Monthly Archives: October 2014

UCLA Gene Discovery Shows How Stem Cells Can Be Activated to Help Immune System Respond to Infection

Posted: October 31, 2014 at 12:42 pm

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Newswise In a study led by Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research member Dr. Julian Martinez-Agosto, UCLA scientists have shown that two genes not previously known to be involved with the immune system play a crucial role in how progenitor stem cells are activated to fight infection. This discovery lays the groundwork for a better understanding of the role progenitor cells can play in immune system response and could lead to the development of more effective therapies for a wide range of diseases.

The two-year study was published online October 30, 2014 ahead of print in the journal Current Biology.

Progenitor cells are the link between stem cells and fully differentiated cells of the blood system, tissues and organs. This maturation process, known as differentiation, is determined in part by the original environment that the progenitor cell came from, called the niche. Many of these progenitors are maintained in a quiescent state or "standby mode" and are ready to differentiate in response to immune challenges (such as stress, infection or disease).

Dr. Gabriel Ferguson, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Martinez-Agosto and first author of the study, built upon the lab's previous research that utilized the blood system of the fruit fly species Drosophila, showing that a specific set of signals must be received by progenitor cells to activate their differentiation into cells that can work to fight infection after injury. Dr. Ferguson focused on two genes previously identified in stem cells but not in the blood system, named Yorkie and Scalloped, and discovered that they are required in a newly characterized cell type called a lineage specifying cell. These cells then essentially work as a switch, sending the required signal to progenitor cells.

The researchers further discovered that when the progenitor cells did not receive the required signal, the fly would not make the mature cells required to fight infection. This indicates that the ability of the blood system to fight outside infection and other pathogens is directly related to the signals sent by this new cell type.

"The beauty of this study is that we now have a system in which we can investigate how a signaling cell uses these two genes Yorkie and Scalloped, which have never before been shown in blood, to direct specific cells to be made," said Dr. Martinez-Agosto, associate professor of human genetics. "It can help us to eventually answer the question of how our body knows how to make specific cell types that can fight infection."

Drs. Martinez-Agosto and Ferguson and colleagues next hope that future studies will examine these genes beyond Drosophila and extend to mammalian models, and that the system will be used by the research community to study the role of the genes Yorkie and Scalloped in different niche environments.

"At a biochemical level, there is a lot of commonality between the molecular machinery in Drosophila and that in mice and humans," said Dr. Ferguson. "This study can further our shared understanding of how the microenvironment can regulate the differentiation and fate of a progenitor or stem cell."

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Gene advance for spotting autism

Posted: at 12:42 pm

By Danielle Ryan, Special to CNN

October 30, 2014 -- Updated 1846 GMT (0246 HKT)

Genetic research has been used to treat all kinds of disorders and diseases.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- Researchers have found dozens of new genes that may play a role in causing autism, according to two studies published Wednesday in the medical journal Nature.

Scientists identified 60 genes with a greater than 90% chance of increasing a child's autism risk. Previous research has yielded only 11 genes that had been confirmed with this level of certainty.

Though other studies have shown the importance of genetics in the development of autism, experts say these new studies zero in on the exact nature of the genetic mutations that cause the disorder.

The researchers say these genes appear to be clustering around three sets of key biological functions.

The first set focuses on the development of synapses in the brain, which are responsible for all kinds of communication between nerves. The second set is responsible for the creation of genetic instructions, and the third is responsible for DNA packaging within cells.

Each of these functions could have an effect on the individual that would cause the traits commonly associated with autism, according to one of the studies.

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How to Be "Heroic" – Video

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How to Be "Heroic"
There #39;s the right way and wrong way, the easy way and the hard way to becoming "heroic." You can find more of Aaron #39;s droll and indifferent politically incorrect (but truthful) observations...

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Beyonders: Mountain people have deep sense of pride

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Published: Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 03:38 PM.

I appreciate the idea behind political correctness. It has helped the way people interact with one another and favors inclusiveness of individuals and cultures often maligned by society. Sometimes, however, it has become exclusionary.

One example of the reversal of intent has become contentious and has personal and deep rooted implications for this old mountain boy. Anything hillbilly, has become politically incorrect to a significant number of well-intended, intelligent authorities on the subject of mountain culture and society. They cite the likes of The Beverly Hillbillies, Snuffy Smith and the movie Deliverance as belittling and degrading to mountain people.

I agree that outsiders, that is, flatlanders and city folks, have often made fun of those of us from the high country. They portray us as ignorant, dirty, lazy and insular. They are correct if they include all other regions of the world. Practically every place, flat or not, includes similar elements. They also cite that mountain people talk funny, have a dialect. Every region of the country has its distinctive dialect or accent: Boston, Eastern Shore, Low Country, Charleston, New Orleans, Northern, Southern. Someone from up-north, in asking Joyce where she was from, said to her, I thought you might be from Texas, you have an accent. Whereupon my quick witted wife replied, Yes I do, and you do too, so did Presidents Kennedy and Carter. I think its a good thing.

My father, as a Christmas gag gift once gave my uncle a hand-drawn cartoon, a framed picture of a bedroom in a cold drafty mountain cabin deep in a Blue Ridge winter night, including a mountain man in Long-Johns, taking care of his necessity. He named his character Cajo Hunkenfelter. This hillbilly character has remained a family tradition for three-quarters of a century, being passed down in drawings, poems and songs through several generations. Cajo now has his own family group on my nieces Facebook page. Family members and close friends post hillbilly material there. It is a fun way for us to stay in contact, share laughs and memories of many family members now past.

I knew many mountain people who would fit the contemporary political incorrectness of the image of hillbillies. They were just people with their peculiarities as we all have. Some were the hard working poor driven from farms to the mills by the loss of the agrarian way of life. Some were enterprising and started successful businesses. Some went to war or service professions. Some were lost alcoholics. And, no, I did not know any snake handlers, except myself, a herpetologist. Mostly, the mountain people retain a deep sense of pride in being from the mountains, cherishing their traditions, even embracing the term hillbilly. This has become even clearer recently when I discovered a Facebook group called Appalachian Americans. There, one will find humor, sadness, expressions of traditions and beautiful photos of mountain life and landscape today. I especially love the old sepia images of the highland world of bygone times. But mostly the group members display pride in being mountain people, hillbillies.

Les and Joyce Brown are retired from Gardner-Webb University. They write this column each month, sometimes separately and sometimes together. The Browns enjoy reading, writing, music and anything Appalachian. Les is a potter while Joyce tries to write a bit of poetry.

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Are GOLD and SILVER dealers already closing down and limiting sales? – Video

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Are GOLD and SILVER dealers already closing down and limiting sales?
The GOLD and SILVER fetish of the Ron Paul advocates that attempted to take on the Federal Reserve Bank along with J.P. Morgan and other leading world financial institutions are finally being...

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Are GOLD and SILVER dealers already closing down and limiting sales? - Video

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Ali Regained Title in Historic Fight 40 Years Ago

Posted: at 12:41 pm

Forty years ago, on Oct. 30, 1974, two American heavyweights slugged it out in Zaire - today's Democratic Republic of Congo - in a historic boxing match. The Rumble in the Jungle, as the fight was advertised in the U.S. and abroad, matched former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali against the reigning champ, George Foreman. Ali knocked Foreman out to regain the crown, which he had lost seven years earlier when the U.S. government accused him of draft-dodging and boxing officials revoked his license.

Ali had traveled a long road to reach this point. After a three-and-a-half-year exile from boxing, he was reinstated in 1970. But he lost a heavyweight title fight in 1971 to Joe Frazier, who later succumbed to Foreman.

American sportswriter Jerry Izenberg said the impact of Alis victory in Zaire may be the greatest ever for a heavyweight bout. Alis legacy as a fighter, he said, would have been different had he lost.

It was a fairy tale," Izenberg said. "This guy was chasing a golden fleece and when he finally got within inches of it, someone else held the golden fleece. Frazier was out. It was fits and starts. It was like a morality play.

Ali made news not only by winning the fight, but also in the days leading up to it. Training in Zaire, he tried to endear himself to the country's people. He jogged with fans and spoke to the crowds, and he painted Foreman as the bad guy.

'Ali Bomaye'

Zaire was a Belgian colony before gaining independence in 1960. Knowing that Zaireans disliked Belgians, Ali told the media that the Texas-born Foreman was actually Belgian. Fans started chanting Ali Bomaye, or Ali, kill him!"

So Ali got off the plane, puts his hands in the air and he yells, `I hereby declare George a Belgian," Izenberg said. "Well, the place went nuts. Beyond that, then that chant started, and they asked the interpreter what that meant and he said it meant `Ali, kill him. For the rest of the time that he was there, he was leading those chants all over town and all over the compound that we lived in.

As he had done with other fighters, Ali taunted Foreman, using his wit and penchant for creative word choice. Case in point:

I said last night, I had a dream. When I got to Africa, I had one hell of a rumble. I had to beat Tarzans behind first for claiming to be the king of the jungle. For this fight, Ive wrestled with alligators, Ive tussled with a whale. Id handcuff lightning and put thunder in jail. You know Im bad. I have murdered a rock. I injured a stone, and I hospitalized a brick. Im so bad I made medicine sick. Im so fast, man, I can run through a hurricane and dont get wet. When George Foreman meets me, hell pay his debt. I can drown a drink of water and kill a dead tree. Wait 'til you see Muhammad Ali.

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Figure Forge Post Human Republic Starter – Video

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Figure Forge Post Human Republic Starter
In this Figure Forge Matt Assembles the Post Human Republic starter for Dropzone Commander from Hawk Wargames http://www.musicalley.com/music/producerTerms.p...

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Dropzone Commander Post Human Republic PHR Plastic Set Review – Video

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Dropzone Commander Post Human Republic PHR Plastic Set Review
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General Medicine, The Post-Hospitalist Company, Recruitment/ Retention in top 10% of industry

Posted: at 12:41 pm

(PRWEB) October 31, 2014

General Medicine, The Post-Hospitalist Companys success continues in 2014. General Medicine, The Post-Hospitalist Company is proud to announce that recruitment successes have increased by 43% as of the end of the third quarter. This recruitment achievement, combined with a 22% increase in retention, has resulted in dynamic growth in revenue and service volume. This performance ranks in the top 10% of the industry more than double the industry standard and expectation.

"The credit for our success does not merely rest with our recruiting team; a large portion is directly attributable to the quality of our HR and clinical management teams. We realize that MCO/insurance company partners and facilities dislike physician turnover. General Medicine, The Post-Hospitalist Company places strong emphasis on maintaining a stable clinical staff for our clients, said Scott Sansovich, Director of Recruiting.

Our clients are particularly pleased with clinical staff retention as a result of our operational and human resource protocols. Clients frequently praise our clinical team and state that our physicians and nurse practitioners are the most stable portion of the medical services in their facilities, Sansovich added.

Kay Paruski, Administrator of Courtney Manor Nursing Home in Michigan said, We have had the same General Medicine, Post-Hospitalist physician in our facility for over 15 years. He is wonderful. Our patients have benefited from his on-going relationship and consistency of care. The nurses also have a great relationship with our physician, and time has shown they can trust and rely on him. The families are very happy and comforted with communicating with the same physician year after year.

General Medicine, The Post-Hospitalist Company is the nation's leading provider of specialized, post-hospitalist medical care services for managed care organizations, Medicare-Medicaid dual-eligible programs, Medicare Advantage Plans, accountable care organizations' high-value provider networks, hospital systems and hospitalist programs. Nationally, the company has agreements to provide specialized, post-hospitalist medical care to more than 1,000 facilities. In addition, its group also provides geriatric, physical medicine and rehabilitation services to patients in sub-acute, skilled nursing, long-term care and assisted living facilities.

A post-hospitalist medical care program is a recognized, specialized approach to the practice of medicine in post-acute and long-term care settings. Patient acuity in these settings is increasing dramatically, and physicians need to have a medical practice that fits into an interdisciplinary environment that specializes in the care of patients in post-acute facilities. The focus of General Medicine, The Post-Hospitalist Company is on addressing the needs of high-risk, medically complex patients. The overall goal is to enhance and coordinate care of older adults and chronically ill patients in all post-acute settings.

Several key factors to consider about General Medicine, The Post-Hospitalist Company:

Specific Benefits of Services Include:

For questions or comments, contact Thomas M. Prose, MD, MHA, MBA, President, General Medicine, P.C., The Post-Hospitalist Company, 21333 Haggerty Road, Suite 150, Novi, Michigan 48375, or call 800-979-9595. Further information regarding General Medicine, The Post-Hospitalist Company is available at http://www.generalmedicine.com.

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Denver Post poll shows three of four statewide measures failing

Posted: at 12:41 pm

Voters in Colorado support only one of four statewide measures on the November ballot, according to a Denver Post poll released Thursday.

The poll, done by SurveyUSA, is the last one ahead of Election Day on Tuesday. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

On Proposition 104, which would require that collective bargaining meetings between school boards and teachers' unions be public, 61 percent of people surveyed said they are in favor of it, 24 percent said no and 15 percent were undecided.

Amendment 68, which would allow for casinos at horse racing tracks, saw little support, with 63 percent of people saying they would vote no, 32 percent in favor and 5 percent not certain.

The so-called "Personhood" measure Amendment 67 would protect pregnant women and unborn children by defining "person" and "child" in the Colorado criminal code and the Colorado wrongful death act to include unborn human beings. That amendment was also failing, according to the poll, with 54 percent saying no, 32 percent yes and 14 percent undecided.

Proposition 105 was behind as well. It would require that some foods have labels including genetically modified ingredients. According to the poll, 59 percent were against it, 34 percent in favor and 8 percent were not certain.

Political consultant Floyd Ciruli said he was not surprised by any of the polling results. The personhood measure never really had a chance, he said.

"We know it was going to lose," Ciruli said.

The one measure that could have had a chance of passing, Ciruli said, was the food-labeling proposal. But those against it have spent a large amount of money for ads while proponents have been fairly silent, he said.

"Who can forget the commercial with the farmer?" Ciruli said.

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Denver Post poll shows three of four statewide measures failing

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