Genetic test reveals risk of atrial fibrillation and stroke

Posted on by

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

3-Oct-2014

Contact: Olle Melander Olle.Melander@med.lu.se 46-704-546-820 Lund University @lunduniversity

Many of those who are genetically predisposed to develop atrial fibrillation, which dramatically raises the risk of stroke, can be identified with a blood test. This is shown by new research from Lund University in Sweden.

The number of people affected by atrial fibrillation is rising rapidly, partly as a result of the ageing population.

Over recent years, a research group at Lund University in Sweden, working with other universities and hospitals in Europe and the USA, has identified twelve genetic variants in the human genome that increase the risk of atrial fibrillation. The research group has now studied the possible clinical benefits of a DNA test:

"One in five people have a genetic weakness that means they have twice as high a risk of developing atrial fibrillation as those with a low genetic risk. This genetic risk is therefore one of the strongest risk factors for atrial fibrillation that we know of in people without overt cardiac disease. It increases the risk as much as high blood pressure, for example", said Olle Melander, Professor of Internal Medicine, and Gustav Smith, Associate Professor in Cardiology, both from Lund University.

Since the symptoms of atrial flutter can be weak and unclear, they are sometimes difficult to pick up. However, even those with weak or absent symptoms of atrial flutter are at significantly higher risk of stroke.

"In patients who are suspected of having temporary but recurrent episodes of atrial fibrillation, or in people with high blood pressure, it can be important for doctors to look at their genetic predisposition using a blood test. The test can give guidance as to how often and how intensively doctors need to screen for presence of atrial fibrillation in these individuals. We also consider that more widespread treatment of high blood pressure may be justified in those with a high genetic risk of atrial fibrillation", explained Professor Melander.

Patients already diagnosed with atrial fibrillation were also studied, and the researchers observed that if they had the risk genes, their risk of stroke was increased by a further 7080 per cent.

See more here:

Genetic test reveals risk of atrial fibrillation and stroke

Medical Futurist to Forecast the New Era of Healthcare at ASCP Annual Meeting in Tampa

Posted on by

(PRWEB) October 03, 2014

The array of technology innovations confronting the medical profession today is vast and disruptive. From home-based diagnostic testing to personal health records and integrating test results obtained outside the healthcare system into a patients healthcare recordpathologists and lab professionals need to be prepared to practice in a new era.

Medical futurist Bertalan Mesk, MD, PhD, will address this issue at a dynamic general session titled, A Guide to the Future of MedicineBringing Disruptive Technologies to Life in Health Care, at ASCP 2014 Tampa, Oct. 810.

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Mesk is hosting a general session at this years annual meeting, commented Dr. E. Blair Holladay, CEO/Executive Vice President of ASCP. His session will be an invigorating discussion on ways that new technology, such as genomics and next-generation sequencing, are providing pathologists and medical laboratory professionals with valuable tools to improve patient care.

We need to think outside the box when it comes to the practice of pathology in the future, says Dr. Mesk. Its important to know that we can use disruptive technologies such as genomics and still retain the human touch. It can be a huge yet exciting and challenging journey.

At the Annual Meeting, Dr. Mesk will address hot topics such as the role of genomics in improving patient care, the value of next-generation sequencing and the need to curate genomic data. Hell also explore the impact of these innovations on the consumers involvement in their own healthcare management.

Dr. Mesk has spent three years examining practical concepts that medical professionals can understand immediately and use in their practice. These are outlined in his newly released book, The Guide to the Future of Medicine. For his research, he interviewed 100 medical experts to predict the top 30 trends that will influence medicine in the years to come.

Described by Forbes Magazine as The Geek Whos Changing the World, Dr. Mesk is the managing director and founder of Webicina.com, the first service to curate medical and health-related social media resources free of charge for patients and medical professionals.

ASCP 2014 Tampa is being held Oct. 8-10 at the Tampa Convention Center, 333 S. Franklin Street, Tampa, Florida. The ASCP Annual Meeting is the largest educational meeting for pathologists and laboratory professionals. For more information about the meeting, visit http://www.ascp.org/2014-Annual-Meeting/index.html.

###

See original here:

Medical Futurist to Forecast the New Era of Healthcare at ASCP Annual Meeting in Tampa

Track Of The Day 3/10 – Bobby Tank

Posted on by

With his fluorescent, physically dominating sound, Bobby Tank is a difficult presence to ignore.

The rising producer has a similar approach to Hudson Mohawke, say, or Rustie in that all three seem to imbue the muscular mechanics of their music with an overriding sense of colour.

New single 'Semi Precious' ft. Cass Lowe drops on October 27th, and it's the perfect entry point into the artist's world. A collaboration with Cass Lowe, the luminous synths are matched to neon atmospherics before making way for a gorgeous, pop-tinged vocal.

The kicks and snares tumble in an echo to Bobby Tank's pop routes, with the vivid production matching 80s machine funk to a lurid glimpse of futurism.

Check it out now.

Buy Clash Magazine Get Clash on your mobile, for free:iPhone/Android

Read more from the original source:

Track Of The Day 3/10 - Bobby Tank

The Moneymakers For Social Games Aren't The Big Spenders

Posted on by

If you pay attention to online gaming, especially in the free to play space, where a game download is free, but extras of all sorts cost money, youll see stories about people spending ridiculous amounts of money in a game far more than a typical $60 disc. For example, theres a report today about a Belgian teenager who spent nearly $50,000 in a single game.

If youre a creator of a free to play game, stories like that might warm your heart. You probably dont want players this extreme its kinda bad publicity but you want to find the kind of players who are willing to spend far more than the price of a typical video game, right?

Wrong.

As it turns out, when you analyze the data for social gaming, the biggest sources of revenue arent the biggest spenders, but rather the most social players even players who dont themselves spend any money at all. Thats been one of the key findings of Ninja Metrics, an analytics firm that explores the data about how players interact with each other in the social gaming space. That interaction, it turns out, is key to predicting how a game will do and what players companies should focus on.

Some influencers spend no money but generate hundreds of thousands of dollars, Ninja Metrics CEO Dmitri Williams told me. That also applies to game time, as well.

The more a game incentivizes players to play together, the stronger this effect is, he continued. For example, the company has used its analytics engine to observe interaction in the game Imperia Online. For that game, the company determined that about 75% of play time is driven by social interaction. That is, Imperia players want to play with their friends far more than they want to play alone.

Using this data, the company can help game developers focus on those social players, rather than the whales, in order to gain new users and retain those influencers.

We can now find out where the influencers came from to find the game and so acquire more users, Williams told me. This helps a game retain the right people and gets them to spend more money when it has them.

This data can also be used to predict churn the likelihood that a player will grow tired of the game and stop playing. So, for example, if theres a player who brings in a lot of revenue through his friends coming in to play the game, you can target that person for different kinds of promotions and see what keeps her playing. But more importantly, a company can test to see what kind of promotion keeps both her and her friends playing the game.

Businesses want to think I have a relationship with my customer, said Williams. But they often forget about the relationships their customers have with each other. But until now, its been hard to see those relationships. That means that promotions and marketing can be less about squeezing particular targets and more about what ensures people have a fun time playing.

View original post here:

The Moneymakers For Social Games Aren't The Big Spenders

Star Spangled History #3: "Freedom Triumphant" (1793) with Noah Horn, solo – Video

Posted on by


Star Spangled History #3: "Freedom Triumphant" (1793) with Noah Horn, solo
From the recital "Poets Patriots: The 200th Birthday of #39;The Star-Spangled Banner #39;" on Sunday, September 14, 2014 at the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library. Jerry Blackstone, director, Mark...

By: starspangledmusic

Go here to read the rest:

Star Spangled History #3: "Freedom Triumphant" (1793) with Noah Horn, solo - Video

Break the Cage Now HOA – The Keys to Personal Freedom – "Creating Action Plans" – Video

Posted on by


Break the Cage Now HOA - The Keys to Personal Freedom - "Creating Action Plans"
What: HOA - Break the Cage NOW! The Keys to Personal Freedom Topic: Creating Action Plans When: Saturday #39;s - 9am Pacific / 12:00 pm Eastern The Break the Cage (BTC) hangout series on Saturday #39;s...

By: Kellan Fluckiger

Read the original here:

Break the Cage Now HOA - The Keys to Personal Freedom - "Creating Action Plans" - Video

Palestinian academic freedom questioned after expulsion of Israeli journalist

Posted on by

FILE - In this April 1, 1996 file photo, Palestinian protesters march from the Bir Zeit University in the West Bank. The expulsion of an Israeli journalist on Sept. 23, 2014, from an academic conference hosted by a top Palestinian university has unleashed a fierce debate about academic freedom in the West Bank and is shining a spotlight on the apparent radicalization of some young Palestinians who are disillusioned by years of failed peace efforts and have grown up with little contact with Israelis. (AP Photo/Sanad Sahlieh, File)(The Associated Press)

RAMALLAH, West Bank The expulsion of an Israeli journalist from an academic conference hosted by a top Palestinian university has unleashed a fierce debate about academic freedom in the West Bank.

It is also shining a spotlight on the apparent radicalization of some young Palestinians who are disillusioned by years of failed peace efforts and have grown up with little contact with Israelis.

While Bir Zeit University has apologized to journalist Amira Hass, some student activists say they support her expulsion and want the school to rescind its apology. In Israel, officials say such attitudes violate the spirit of academic freedom.

Hass, who writes for the liberal Israeli daily Haaretz, is a popular figure in Ramallah, one of a few dovish Israeli Jews who live in the Palestinian city. In Israel, she is well known and reviled by some for her scathing criticism of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.

But when she attended a conference at Bir Zeit on Sept. 23, she ran into trouble when she listed Haaretz as her professional affiliation.

She said two professors asked her to leave. "They said, 'There is a law in the university that Israelis cannot enter the university,'" she said. One even told her that she should leave for her own safety. Hass, who said she has been to the university dozens of times previously, decided to leave.

"I was at that moment reminded of the image that Israelis commonly have of Palestinians: irrational hotheads," she wrote in Haaretz.

In an interview, Hass said she has received messages of support from many Palestinians. Hundreds signed a petition saying they were shocked by the expulsion, calling her a courageous defender of Palestinian human rights.

Ghassan Zaqatan, a prominent columnist, called the treatment of Hass "shameful."

Original post:

Palestinian academic freedom questioned after expulsion of Israeli journalist

Comment on Doc Mahathir: Whats Up? by C.L. Familiaris

Posted on by

October 3, 2014

by Simon Neoh@www.malaysia-chronicle.com (10-01-14)

It did not surprise me when former Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad labelled his nemesis, Anwar Ibrahim as a divisive man, when he blamed Anwar for prolonging the entire Selangor Menteri Besar crisis.

Coming from Mahathir, one has to only take it with a pinch of salt, especially when the accuser himself is equally as guilty. While the ordinary man on the street can tell who, between Dr Mahathir and Anwar, who fits the description better, and how Khalid Ibrahim, with the help of his UMNO and PAS state assemblymen, had dragged the Selangor crisis for as long as he could, Dr Mahathirs mudslinging backfires.

As pointed out to me by a self-development coach, this description fits the octogenarian very well: The very things that we see in others which we hate reflect what we truly are and the things that we also hate in ourselves.

Looking back at Dr Mahathirs history as an activist in the early 60s and subsequently when he wrote the book The Malay Dilemma, Dr Mahathir was probably the most divisive person this nation has seen. When he was thrown out of UMNO for his widely-circulated poison pen letter against the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Petra Al-Haj, the Bapa Malaysia had predicted that, if Dr Mahathir is allowed to re-join UMNO, he would destroy the party. He was, and he still is, the reason why UMNO is weak and the urban Malays have become totally disillusioned with the Barisan Nasional government after 57 years of Independence.

The game plan is always to blame others, other himself, as author of the book, The Malays, Their Problems and Future, Dr. Syed Husin Ali wrote: Many UMNO leaders and the Malays blamed the Tunku for the (May 13) incident; they accused him of being too liberal towards the Chinese and as a result the influence of UMNO began to decline, and it lost out to the PAS.

It happened in 1969, and now, Dr Mahathir is trying to use the same strategy to pit one race against another. For example, in Selangor, PAS has won a number of traditional UMNO seats (in fact, more the other two Pakatan component parties), the DAP still gets the blame. This is Dr Mahathirs strategy which he hopes Malays will once again fall prey to.

Note what Syed Husin wrote: Dr Mahathir and many Malays believed that it was due to the Tunkus indecisiveness and liberalism that the Chinese became more outspoken in their demands. Change the word Tunku with Najib, and you will understand what the Mahathir camp is hoping to achieve, but Dr Mahathir has forgotten that he no longer is in power.

Using His Kuncho

Read more:

Comment on Doc Mahathir: Whats Up? by C.L. Familiaris

Did you hear the one about the historian and his comedy revue?

Posted on by

TWO JEWS go on a website . . .

That's not a setup for a joke, it's the backstory for "Old Jews Telling Jokes," which on Wednesday tummels its way into the Penn's Landing Playhouse for a seven-week run.

"Old Jews" is the off-Broadway smash inspired by the similarly titled, six-year-old website that, as its name (oldjewstellingjokes.com) suggests, is all about humor, much of it with a Yiddishkeit slant.

One of the funniest things about the revue is that it was co-created by a man famous for his knowledge and delineation of serious and important topics.

Many know Daniel Okrent as a talking head in a variety of PBS documentaries, including Ken Burns' "Prohibition," which was primarily inspired by Okrent's 2010 tome, "Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition." Others might recall his days as the New York Times' first public editor (Times-speak for "ombudsman").

So, it's just a little surprising that such a seemingly sober-sided man is a driving force behind the theatrical version of "Old Jews." However, as he protested during a recent phone call, it shouldn't be.

"It has surprised some people who don't know me, but people who know me aren't surprised at all," he insisted. "I'm not the most serious guy in the world. I can have fun."

He can't help it. It's in his genes. "Both of my parents and my paternal grandfather were joke-tellers," he offered. "My paternal grandfather told Eastern European-Yiddish types of irony jokes. My parents were more eclectic than that. My father was a wonderful joke-teller; my mother was an absolutely awful joke-teller, but it didn't stop her."

See the original post here:

Did you hear the one about the historian and his comedy revue?

Gov. Bobby Jindal tries to take down Stephen Colbert, and fails spectacularly

Posted on by

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is not pleased with Stephen Colbert, and he attempted to go after with the fake-news host on Twitter. It did not go well.

Earlier this week, Stephen Colbert did a fantastically hilarious segment on the 9th Annual Values Voter Summit. There he pointed out not only Sarah Palinsembarrassinggaffe, but Bobby Jindals apparent attempt to appeal to the average Joe. The segment, if you missed it, is below:

In a series of tweets Jindal offered his rebuttal and then attempted to insult the comedian:

(And things got even weird when a Georgia congressman weighed in.)

Yikes!

h/t Uproxx

See more here:

Gov. Bobby Jindal tries to take down Stephen Colbert, and fails spectacularly