Lake forest health and fitness: March 2013

Sunday, 31 March 2013

Insight: China's losing battle against state-backed polluters

By David Stanway SHANGHANG COUNTY, China (Reuters) - When Zijin Mining Group threatened to move its headquarters some 270 kms from its home county of Shanghang to Xiamen on China's southeast coast, a local Communist Party boss rushed to confront the company's chairman Chen Jinghe. "If you want to move, you'll have to move the Zijin Mountain to Xiamen as well," the official told Chen, referring to a vast local mine that has helped transform the firm into China's top gold producer and second-biggest copper miner. ...

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Unusual Bird Flu Virus Kills Two Men In China

Two men have died in Shanghai after being infected with the H7N9 bird flu virus strain, one that has never affected humans before, Chinese health authorities reported. The two patients were aged 87 and 27 years. The Xinhua News Agency reported that the younger man, surnamed Wu, became ill on February 19th, 2013 and died just over three weeks later on March 4th. The older man, surnamed Li, became sick on February 27th and died on March 10th. The older patients' two sons became ill with flu and were hospitalized. The younger son, aged 55, developed severe pneumonia and died... via Health News from Medical News Today Read More Here..

Clinical Notes: Bird Flu Vaccine Delayed at FDA

(MedPage Today) -- An "administrative matter" blocked approval of a vaccine against potentially pandemic avian influenza, its manufacturer said. Also this week: smokers with lung cancer don't get help in quitting. via MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians Read More Here..

South Africa's Mandela spends fourth day in hospital

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's anti-apartheid hero and former president Nelson Mandela spent his fourth day in hospital on Sunday after doctors reported he was making progress and responding to treatment for pneumonia. Presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj said he had no fresh update from those treating the 94-year-old Mandela and it was fair to assume the situation was unchanged from Saturday, when doctors reported he was comfortable and breathing without problems. "In the absence of an update today, the update of yesterday stands," Maharaj said. ...

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Paralyzed ex-athlete's foundation helping others

CLAREMONT, Calif. (AP) — As he rolls through the front door of the sprawling Claremont Club fitness center and shouts a friendly hello here and there, for just a moment it's as if nothing has changed since Hal Hargrave Jr. was the big, friendly teenage gym rat who haunted this place. via Health News Headlines - Yahoo! News Read More Here..

Proteinuria Linked to Life Expectancy (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Individuals with proteinuria may have a shorter estimated life expectancy compared with their healthier counterparts, a Canadian study showed. via MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians Read More Here..

In Antarctica New Technology Used to Record Whale Songs

Up to 26,545 blue whale songs in the Antarctic were captured by scientists in a study. They used - for the first time - new acoustical detection and tracking techniques to locate and observe them. The work was carried out by researchers from Germany, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, the US, France, Norway, Britain, South Africa and New Zealand, all of whom are participating in the ongoing Antarctic Blue Whale Project to study the world's largest animal. Some ...

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Criminals Tend to Repeat Offenses: Study

Neuroimaging data can predict the likelihood of whether a criminal will reoffend following release from prison, according to a new study. The paper studied impulsive and antisocial behavior and centered on the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a portion of the brain that deals with regulating behavior and impulsivity. The study conducted by The Mind Research Network in Albuquerque, N.M, demonstrated that inmates with relatively low anterior cingulate ...

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Scientists Develop New Method to Produce 'Safer' Vaccines

Manufacturers choose to operate under strict controls to ensure that no pathogens escape to the outside world, since producing vaccines against viral threats is a potentially hazardous business. Now, scientists from the UK have developed a new method to create an entirely synthetic vaccine that doesn't rely on using live infectious virus, which means it is much safer, the BBC reported. Also the prototype vaccine that they have created, for the animal ...

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To Free Hospital Beds Brazilian Doctor Killed Seven

Investigators said that a Brazilian doctor suspected of killing seven patients to free up hospital beds in southern Brazil is under investigation for the murder of some 300 others. A team, led by health ministry investigator Mario Lobato, is investigating the 1,872 deaths in the last seven years at the intensive care unit headed by Virginia Soares de Souza in Evangelico Hospital in Curitiba, a city in the southern state of Parana, reported Xinhua. Soares ...

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Researchers Explain How Extra Pounds Slows You Down

No one has studied obesity's effect on physical activity though researchers have studied physical activity and its relation to obesity for decades. So BYU exercise science professor Larry Tucker decided to look at the other side of the equation to determine if obesity leads to less activity. The findings, no surprise, confirmed what everyone has assumed for years. "Most people talk about it as if it's a cycle," senior-author Tucker said. "Half ...