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Organizations Partner For HIV Testing Initiative In Staten Island, N.Y.
As part of an effort to encourage Staten Island, N.Y., residents to be tested for HIV, the CARE Network, the Black Leadership Commission on AIDS and the City Council"s Communities of Color Faith Initiative, have partnered to launch the "Staten Island HIV Status Check Campaign," the Staten Island Advance reports. "Status Check" postcards that include information on free local HIV testing locations, HIV educational literature and condoms will be distributed by local organizations and businesses as part of the initiative. The goal is to reach the 56 percent of local residents who have never been tested for HIV, Karina Ryan, CARE Network coordinator, said (Slepian, Staten Island Advance, 6/18).
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Physical Therapists Say Appropriate Exercises Can Help Keep Weekend Warriors On The Ice
The excitement of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs will inspire young players and weekend warriors to hit the ice. But, traveling up to 30 miles an hour on a quarter inch blade of steel and stopping instantly will put anyone at risk for injury. According to American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) spokesperson Mark Mortland, PT, ATC, team physical therapist of the Pittsburgh Penguins, there are special precautions one can take to help avoid the multiple injuries that can occur in this high-speed, high-impact sport.
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STAT3 Protein Found To Play A Key Role In Cancer
A protein called STAT3 has been found to play a fundamental role in converting normal cells to cancerous cells, according to a new study led by David E. Levy, Ph.D., professor of pathology and microbiology at NYU Langone Medical Center. The study, published in the June 26th issue of the journal Science, found that STAT3, in addition to its role in the cell nucleus regulating gene expression, is also present in mitochondria and regulates the activity of the electron transport chain in tumors cells. Mitochondria are the basic energy-producing organelles of the cell and are known to be critical for tumor cell metabolism.
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New Vaccine Strategy Might Offer Protection Against Pandemic Influenza Strains

A novel vaccine strategy using virus-like particles (VLPs) could provide stronger and longer-lasting influenza vaccines with a significantly shorter development and production time than current ones, allowing public health authorities to react more quickly in the event of a potential pandemic. Ted Ross, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh"s Center for Vaccine Research, presented his laboratory"s latest data on the efficacy of VLP vaccines for potential pandemic strains, such as H5N1 and 1918 influenza, at the 109th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Philadelphia. "Virus-like particles look just like a live virus, but they are hollow shells without a genome inside and they cannot reproduce," Ross explained. "Because they look like the virus, they evoke a more robust immune response against the real thing." Ross and his colleagues have already made VLP vaccines that have been tested in early clinical trials and appear to provide complete protection against both the H5N1 avian influenza virus and the 1918 Spanish influenza virus. "There is a debate in the influenza community about priming the human population for potential pandemic strains such as H5N1 or 1918," Ross said. "Some researchers advocate adding these strains to the annual flu vaccine. They might not match the next pandemic flu strain exactly, but could provide some of protection." Others contend that it might be premature, as well as costly, to vaccinate people against a virus that may never emerge, he said. The current injectable vaccine for seasonal influenza is a trivalent, inactivated vaccine. It consists of three different influenza strains that are grown in eggs and then inactivated, or killed, by chemicals that break them into tiny pieces. Because they no longer look like the circulating virus, conventionally made vaccines strains do not elicit as strong an immune response as VLP vaccines. Because it is made with live, attenuated virus, the inhaled, mist-based vaccine can elicit a strong immune response but can also increase the risk of side effects. VLPs can be quickly and easily produced in several ways, including growing them in cell cultures or in plants. Also, if the genes in the disease virus are identified, then researchers can generate particles for a vaccine without an actual sample of the agent. "The sequence for the recent H1N1 "swine flu" virus was online and available to scientists long before physical samples could be delivered," Dr. Ross noted. "It would have been possible to produce VLPs in quantity in as little as 12 weeks while conventional vaccines require physical samples of the virus and production can take approximately nine months." One VLP-based vaccine already is on the market, namely the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine. Jim Sliwa American Society for Microbiology *See our Map Of H1N1 Outbreaks *See our Mexico Swine Flu Blog


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