Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Herbed Breadcrumbs

Ingredients

• 2 pounds mixed root vegetables (such as carrots, celery root, beets, and parsnips), peeled, cut on a diagonal into 2-inch pieces
• 2 sprigs oregano plus 2 tablespoons chopped leaves
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup very coarse fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley plus 2 tablespoons whole leaves
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup reduced-fat (2%) or whole Greek yogurt

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 425°. Combine root vegetables, 2 oregano sprigs, and 2 Tbsp. oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and roast, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and starting to turn golden brown, 20–25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine breadcrumbs and 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large pan, preferably nonstick, set over medium-high heat. Toast, stirring frequently, until breadcrumbs are golden brown and crisp, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and mix in chopped oregano, chopped parsley, and chives. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
• Drizzle roasted root vegetables with lemon juice and remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil, sprinkle with whole parsley leaves and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
 Divide yogurt among shallow bowls or plates. Arrange root vegetables around and sprinkle breadcrumbs over.

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/01/roasted-root-vegetable-salad-with-herbed-breadcrumbs#ixzz2M4BaEWdt

Thinglist

There’s a fine line between simple and basic. One can prove immensely useful yet quick to deal with, while the other proves quick to use but far too limited in its potential. Thinglist veers a little bit too closely to basic, despite having very good intentions.

Those intentions are solving a big problem that everyone suffers from at one point or another: remembering random bits of information. How often does a great idea pop into one’s head at the worst moment possible? Or someone mentions a great movie, book or restaurant but it’s forgotten far too quickly. It’s easily done. After all, the brain isn’t perfect. Thinglist aims to offer a place to consolidate all those pieces, with it taking seconds to add notes for future reference.

These notes are restricted to certain types: a bar, book, restaurant/food, idea, movie, music, person, place and product. It’s a good starting point, though, and some are suitably vague to cover other options. Hit one of those icons and it’s simply a matter of typing in briefly the subject, such as the name of a film or product. Notes can then be added, but that’s as detailed as Thinglist gets. It means it’s quick to use and add information, plus just as quick to consult. It also means that the $1.99 asking price feels rather expensive, even for saving time and thoughts.

There’s no way to back up information, or export it to another app. It’s not possible to open up a film based search, according to the movie title, or look for a book via iBooks. It’s not even possible to search for a place name, through Maps. All that is possible is to look at the very attractive and well laid out list. Looks wise, Thinglist is pretty great. It’s just all too shallow. Maybe at $0.99, this wouldn’t be so bad but at $1.99, it feels too expensive for too little content.

Read more: http://www.148apps.com/reviews/thinglist-review/#ixzz2M4AhRUJx

Babies can hear syllables in the womb, says research

Linguistic processes appear to develop long before birth

Scientists say babies decipher speech as early as three months before birth.

The evidence comes from detailed brain scans of 12 infants born prematurely.

At just 28 weeks’ gestation, the babies appeared to discriminate between different syllables like “ga” and “ba” as well as male and female voices.

Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the French team said it was unlikely the babies’ experience outside the womb would have affected their findings.

The research lends support to the idea that babies develop language skills while still in the womb in response to their parents’ voices.

“

Babies hear can hear their mother’s voice in the womb and pick up on the pitch and rhythm”

Prof Sophie ScottSpeech perception expert at UCL

Experts already know that babies are able to hear noises in the womb – the ear and the auditory part of the brain that allow this are formed by around 23 weeks’ gestation.

But it is still debated whether humans are born with an innate ability to process speech or whether this is something acquired through learning after birth.

The authors of the study in PNAS say environmental factors are undoubtedly important, but based on their findings they believe linguistic processes are innate.

Dr Fabrice Wallois and colleagues say: “Our results demonstrate that the human brain, at the very onset of the establishment of a cortical circuit for auditory perception, already discriminates subtle differences in speech syllables.”

But they add that this “does not challenge the fact that experience is also crucial for their fine tuning and for learning the specific properties of the native language”.

Their brain scan study was carried out in the first few days following birth, so it is possible that the noises and sounds the newborns encountered in their new environment outside of the womb may have triggered rapid development. However, the researchers doubt this.

Prof Sophie Scott, an expert in speech perception at University College London, said the findings supported and added to current knowledge.

“We know that babies hear can hear their mother’s voice in the womb and pick up on the pitch and rhythm.

“And they use this information – newborn babies are soothed by their mother’s voice from the minute they are born.”

BBC – http://goo.gl/b69Nu

Bad sleep ‘dramatically’ alters body

A run of poor sleep can have a potentially profound effect on the internal workings of the human body, say UK researchers.

The activity of hundreds of genes was altered when people’s sleep was cut to less than six hours a day for a week.

Writing in the journal PNAS, the researchers said the results helped explain how poor sleep damaged health.

Heart disease, diabetes, obesity and poor brain function have all been linked to substandard sleep.

What missing hours in bed actually does to alter health, however, is unknown.

So researchers at the University of Surrey analysed the blood of 26 people after they had had plenty of sleep, up to 10 hours each night for a week, and compared the results with samples after a week of fewer than six hours a night.

More than 700 genes were altered by the shift. Each contains the instructions for building a protein, so those that became more active produced more proteins – changing the chemistry of the body.

How to get a better night’s sleep

• Try avoiding key things that make it hard to sleep such as too warm a bedroom
• Creating a personal sleep profile can help you manage your body clock effectively

Sources: Mental Health Foundation and BBC Science

Discover what disturbs your sleep the most

Meanwhile the natural body clock was disturbed – some genes naturally wax and wane in activity through the day, but this effect was dulled by sleep deprivation.

Prof Colin Smith, from the University of Surrey, told the BBC: “There was quite a dramatic change in activity in many different kinds of genes.”

Areas such as the immune system and how the body responds to damage and stress were affected.

Prof Smith added: “Clearly sleep is critical to rebuilding the body and maintaining a functional state, all kinds of damage appear to occur – hinting at what may lead to ill health.

“If we can’t actually replenish and replace new cells, then that’s going to lead to degenerative diseases.”

He said many people may be even more sleep deprived in their daily lives than those in the study – suggesting these changes may be common.

Dr Akhilesh Reddy, a specialist in the body clock at the University of Cambridge, said the study was “interesting”.

He said the key findings were the effects on inflammation and the immune system as it was possible to see a link between those effects and health problems such as diabetes.

The findings also tie into research attempting to do away with sleep, such as by finding a drug that could eliminate the effects of sleep deprivation.

Dr Reddy said: “We don’t know what the switch is that causes all these changes, but theoretically if you could switch it on or off, you might be able to get away without sleep.

“But my feeling is that sleep is fundamentally important to regenerating all cells.”

BBC – http://goo.gl/skN0S

Drug firm Roche pledges greater access to trials data

Research suggests half of all clinical trials have never been published

The pharmaceutical company Roche has announced that it will make more of the data from its clinical trials available to researchers.

The company says it will appoint a panel of experts to evaluate and approve requests to access anonymised patient data.

“

We understand and support calls for our industry to be more transparent”

Daniel O’DayRoche

But the announcement has been dismissed as “pathetic” by campaigners arguing for greater transparency from the pharmaceutical industry – an issue I wrote about last month.

It’s estimated that half of all clinical trials have never been published and positive trial results are twice as likely to be published as negative findings. The AllTrials campaign wants the pharmaceutical industry to publish all data, and is supported by the Wellcome Trust, the BMJ and NICE.

“More transparent”

Roche, which makes the anti-viral medicine Tamiflu, has been repeatedly criticised by researchers for failing to grant access to all its data on the drug.

In response Roche has appointed a four man panel headed by flu expert Prof Albert Osterhaus to look at data on Tamiflu which the company says will “identify unanswered questions”.

Roche says it will also appoint an “independent body” to assess the validity of requests for unpublished trial data for its other medicines.

Daniel O’Day, Chief Operating Officer of Roche Pharma said: “We understand and support calls for our industry to be more transparent about clinical trial data with the aim of meeting the best interests of patients and medicine.”

“

Does Roche expect applause for announcing that it will continue to keep clinical trial findings hidden?”

Tracey BrownSense About Science

Mr O’Day told me that although the company would appoint the experts, the panel would be independent and would “stand up to public scrutiny”.

“Pathetic”

But the announcement has been met with derision by the organisation Sense About Science, which helped initiate the AllTrials campaign for all clinical research to be published. Its director Tracey Brown said: “Does Roche expect applause for announcing that it will continue to keep clinical trial findings hidden? They’re on another planet. Roche’s response is pathetic. Which bit of All and Trials do they not understand?”

Carl Heneghan, Director, Centre of Evidence-Based Medicine, University of Oxford, who is part of the Cochrane team reviewing Tamiflu said, “How can any panel be independent if they appoint it and oversee it? It also means there will be confidentiality clauses within any agreement. Either you provide the data in a transparent manner or you don’t.”

Earlier this month GSK became the first major pharmaceutical company to pledge its support for the AllTrials campaign. GSK said it would publish all clinical trial data dating back to the formation of the company in 2000 when it merged with SmithKline Beecham.

In the past GSK has been caught withholding safety data and last year it agreed to pay $3bn (£1.9bn) in the largest healthcare fraud settlement in US history after promoting two drugs for unapproved uses and other failures.

Its support for the AllTrials campaign is seen as highly significant.

Dr Heneghan said that GSK had provided him with all 30 clinical study reports (CSR) – regarding its anti-viral flu drug Relenza whereas he had received just one regarding Roche’s drug Tamiflu.

Roche says it has published 71 out of 74 Tamiflu trial results but these can be just short summaries and not the raw data of clinical study reports which can run into hundreds of pages.

The doctor and columnist Ben Goldacre, who has spearheaded the campaign for data transparency said GSK had “led the field” by signing up to AllTrials and it was “bizarre to see that Roche expect to be praised today for continuing to withhold data.” He predicted that the era of drug companies and researchers “routinely withholding important information about clinical trials is coming to an end.”

BBC – http://goo.gl/cct3l

Action on ‘untreatable’ gonorrhoea

Infection is caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoea

Health experts in England and Wales are on high alert for “untreatable” gonorrhoea that, in some countries, has developed resistance to antibiotics.

Although most UK cases are readily treatable, infection rates are rising.

And the Health Protection Agency (HPA) is launching an action plan to reduce transmission and monitor for and rapidly detect drug resistance.

Gonorrhoea is the second most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) in England.

Gonorrhoea

• Infection can be passed on by unprotected vaginal, oral or anal sex
• It can also be passed from a pregnant woman to her baby
• Of those infected, about one in 10 men and nearly half of women do not have symptoms
• Gonorrhoea can be easily diagnosed with a swab test

In 2011, newly diagnosed cases jumped 25% to nearly 21,000.

At the same time, the risk of gonorrhoea developing resistance to the antibiotics doctors normally prescribe – ceftriaxone and azithromycin – fell slightly for the first time in five years.

However, cases of treatment failure have now been reported globally and, with no new drugs in the pipeline, England’s chief medical officer has advised the government to add the threat of the infection’s resistance to front-line antibiotics to the civil emergencies risk register.

Dame Sally Davies said: “We have seen a worrying rise in cases of drug-resistant gonorrhoea over the last decade.

“Antimicrobial resistance to common drugs will increasingly threaten our ability to tackle infections, and the Health Protection Agency’s work is vital to addressing this threat.”

Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of STI surveillance at the HPA, said: “We are seriously concerned about continuing high levels of gonorrhoea transmission and repeat infection, suggesting we need to do more to reduce unsafe sexual behaviour.”

She said a priority was to encourage safer sexual behaviour and condom use, particularly among high-risk groups such as men who have sex with men, who account for more than a third of new gonorrhoea cases.

The first case of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea was found in Japan in 2011. Sweden has also encountered a case.

BBC – http://goo.gl/F6Iu7

糖尿病引視網膜病變 失明風險高25倍

健康醫療網／林宜慧報導）一名61歲的張姓計程車司機，吃藥控制糖尿病10餘年，近半年發現自己視力越來越模糊、物體外觀變型，到了晚上視力更是模糊、退化，深怕找錯錢給乘客，原以為是老花問題，直到一次眼底檢查才發現，視力1.0的他，居然兩眼皆已發生黃斑部水腫。

彰化基督教醫療財團法人鹿港基督教醫院院長杜思德表示，糖尿病會引起全身許多組織、器官的損害，糖尿病患者即便已服藥控制糖尿病，仍需當心最嚴重的併發症之一－糖尿病視網膜病變，且隨著糖尿病病程越長，發生率就越高，糖尿病患失明風險高達一般人的25倍！

杜思德院長進一步指出，根據統計，第一型糖尿病患者發病3、5、10、15年，視網膜病變發生率為8%、25%、60%、80%，若發病20年幾乎全部患者皆呈現不同程度的視網膜病變，建議確診後5年內接受視網膜檢查；相反地，第二型糖尿病患因為初期無明顯症狀，確診為第二型糖尿病之初就有21%視網膜已產生病變，發病20年發生率增加為60%，因此第二型糖尿病患一經確診，就應立即接受視網膜眼底檢查。

根據世界糖尿病聯盟（IDF）公告，2012年台灣糖尿病人數約176萬人，而這些患者皆身陷25倍高的失明風險。杜思德院長指出，黃斑部水腫是糖尿病視網膜病變的主要疾病之一，由於早期症狀不明顯，患者難自覺，導致就醫時已發生不可逆的視力影響。

台北市立聯合醫院和平婦幼院區眼科部主任林人傑表示，黃斑部病變使糖尿病患視力模糊、扭曲、變形、有黑影，顏色辨別異常，病人因此無法正常生活。糖尿病患應每3-6個月定期接受眼底檢查，若確診為黃斑部水腫，今年2月1日起健保有條件給付治療糖尿病引起黃斑部水腫的「新生血管抑制劑」，可尋求視網膜專科醫師評估申請。

健康醫療網http://healthnews.com.tw更多健康資訊

奇摩新聞 – http://goo.gl/8jDFo

流感再添二死! 疾管局估三月底脫離流行期

疾管局新增公佈三十五例流感併發症確定病例，其中兩例死亡，疾管局指出，這二名個案都較為年輕，共同點是本身都有慢性病史、沒有接種流感疫苗，感染A型H1N1，沒有立即就醫不幸死亡。疾管局提醒，雖然和往年同期相比，今年疫情較為緩和，但民眾仍不可掉以輕心。(吳霈蓁報導)

 

衛生署疾病管制局公布上周新增三十五例流感併發症確定病例，其中兩例死亡。防疫醫師羅一鈞表示，這兩名死亡個案，分別是居住於彰化的38歲女性以及屏東48歲男性，本身有慢性疾病，沒有施打流感疫苗，雖然出現咳嗽等流感症狀卻沒有立即就醫，不幸死亡。

 

羅一鈞說：「這二名死亡案例年齡都在三十到五十歲之間、沒有接種過流感疫苗的成年人，在出現流感症狀之後，都是併發多重器官衰竭而死亡，他們本身是有慢性疾病，像是慢性精神疾病以及長期臥床、慢性的心肺功能的疾病。」

 

疾管局指出，雖然近來類流感的門診、以及急診就診比率在春節連假過後有逐漸下降的趨勢，加上今年疫情和往年相比較為緩合，預估最近幾個星期疫情將會逐步下降，三月底可望脫離流感流行期，但民眾仍不可掉以輕心，如果出現呼吸短促、意識改變或持續高燒等危險徵兆，應戴口罩並儘速就醫、及早治療。

奇摩新聞 – http://goo.gl/qP1oC

針灸有助於緩解花粉熱

【24drs.com】最新研究指出，花粉症患者針灸後症狀可能有些緩解，但這種療法的實際情況仍有待觀察。

研究人員將422位對草和花粉過敏的人隨機分配做12種針灸療程或是對照組，一組接受12次針灸8週，另一組接受「假」針灸，第三組沒有針灸治療。假針灸組是請針灸師使用真的針，但只是插入皮膚而不是傳統的穴位，三組患者在有症狀時都被允許服用抗組織胺藥物。

根據刊載在2月19日內科醫學誌（Annals of Internal Medicine）的研究結果顯示，接受針灸治療的患者症狀改善程度超過對照組。Nelson博士表示，有針灸的人在8週後症狀改善較多，且使用更少抗組織胺藥物治療，他們的生活品質平均進步了0.5到0.7個百分點，這在現實生活中應該轉換成花粉症症狀有明顯差異。

三組針灸的參與者在16週時花粉症的症狀好多了，可能是因為已經過了花粉季節。然而，再8個星期後優點消失。不過，柏林Charite大學醫學中心的Benno Brinkhaus博士表示，這不一定代表針灸沒有好處，他建議對抗過敏藥物沒效或是有副作用而不滿意的患者，可以考慮針灸。

丹佛醫院的過敏症專家HarOLd Nelson博士認為，這篇研究做得很好，而且是正面的，針灸似乎有幫助。但Nelson博士懷疑針灸的時間、不方便、以及費用，特別是有鼻噴劑等更簡單的方法來處理這些症狀，是否還需要去針灸診所坐著插16根針灸20分鐘，而且一個療程要做12次。

Nelson博士指出，鼻噴劑處方含有抗發炎的皮質類固醇，有Flonase和Nasonex等品牌，每天噴有助於防止花粉症狀。這篇研究中的患者未使用鼻噴劑，他們服用抗組織胺，但這並不是最有效的方式。不過，或許有人不想服用藥物，所以對針灸感興趣。

許多研究指出，中醫針灸是透過刺激皮膚上某些穴點，認為這樣可以影響能量或氣的流動。針灸有助於緩解偏頭痛或背痛等各類疼痛，以及治療與手術或化療相關的噁心和嘔吐。

杜克大學醫學院的Rem Coeytaux表示，當然，如果有興趣不妨一試。這篇研究的優點是將針灸與抗組織胺藥物和假針灸進行比較，假針灸是為了讓患者有「安慰劑效應」，感覺自己有被治療而感覺好多了，但可能真的具有生理效應，使得假治療成為不良的安慰劑。

在美國，大部分州都要求針灸師需領有執照，有些想嘗試針灸的花粉症患者住家附近可能沒有很多執業者。針灸的價格也各不相同，通常是一次100美元左右，而且醫療保險通常不包含。

Nelson博士表示，若想用自然的方法來擺脫花粉症痛苦，也可以考慮打抗過敏針，也就是打一系列的針避免接觸到會誘發過敏的物質時發作，並訓練免疫系統的耐受性。

資料來源：http://www.24drs.com/WebMD/chinese_t.asp?page=1&WHO=091e9c5e80c30729

詳全文 針灸有助於緩解花粉熱-生活新聞-新浪新聞中心 http://news.sina.com.tw/article/20130227/9047285.html

政府将扩大医疗津贴范围 方便乐龄人士

政府在新财政预算案中，扩大老人辅助器材和医疗消费品的津贴范围，受访家庭认为，这将有助于舒缓生活费上涨压力，同时带来便利。

68岁的潘先生患有高血压，曾经中风。他之前跌倒，造成髋关节骨折，就是利用年长者行动基金的津贴购买轮椅。财长宣布，中低收入家庭购买老人辅助仪器，也能获得津贴，对一直想购买洗澡椅的潘太太来说，是个好消息。

潘太太说，“一方面冲凉很方便，他坐在上面肯定不会跌倒。他要大便小便又方便。”

潘太太每月花在购买营养奶和老人纸尿片的消费约为350元，往后也能获得津贴。

她说，“费用比较大就是这个牛奶。一天要六罐牛奶，我们的储蓄也不多。我的先生现在又生病，不能做工所以就少收入。”

而女佣税从170元下调至120元，预计也能为他们省回一笔。

xin.msn – http://goo.gl/yOcEE