Sevens success creates welcome headache

March 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Longstanding plans to bolster the Australian sevens team with Wallabies at the Delhi Commonwealth Games may be scaled down or even shelved if the current crop keep progressing at a rapid rate.

Australia’s youthful squad has looked the part in Adelaide this week, so much so that Wallabies coach Robbie Deans is becoming increasingly conscious of not upsetting the rhythm when the squad for Delhi is chosen.

What Deans and sevens coach Michael O’Connor must decide is whether the likes of fringe Wallabies such as Richard Kingi, Luke Morahan or James O’Connor will be more chance of winning Commonwealth Games gold than the agile present group, including 17-year-old Liam Gill and rugby league convert Brackin Karauria-Henry.

“There’s two sides to it, there’s the profile of the game, and it is a one-off opportunity as in once every four years and most players if they’re lucky will only get one crack at it,” Deans said.

“It is a juggling act… [15s] blokes can look like fish out of water because it is a distinct difference and there won’t be any tournaments as a lead-up to that.

“So that’ll be one of the critical decisions Mick will have to make in terms of if, who and how many, in order not to compromise the work these blokes have already done.”

Deans said any 15s player called into the squad had to show a fierce desire to compete in Delhi.

“If they’re in the Wallabies program, ultimately the decision will rest with me whether I release them, and obviously we’ll include the player in that discussion,” he said.

“They’ve got to have a desire, and if they don’t have an interest it won’t benefit anyone.

“There is a possibility that some starters will be of value, but it is more likely that that group who aren’t playing week-to-week in the Tri-Nations can then start preparing so they’re ready to go when they gather.”

Gill’s efforts in Adelaide have been particularly eye-catching, but Deans stressed the need to usher him into senior rugby in a slow and deliberate manner.

“These blokes are identified and provided with support pretty early on, so [Gill] hasn’t just surfaced now – obviously the public’s become aware of him now – [but] the system’s been working with him for a while,” he said.

“Part of that is ensuring that they are well balanced in their lives and have well balanced outlooks, because if they don’t, they just don’t go the distance.”

-AAP

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Common cold, stomach infection can hasten memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients

September 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 8 (ANI): Getting a cold, stomach or other infections can lead to faster memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients, claims a new study.

The study from University of Southampton, UK, has revealed that people who had respiratory, gastrointestinal or other infections or even bumps and bruises from a fall were more likely to have high blood levels of tumour necrosis factor-a, a protein involved in the inflammatory process.

And were also more likely to experience memory loss or other types of cognitive decline than those who did not have infections or had low levels of the protein.

During the study, the researchers examined cognitive abilities of 222 people with Alzheimer’s disease with an average age of 83.

The findings revealed that people who had high levels of the protein in their blood had memory loss at four times.

In addition, those with high levels of the protein at the start of the study also experienced acute infections during the study had memory loss at 10 times the rate of those who started with low levels and had no infections over the six-month period.

“One might guess that people with a more rapid rate of cognitive decline are more susceptible to infections or injury, but we found no evidence to suggest that people with more severe dementia were more likely to have infections or injuries at the beginning of the study,” said study author Dr Clive Holmes, MRCPsych, of the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom.

“More research needs to be done to understand the role of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the brain, but it’s possible that finding a way to reduce those levels could be beneficial for people with Alzheimer’s disease,” Holmes added.

The study appears in journal Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Older adults who socialize less ‘experience motor function decline’

June 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, June 23 (ANI): Less frequent participation in social activity is associated with a more rapid rate of motor function decline in older adults, according to a new study.

Motor function decline in older individuals is linked to negative health outcomes including, disability, dementia and death.

Although decline in motor function is becoming a major public health concern, “little is known about risk factors for motor function decline that could translate into potential public health or clinical interventions.”

Aron S. Buchman, M.D., and colleagues at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, examined whether frequency of social activity in late-life was related to motor function decline in 906 older adults participating in the Rush Memory and Aging Project from 1997 to 2008, with an average follow-up of 4.9 years.

Researchers evaluated participants’ motor function by measuring their grip and pinch strength and their ability to stand on one leg and then on their toes, to walk in line in a heel-to-toe manner, place pegs on a board in 30 seconds and tap index fingers for 10 seconds bilaterally.

Participants completed a health survey to assess their physical activities and used a five-point rating scale to measure frequency of social activity participation, with one indicating participation in a particular activity once a year or less; two, several times a year; three, several times a month; four, several times a week and five, every day or almost every day.

Demographic information, education, weight, height and disabilities were also recorded.

The researchers found that “a lower frequency of participation in social activity was associated with a more rapid rate of motor function decline,” with each one-point decrease in a participant’s social activity score associated with an approximate 33 percent more rapid rate of decline.

Additionally, a one-point decrease on the social activity scale was the same as being approximately five years older at baseline.

This amount of change is associated with more than a 40 percent increased risk of death and a 65 percent increased risk of developing disability.

“The association of social activity with the rate of global motor decline did not vary along demographic lines and was unchanged after controlling for potential confounders including late-life physical and cognitive activity, disability, global cognition depressive symptoms, body composition and chronic medical conditions,” they authors said.

“These data raise the possibility that social engagement can slow motor function decline and possibly delay adverse health outcomes from such decline,” the authors said.

The study has bee reported in the June 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. (ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Climate change may spur rapid shifts in global wildfire patterns

April 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, April 8 (ANI): A new analysis by scientists has determined that climate change would bring about rapid shifts in worldwide wildfire patterns, and those changes are coming fast.

The analysis was done by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with scientists at Texas Tech University.

Researchers used thermal-infrared sensor data obtained between 1996 and 2006 from European Space Agency satellites in their study of pyrogeography – the distribution and behavior of wildfire – on a global scale.

They not only got a global view of where wildfires occur, but they determined the common environmental characteristics associated with the risk of those fires.

They then incorporated those variables into projections for how future climate scenarios will impact wildfire occurrence worldwide.

The research was conducted with support from The Nature Conservancy as part of the organization’s effort to integrate information about global fire regimes into planning for biodiversity conservation.

“This is the first attempt to quantitatively model why we see fire where we see it across the entire planet,” said study author Max Moritz, assistant cooperative extension specialist in wildland fire at UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources and co-director of the UC Center for Fire Research and Outreach.

“What is startling in these findings is the relatively rapid rate at which we’re likely to see very broad-scale changes in fire activity for large parts of the planet,” he added.

According to Moritz, the two essential suites of variables needed for fires describe the presence of sufficient vegetation to burn and the window in time when conditions are hot and dry enough for ignition to occur.

The researchers found that much of the planet will incur changes in fire activity, and this includes increases as well as decreases in the likelihood of fire.

The researchers identified specific areas where wildfire occurrence was rare in the past and projected to experience large increases in fire activity in the period 2010-2039 as ecosystems at risk of fire invasion.

Regions where fire was common in the past and projected to experience a large decrease were considered areas at risk of fire retreat.

These preliminary results show hotspots of fire invasion forming in parts of the western United States and the Tibetan plateau, while regions including northeast China and central Africa may become less fire-prone in the coming decades.

“Fire patterns are going to change, and we need to start thinking about what that means for ecosystems, and what our response should be,” said the research paper’s lead author, Meg Krawchuk, a UC Berkeley post-doctoral fellow. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Patrick Swayze urges American leaders to help fund cancer research

February 11, 2009 By 2 Comments

Washington, Feb 10 (ANI): Cancer-stricken Hollywood actor Patrick Swayze has urged American leaders to help fund cancer research.

The ‘Ghost’ actor, who has been battling pancreatic cancer for over a year, requested through a letter to a leading newspaper, in which he wrote that the country’s leaders should take necessary steps towards cancer research.

“Ever since I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2008, I’ve been waging an intense, often hellacious battle… but I’m not alone. More than 1.4 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year. In the United States, one out of three women and one out of two men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. Look around you; at one point or another, cancer will strike very close to home for everyone,” Contactmusic quoted him as writing in the letter.

Swayze recommended that more funds should be generated for cancer research, as the deadly disease is growing at rapid rate, and has engulfed large part of the country.

“Our individual battles should also be national ones. With Congress about to decide how much money to include for medical research as part of the economic stimulus package, the time has come to take my personal fight to a larger stage. My message to our senators and representatives is simple: Vote for the maximum funding to let the National Institutes of Health fight cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. It’s not only good for our nation’s health; it’s also good for our economic well-being. Medical research supports jobs and infrastructure,” Swayze stated.

“By advancing good health, it also enables Americans to reach their individual potential and contribute more to society,” he added.

Swayze then called for a 10 billion-dollar research hand-out on behalf of the National Institutes of Health, adding: “Stand up to create jobs, fight illness and deliver hope.” (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,