Body

Fetal exposure to radiation and the risk of childhood cancer: what is the likelihood of a risk?

There is an association between taking statins (lipid lowering drugs), and reduced risk of developing the chronic inflammatory disease, rheumatoid arthritis. These are the findings of a study by Gabriel Chodick and colleagues, published in this week's PLoS Medicine.

MADISON – Fostering community cooperation, building on skills and strengths, and getting strangers to work together -- these are fundamentals of community development.

Now, a pilot study of six families living in a farm town in New Mexico suggests that small infusions of cash could fuel such cooperation and produce overlapping benefits.

In one of the first international studies to compare the link between formal education and heart disease and stroke, the incidence of these diseases and certain risk factors decreased as educational levels increased in high-income countries, but not in low- and middle-income countries.

HIV-infected children in South Africa who were exposed to the drug nevirapine at birth (used to help prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission) and then received a protease inhibitor (PI) for viral suppression achieved lower rates of viremia (virus in the blood stream) if they were switched to nevirapine, compared to children who continued on the PI-based regimen, according to a study in the September 8 issue of JAMA. PI-based therapies generally have a higher cost compared to nevirapine, which may leave some children excluded from treatment.

Lung cancer researchers have identified a genetic signature that can helpdoctors determine which patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancerare at high risk for developing disease recurrence and therefore may benefitfrom chemotherapy after surgery ("adjuvant chemotherapy").

URBANA – For the first time ever, University of Illinois researchers have discovered how microbes break down hemicellulose plant matter into simple sugars using a cow rumen bacterium as a model.

Obesity and infertility frequently go hand in hand. Now, researchers reporting on studies of mice in the September issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, might have figured out why that is, and the results come as something of a surprise.

New findings reported in the September issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, appear to explain why people who carry specific and common versions of a single gene are more likely to have high cholesterol and to suffer a heart attack. Studies in mice show that the gene, known as sortilin (SORT1), controls the release of LDL (a.k.a. "bad") cholesterol from the liver into the bloodstream.

The findings suggest that SORT1 may be a good target for new cholesterol-lowering drugs, according to the researchers.

In children with wrist fractures, a splint is as effective as a cast and provides greater comfort and easier hygiene, found a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj100119.pdf.

Distal radius fractures — wrist fractures — are the most common break in children and a frequent reason for emergency department visits. The usual treatment is a short arm cast for four to six weeks with follow up visits to an orthopaedic surgeon.

Researchers at the Buck Institute for Age Research have discovered a novel way in which insulin affects cell metabolism and cell survival. Surprisingly the insulin signaling pathway, which is involved in aging, diabetes and stress response, is active at a deeper level of cell activity than scientists expected. The study appears in the September 8th issue of Cell Metabolism.

St. Louis, MO – Current research provides a novel model for rheumatoid arthritis research. The related report by LaBranche et al, "Characterization of the KRN cell transfer model of rheumatoid arthritis (KRN-CTM), a chronic yet synchronized version of the K/BxN mouse," appears in the September 2010 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – With the fragmentation and globalization of the U.S. textile and apparel industry, business activities and roles have changed, impacting their organizational identity. The evolving organizational identity of these firms has created many questions as to how it affects the businesses financially. Now, a researcher at MU has explored how U.S. textile and apparel firms describe themselves as organizations and how those descriptions compare to U.S.