Rate of follow-up surgeries after partial mastectomy varies greatly

Public release date: 31-Jan-2012
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Contact: Jason Cody
codyja@msu.edu
517-432-0924
Michigan State University

Differences cannot be explained by patient's medical, treatment history

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. A new study reveals substantial differences by both surgeon and institution in the rates of follow-up surgeries for women who underwent a partial mastectomy for treatment of breast cancer.

Those differences, which cannot be explained by a patient's medical or treatment history, could affect both cancer recurrence and overall survival rates, according to the study led by Laurence McCahill of Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine, the Lacks Cancer Center at Saint Mary's, and Van Andel Research Institute.

The research appears in the Feb. 1 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"A partial mastectomy is one of the most commonly performed cancer operations in the United States," said McCahill, a surgeon with MSU's Department of Surgery and director of surgical oncology at The Lacks Cancer Center. "Currently, there are no readily identifiable quality measures that allow for meaningful comparisons of breast cancer surgical outcomes among surgeons and hospitals.

"But the current U.S. health care environment calls for increasing accountability for physicians and hospitals as well as transparency of treatment results."

About three-fourths of women battling breast cancer have a partial mastectomy, and nearly one in four of them at some point have another surgery (re-excision) to remove additional tissue. A partial mastectomy intends to remove cancerous cells while maintaining maximum cosmetic appearance of the breast, but failure to remove all the cells during the initial operation requires additional surgery.

The additional operations can produce considerable psychological, physical and economic stress for patients and delay use of recommended supplemental therapies, according to the study, which measured variation in re-excision rates across hospitals and surgeons from 2003 to 2008. The study included more than 2,200 women with invasive breast cancer from four locations across the country.

The results show rates of re-excision varied widely and were not tied to any discernible patient characteristics. The study highlights the value of multicenter observational studies to pinpoint the variability in health care across different regions and health systems, McCahill said.

"While the long-term effect of this variability is beyond the scope of our study, it is feasible that cancer recurrence and overall survival could be affected by differences in initial surgical care," he said. "The wide level of unexplained clinical variation itself represents a potential barrier to high-quality and cost-effective care of patients with breast cancer."

###

The study was funded by a National Institutes of Health grant via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The Lacks Cancer Center is part of Saint Mary's Health Care, a member of the new Mercy Health and an integrated network of health care excellence offering a combination of capabilities to deliver a health care experience that is more complete and personally satisfying. Created by Jay and Betty Van Andel in 1996, the Van Andel Institute is an independent research and educational organization based in Grand Rapids and dedicated to preserving, enhancing and expanding the frontiers of medical science.

Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 31-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jason Cody
codyja@msu.edu
517-432-0924
Michigan State University

Differences cannot be explained by patient's medical, treatment history

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. A new study reveals substantial differences by both surgeon and institution in the rates of follow-up surgeries for women who underwent a partial mastectomy for treatment of breast cancer.

Those differences, which cannot be explained by a patient's medical or treatment history, could affect both cancer recurrence and overall survival rates, according to the study led by Laurence McCahill of Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine, the Lacks Cancer Center at Saint Mary's, and Van Andel Research Institute.

The research appears in the Feb. 1 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"A partial mastectomy is one of the most commonly performed cancer operations in the United States," said McCahill, a surgeon with MSU's Department of Surgery and director of surgical oncology at The Lacks Cancer Center. "Currently, there are no readily identifiable quality measures that allow for meaningful comparisons of breast cancer surgical outcomes among surgeons and hospitals.

"But the current U.S. health care environment calls for increasing accountability for physicians and hospitals as well as transparency of treatment results."

About three-fourths of women battling breast cancer have a partial mastectomy, and nearly one in four of them at some point have another surgery (re-excision) to remove additional tissue. A partial mastectomy intends to remove cancerous cells while maintaining maximum cosmetic appearance of the breast, but failure to remove all the cells during the initial operation requires additional surgery.

The additional operations can produce considerable psychological, physical and economic stress for patients and delay use of recommended supplemental therapies, according to the study, which measured variation in re-excision rates across hospitals and surgeons from 2003 to 2008. The study included more than 2,200 women with invasive breast cancer from four locations across the country.

The results show rates of re-excision varied widely and were not tied to any discernible patient characteristics. The study highlights the value of multicenter observational studies to pinpoint the variability in health care across different regions and health systems, McCahill said.

"While the long-term effect of this variability is beyond the scope of our study, it is feasible that cancer recurrence and overall survival could be affected by differences in initial surgical care," he said. "The wide level of unexplained clinical variation itself represents a potential barrier to high-quality and cost-effective care of patients with breast cancer."

###

The study was funded by a National Institutes of Health grant via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The Lacks Cancer Center is part of Saint Mary's Health Care, a member of the new Mercy Health and an integrated network of health care excellence offering a combination of capabilities to deliver a health care experience that is more complete and personally satisfying. Created by Jay and Betty Van Andel in 1996, the Van Andel Institute is an independent research and educational organization based in Grand Rapids and dedicated to preserving, enhancing and expanding the frontiers of medical science.

Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/msu-rof013112.php

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Iowa GOP chairman Strawn says he'll resign (AP)

DES MOINES, Iowa ? The chairman of Iowa's Republican Party says he is stepping down following criticism of the Jan. 3 caucus vote count.

In a written announcement Tuesday, chairman Matt Strawn didn't address the caucus count in which a close race led him to first declare Mitt Romney the winner by eight votes. Two weeks later, Strawn initially declined to name a winner when a recount showed Rick Santorum with a 34-vote edge.

Santorum was later declared the winner.

Strawn says his resignation will be effective Feb. 10.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_el_pr/us_iowa_gop_strawn

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Koss revamps Porta Pro headphones with iPhone remote, intros 'interlocking' earbuds

We're baffled that we missed this gem of news during the bustle of CES, but it turns out that Koss has recently announced a new version of its iconic Porta Pro headphones. The Porta Pro KTC (Koss Touch Control), as it's dubbed, is essentially the same piece of retro kit that's been delighting ears and keeping wallets chubby for nearly three decades. The KTC bit in its name refers to the inclusion of an iDevice-certified inline remote / mic, aimed at keeping on-the-go users in sync with their playlists and phone calls. If you prefer earbuds, but hate tangled cords, then the company's interlocking intra-aurals might be to your liking. This lineup features in-ears which snap into each other for easier storage. You'll have a choice between the IL-100 and 200, the latter of which distinguishes itself with the mere addition of an inline remote for iPhones. While there's no word on pricing just yet for any of the aforementioned units, Koss aims to begin ship the new audio-wares once spring is in full bloom. For now, you'll find the press releases and a render of the 'buds after the break.

Continue reading Koss revamps Porta Pro headphones with iPhone remote, intros 'interlocking' earbuds

Koss revamps Porta Pro headphones with iPhone remote, intros 'interlocking' earbuds originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cambodia holds Senate elections; most can't vote

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) ? Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen's party was expected to sweep Senate elections Sunday in a vote that is closed to the general population and criticized for lacking credibility.

The country's 61-member upper house of Parliament is chosen by local officials and members of the National Assembly, or lower house. Two seats are appointed by King Norodom Sihamoni and two by the National Assembly.

At the last Senate election in 2006, the ruling Cambodian People's Party won 45 seats, followed by the royalist Funcinpec party with 10. Two seats went to the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.

The Senate has no power to amend or veto legislation and is widely seen as an ineffectual body that rubber-stamps bills from the lower house, which the ruling party dominates.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-28-AS-Cambodia-Senate-Elections/id-4337e48a4b18487a99524a4daa25530b

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Thousands rally for Putin in Russian industrial belt (Reuters)

YEKATERINBURG, Russia (Reuters) ? Thousands of supporters of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin rallied on Saturday to back his bid to return to the Kremlin, a week before what are likely to be far larger opposition protests to demand greater political choice.

Police said around 10,000 people gathered in Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city, with many brought on buses and trains from outlying towns in the Urals industrial belt to back Putin before the March 4 presidential vote.

Putin enjoys strong support in many Russian regions, but faces criticism from the urban middle class, especially in Moscow and St Petersburg. Effectively excluded from mainstream politics, middle class Russians have taken to the Internet to call for sweeping electoral reform.

Tens of thousands people from different parties and others, unaffiliated to any political organization, are expected to take part in a protest march on Feb 4 to press "For fair elections" in Moscow, which was approved by the city's authorities.

Tens of thousands protested in Moscow and other cities in December calling for a December 4 parliamentary election to be re-run, alleging the ruling United Russia party's victory was achieved through widespread ballot fraud.

In Yekaterinburg, demonstrators held placards with slogans such as 'We are for a stable tomorrow', swayed to pop music and enjoyed free food and drink.

"Buses were laid on for us at the factory, we saw lists in advance of those who would go to the rally," said Andrei Mandure, a worker at a chemical plant in the town of Lesnoy, a closed facility during the Soviet era. Putin did not attend the rally.

Public-sector workers were also out in the city's railway station square. One, a 59-year-old kindergarten worker who gave her name as Yevgeniya, told Reuters her boss had instructed her to attend.

Putin, president from 2000-08, is aiming to secure a further six-year term in March. He holds a clear lead in opinion polls, with Communist Gennady Zyuganov running a distant second.

The exclusion of liberal Grigory Yavlinsky from the slate on a technicality has further angered the opposition, which says the Kremlin has allowed billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov to run to capture protest votes without posing a threat to Putin.

"There are no good candidates. Yavlinsky was banned ... (so) who else if not Putin?" said Sergei, a 46-year old from Kirovgrad, when asked who he would vote for in March.

(Writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Ben Harding)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_russia_putin_rally

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Finance chiefs reassure CEOs over European crisis (AP)

DAVOS, Switzerland ? Leading finance chiefs sought to reassure anxious global business leaders on Friday that Europe is on track to solve its crippling debt crisis before it drags the world's economies down. Europe's top banker said investors, burned after trusting the region's governments too much, now trust them too little.

The finance chiefs said the picture in Europe has changed over the past two months as the European Central Bank has loaned billions of euros to fragile banks, indebted countries have pushed through convincing reforms and EU leaders have come near to building a closer fiscal union that would make their common currency stronger.

Several also signaled Friday that Greece is close to clinching a crucial debt-reduction deal with private bondholders ? a key element in Europe's efforts to stem a two-year debt crisis that is causing ripples around the globe. The crisis is a central topic at the World Economic Forum, a gathering of government and business leaders at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

"They're making progress on reforms, they're changing the institutions of Europe to put better discipline on fiscal policy," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. "You have three new governments doing some very tough things. You have an ECB doing what central banks have to do. You see them move to try to strengthen the financial sector."

Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, said a combination of actions ? including super-cheap, long-term loans to shaky banks on the continent and a couple of interest rate cuts ? have turned the crisis around.

"We have avoided a major credit crunch, a major lending crisis," he said.

Draghi said borrowing rates would remain high "for quite a while" because bond markets are overestimating the risk involved in holding European government debt after years of underestimating it. But he called market pressure "the most potent engine for reform in different governments."

Geithner said the fate of the U.S. economy ? and by extension of the rest of the world ? hinges on Europe's debt crisis, along with potential tensions with Iran. He said the main piece of unfinished business for Europe is building a bigger fund to help troubled economies survive.

But while French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said that fund needs to be increased to calm markets, his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schaeuble, indicated that his government is not prepared to do so. Germany, as Europe's biggest economy, would face the biggest bill.

"We must not give the wrong incentives," Schaeuble said. "You can make any figure. It will not work if the real problems will not be solved."

Both, together with Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos Jurado and European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, agreed that the idea of issuing "eurobonds" backed jointly by all eurozone governments is a non-starter for now. They didn't rule out the possibility that such bonds could be introduced once confidence in Europe's public finances is restored, with Guindos calling that a "final target."

Schaeuble said eurobonds would provide bad incentives by allowing debt-ridden countries to "spend money you don't have on the bill of others."

Many economists have said eurobonds are needed to solve the crisis as they could reduce the borrowing costs of heavily indebted countries by pooling them with bonds of stronger economies like Germany's.

European leaders have been especially concerned about Greece, whose borrowing costs are so high that it needs a second European bailout just to pay its interest, but the finance chiefs signaled Friday that a deal is at hand.

Greece has been negotiating with the a group representing banks and other lenders in the hopes that they will forgive half of Greece's debt in exchange for Greek assurances that it will pay back the other half without defaulting on its loans. The deal would also let Greece repay over a longer period at a lower interest rate ? negotiators have been trying to agree on what that rate will be.

Schaeuble said he is "quite optimistic" about a deal, while Rehn said he hopes a deal can be reached "if not today, maybe by the weekend."

Agreement between Greece and its creditors is needed before Europe and the International Monetary Fund agree to a second multibillion-euro bailout package.

At the heart of the problem is that the 17 countries that use the euro use a single currency but have different fiscal policies. That changes the nature of their debt, said Adair Turner, chairman of Britain's banking regulator the Financial Services Authority.

"That debt is more equivalent to the State of California debt than the U.S. federal debt," he said.

That's why all but one of the 27 EU countries ? the United Kingdom has refused to participate ? are discussing a closer fiscal union. On Monday, leaders meet in Brussels to work out the details of that new compact.

Schaeuble and Baroin noted that even the agreement in principle to forge closer ties has calmed markets since a December summit, as borrowing rates have dropped and stock markets have risen.

"It's amazing," Draghi said. "If you compare today with even five months ago, the euro area is another world."

The crisis threatens more than Europe: the U.N.'s refugee chief warned Friday that it is fueling conflicts around the world. Antonio Guterres told The Associated Press that rising food prices and growing unemployment are hitting those already at the bottom hardest, sparking conflict in places like South Sudan and exacerbating hotspots including Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.

_____

Frank Jordans in Davos and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_davos_forum

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Bisping continues to question Sonnen?s manhood over low testosterone

CHICAGO -- Maybe it's a good thing Michael Bisping and Chael Sonnen didn't have months to promote their fight tomorrow night on the UFC on Fox 2 at the United Center. One can only imagine the depths the trash talk would've sunk to.

Sonnen's testosterone replacement therapy is the popular subject this week for the Brit, who suggests that the American is less than a complete male. Early in the week on HDNet, Bisping alleged that Sonnen has a physical abnormality.

"[...] He's been submitted more times than I care to mention. Not to mention, the last time he lost a fight by submission, there were some issues involving performance enhancing drugs," Bisping said. "I don't know what the deal is. Apparently, he has one testicle. One testicle! This is why he uses performance enhancing drugs. He's gonna need more than one little ball to fight me next weekend!"

Sonnen served a one-year suspension for not properly disclosing that he was undergoing testosterone replacement therapy before his UFC 117 fight in California. Bisping is not a fan of fighter using TRT.

"If Sonnen needs TRT, then he's is the wrong sport. If you need TRT, then perhaps you should be carrying a purse and a handbag, and wearing a dress," Bisping told The Telegraph's Gareth A. Davies. "This is a fight sport, and Alpha males shouldn't need testosterone from anywhere else."

Strangely enough, that quote emerged from a conversation where Bisping discussed using a sports psychologist. That topic could certainly open the door for some counter-fire from Sonnen. Stay tuned, there's still 30-plus hours until the fight.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/bisping-continues-sonnen-manhood-over-low-testoterone-194252587.html

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Board Post, January 26 2012 (slacktivist)

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Outside Syria's capital, suburbs look like war zone

DAMASCUS?? When Arab League observers headed to the suburbs of Damascus on Thursday, Syrian security refused to accompany them to most areas, because they are no longer in control there.

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In some towns no more than a 15-minute drive from the capital, the governor of rural Damascus warned that gunmen were walking the streets.

But the monitors went, accompanied by journalists, to the outskirts of Irbin and Harasta, which have become hotbeds for protests and armed revolt since the 10-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began.

At a checkpoint on an intersection heading into the town of Irbin, dozens of soldiers with assault rifles were deployed in full gear and on alert. On the sidewalk near them lay the bodies of two men shot dead, one of them a soldier.

But the soldiers were fixated nervously on the anti-Assad protest just hundreds of meters away, with protesters chanting "Allahu Akbar". Most shops were closed and people gave the Arab League monitors suspicious looks.

Video: Inside Syria: the untold story (on this page)

"Some people are angry with us because of the report," one observer said.

The observer team sent a report last week on their mission to check implementation of an Arab peace plan that aims to halt bloodshed from Assad's military crackdown on the unrest that the United Nations says has killed more than 5,000 people.

Syria says the revolt is run by foreign-backed militants that have killed over 2,000 of its forces.

While the Arab League came out with a strong statement calling for Assad to step down, many in the Syrian opposition were angry at the monitors' report, which highlighted violence by Assad's adversaries as much as by the government itself.

They said monitors neglected the balance of power in the struggle between protesters and rebels against the army.

ICRC: Red Crescent official shot dead in Syria

Reuters, which joined the monitors on their first observation trip since the report, is in Syria on a state-sponsored trip and is usually accompanied by a government minder.

The Arab observers watched the anti-Assad demonstration from afar, and minutes later they drove away towards a police hospital in Harasta, another flashpoint in the revolt.

The team head, Jaafar al-Kubaida, said the monitors did not enter Irbin because they were worried the "angry crowd" might harass them. "Teams are harassed sometimes, we feared they might attack the cars or throw stones at us. It has happened before."

Cars with 'Israeli bombs'
At the police hospital in Harasta, the staff said most of rural Damascus was not controlled by the government forces and gunmen were kidnapping and killing those affiliated with the government in those areas.

"Any car plate that belongs to the government cannot drive inside Harasta, we as doctors cannot go, they hijacked one of our cars a week ago," said a doctor in the hospital.

A soldier pointed at a mosque facing the checkpoint and said, "You see that mosque? Their snipers sometimes fire at us from there."

A senior officer said that security forces were in talks with the armed men through dignitaries in the towns, hoping to convince them to hand over their weapons. He said the government had not completely lost control of the Damascus countryside.

"No, you cannot say that they are in control of rural Damascus, they control areas and the army control areas," he told Reuters.

Elderly Syrian man dares to speak out to journalists then says 'I will disappear'

When Arab observers pressed a senior officer to allow them entry into the troubled town, he said it was too dangerous.

"The coordination (team) did not get back to us, we told them you wanted to go but still no reply from them, We want you to go to them under their protection," a senior officer told the monitors.

The monitors were frustrated they could not enter, but also said they were unsure if their presence was wanted after their first report. "We would love to go, but I'm not sure we are welcomed there," one observer told Reuters.

Security officials showed monitors three cars which they said were towed from inside Harasta and Douma. They said the vehicles were confiscated from "terrorists" and loaded with Israeli bombs.

Inside Harasta, the army was heavily deployed. Dozens of soldiers in full gear were deployed in a 1,650-foot-long street, their guns pointed up as they nervously watched the nearby houses. People peeked from their windows but few went out. The trash-littered streets was almost deserted.

"Free Syria" was written on a wall.

"Yes, it is not safe," said a veiled woman who was walking a man down the street. She looked worried and scared. "There are gunmen but we do not have the Free Syria Army here."

More of msnbc.com's Syria coverage

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46150156/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Detecting detrimental change in coral reefs

Public release date: 26-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Rani Gran
Rani.C.Gran@nasa.gov
301-286-2483
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Over dinner on R.V. Calypso while anchored on the lee side of Glover's Reef in Belize, Jacques Cousteau told Phil Dustan that he suspected humans were having a negative impact on coral reefs. Dustana young ocean ecologist who had worked in the lush coral reefs of the Caribbean and Sinai Peninsulafound this difficult to believe. It was December 1974.

But Cousteau was right. During the following three-plus decades, Dustan, an ocean ecologist and biology professor at the University of Charleston in South Carolina, has witnessed widespread coral reef degradation and bleaching from up close. In the late 1970s Dustan helped build a handheld spectrometer, a tool to measure light given off by the coral. Using his spectrometer, Dustan could look at light reflected and made by the different organisms that comprised the living reefs. Since then, he has watched reefs deteriorate at an alarming rate. Recently he has found that Landsat offers a way to evaluate these changes globally. Using an innovative way to map how coral reefs are changing over time, Dustan now can find 'hotspots' where conservation efforts should be focused to protect these delicate communities.

Situated in shallow clear water, most coral reefs are visible to satellites that use passive remote sensing to observe Earth's surface. But coral reefs are complex ecosystems with coincident coral species, sand, and water all reflecting light. Dustan found that currently orbiting satellites do not offer the spatial or spectral resolution needed to distinguish between them and specifically classify coral reef composition. So instead of attempting to classify the inherently complex coral ecosystem to monitor their health, Dustan has instead started to look for changehow overall reflectance for a geographic location varies over time.

Dustan uses a time series of Landsat data to calculate something called temporal texturebasically a map showing where change has occurred based on statistical analysis of reflectance information. While Dustan cannot diagnosis the type of change with temporal texture he can establish where serious changes have occurred. Coral communities have seasonal rhythms and periodicities, but larger, significant changes show up as statistical outliers in temporal texture maps and often correlate with reef decline.

A Case Study

Carysfort reefnamed for the HMS Carysfort, an eighteenth century British warship that ran aground on the reef in 1770is considered the most ecologically diverse on the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary's northern seaward edge, but today it is in a state of ecological collapse.

Dustan and colleagues conducted the first quantitative field study of coral health at Carysfort in 1974. After a quarter century their studies showed that coral had declined 92 percent. The coral had succumbed to an array of stressors culminating with deadly diseases.

Using the well-characterized Carysfort reef as his control, Dustan calculated the temporal texture for the reef using a series of 20 Landsat images collected between 1982 and 1996. The resulting temporal texture maps correlated with the known areas of significant coral loss (where coral communities have turned into algal-dominated substrates) and they correctly showed that the seaward shallow regions have had the most detrimental change.

This novel approach to change detection is only possible because the long-term calibration of Landsat data assures that data from year-to-year is consistent. Dustin needs at least 6 to 8 Landsat images to create a reliable temporal texture map, but the more data that is available, the finer the results.

Dustan tested this work in the U.S. because he had a robust study site and because prior to 1999 coverage of reefs outside of the U.S. was spotty. With the Landsat 7 launch in 1999 a new global data acquisition strategy was established and for the first time the planet's coral reefs were systematically and regularly imaged, greatly increasing our knowledge of reefs. The Landsat archive enabled the completing of the first exhaustive global survey of reefs (Millennium Global Coral Reef Mapping Project, http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/news-archive/news_0031.html). Efforts are currently underway to receive and ingest Landsat data collected and housed by international ground-receiving stations. International partners often downlink Landsat scenes of their countries that the U.S. does not, so it is very likely that historic reef images will be added the U.S. Landsat archive during this process.

Carrying on Outside of Carysfort

Temporal texture gives scientists an entirely new way to look at coral reefs. A worldwide study could help managers locate change 'hotspots' and could better inform conservation efforts.

Ideally, after more testing, Dustan would like to see an automatic change detection system implemented to follow major worldwide reef systems. "There is no reason that a form of temporal texture monitoring could not be implemented with current satellites in orbit," Dustan says.

Because reefs are underwater it is difficult to grasp the extensive devastation being exacted upon them. Global temporal texture mapping could bring the ravages into focus.

###

The Landsat Program is a series of Earth observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. Landsat satellites have been consistently gathering data about our planet since 1972. They continue to improve and expand this unparalleled record of Earth's changing landscapes for the benefit of all.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 26-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Rani Gran
Rani.C.Gran@nasa.gov
301-286-2483
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Over dinner on R.V. Calypso while anchored on the lee side of Glover's Reef in Belize, Jacques Cousteau told Phil Dustan that he suspected humans were having a negative impact on coral reefs. Dustana young ocean ecologist who had worked in the lush coral reefs of the Caribbean and Sinai Peninsulafound this difficult to believe. It was December 1974.

But Cousteau was right. During the following three-plus decades, Dustan, an ocean ecologist and biology professor at the University of Charleston in South Carolina, has witnessed widespread coral reef degradation and bleaching from up close. In the late 1970s Dustan helped build a handheld spectrometer, a tool to measure light given off by the coral. Using his spectrometer, Dustan could look at light reflected and made by the different organisms that comprised the living reefs. Since then, he has watched reefs deteriorate at an alarming rate. Recently he has found that Landsat offers a way to evaluate these changes globally. Using an innovative way to map how coral reefs are changing over time, Dustan now can find 'hotspots' where conservation efforts should be focused to protect these delicate communities.

Situated in shallow clear water, most coral reefs are visible to satellites that use passive remote sensing to observe Earth's surface. But coral reefs are complex ecosystems with coincident coral species, sand, and water all reflecting light. Dustan found that currently orbiting satellites do not offer the spatial or spectral resolution needed to distinguish between them and specifically classify coral reef composition. So instead of attempting to classify the inherently complex coral ecosystem to monitor their health, Dustan has instead started to look for changehow overall reflectance for a geographic location varies over time.

Dustan uses a time series of Landsat data to calculate something called temporal texturebasically a map showing where change has occurred based on statistical analysis of reflectance information. While Dustan cannot diagnosis the type of change with temporal texture he can establish where serious changes have occurred. Coral communities have seasonal rhythms and periodicities, but larger, significant changes show up as statistical outliers in temporal texture maps and often correlate with reef decline.

A Case Study

Carysfort reefnamed for the HMS Carysfort, an eighteenth century British warship that ran aground on the reef in 1770is considered the most ecologically diverse on the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary's northern seaward edge, but today it is in a state of ecological collapse.

Dustan and colleagues conducted the first quantitative field study of coral health at Carysfort in 1974. After a quarter century their studies showed that coral had declined 92 percent. The coral had succumbed to an array of stressors culminating with deadly diseases.

Using the well-characterized Carysfort reef as his control, Dustan calculated the temporal texture for the reef using a series of 20 Landsat images collected between 1982 and 1996. The resulting temporal texture maps correlated with the known areas of significant coral loss (where coral communities have turned into algal-dominated substrates) and they correctly showed that the seaward shallow regions have had the most detrimental change.

This novel approach to change detection is only possible because the long-term calibration of Landsat data assures that data from year-to-year is consistent. Dustin needs at least 6 to 8 Landsat images to create a reliable temporal texture map, but the more data that is available, the finer the results.

Dustan tested this work in the U.S. because he had a robust study site and because prior to 1999 coverage of reefs outside of the U.S. was spotty. With the Landsat 7 launch in 1999 a new global data acquisition strategy was established and for the first time the planet's coral reefs were systematically and regularly imaged, greatly increasing our knowledge of reefs. The Landsat archive enabled the completing of the first exhaustive global survey of reefs (Millennium Global Coral Reef Mapping Project, http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/news-archive/news_0031.html). Efforts are currently underway to receive and ingest Landsat data collected and housed by international ground-receiving stations. International partners often downlink Landsat scenes of their countries that the U.S. does not, so it is very likely that historic reef images will be added the U.S. Landsat archive during this process.

Carrying on Outside of Carysfort

Temporal texture gives scientists an entirely new way to look at coral reefs. A worldwide study could help managers locate change 'hotspots' and could better inform conservation efforts.

Ideally, after more testing, Dustan would like to see an automatic change detection system implemented to follow major worldwide reef systems. "There is no reason that a form of temporal texture monitoring could not be implemented with current satellites in orbit," Dustan says.

Because reefs are underwater it is difficult to grasp the extensive devastation being exacted upon them. Global temporal texture mapping could bring the ravages into focus.

###

The Landsat Program is a series of Earth observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. Landsat satellites have been consistently gathering data about our planet since 1972. They continue to improve and expand this unparalleled record of Earth's changing landscapes for the benefit of all.

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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/nsfc-ddc012612.php

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Where to Check In After You've Checked Out [Video]

The rising death rate in Japan has lengthened the average wait for cremation to roughly four days. That's a long 96 hours to let you lay there and ripen. So what do you do after shuffling off this mortal coil? You get yourself to a corpse hotel, obviously. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8PPocKT1JM0/where-to-check-in-after-youve-checked-out

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Katherine Heigl Has 'Thought A Lot' About Return To 'Grey's Anatomy'

'There's nothing about [Izzie] I didn't like,' Heigl tells MTV News at 'One for the Money' premiere.
By Christina Garibaldi

Katherine Heigl on "Grey's Anatomy"
Photo: ABC

NEW YORK — It's been more than two years since Katherine Heigl left her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on the hit show "Grey's Anatomy." Rumors swirled that Heigl had behaved like a diva on the set, and after five seasons she left to focus on her movie career and being a mom to her adopted daughter.

Yet it seems she's had a change of heart. At the New York premiere of her new flick "One for the Money," which hits theaters on Friday, Heigl told MTV News she would love to return to "Grey's Anatomy" to find out what happened to her beloved character.

"There was something about her that I really loved. I thought she was such an interesting character and her backstory, the fact that she was raised in a trailer park and had to give a child up for adoption, put herself through med school and was standing there actually doing the work and going for it, so smart, sort of strong-willed," Heigl said. "I thought she was kind of a great character — there's nothing about her I didn't like."

Back in October 2010 Heigl told MTV News that she was certain she would not return to Seattle Grace since she didn't want to feel her plotline was forced. "I can't think of any way that she could come back gracefully that wouldn't just feel manipulative," the actress explained. "And it's hard, because I really wonder what she's doing and where she is and what happened, but that is over for me now."

Yet Heigl now seems ready to reconsider and already has an idea of what could happen to Izzie. "I've thought about this a lot, actually. I would love it if Izzie came back actually having really just sort of gotten to the next level," Heigl said. "She was always sort of one step behind and struggling with her career, and then she went though all these awful things, the death of her friend, the death of her fiancé, her own near death and then the dissolving of her own marriage. I just want the girl to win, just once. So I want her to come back and have really succeeded at whatever hospital she went to work at with her tail between her legs and maybe they've made her head of surgery or she's invented some surgical method; that would be awesome."

With all the ups and downs she experienced on "Grey's Anatomy," there is one thing she wish she could change: her acting. "I think there's a lot of scenes where I wish I had performed them better," Heigl said.

"You're always like, 'Oh, I wish I could take that back.' "

Would you be excited if Katherine Heigl returned to "Grey's Anatomy"? Let us know in the comments!

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677884/katherine-heigl-returning-greys-anatomy.jhtml

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Spanish police nab suspect in Conn. jeweler shooting

By WNBC New York and msnbc.com staff reports

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A man suspected of killing a jeweler in the tony town of Westport, Conn., last month and stealing $300,000-worth of diamonds has been arrested in Spain, federal authorities said.

Andrew Robert Levene, 41, was charged Tuesday?with shooting and killing Yekutiel Zeevi, 65, at Zeevi?s office in a shopping center on Dec. 8. It was the first murder in Westport, former home of domestic guru Martha Stewart, since 1996.

According to a federal criminal complaint filed in Washington, D.C., and reported by the Connecticut Post, Levene met with Zeevi in the shop, located in a locked second-floor suite, pretending he was going to purchase several large diamonds he had arranged to buy earlier that?month.

Once inside, he pulled out a gun and shot Zeevi and a business associate, authorities said.

Levene fled the U.S. on a flight from Philadelphia to the Netherlands and then went on to Spain, authorities allege.? He was arrested by Spanish national police on Monday.?

U.S. Attorney for Connecticut David Fein said Levene will face federal murder and attempted murder charges.? It was not immediately clear when Levene might be sent back to Connecticut for trial or whether he had an attorney.

Zeevi's business associate, Ronen Konfino, 48, of New York City, survived the shooting and had been able to help police with their?investigation, the Connecticut Post reported.

Use of a firearm
Levene was formally charged with one count of federal murder, one count of attempted murder, one count of causing death through the use of a firearm and one count of interference with commerce through robbery, Fein said.

According to the Post, authorities said that Levene contacted Zeevi's business in early December and asked Zeevi if he could find diamonds between 2 and 3 carats in size and valued between $45,000 and $75,000. On Dec. 7, Zeevi and Konfino met Levene, who examined the diamonds, but told the owner he would have to "sleep on it" before making a purchase, according to the?documents.

The next day, six diamonds with a total value of approximately $300,000 were shown to Levene, who then pulled out a gun and shot both Zeevi and Konfino, according to the documents. Zeevi was pronounced dead after being taken to Norwalk Hospital, where Konfino was also treated and later?released.

Eileen Rosen, a friend of the family, told the Post that she was "thrilled that they found him; this is great news for the family. He was very close with his wife. Nothing can bring him back, her heart will ache forever, but I'm just so thrilled that they found him. Everybody in the community loves?him."

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/24/10227053-spanish-police-arrest-suspect-in-shooting-of-conn-jeweler

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Antioch Shooting: Six Hurt During Attack At California 'Sweet Sixteen' Party

ANTIOCH, Calif. -- Six people, including five teens, were injured when gunfire erupted at a girl's 16th birthday party in the San Francisco Bay area, authorities said Sunday.

Police in Antioch believe three or four male partygoers opened fire Saturday night when two groups began arguing, said police Lt. Scott Willerford. Violence is not common in the neighborhood in Antioch, which is about 38 miles northeast of San Francisco.

"Weapons were brandished and numerous shots were fired from multiple guns," Willerford said.

The gunfire wounded a 13-year-old boy, two 16-year-old boys, two 18-year-old men and a 21-year-old woman, police said. Their injuries ranged from a minor grazing wound to an abdomen wound, police said. Police did not say how many shots were fired, or specify what kind of weapons were used.

Three of the wounded have been released from hospitals, but the 13-year-old, an 18-year-old and the woman remained in serious but stable condition, police said. Their names have not been released.

Police are looking for three or four suspects described as "young men," but acknowledge they haven't been able to obtain more detailed descriptions. Willerford said callers reporting the shooting had said between 70 and 80 people were at the party, but many of them ran away when the gunfire broke out.

Authorities said the party was being thrown by the girl's parents.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/23/antioch-shooting_n_1222815.html

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MTV Movie Brawl 2012: Voting Ends Today!

It all comes down to this: the final push in the final round of the MTV Movie Brawl 2012! After weeks of match-ups and almost 40 fallen competitors along the way, we're down to just two films vying for the top spot in the brawl for it all: "The Hunger Games," the number-one ranked action [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/01/23/mtv-movie-brawl-2012-voting-ends-today/

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Stung by defeat, Romney ready to right tax "mistake" (Reuters)

Columbia, South Carolina (Reuters) ? Humbled by a stunning loss in South Carolina, Mitt Romney said on Sunday he would release this week the tax returns demanded by rivals as he bids to regain the upper hand in the volatile Republican presidential race.

Romney, the longtime front-runner in the Republican race and one of the wealthiest presidential candidates in history, lost to a resurgent Newt Gingrich in the conservative Southern state on Saturday after stumbling badly in debates with clumsy responses to demands that he disclose his tax history.

Trying to recapture his footing as the contest heads to more populous and more moderate Florida, Romney said he would release his 2010 returns and an estimate for 2011 on Tuesday.

"We made a mistake holding off as long as we did and it just was a distraction," Romney said on "Fox News Sunday."

Romney said the returns would be on the Internet and emphasized he was releasing two years of returns after Gingrich posted 2010 taxes on Thursday.

He slammed Gingrich as a Washington insider, a line of attack he is expected to use going forward, and called on his rival to release details of his contract with the government-sponsored mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac.

Gingrich's work for Freddie Mac could raise concerns for some voters in Florida, a state that has been hit hard by the downturn in the U.S. real estate market.

"He talks about great, bold movements and ideas, well what's he been doing for 15 years? He's been working as a lobbyist ... that's selling influence around Washington," Romney told about 300 supporters in a campaign stop later on Sunday outside Daytona Beach, Florida.

Romney's tax announcement was meant to draw a line under a bad week punctuated by his own missteps, a surprising turn in an otherwise tightly scripted campaign.

In the midst of a halting response to the tax return controversy, Romney said he paid a rate of about 15 percent, low compared with many U.S. wage earners but in line with what wealthy individuals pay on income from investments.

Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives with a sharp tongue that played well in debates, pounced on Romney's weak flank and walloped the former Massachusetts governor by 40 percent to 28 percent in South Carolina.

The Gingrich win reshaped the Republican race and reflected a party sharply divided over how to beat Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 election.

There have been three nominating contests so far and Gingrich, Romney and former Senator Rick Santorum have each won one.

A victory in Florida's primary on January 31 would restore Romney's luster after South Carolina, and a Gingrich win would solidify him as a serious challenger to the former business executive. A protracted and poisonous Republican battle, in turn, could be a boon to Obama's re-election bid.

"It's hard to see it ending soon. It could drag on to April," said Al Cardenas, the chairman of the American Conservative Union. Cardenas headed Romney's campaign in Florida in 2008, but has remained neutral this time.

"When this is over, we are going to have a presidential candidate showing all his warts. We are going to enter into a national election with a candidate whose chinks in the armor are visibly seen," he said.

With 19 million people, Florida presents logistical and financial challenges that may give an advantage to Romney's well-funded campaign machine.

In Florida, he leads Gingrich by 40.5 percent to 22 percent, according to polls cited by RealClearPolitics.com, conducted before Romney's battering in South Carolina. Santorum, a social conservative who won the Iowa contest but has struggled to gain traction since then, is third with 15 percent.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who is not campaigning in Florida, is fourth at about 9 percent.

ROMNEY FLOODS FLORIDA

Some Florida voters were delighted by Gingrich's rise.

Eugenio Perez, 58, a Miami property manager, said Gingrich's experience would help him in the White House.

"We live in a very complex world and we can't put a novice in such a high place, as we did in 2008," he said.

The more moderate electorate in Florida may help Romney, who has failed to consolidate conservative support despite his longtime front-runner status and had hoped to wrap up the nomination after Texas Governor Rick Perry and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman bowed out last week.

Facing a real estate crisis and an unemployment rate of 9.9 percent, above the national average, Floridians are also expected to be more open to Romney's argument that he is the type of "CEO president" the country needs.

"I like the fact that Romney is a businessman who has been successful. Some people criticize that but I think that's commendable," said Mike Sullivan, 57, a professional golfer who attended the Romney rally.

"Right now, we need a chief executive who can run America like a business and not like the Salvation Army."

The tax release shift and financial advantage could help Romney regain his momentum after Gingrich's win.

A political action committee formed by Romney backers, Restore Our Future, has spent $5 million in Florida for Romney since mid-December, 20 times the amount spent there so far by any other group supporting a Republican candidate, according to Federal Election Commission filings analyzed by Reuters.

Romney could get some help from Santorum, who is competing with Gingrich to be the conservative alternative to Romney.

"It's a choice between a moderate and an erratic conservative - someone who on a lot of the major issues has been just wrong," Santorum told ABC's "This Week" program, saying Gingrich was out of step with many Republicans on Wall Street bailouts, health policy, immigration and global warming. "I think he's a very high-risk candidate.

Gingrich has see-sawed in national polls but has shown an uncanny ability to hang on, especially after an exodus of his staff last summer. Now he must prove he is the most "electable" choice despite hefty political and personal baggage.

Gingrich, who refers to Romney as a "Massachusetts moderate," said having his rival's taxes on the table would at least put an end to that part of the campaign narrative.

"As far as I'm concerned, that particular issue is now set aside and we can go on and talk about other bigger and more important things," Gingrich said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

But the tax issue will almost certainly not go away.

Income inequality has become a leading topic in the presidential race, and Obama has signaled he will talk about an economy that works "for everyone, not just a wealthy few" in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, the day of Romney's tax return release.

(Additional reporting by Ros Krasny in Coral Springs, Florida, Patricia Zengerle and David Adams in Miami, Terry Wade in Daytona Beach and David Morgan and Andrea Shalal-Esa in Washington. Writing by Jeff Mason and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Mary Milliken and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/ts_nm/us_usa_campaign

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US: Taliban must renounce terrorism for talks (AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan ? The Taliban must renounce ties to terrorists and endorse peace efforts as a condition for opening a political office in the Gulf state of Qatar, a senior U.S. diplomat said Sunday.

Marc Grossman, the special U.S. envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, called for quick work in setting up the office in Qatar, seen as a step to negotiating an end to the decade-long war in Afghanistan between the Taliban and the Western-backed government.

The issue underscores the complexity of efforts to wind down the war ahead of the scheduled departure of NATO combat forces by the end of 2014. Publicly, the Taliban have expressed no interest in reconciliation, and while the U.S. says repeatedly that the peace process must be led by Afghans, Kabul continues to fear it is being left out of the negotiating process.

Grossman spoke to reporters Sunday in Kabul alongside Afghanistan's Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin.

Grossman said Qatar and Afghanistan need to be in direct contact about the office, but "for an office to open, we also need to have a clear statement by the Afghan Taliban against international terrorism and in support of a peace process to end the armed conflict in Afghanistan."

Grossman, speaking at the Afghan Foreign Ministry on a snowy evening in Kabul, noted that the Afghan government would welcome a delegation from Qatar to discuss setting up the office.

Reassuring Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who fears he is being sidelined by U.S. efforts to find a political resolution to the war, Grossman said, "Only Afghans can decide the future of Afghanistan."

Before making his first visit to Afghanistan, Grossman made stops in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and India. He wanted to stop in Pakistan as well, but he said Pakistani officials did not want to meet with him now because they were still revising their policy toward the U.S.

The relationship is badly strained over the U.S. unilateral raid in Pakistan that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and a U.S. airstrike late last year that killed 24 Pakistan soldiers. Pakistan, where many Afghan insurgent leaders are said to be based, has closed overland routes into Afghanistan for U.S. and NATO war supplies.

Both Grossman and Ludin said Pakistan has a crucial role to play in efforts to craft a peace deal with the Taliban.

"There really can't be a comprehensive settlement here ? a peace process ? unless Pakistan is part of it," Grossman said.

Last year Washington opened secret negotiations with the Taliban exploring their willingness to enter into peace talks ahead of the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Talks with the Taliban briefly faltered last summer after Karzai learned of the clandestine negotiations and made them public, temporarily scuttling them. Privately, Karzai has expressed fears that the United States will broker a deal with the Taliban that will be imposed on his government.

U.S. conversations with Taliban representatives have focused on establishing the Taliban office in Qatar and prisoner exchanges. The Taliban are seeking the release of five prisoners from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including Khairullah Khairkhwa, the former governor of Herat province, and Mullah Mohammed Fasl, a top Taliban commander.

Ludin expressed the Afghan government's support in getting a Taliban political office opened in Qatar and said it also would back an American decision to transfer some Taliban detainees from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Qatar.

"If the United States decides to transfer these detainees to Qatar, to the extent that that means that these people will be reunited with their families, the Afghan government will support it. ... but you also will have to ascertain the desire of the detainees themselves," Ludin said.

Grossman said no decision has been made about the transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_re_as/as_afghan_talks

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Many high-risk Americans don't get hepatitis B vaccine

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Although there is an effective vaccine for hepatitis B and public health officials have a strong sense of who is at highest risk for the infectious liver disease, tens of thousands of people in the United States contract the virus every year. According to a new study by researchers at Brown University, missed opportunities to administer the vaccine continue to be a reason why infections persist.

"This is a really simple thing that we could do and if somebody ends up getting the disease because we didn't make the effort then I think that's really a shame," said Brian Montague, assistant professor of medicine in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and a physician at The Miriam Hospital.

Yet in an analysis published Jan. 12, 2012, in advance online in the journal Infection, senior author Montague and lead author Farah Ladak found that in a nationally representative sample of high-risk adults, 51.4 percent said they were unvaccinated. More than half of them had the potential to receive the vaccine based on their reported contact with health care providers.

The study is based on responses by more than 15,000 adults to the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, which gathers health information from more than 430,000 people across the United States. The respondents in the study's analysis acknowledged engaging in risk behaviors such as certain sexual practices or needle drug use and could definitively report their hepatitis B status. Previous research has found that more than 95 percent new infections in adults occur among people with such behavioral risk factors.

Montague, Ladak, and their co-authors sought to figure out who among this highly vulnerable population was going unvaccinated and whether and where they could have received the three required shots.

They found that vaccinations were relatively infrequent among adults older than 33 (vaccinations have increased markedly in children since the 1990s), among people with less access to health insurance, and among people who have also not been vaccinated against other diseases such as the flu.

But even among people with access to health care, including people who reported specific contact with health care providers, thousands of people went unvaccinated, Ladak said. The study identifies places where improved vaccine delivery would make a substantial difference ? for instance when people are tested for HIV, such as at the doctor's office, in a hospital or clinic, and especially in jail.

For those infected as adults, hepatitis B does not always result in persistent infection and chronic liver disease, but it is especially likely to do so among people infected with HIV. Such co-infections are common because many of the risk factors for contracting either virus are the same.

"In persons visiting [HIV-testing] locations there was a high prevalence of people who had not received the vaccine," said Ladak, a Brown public health graduate. "One of the areas that really stuck out was jails and prisons. Given that many states have mandates to vaccinate incarcerated individuals, you wonder why in so many of these prisons people have not received vaccinations."

Ladak noted that the new study's figures from 2007 closely mirror similar research published in 2000, suggesting that despite widespread awareness among public health officials that vaccinations have been lacking among adults, there has not been clear progress.

Calls to do better

The study lends additional support to the urging of the Institute of Medicine, which in a 2010 report emphasized the importance of seizing opportunities to vaccinate people for hepatitis B and C. The report suggested that officials have not devoted enough resources to vaccination programs, perhaps because the infections sometimes don't present any symptoms, as a reason for the continued prevalence of the diseases.

Montague said some programs are also structured to ensure missed opportunities. For example, funding for HIV care programs allows testing and vaccination of those who are HIV positive. Funding is often not available, though, for combined screening for hepatitis B together with HIV.

"Given that the risks for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C overlap, what we need is integrated testing and prevention programs and strategies that link those cases identified with effective treatment in the community," Montague said.

###

Brown University: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau

Thanks to Brown University for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116856/Many_high_risk_Americans_don_t_get_hepatitis_B_vaccine

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