen quality among men.

A preliminary study published online in the medical journal Human Reproduction, suggests that men who intake higher amounts of omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, like the ones found in fish and plant oils, have better-formed sperm than those who don't.

A research team, led by Dr. Jill Attaman conducted the study, a small trialinvolving99 men in the U.S. over the course of four years.

Attamanwas a clinical and research fellow in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor in obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School during the study.

The men were asked about their diets andthen separated into three groups according to the amount of fat they consumed.

Those in the highest-fat-consumption had a 43 percent lower total sperm count and 38 percent lower concentration of sperm than the men in the group who ate the least amount of fat.

Attaman suggests that the benefits of lowering the amount of fat in a man's diet extend beyond heart health.

A lower-fat diet "may not only improve their general health, but could improve their reproductive health too," she said in a statement.

One fertility specialist cautioned against relying on the findings of a study that relies on the past history of participants to diagnose their current condition.

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Fatty Foods May Damage Semen: Study

Dismantle our apartheid education

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While the world continue to talk about the teaching of tolerance, global education, preparing students to become world-wise citizens, the cultivating of cosmopolitanism in human consciousness, the Malaysian public education system is still taking pride in its system of apartheid and the sustaining of educational ideology, practice, and reproduction of separateness and unequalness.

In an attempt to engineer what seems to be a successful system of failure in a hyper-modernising state that prides itself in the slogan of human capital and education for all, Malaysians seem to live with these oxymorons. In the words of George Orwell in his prophetic novel of a dystopic society of Oceania in the classic work called 1984, this means doublespeak, in which contradictions abound in the inner-workings of the conveyor belt called education.

While the world continue to talk about the teaching of tolerance, global education, preparing students to become world-wise citizens, the cultivating of cosmopolitanism in human consciousness, the Malaysian public education system is still taking pride in its system of apartheid and the sustaining of educational ideology, practice, and reproduction of separateness and unequalness.

Either ignored or plainly blindsided by her educational policymakers, multiculturalism and the infusion of the practices of multicultural education is absent, even though it is clear that politics and education cannot be taken as separate disciplines in order to understand the nature and future of national development.

Malaysias survival as a nation depends primarily on the re-crafting of an education system philosophically, systemically, and pedagogically sound enough to bridge the gaps between the socio-economic and cultural deficiencies brought about by the legacy of Mahathirism; one based on the use of race ideology to sustain control and to design hegemony of the Malay-Muslim race.

Education as the only means for personal, social, cultural, and even spiritual and ecumenical progress can only be achieved if one goes back to the its philosophical foundations and re-look at the conception of human nature itself.

In Malaysia, a legacy of British colonial policy and its tool of social reproduction, i.e. schooling, has paved the way for Malaysias neo-colonialist strategy of a hidden system of apartheid, to ensure that the races are still separated in an unequal way.

Issues and institutions in such a scenario reflect the ideology of dominance - of one race over others or the rest - blinding educationalists and policy-makers to see beyond race and religion in making sure that the gentle profession and humanistic enterprise called education is driven fundamentally by the almost ideologically-bankrupt United Malays National Organisations (Umnos) idea of education and nation-building.

Pre-schools, primary schools, secondary schools and even universities take the nature of racial educational exclusivity.

Shining examples of this apartheid-isation of education are any all-racial schools, Mara Junior Science Colleges, and the Universiti Teknologi Mara system - all these in addition to the already apartheid-ised Malaysian Civil Service, albeit de facto in nature, whose existence is shackled by the ideology of an endangered ruling class of Malay-dominated politicians, in all its ignorance of the meaning of education, claimed superior knowledge to what that enterprise solely means.

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Dismantle our apartheid education