Several obstacles face planners and growers including soil contaminants water availability and changes in climate and atmospheric conditions.
Several contaminants can be found in urban soils and lead is the most prevalent. While there is concern about plants taking up lead from soils research suggests that they actually take up very little.
but those sources must be monitored for contaminants and perhaps treated. Changes in atmospheric and climate conditions in cities compared to rural areas can also be obstacles for urban growers.
#Vaccinating cattle against E coli could cut human cases of infection by 85 percentvaccinating cattle against the E coli O157 bacterium could cut the number of human cases of the disease by 85%according to scientists.
The bacteria which cause severe gastrointestinal illness and even death in humans are spread by consuming contaminated food and water or by contact with livestock feces in the environment.
The risk of E coli O157 infection is particularly significant when the cattle are'super-shedding'--excreting extremely high numbers of bacteria in their feces for a limited period of time.
In addition research is continuing in Scotland by the same collaborative grouping to develop even more effective vaccines that would further reduce the impact on human disease.
E coli O157 is a serious gastrointestinal illness. The economic impact is also serious--for instance studies in the US suggest that healthcare lost productivity
In Scotland an average of 235 culture positive cases of E coli O157 infection per year (i e. people who had the organism in their stools) were notified to Health Protection Scotland from 2008 to 2012.
--and inevitably the pathogens they harbor. This study is an excellent example the interface between veterinary and human medicine
and of the concept of'One Health'in action--controlling infections in animals can have a major impact on public health.
The study was based on the population-based Kuopio Ischaemic Heart disease Risk Factor (KIHD) Study. The participants over 2000 middle-aged or older Finnish men were followed-up for an average of 13-20 years.
The effects of the three-year lifestyle intervention on depressive symptoms were investigated in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS) with 140 middle-aged men
and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public health have for the first time found an association between living in proximity to high-density livestock production and community-acquired infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus commonly known as MRSA.
and soft tissue infections in the study population could be attributed to crop fields fertilized with swine manure.
The study is the first to examine the association between high-density livestock operations and manure-applied crop fields and MRSA infections in the community.
For the study researchers utilized Geisinger's sophisticated electronic health record system to identify patients with MRSA infections and skin and soft tissue infections.
The two groups were compared to patients who never had a MRSA infection. Patients received an exposure score based on their distance from the production the number of animals at livestock operations the amount of manure spread on crop fields and the size of the field.
and 50000 with skin and soft tissue infections who were diagnosed and treated in the Geisinger Health System.
No association was found between dairy farms and MRSA infections. The study shows the utility of electronic health records for demonstrating the unrecognized public health consequences of operations with environmental impacts said Brian Schwartz M d. MS senior author
#Model of dangerous bee disease in Jersey provides tool in fight against honeybee infectionsscientists at the University of Warwick have modelled an outbreak of the bee infection American foulbrood in Jersey using a technique
which could be applied to other honeybee diseases such as European foulbrood and the Varroa parasite. As well as modelling how bee infections spread the method also allows scientists to simulate various disease control interventions in order to measure their efficacy.
The researchers used two sets of data gathered two months apart during an outbreak of American foulbrood in Jersey in the summer of 2010.
This provided two'snapshots'of the disease from which they attempted to reconstruct the entire epidemic.
Reconstructions like this are common for livestock infections but this is the first time the method has been applied to bee disease.
The research is published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. American foulbrood is caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae
which affects the larval stage of honeybees. It can cause the death of an entire hive within a matter of monthsthe Jersey data covered 450 honeybee hives their location
which the infection grew as well as how it spread geographically. Dr Samik Datta of the WIDER group based at the School of Life sciences at the University of Warwick said:
But in the past 20 years there has been marked a increase in the level of disease among bee populations.
American foulbrood is an unusually virulent disease which can wipe out a hive within a few months.
This is the first rigorous statistical analysis carried out on a honeybee disease epidemic that we are aware of.
The model suggests that just under half of the 2010 Jersey infection spread was attributed to transmission by owners between their own hives.
The researchers suggest that distance between colonies was another important factor in the spread of the disease with the disease mostly spreading between hives less than 2km apart.
The model also simulated the impact of different control strategies on controlling the epidemic and found that the measures taken by authorities in Jersey at the time--to inspect
However their model suggested an earlier intervention would have made disease extinction more likely. The researchers hope now to expand their model to investigate the spread of European Foulbrood a more common bee disease in the UK.
They also believe the same technique can be applied to the Varroa parasite. Dr Datta said:
Using just two snapshots of data we have been able to reconstruct this epidemic and we are confident that our technique can be applied to a wide range of other outbreak scenarios.
#Surgery proving effective with epilepsy patientsmelanie Vandyke can't wait to get her driver's license. I just want to get back out in the world she said.
For nearly 15 years Vandyke's world was restricted severely by epileptic seizures during which she couldn't control her speech
In the operation the source of Vandyke's seizures--a lesion on her right medial temporal lobe--was destroyed with heat generated by light from a thin laser-tipped probe inserted into her brain through a tiny hole in her skull
and the only one between Philadelphia and Atlanta to perform this type of laser surgery for epilepsy with a technology called Visualase.
and initially used to destroy tumors the Visualase system was employed first as a treatment for epilepsy in 2010 Wake Forest Baptist performed its first epilepsy-related laser procedure in June of last year
More than 2. 5 million Americans have epilepsy a disorder in which abnormal electrical impulses in the brain affect a variety of mental and physical functions.
But most people with epilepsy don't need surgery as seizures can be controlled by medication in approximately 60 percent of all patients.
or spasms that are associated commonly with epilepsy that wasn't the initial diagnosis. At first it was diagnosed as blackouts Vandyke said.
Subsequent tests indicated that Vandyke did have epilepsy. Despite seeing specialists at hospitals in three states and taking a variety of medications she continued to have seizures often twice a day.
In 2010--12 years after her first seizure--she was referred to Wake Forest Baptist's Comprehensive Epilepsy Center.
Sometimes the bacteria were similar to human pathogens. Again it wasn't clear what was going on Brock said.
Were they pathogens that were making the amoebas sick? But the amoebas carrying these bacteria seemed to be thriving rather than sick.
A new study by a team of researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research center may help provide some insight.
Research on schooling behavior in fish may seem an odd fit for a cancer research center
but Greenwood said natural variation can influence not just behavior but also susceptibility to illness and disease.
The above story is provided based on materials by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
or proanthocyanidins are thought to play diverse roles such as defense against herbivores and pathogens or ultraviolet protection.
#Influenza virus in wild birds in Norwayducks and gulls are the natural hosts of Influenza a virus.
which can cause disease in animals and humans. Influenza a viruses can be divided into subtypes of which the majority have been found in wild birds.
Most subtypes of Influenza a virus cause subclinical infections in wild birds. Infections in domestic chickens most commonly result in mild disease.
In rare cases if introduced from wild birds to poultry some viruses of the H5
One example of this is the highly pathogenic H5n1 virus in Southeast asia known to cause#oebird flu#.
#Due to the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus subtype H5n1 in Southeast asia a programme to monitor influenza viruses in wild birds in Norway was initiated in 2005.
The results showed that low pathogenic avian influenza viruses were present in 15.5%of the samples
but not the highly pathogenic H5n1 virus. The complete genetic material from a total of five influenza viruses from mallard and common gull were sequenced and characterized.
The results showed that the genes of the Norwegian viruses resembled the genes found in influenza viruses from other wild birds in Europe.
and America influenza viruses with different genetic material have developed between these two continents. However in some areas it has been observed that genes can be exchanged between influenza viruses from Eurasia and America.
Tønnessen studied the role that gulls play in the transfer of virus genes between these two continents.
Genes from American avian influenza viruses were detected not in the European gull viruses studied. However within avian influenza viruses from Eurasia she found that virus genes were exchanged between influenza viruses typically found in gulls and ducks respectively.
During the breeding seasons of 2008 and 2009 Tønnessen studied the occurrence of influenza virus in the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) at Hornã¸ya in Finnmark in Northern Norway.
Low amounts of influenza virus were detected in 5-15%of the samples from adult kittiwakes
and she discovered that more than 70%of the adult birds had developed antibodies against Influenza a virus. The majority of the kittiwakes had antibodies against an influenza virus subtype typically found in gulls namely H16.
Ducks can become infected with influenza virus through consumption of surface water contaminated with faeces shed by virus infected birds.
Most subtypes of influenza virus from ducks can retain their infectivity in water over long periods of time.
Experiments performed by Tønnessen showed that influenza virus subtypes primarily found in gulls (i e.
H13 and H16) can also remain infectious in water for several months under different salinity and temperature conditions.
To assess if a typical influenza virus subtype from gull can infect chickens Tønnessen inoculated chickens with an H16n3 virus obtained from herring gull.
Influenza virus was detected in the oropharynx of 2 of the 19 virus inoculated chickens and specific antibodies against H16 were found in the same two chickens.
These results suggest that H16n3 virus from gull can cause a limited infection in chickens.
In order to find out why influenza viruses of the H13 and H16 subtypes primarily infect gulls Tønnessen examined
#The research was conducted at the Department of Food safety and Infection Biology at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science and at Section for Virology at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute.
The need for a more economical source of nootkatone intensified after scientists at the U s. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered nootkatone's effectiveness in controlling ticks mosquitoes and other insects.
And nootkatone shows promise for being the most effective agent for the ticks that cause Lyme disease.
and investor presentations) with those harm reduction pursuits it has espoused publicly and explore the implications for EU tobacco control policy.
The authors note the study's findings indicate that the industry's rhetoric on harm reduction has been inconsistent with historical and recent documents and business actions.
because most of the diseases pandas get affect their guts said Brown. Understanding the relationships between the microbes
She is with Popz Europe Kft Chicago Ill. But remember that packaging is there to protect the product
. and some other countries--a condition sometimes termed colony collapse disorder (CCD). Although honeybees have been doing better in recent years something continues to kill about 1 in every 3 honeybees each year.
Some of the leading theories about the cause of CCD include the use of certain pesticides parasites diseases and overall hive nutrition.
because they are predominantly sweet foods that provide little extra nutritional goodness over breast milk indicates research published online in Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Its nearly 20 talks cover a wide range of topics from the microbes in the human gut to the potential use of diet to manage inflammatory diseases.
and offices and undergoes processing to kill disease-causing microbes and remove other material. Processing leaves that water
Xiaoqin Wu a postdoctoral student in Gan's lab who gave the ACS presentation said all the crops absorbed PPCPS including a medication for epilepsy;
and people with chronic diseases may be more susceptible to low levels of PPCPS. They pointed out that irrigation of food crops with treated wastewater is established a well practice in some desert countries.
That's part of the basis for the popular belief--disputed by the U s. Centers for Disease Control
They prevent disease or promote general good health. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by American Chemical Society (ACS.
Although such projects are instituted typically based on the cold calculus that land remediation is a better long-term solution
With widespread occurrence of cholera in Latin america the direct use of untreated wastewater was restricted in the country.
Most wastewater goes untreated in Sub-saharan africa where water pollution triggers the spread of waterborne diseases such as diarrhea and cholera.
#Broccoli to fight skin cancer? With skin cancer emerging as one of the world's most prevalent forms of cancer researchers are using every tool at their disposal to fight this disease.
The tool of choice for Sally Dickinson Phd? Broccoli. A diet heavy in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli sprouts has shown potential risk-reduction properties for colorectal prostate and various other forms of cancer.
Dr. Dickinson's research currently focuses on how sulforaphane--a naturally occurring compound in broccoli with established chemopreventive properties--could possibly be used to help patients reduce their risk for skin cancer.
What sets Dr. Dickinson's research apart? Instead of eating broccoli to unlock the risk-reduction nutrients she's asking patients to apply small doses of sulforaphane to their skin.
and use of sunscreens we're still seeing far too many cases of skin cancer each year Dr. Dickinson said.
We're searching for better methods to prevent skin cancer in formats that are affordable and manageable for public use.
Sulforaphane may be an excellent candidate for use in the prevention of skin cancer caused by exposure to ultraviolet rays.
Dr. Dickinson a research assistant professor in the Pharmacology Department at the University of Arizona and a UA Cancer Center member began investigating broccoli's chemopreventive properties
Prior to joining Dr. Bowden's laboratory Dr. Dickinson earned her Phd through the Genetics Graduate Interdisciplinary Program at the UA studying oxidative stress and heart disease.
when it comes to inhibiting cancer-causing pathways (such as the AP-1 protein) while activating chemoprotective genes (such as the Nrf2 gene).
We already know that it is very effective in blocking sunburns and we have seen cases where it can induce protective enzymes in the skin.
in order to reduce their risk of skin cancer. Sulforaphane is one of the many natural products and pharmaceutical agents being explored for use in topical prevention of UV-induced skin cancers through the Chemoprevention of Skin cancer Program Project Grant headed by Dr. Bowden and UACC Director David Alberts MD.
Dr. Dickinson's research could potentially lead to a day when parents are instructing their children to not only eat their vegetables
The above story is provided based on materials by NCI-Designated Cancer Centers. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h
and disease are important. And cooperation from Mother Nature in terms of temperature and precipitation doesn't hurt either.
To quantify the impact of genetic improvement in wheat disease and climate change over a 26-year period a team of researchers at Kansas State university examined wheat variety yield data from Kansas performance tests along with location-specific weather and disease data.
Their results showed that from 1985 through 2011 wheat breeding programs boosted average wheat yields by 13 bushels per acre or 0. 51 bushel each year for a total increase of 26 percent.
and disease said Andrew Barkley professor of agricultural economics and lead researcher of a multi-disciplinary team that included agronomists and plant pathologists.
Diseases such as fungi and viruses can attack wheat and lower yields. This research quantifies the impact of weather diseases and new wheat varieties on yields.
So far genetic improvement has allowed wheat yields to increase significantly over time but there are challenges ahead to keep up with potential increases in temperature.
The study funded by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station is the first to quantify all of these impacts (climate change disease
they may need to tackle a host a problems ranging from climate change to disease control.
and spread of emerging diseases creating agricultural and pharmaceutical products studying climate change controlling invasive species
Findings published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B reveal that mating with different males helps females produce offspring that are more resistant to diseases.
MHC) play a key role in detecting and fighting infections. By biasing fertilisation in favour of MHC-dissimilar males females increase the diversity of MHC within their offspring providing them with better disease resistance.
The findings will be important for animal breeders as well as conservation projects because they show that allowing multiple matings will produce the most disease resistant and genetically healthy offspring.
Prof David S Richardson from UEA's school of Biological sciences said: Our research has shown that the females don't need to choose between males to produce the most healthy offspring.
#Whole genome sequencing provides researchers with a better understanding of bovine TB outbreaksthe use of whole bacterial genome sequencing will allow scientists to inexpensively track how bovine tuberculosis (TB) is transmitted from farm to farm according to research presented this week
Bovine TB is primarily a disease of cattle caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. The disease is hugely expensive costing the Government over £91 million in England in 2010/11.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow working in collaboration with the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute and the Department of agriculture and Rural development Northern ireland sequenced the genomes of 147 M. bovis samples collected over a decade of outbreaks in Northern ireland.
while long distance spread via cattle movements plays a role local transmission mechanisms appear to drive the spread of the disease
and will help us to develop better control methods for the disease. The role of infected wild badgers in spreading bovine TB remains controversial.
This work will help to clarify the role that badgers may have in spreading the disease
and local persistence of the pathogen in cattle has a distinct spatial signature--we believe that explaining this signature is the key to quantifying the role that badgers play in the persistence of bovine TB in Britain and Ireland.
The study appears last month in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's journal Preventing Chronic Disease.
For a small randomized controlled feasibility study Quandt and fellow researchers recruited 50 low income women with children then divided them into an intervention group and a control group of 25 each.
research confirmsthe first systematic review of related research confirms a positive impact on cognitive function but an inconsistent effect on mild cognitive impairment.
Over recent years many pieces of research have identified a link between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and a lower risk of age-related disease such as dementia.
In nine out of the 12 studies a higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with better cognitive function lower rates of cognitive decline and a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease.
However results for mild cognitive impairment were inconsistent. A Mediterranean diet typically consists of higher levels of olive oil vegetables fruit and fish.
In particular research is needed to clarify the association with mild cognitive impairment and vascular dementia. It is also important to note that
#Following a Mediterranean diet not associated with delay to clinical onset of Huntington diseaseadhering to a Mediterranean-type diet (Meddi) does not appear associated with the time to clinical onset of Huntington disease (phenoconversion) according to a study by Karen
and dairy products is known to be beneficial for health owing to its protective effects in many chronic diseases according to the study background.
Considered a new disease wheat blast is sharply reducing wheat yields in Brazil. Dr Dan Bebber from the University of Exeter said:
as a result of winter injury U s. Forest Service and University of Vermont scientists came up with a surprising result--three decades later the canary is feeling much better.
when foliage predisposed to injury by exposure to acid rain experiences freezing injury and dies. Paul Schaberg a research plant physiologist with the U s. Forest Service's Northern Research Station in Burlington Vt. and partners studied red spruce trees in Vermont New hampshire and Massachusetts.
They found that the influence of a single damaging winter injury event in 2003 continued to slow tree growth in New england for 3 years longer than had been expected
The study Quantifying the legacy of foliar winter injury on woody aboveground carbon sequestration of red spruce trees was published earlier this year in the journal Forest Ecology and Management.
and his colleagues also answered the question they set out to answer--how did the foliar damage associated with the 2003 winter injury affect carbon storage?
They found that the winter injury event reduced the growth of red spruce trees for at least 3 years
and apples was associated significantly with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public health (HSPH) researchers.
Greater consumption of fruit juices was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. The study is the first to look at the effects of individual fruits on diabetes risk.
While fruits are recommended as a measure for diabetes prevention previous studies have mixed found results for total fruit consumption.
Our findings provide novel evidence suggesting that certain fruits may be especially beneficial for lowering diabetes risk said senior author Qi Sun assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH and assistant professor at the Channing Division of Network
Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital. The study appears online August 29 2013 in BMJ (British Medical Journal.
Participants who reported a diagnosis of diabetes cardiovascular disease or cancer at enrollment were excluded. Results showed that 12198 participants (6. 5%)developed diabetes during the study period.
The researchers looked at overall fruit consumption as well as consumption of individual fruits: grapes or raisins;
peaches plums or apricots; prunes; bananas; cantaloupe; apples or pears; oranges; grapefruit; strawberries; and blueberries.
and apples--reduced their risk for type 2 diabetes by as much as 23%in comparison to those who ate less than one serving per month.
or more servings of fruit juice each day increased their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by as much as 21%.
%The researchers found that swapping three servings of juice per week for whole fruits would result in a 7%reduction in diabetes risk.
The fruits'glycemic index (a measure of how rapidly carbohydrates in a food boost blood sugar) did not prove to be a significant factor in determining a fruit's association with type 2 diabetes risk.
However the high glycemic index of fruit juice--which passes through the digestive system more rapidly than fiber-rich fruit--may explain the positive link between juice consumption and increased diabetes risk.
Previous studies have linked anthocyanins found in berries and grapes to lowered heart attack risk for example.
But more research is necessary to determine which components in the more beneficial fruits influence diabetes risk.
but not fruit juice as a measure for diabetes prevention said lead author Isao Muraki research fellow in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH.
And our novel findings may help refine this recommendation to facilitate diabetes prevention. Story Source:
and infectious disease resistance--will likely have caused many genetic adaptations of this kind. We need lactase
and it will be important for them to be better characterised to understand better the relationship between historic adaptation and 21st century disease susceptibility.
As we know genetic diversity allows species to survive disease and habitat stress and encourages long-term survival.
According to new research published in the September 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal not only is dieting before getting pregnant not enough to prevent diabetes risks
#Targeting mosquito breeding sites could boost malaria control efforts in Africa and Asiaa malaria control method that targets mosquito larvae and pupae as they mature in standing water could be an important supplementary measure in the fight against the disease according to a new report.
The Cochrane review--led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in collaboration with Durham University and other researchers in the UK and US--is the first systematic review looking at using larval source management (LSM) to control malaria
which causes an estimated 660000 deaths worldwide every year. It found evidence that the method may significantly reduce both the number of cases of malaria by up to 75%and the proportion of people infected with the malaria parasite by up to 90%when used in appropriate settings.
LSM is a method that targets immature mosquitoes found in standing water before the females develop into flying adults that are capable of transmitting malaria.
This is done by permanently removing standing water for example by draining or filling land; making temporary changes to mosquito habitats to disrupt breeding for example by clearing drains to make the water flow;
Currently the use of long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets and indoor residual spraying of homes are used widely for malaria transmission control
and are having a major impact on the burden of the disease. However this success is threatened now by factors such as a growing resistance to insecticides among mosquitoes.
Complementary methods of mosquito control such as LSM may become increasingly necessary in helping tackle the disease
and some malaria-endemic countries in Sub-saharan africa are already implementing LSM programmes but there is a lack of consensus on how effective the method can be and in
and a sufficient proportion of these habitats can be targeted LSM may reduce the number of cases of malaria and the proportion of people infected with the malaria parasite at any one time.
The findings also suggest LSM could contribute to a reduction in the prevalence of splenomegaly in children (an enlargement of the spleen caused by repeated malaria infections.
Lead author Lucy Tusting from the Department of Disease Control at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said:
This is the first time the evidence on larval source management for malaria control has been reviewed systematically and our research shows that the method can be an effective supplementary measure against malaria in both urban
and rural areas of Africa and Asia--wherever it is possible to target a sufficient proportion of mosquito breeding sites.
These findings have important implications for malaria control policy. The tremendous progress made in malaria control in the last decade is threatened now by mosquito resistance to the insecticides available for long-lasting insecticide treated nets and indoor residual spraying.
Thus additional methods are needed to target malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. Our research shows that larval source management could be an effective supplementary intervention in some places.
The authors note that further research is needed to assess how effective LSM is in rural Africa where breeding sites are harder to target such as large flood plains or rice paddies.
But the review authors say LSM could be an important strategy in the control of malaria
This paper is a landmark publication demonstrating that in many places larval source management should be used as a supplementary weapon against malaria.
or indoor residual spraying to hammer down malaria across the tropics. The authors note that there are limitations in the available data for analysis with a small number of eligible studies and a lack of data in many settings.
The review was carried out by researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Princeton university and Durham University.
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