First - 31st August daily except Mondays, 9 to 17 h Blatsk? Museum download calculator of the spiritual landscape of South Bohemia - exhibition brings small church download calculator architecture scattered throughout the countryside of South Bohemia. On display are also impressive artistic images Jind?ich?v photographer George Tiller. 5th August, 17 hours Park for cultural house ADVENTURE Bumblebee Brundibar - the fairy tale Fridays for cultural house. In case of inclement weather, performances take place in the community center. 13th - 14th August ??pec ??PECK? pilgrimage - in Saturday, 8.13 10 h football tournament, from 20 h dance (Wohryzek Band) on Sunday, 14.08 from 14 h Fire Competition Mayor's Cup, from 15 h dance (Mini ?ev?t?nka) 20th August, 11 hours football pitch Horusice Horusick? fairground FESTIVAL - 11 h football tournament, evening play for listening and dancing Old.times.band. During the day, children's download calculator games, a display of fire-fighting equipment, lots of fun. End of excerpt Article on VESELSK? Calendar of Events - August 2011 id: 24472, Category: Culture and Sport, Category: Archive of cultural events, Published: 27.07.11, dislikes Marie Ko?inov?, Share on Facebook Related Articles Jo?ka ?muka? Trebon Truckshow Lu?nice 2012 cultural mosaic - monastery Borovany download calculator 2012 Farmers Markets 2012 Grand Prix Trebon Trebon fire attack Cultural download calculator and sporting events in 2012 - HAPPY above the river Invitation Lomnica above the river on the events of 2012 Menu of cultural events Archive cultural events Traditional events Anifilm Summer in Trebon Trebon area Fishing Festival T?ebo?sk? Nocturna T?ebo?sk? Theatre Festival Theatre and concerts Galleries and Exhibitions Permanent Exhibitions Cinema Sport and Recreation Bowling Sports Hall Squash Tennis Photos download calculator Videos E-shop Recent download calculator comments download calculator Libor Uher (Akvatrhy akvaritn?ch fish, plants, accessories and protection of animals) Dana (Action 2013 Vinot?ky Radka and Meadows at Golden Canal) Carolina (Rosenberg pond) Jan (T?ebo?sk? Beer Festival 2013) Proch?zkov? (Pond World) Peter (Old Clay - part of the village Trebon) Latest Articles download calculator Concerto for hospice Trebon week for the first hospice Suchdol download calculator vej?lap 2013 Kino Suchdol n Lu?nic? - May 2013 Cottage Vlachnovice T?ebo?sk? Shakespeare Theatre Festival 2013: Night at the time of the solstice - TDF 2013 Anifilm Municipalities to Trebon: Trebon | Borovany | Chlum Trebon | Domanin | Lomnica above the river | Lu?nice | Majdalena | Novosedly over Ne??rkou | Pon?dr??ka | Stankov | Straz nad Ne??rkou | St??b?ec | Suchdol above the river | Vlkov above the river | Most are looking download calculator for: pool | River Lu?nice | Schwarzenberg Tomb | apartments Trebon | Cinema download calculator | T?ebo?sko | accommodation | Christmas carp | Accommodation in Trebon | hotel Trebon | cycling | cycling Trebonsko | City Council | Spa | Theater JK Tyl Trebonsko.cz - operator Destinations Trebonsko download calculator ops | RSS | Site Map | Web Design and SEO by ODEON Partners Destinations Trebonsko ops: Fisheries Trebon HLD as | FISH MARKET as | Cottages by DDS TOUR sro
').append($('#scplatformSocialToolBarMain').contents().clone()));$('.stb-boxstyle-l, .stb-boxstyle-r').append($('#scplatformSocialToolbarBox').contents().clone()).addClass('stb-boxstyle');jQuery.async('scp', function(){$.scp.async('\x2f\x2fmedia-social.s-msn.com\x2fs\x2fjs\x2f18.43\x2fue.min.js', function(){$('\x23pvtbtop').not('.stb-boxstyle-l, .stb-boxstyle-r').not($('\x23pvtbtop').next('div.stb-minitb').prev()).after($('').append($('#scplatformSocialToolBarMain').contents().clone()));$('.stb-boxstyle-l, .stb-boxstyle-r').not('.stb-boxstyle').append($('#scplatformSocialToolbarBox').contents().clone()).addClass('stb-boxstyle');});jQuery.scp.socialToolbar({"jsUrl":"//media-social.s-msn.com/s/js/18.43/ue.min.js","shareCountUrlBase":"//us.social.msn.com/boards","ajaxStubBaseUri":"http://socialcf.blu.msn.com/","responseBridgeUrl":"http://money.ca.msn.com/responsebridge.min.htm","locale":"en-ca","strings":{"lc_shrbtntooltipformatsingular":"Shared {0} time","lc_shrbtntooltipformatplurar":"Shared {0} times","lc_shrintro":"I thought you would be interested in this: {0}","lc_defml":"Email program","lc_hotml":"Hotmail","lc_gml":"Gmail","lc_yml":"Yahoo! Mail","lc_prt":"Print","lc_rdcmnts":"Read comments","lc_eml":"Email","lc_shr":"Share","lc_numfmt":"{0}","lc_numfmt_thousands":"{0}k","lc_numfmt_millions":"{0}M","lc_numfmt_billions_plus":"{0}B+","lc_share_with_friends":"Share with Friends","lc_thanks_for_sharing":"Your story has been shared.","lc_thanks_for_sharing_message":"Now, like us on Facebook.","lc_already_like":"Already like us?","lc_dont_show_again":"Don\u0027t show this again.","lc_shrf":"Share","lc_close":"close","lc_tooltip_close":"Close"},"sharingSites":[{"id":"2","name":"Facebook","icon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/Facebook.png","smallIcon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/Facebook-s.png","urlTemplate":"https://www.facebook.com/dialog/feed?app_id=%7Bfb_appid%7D\u0026link=%7Burl%7D\u0026picture=%7Bimage%7D\u0026name=%7Btitle%7D\u0026description=%7Bdesc%7D\u0026redirect_uri=%7Bredir%7D\u0026caption=%7Burl%7D"},{"id":"50","name":"Twitter","icon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/Twitter3.png","smallIcon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/Twitter3-s.png","urlTemplate":"https://twitter.com/share?url=%7Bs-url%7D\u0026text=%7Btitle%7D\u0026via=%7Btwittervia%7D\u0026related=%7Btwitterfollow%7D"},{"id":"6","name":"LinkedIn","icon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/linkedin.png","smallIcon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/linkedin-s.png","urlTemplate":"http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true\u0026url=%7Burl%7D\u0026title=%7Btitle%7D"},{"id":"9","name":"Stumbleupon","icon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/stumbleupon2.png","smallIcon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/stumbleupon2-s.png","urlTemplate":"http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=%7Burl%7D\u0026title=%7Btitle%7D"},{"id":"12","name":"Reddit","icon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/reddit.png","smallIcon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/reddit-s.png","urlTemplate":"http://reddit.com/submit?url=%7Bs-url%7D\u0026title=%7Btitle%7D"},{"id":"19","name":"Newsvine","icon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/newsvine.png","smallIcon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/newsvine-s.png","urlTemplate":"http://www.newsvine.com/_tools/seed\u0026save?popoff=0\u0026u=%7Bs-url%7D\u0026h=%7Btitle%7D"},{"id":"10","name":"Delicious","icon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/delicious.png","smallIcon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/delicious-s.png","urlTemplate":"http://www.delicious.com/save?v=5\u0026noui\u0026jump=close\u0026url=%7Burl%7D\u0026title=%7Btitle%7D"},{"id":"22","name":"Orkut","icon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/orkut.png","smallIcon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/orkut-s.png","urlTemplate":"http://promote.orkut.com/preview?nt=orkut.com\u0026tt=%7Btitle%7D\u0026du=%7Bs-url%7D\u0026cn=%7Bdesc%7D\u0026tn=%7Bimage%7D"},{"id":"27","name":"Blogger","icon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/blogger.png","smallIcon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/blogger-s.png","urlTemplate":"http://www.blogger.com/blog_this.pyra?n=%7Btitle%7D\u0026u=%7Bs-url%7D"},{"id":"42","name":"Tumblr","icon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/tumblr.png","smallIcon":"//media-social.s-msn.com/images/blogs/tumblr-s.png","urlTemplate":"http://www.tumblr.com/share/link?url=%7Bs-url%7D\u0026name=%7Btitle%7D\u0026description=%7Bdesc%7D"}],"fbLocale":"en_US","fbLocaleWidthLike":90,"fbLocaleWidthRecommend":130,"fbBoxStyleLocaleWidthLike":55,"fbBoxStyleLocaleWidthRecommend":95,"fbLocaleWidthShare":115,"fbShare":true,"fbFanPage":null,"twLocale":"en","twLocaleWidth":110,"twLocaleWidthNoBubble":58,"gLocale":"en","msnShareLocaleWidth":45,"fblkAppId":"132970837947","emailTitleTemplate":"{sitename}: {title}","emailBodyTemplate":"I thought you would be interested in this: {title} ({url})","ver":"","style":"higblue","gmt":"-5"});});$(document).ready(function () {if($.scpTrack){if($('\x23pvtbtop').not('.stb-boxstyle-l, .stb-boxstyle-r').length > 0){$.scpTrack.add('scpToolbarMini_V18.43');}if($('.stb-boxstyle-l, .stb-boxstyle-r').length > 0){$.scpTrack.add('scpToolbarBoxstyle_V18.43');}if($('div.stb2-ext').length > 0){$.scpTrack.add('scpToolbarExternal_V18.43');}if($('#scplatformSocialToolBarMain').not(':hidden').length > 0){$.scpTrack.add('scpToolbarMain_V18.43');}}});//]]>
Modern digital watches can be beautifully engineered and designed items, but they will always lack the craftsmanship that their mechanical predecessors possess. This hand-wound masterpiece, declared "the most complicated watch in the world" by its maker, doesn't do anything a digital watch couldn't replicate but it does so with soul. It also costs $5 million which makes for some very expensive soul. More »
Vitamin D may reduce risk of uterine fibroids, according to NIH studyPublic release date: 15-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Robin Mackar rmackar@niehs.nih.gov 919-541-0073 NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Women who had sufficient amounts of vitamin D were 32 percent less likely to develop fibroids than women with insufficient vitamin D, according to a study from researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Fibroids, also known as uterine leiomyomata, are noncancerous tumors of the uterus. Fibroids often result in pain and bleeding in premenopausal women, and are the leading cause of hysterectomy in the United States.
The study of 1,036 women, aged 35-49, living in the Washington, D.C., area from 1996 to 1999, was led by Donna Baird, Ph.D., a researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of NIH. Baird and her collaborators at The George Washington University and the Medical University of South Carolina screened participants for fibroids using ultrasound. They used blood samples to measure the primary circulating form of vitamin D, known as 25-hydroxy D. Those with more than 20 nanograms per milliliter of 25-hydroxy D were categorized as sufficient, though some experts think even higher levels may be required for good health. The body can make vitamin D when the skin is exposed to the sun, or vitamin D can come from food and supplements.
Study participants also completed a questionnaire on sun exposure. Those who reported spending more than one hour outside per day also had a decreased risk of fibroids. The estimated reduction was 40 percent. Although fewer black than white participants had sufficient 25-hydroxy D levels, the estimated reduction in prevalence of fibroids was about the same for both ethnic groups.
"It would be wonderful if something as simple and inexpensive as getting some natural sunshine on their skin each day could help women reduce their chance of getting fibroids," said Baird.
Baird also noted that, though the findings are consistent with laboratory studies, more studies in women are needed. Baird is currently conducting a study in Detroit to see if the findings from the Washington, D.C., study can be replicated.
Other NIEHS in-house researchers, led by Darlene Dixon, D.V.M., Ph.D., are learning more about fibroid development, by examining tissue samples from study participants who had surgery for fibroids.
"This study adds to a growing body of literature showing the benefits of vitamin D," said Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., director of NIEHS and the National Toxicology Program.
###
NIEHS supports research to understand the effects of the environment on human health and is part of NIH. For more information on environmental health topics, visit http://www.niehs.nih.gov. Subscribe to one or more of the NIEHS news lists to stay current on NIEHS news, press releases, grant opportunities, training, events, and publications.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.
NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health
Reference: Baird DD, Hill MC, Schectman JM, Hollis BW. 2013. Vitamin D and the risk of uterine fibroids. Epidemiology; 24(3):447-453.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
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.
Vitamin D may reduce risk of uterine fibroids, according to NIH studyPublic release date: 15-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Robin Mackar rmackar@niehs.nih.gov 919-541-0073 NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Women who had sufficient amounts of vitamin D were 32 percent less likely to develop fibroids than women with insufficient vitamin D, according to a study from researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Fibroids, also known as uterine leiomyomata, are noncancerous tumors of the uterus. Fibroids often result in pain and bleeding in premenopausal women, and are the leading cause of hysterectomy in the United States.
The study of 1,036 women, aged 35-49, living in the Washington, D.C., area from 1996 to 1999, was led by Donna Baird, Ph.D., a researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of NIH. Baird and her collaborators at The George Washington University and the Medical University of South Carolina screened participants for fibroids using ultrasound. They used blood samples to measure the primary circulating form of vitamin D, known as 25-hydroxy D. Those with more than 20 nanograms per milliliter of 25-hydroxy D were categorized as sufficient, though some experts think even higher levels may be required for good health. The body can make vitamin D when the skin is exposed to the sun, or vitamin D can come from food and supplements.
Study participants also completed a questionnaire on sun exposure. Those who reported spending more than one hour outside per day also had a decreased risk of fibroids. The estimated reduction was 40 percent. Although fewer black than white participants had sufficient 25-hydroxy D levels, the estimated reduction in prevalence of fibroids was about the same for both ethnic groups.
"It would be wonderful if something as simple and inexpensive as getting some natural sunshine on their skin each day could help women reduce their chance of getting fibroids," said Baird.
Baird also noted that, though the findings are consistent with laboratory studies, more studies in women are needed. Baird is currently conducting a study in Detroit to see if the findings from the Washington, D.C., study can be replicated.
Other NIEHS in-house researchers, led by Darlene Dixon, D.V.M., Ph.D., are learning more about fibroid development, by examining tissue samples from study participants who had surgery for fibroids.
"This study adds to a growing body of literature showing the benefits of vitamin D," said Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., director of NIEHS and the National Toxicology Program.
###
NIEHS supports research to understand the effects of the environment on human health and is part of NIH. For more information on environmental health topics, visit http://www.niehs.nih.gov. Subscribe to one or more of the NIEHS news lists to stay current on NIEHS news, press releases, grant opportunities, training, events, and publications.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.
NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health
Reference: Baird DD, Hill MC, Schectman JM, Hollis BW. 2013. Vitamin D and the risk of uterine fibroids. Epidemiology; 24(3):447-453.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
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.
Antarctic ice core samples, up to 150,000 years old, may help scientists estimate whether it will take 50 years - or 500 years - for the Ross Ice Shelf to collapse at the current rate of climate change.
By Nick Perry and Rod McGuirk,?Associated Press / April 6, 2013
Scientist Nancy Bertler holds the final section of ice she collected from a half-mile under Antarctica's surface in a laboratory freezer, near Wellington, New Zealand. Antarctica's pristine habitat provides a laboratory for scientists studying the effects of climate change.
(AP Photo/Nick Perry)
Enlarge
Nancy Bertler and her team took a freezer to the coldest place on Earth, endured weeks of primitive living and risked spending the winter in Antarctic darkness, to go get ice ? ice that records our climate's past and could point to its future.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
They drilled out hundreds of ice cores, each slightly longer and wider than a baseball bat, from the half-mile-thick ice covering Antarctica's Roosevelt Island. The cores, which may total 150,000 years of snowfall, almost didn't survive the boat ride to New Zealand because of a power outage.
Bertler hopes the material will help her estimate how long the Ross Ice Shelf would last under the current rate of climate change before falling apart.
Evidence from the last core her team hauled out needs further study, but it contains material that Bertler said appeared to be marine sediment that formed recently ? at least in geological terms measured in thousands of years.
That would bolster scientists' suspicions that the shelf could collapse again if global temperatures keep rising, triggering a chain of events that could raise sea levels around the world.
"From a scientific point of view, that's really exciting. From a personal point of view, that's really scary," said Bertler, a senior research fellow at the Antarctic Research Centre at the Victoria University of Wellington.
The ice shelf acts as a natural barrier protecting massive amounts of ice in West Antarctica, and that ice also could fall into the ocean if the shelf fell apart. Scientists say West Antarctica holds enough ice to raise sea levels by between 2 meters (6.5 feet) and 6 meters (20 feet) if significant parts of it were to collapse.
Ted Scambos, the lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, said that even under the worst case scenario he thinks it would take at least 500 years for West Antarctica's ice to melt.
However, he said a discovery of sediment would indicate a significant portion of the ice shelf is under threat of becoming unstable again, and that the implications were "huge."
Bertler hopes the material she recovered will help her to estimate by the end of this year whether it will take 50 years or 500 years for the ice shelf to collapse at the current rate of climate change. Those answers should prove important for policymakers who, she said, may need to decide whether to build sea walls or move populations to higher ground.
Bertler's project is one of scores that take place on Antarctica every Southern Hemisphere summer. To scientists, the continent's pristine habitat offers a unique record of the planet's weather and a laboratory for studying the effects of climate change.
Studies indicate that while the Arctic has suffered what scientists consider to be alarming rates of ice loss in recent years, the Antarctic ice shelf has remained relatively stable despite having have lost ice in recent decades.
Research in Antarctica creates huge logistical and personal challenges.
Bertler's camp on Roosevelt Island is a three-hour flight from the nearest permanent Antarctic outposts, Scott Base and McMurdo Station. The island is surrounded by the Ross Ice Shelf, the world's largest mass of floating ice, covering an area the size of Spain.
Even during the spring and summer months when Bertler's team was working there, the temperature sometimes dropped to minus 25 C (minus 13 F) and there were frequent storms and thick fog.
TOKYO (AP) ? The United States and Japan opened the door Sunday to new nuclear talks with North Korea if the saber-rattling country lowered tensions and honored past agreements, even as it rejected South Korea's latest offer of dialogue as a "crafty trick."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Tokyo that North Korea would find "ready partners" in the United States if it began abandoning its nuclear program.
Japan's foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, also demanded a resolution to a dispute concerning Japanese citizens abducted decades ago by North Korean officials.
The diplomats seemed to point the way for a possible revival of the six-nation talks that have been suspended for four years.
China long pushed has for the process to resume without conditions. But the U.S. and allies South Korea and Japan fear rewarding North Korea for its belligerence and endless repetition of a cycle of tensions and failed talks that have prolonged the crisis.
Kerry's message of openness to diplomacy was clear, however unlikely the chances appeared that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's government would meet the American's conditions.
"I'm not going to be so stuck in the mud that an opportunity to actually get something done is flagrantly wasted because of a kind of predetermined stubbornness," he told U.S.-based journalists.
"You have to keep your mind open. But fundamentally, the concept is they're going to have to show some kind of good faith here so we're not going to around and around in the same-old, same-old," he said.
Tensions have run high on the Korean Peninsula for months, with North Korea testing a nuclear device and its intercontinental ballistic missile technology.
The reclusive communist state hasn't stopped there. It has issued almost daily threats that have included possible nuclear strikes against the United States. Analysts and foreign officials say that is still beyond the North Koreans' capability.
While many threats have been dismissed as bluster, U.S. and South Korean say they believe the North in the coming days may test a mid-range missile designed to reach as far as Guam, the U.S. territory in the Pacific where the Pentagon is deploying a land-based missile-defense system.
Japan is the last stop on a 10-day trip overseas for Kerry, who visited Seoul and Beijing as well in recent days.
In South Korea, he strongly warned North Korea not to launch a missile and he reaffirmed U.S. defense of its allies in the region. In China, he secured a public pledge from Beijing, the lone government with significant influence over North Korea, to rid the North of nuclear weapons.
Before returning to the United States, Kerry planned a speech Monday in Japan on the Obama administration's Asia policy.
So far, Republican lawmakers in the U.S. have largely backed the administration's efforts on North Korea.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told CBS' "Face the Nation" that he was encouraged by Kerry's China visit and that he hoped "we can get the Chinese to care more about this issue.
U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona suggested on CNN's "State of the Union" that the U.S. make a counter-threat by using missile interceptors to hit any North Korean missile that is test-fired.
At each stop along his trip, Kerry stressed that the United States wanted a peaceful resolution of the North Korea situation six decades after a cease-fire ended the Korean War.
But North Korea on Sunday served a reminder of the difficult task ahead. Its Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said the government had no intention of talking with Seoul unless the South abandons its confrontational posture, as the North called it.
Seoul had pressed North Korea to discuss restarting operations at a joint factory park on the border and President Park Geun-hye has stressed peace opportunities after taking power from her more hard-line predecessor, Lee Myung-bak. The presidency expressed regret with North Korea's rebuttal Sunday.
At a news conference in Tokyo, Kerry stressed that gaining China's commitment to a denuclearized North Korea was no small matter given its historically strong military and economic ties to North Korea.
But he refused to say what the Chinese were offering to do concretely to pressure the North into abiding by some of the conditions it agreed to in a 2005 deal that required it to abandon its nuclear program.
"They have to take some actions," Kerry said of North Korea. "How many or how much? I'd have to talk to folks back in Washington about that. But if the Chinese came to us and said, 'Look, here's what we have cooking,' I'm not going to tell you I'm shutting the door today to something that's logical and might have a chance of success."
In remarks to U.S. journalists, Kerry said that under the right circumstances, he even would consider making a grand overture to North Korea's leader, such as an offer of direct talks with the U.S.
"We're prepared to reach out," he said. Diplomacy, he added, required risk-taking and secrecy such as when President Richard Nixon engaged China in the 1970s or U.S. back-channel talks were able to end the Cuban missile crisis a decade earlier.
Given their proximity and decades of hostility and distrust, Japan and South Korea have the most to fear from the North's unpredictable actions.
Kerry clarified a statement he made Saturday in Beijing, when he told reporters the U.S. could scale back its missile-defense posture in the region if North Korea goes nuclear-free.
It appeared to be a sweetener to coax tougher action from a Chinese government which has eyed the increased U.S. military presence in its backyard warily, but which has done little over the years to snuff out funding and support for North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program.
Kerry said America's basic force posture wasn't up to debate. "There is no discussion that I know of to change that," he said.
But he said it was logical that additional missile-defense elements, deployed specifically in response to the Korean threat, could be reversed if that threat no longer existed.
"I was simply making an observation about the rationale for that particular deployment, which is to protect the United States' interests that are directly threatened by North Korea," he said.
Apr. 12, 2013 ? A genetic analysis of the avian flu virus responsible for at least nine human deaths in China portrays a virus evolving to adapt to human cells, raising concern about its potential to spark a new global flu pandemic.
The collaborative study, conducted by a group led by Masato Tashiro of the Influenza Virus Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Tokyo, appears in the current edition (April 11, 2013) of the journal Eurosurveillance. The group examined the genetic sequences of H7N9 isolates from four of the pathogen's human victims as well as samples derived from birds and the environs of a Shanghai market.
"The human isolates, but not the avian and environmental ones, have a protein mutation that allows for efficient growth in human cells and that also allows them to grow at a temperature that corresponds to the upper respiratory tract of humans, which is lower than you find in birds," says Kawaoka, a leading expert on avian influenza.
The findings, drawn from genetic sequences deposited by Chinese researchers into an international database, provide some of the first molecular clues about a worrisome new strain of bird flu, the first human cases of which were reported on March 31 by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, the new virus has sickened at least 33 people, killing nine. Although it is too early to predict its potential to cause a pandemic, signs that the virus is adapting to mammalian and, in particular, human hosts are unmistakable, says Kawaoka.
Access to the genetic information in the viruses, he adds, is necessary for understanding how the virus is evolving and for developing a candidate vaccine to prevent infection.
Influenza virus depends on its ability to attach to and commandeer the living cells of its host to replicate and spread efficiently. Avian influenza rarely infects humans, but can sometimes adapt to people, posing a significant risk to human health.
"These viruses possess several characteristic features of mammalian influenza viruses, which likely contribute to their ability to infect humans and raise concerns regarding their pandemic potential," Kawaoka and his colleagues conclude in the Eurosurveillance report.
Kawaoka, a faculty member in the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine who also holds a faculty appointment at the University of Tokyo, explains that the majority of the viruses in the study -- from both humans and birds -- display mutations in the surface protein hemagglutinin, which the pathogen uses to bind to host cells. Those mutations, according to Kawaoka, allowed them to easily infect human cells.
In addition, the isolates from patients contained another mutation that allows the virus to efficiently replicate inside human cells. The same mutation, Kawaoka notes, lets the avian virus thrive in the cooler temperatures of the human upper respiratory system. It is in the cells of the nose and throat that flu typically gains a hold in a mammalian or human host.
Kawaoka and his colleagues also assessed the response of the new strain to drugs used to treat influenza, discovering that one class of commonly used antiviral drugs, ion channel inhibitors which effectively bottle up the virus in the cell, would not be effective; the new strain could be treated with another clinically relevant antiviral drug, oseltamivir.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Wisconsin-Madison, via Newswise.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Kageyama T, Fujisaki S, Takashita E, Xu H, Yamada S, Uchida Y, Neumann G, Saito T, Kawaoka Y, Tashiro M. Genetic analysis of novel avian A(H7N9) influenza viruses isolated from patients in China, February to April 2013. Euro Surveill., 2013 [link]
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 15-Apr-2013
Share ]