| OAXACA A YEAR LATER: Life returning to normal, but tensions linger
The dining room to the right of the courtyard is as empty as the one to the left. I have returned to Oaxaca on assignment: To find out if, one year after deadly riots crippled the city, it is again an attractive destination for visitors seeking language schools, colonial history, craft markets and art galleries. I'm eager - and a bit apprehensive - to check in on friends I'd made here and find out whether Oaxaca still belongs on Mexico's A-list. It didn't take long to realize that the answer is more complicated than I'd thought. Oaxaca is no longer the filthy, smoldering wreck of 2006. Nor, however, is it the bustling cultural center of years past. It appears safe and clean. But unresolved political tensions have prompted the U.S. State Department to keep it on a watch list.
Multimillion-dollar bond for Curlin co-owners
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Clinical Benefits Demonstrated with Low-Dose GATTEX(TM) in Phase 3 ...
BEDMINSTER, N.J., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: NPSP) today reported top-line results from the company's Phase 3 study of its investigational drug GATTEX(TM) (teduglutide, recombinant GLP-2) in which 83 patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS) received either a low dose of GATTEX, (0.05 milligrams/kilogram/day), a higher dose (0.10 mg/kg/day) or placebo. The clinical efficacy endpoint of the study was a reduction in parenteral nutrition (PN) of at least 20% comparing baseline to weeks 16 to 24, measured as a graded response to capture reductions up to 100%. In an intent-to-treat analysis, forty-six percent (46%) of patients receiving the lower dose of GATTEX (N=35) responded and achieved a highly statistically significant reduction in PN compared to placebo (p=0.007), with two patients gaining independence from and discontinuing PN by week 20 and a third patient discontinuing PN at the end of treatment.
Sleep tests move to comfy quarters
Along with clean sheets and a continental breakfast, some local hotel guests can now get something else: a diagnosis. Mary Washington Hospital recently signed a contract to rent five rooms at the Massaponax Hampton Inn. Since October, patients have been getting tested for sleep apnea, restless-leg syndrome and other disorders in the comfortable hotel setting. Terry Enders of Spotsylvania County was one of the center's first patients. Enders had been tested for sleep apnea before, at the hospital's main lab on Princess Anne Street in Fredericksburg. He said he appreciated the comfort and familiarity of the hotel during his follow-up test. "It's difficult enough to do a test like this," Enders said. "This is nice." Putting a sleep lab in a hotel is a new trend, notably among big university-affiliated sleep centers such as those at Duke and Vanderbilt.
Community Briefing
The competition will focus on the health dangers associated with tobacco use, the chemical composition of tobacco and tobacco smoke, the effects of secondhand smoke and how tobacco is marketed. Mall Bucks, donated by the Merced County Office of Education and the Merced County Department of Public Health, will be awarded to the winners. The event is free and open to friends and family. For more information, contact Paula Smith at 381-6644. .
The Real State of the Real Estate Market
Well, while Alan Greenspan was out peddling his memoir this week, and Ben Bernanke was slashing rates, Shiller was testifying before Congress and making some sobering predictions that got virtually no attention in the press. In his remarks, the Yale professor warns of fresh shocks ahead for the housing market and for the financial system. Indeed, Shiller believes that "the collapse in home prices might turn out to be the most severe since the Great Depression." As Shiller notes, declines in the value of residential real estate have been a factor in every recession since 1950. It's a little bit hard to believe that the deflation of this housing bubble will be the exception. He also believes that Fed rate cuts alone can do little to alter the negative psychology of homeowners sitting on a depreciating asset.
Evil genes and antifreeze: TV gurus' toxic talk put under the ...
Now the scientific claims of the celebrities who appear on our television screens with advice on living healthy lifestyles and avoiding toxins have been put under the microscope.
A year on from publishing a leaflet that encouraged celebrities to check their facts when talking about science, the charity Sense About Science has brought together a panel of experts to assess how Britain's actors, TV presenters and lifestyle gurus did in 2007.
In a report published, the experts noted a welcome drop in big scientific gaffes. But they still found plenty of cause for concern. They say spurious claims about ""artificial"" chemicals are still going strong, as is unsupported medical advice from people who are not doctors. And confusion has endured about terms such as organic, artificial and natural.
Jeff Thelen's Blog
But sorry, with the rising cost of programming and the rising competition from the growing number of channels, I don't see this stopping any time soon.JSure is nice and quiet on all the PACKER blogs this morning!! (TSK)I can't figure out the tone of your message. Are you taking a cheap shot? And if so, any Packer fans want to help me respond? JThis is about Bush's economic package. If I understood it right, the low income people who live on pensions, etc., and don't have to file an income tax wouldn't be getting any of this money. Do you know or can you find out if this is correct? If it is, it's a rip-off to the low income people who could use the extra money.The last I heard, there was a debate in Washington D.C. over that very topic. With some wanting everyone to get the checks and others wanting the money to go only to those who paid taxes.
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