Welcome to Xtreme Eating Awards 2009

WASHINGTON—Xtreme appetizers, entrées, and desserts at America's chain restaurants are making Americans fatter and sicker, and the trendy thing for chains to do is to make already bad foods even worse, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Bacon cheeseburgers come nestled inside quesadillas. Half racks of ribs are promoted as side orders to steak. Golf-ball-size blobs of macaroni and cheese are tossed in the deep-fryer and served with creamy marinara sauce and even more cheese.

Welcome to the Xtreme Eating Awards for 2009. Welcome back, actually. CSPI's first Xtreme Eating report shocked the nation in 2007 with nutritional train wrecks like Uno Chicago Grill's 2,000-calorie Pizza Skins. Since the restaurant industry is showing few signs of restraint or responsibility in the face of America's epidemic of obesity and diet-related disease, Nutrition Action will make these awards an annual affair.

The Cheesecake Factory's Fried Macaroni and Cheese. With 1,570 calories and 69 grams of saturated fat, you'd be better off eating an entire stick of butter.

"Would you like an entrée with your entrée?" is how CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley imagines the logic behind items like Olive Garden's Tour of Italy, where diners can pile Lasagna, Chicken Parmigiana, and Fettuccine Alfredo onto one very large dinner plate. "It's a race to the bottom, and there's no end in sight."

Keep in mind that most people should limit themselves to about 2,000 calories, 20 grams of saturated fat, and 1,500 mg of sodium per day. And the envelopes please…

* Red Lobster Ultimate Fondue: This retro item is also making comebacks at Olive Garden, Uno Chicago Grill, and at a chain that sells nothing but fondues, The Melting Pot. Red Lobster’s Ultimate version, "shrimp and crabmeat in a creamy lobster cheese sauce served in a warm crispy sourdough bowl," is crammed with 1,490 calories, 40 grams of saturated fat, and 3,580 mg of sodium. That's two days' worth of both artery-clogging fat and blood-pressure-spiking sodium.

* Applebee's Quesadilla Burger: Here Applebee's inserts a bacon cheeseburger into a quesadilla. Two flour tortillas, two kinds of meat, two kinds of cheese, pico de gallo, lettuce, and a previously unknown condiment called Mexi-ranch sauce, plus fries, gives this monstrous marriage 1,820 calories, 46 grams of saturated fat, and 4,410 mg of sodium. Bonus heart-stopper: Applebee's actually invites customers to top the fries with chili and still more cheese.

* Chili's Big Mouth Bites: This is four mini-bacon-cheeseburgers served on a plate with fries, onion strings, and jalapeno ranch dipping sauce. ("Mini" is relative: each one is like a Quarter Pounder.) Like the "sliders" available at other chains, Chili's Big Mouth Bites can be an appetizer or an entrée (these numbers are for the latter). 2,350 calories, 38 grams of saturated fat, and 3,940 milligrams of sodium.

* The Cheesecake Factory Chicken and Biscuits: Nutrition Action calls it "discomfort food." If you wouldn't eat an entire 8-piece bucket of KFC Original Recipe plus 5 biscuits, you shouldn’t order this. But unless you live in a city with menu labeling, you wouldn’t know that this dish has 2,500 calories. The rest of the winning—or rather, losing—appetizers, entrées, and desserts are in the June issue of Nutrition Action.

According to CSPI, 2009 should be the year that Congress clues diners in by passing a menu labeling measure similar to the ones enacted in Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, OR, California, Massachusetts, and several counties. Bills in Oregon and Connecticut have passed and are awaiting Governors' signatures. And two weeks ago, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act, which would require big restaurant chains to post calories on menu boards and list calories, saturated plus trans fat, carbohydrates, and sodium on printed menus. It would apply to the standardized items at restaurants with more than 20 outlets, and not to custom orders or daily specials.

"Ultimately, Americans bear personal responsibility for their dining choices," said CSPI nutrition policy director Margo G. Wootan. "But you can’t exercise personal responsibility if you don’t have nutrition information when you order. Who would expect 2,800 calories in a dessert?"

Menu labeling has proven popular and useful in the jurisdictions that have implemented it, according to CSPI. In a survey of New Yorkers, 82 percent of respondents said that seeing the numbers affected their choices. Though the industry tried to challenge New York's menu labeling law in court, it lost, and its prospects for challenging other laws may become dimmer still: One of the federal appellate judges that let the New York law stand is Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama's nominee for a seat on the Supreme Court.

source: http://cspinet.org/new/200906021.html

Chinese researchers create stem cells from pigs

PARIS (AFP) - Chinese researchers said on Wednesday they had created versatile stem cells from pigs, a ground-breaking achievement that could open up new paths for combatting human disease.

Doctors led by Lei Xiao, of the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, took adult cells taken from a pig's ear and bone marrow and reprogrammed them so that they became so-called pluripotent stem cells.

These are cells that, like the coveted stem cells found in embryos, can differentiate into any type of cell in the body.

It's a technical exploit because until now, no-one has been able to achieve reprogramming using somatic cells - cells that don't come from sperm or eggs - from a hooved animal.

But the main interest lies in fundamental medical research, as it offers the hope of using the pig as a test bench for disease and a source of transplant material, Xiao said.

The pig is close to the human in many biological functions and with some organs that are similar in size.

"We could use embryonic stem cells or induced stem cells to modify the immune-related genes in the pig to make the pig organ compatible to the human immune system," he said in a press release.

"Then we could use these pigs as organ donors to provide organs for patients that won't trigger an adverse reaction from the patient?s own immune system."

Another possibility would be to modify genes in lines of pig stem cells so that they replicate flaws in human genes that cause diabetes and other diseases, he suggested.

The modified stem cells could then be used to generate pigs with the same disorder, thus providing researchers with a model on which to test new therapies.

The Chinese team tucked a basket of reprogramming genes inside a virus to infect the adult cells and return them to their naive, versatile state.

Tests on the cells showed they were capable of differentiating into the three fundamental layers of tissue in an early embryo.

The paper is published in the Journal of Molecular Cell Biology.

Work on similar lines is being carried out on human cells, first achieved in 2007 by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University.

source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gY2OyMJhdvBwZG4CfwaY7srY8bgw

Nations second 'Face Transplant' Recipient Speaks In Boston, MA

Nations 2nd Face Transplant Recipient Speaks In Boston, MA - 05/21/09

Smoking Harder on Women’s Health

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Smoking appears to be much harder on a woman’s health than a man’s.

According to U.S. and European researchers who looked at data on 954 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and 955 control subjects, female COPD patients under age 60 and those who had smoked fewer cigarettes over their lifetimes had more severe disease and greater lung function impairment when compared to their male counterparts.

“This means that female smokers in our study experienced reduced lung function at a lower level of smoking exposure and at an earlier age than men,” study author Inga-Cecilie Soerheim, M.D., was quoted as saying.

Why would cigarette smoke take a larger toll on women than men? While the researchers say the question has yet to be answered, there are several intriguing possibilities. For example, it could be because women have smaller airways than men and thus each cigarette does more damage. Differences in metabolism between men and women could also be coming into play, as could differences seen in genes and hormones.

“Clearly, there is no such thing as a safe exposure to cigarette smoke," fellow author Dawn DeMeo, M.D., M.P.H., was quoted as saying. "Our findings suggest that this is particularly true for female smokers.”

source: http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=21446

Healthy Heart Tips for a Bad Economy

Don't let your body pay the price in uncertain times, experts say.

(SOURCE: University of California, Los Angeles, news release, Jan. 27, 2009)

SATURDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) -- The economic news is enough to weaken anyone's heart, and it sometimes does with people feeling stressed, eating poorly and cutting out workouts while trying to make ends meet.

"We've seen an increase in patients complaining about heart palpitations, anxiety and stress over the past months," Karol Watson, an associate professor of cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, said in a news release issued by the school. "Much of heart disease can be prevented. That's why it is so important to follow a healthy lifestyle and to control your cardiovascular risk factors."

UCLA cardiologists offer these tips for adults and children in these tough economic times:

• Eat better; exercise more. Eat a healthy diet, including five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. By cooking simple fresh foods at home, rather than indulging in restaurant fare or fast foods, you can save money and your health. Maintaining a good diet and exercise program -- even if it's just 30 minutes of walking around the neighborhood -- helps you prevent obesity, which adds to the risk of heart attacks, heart failure and diabetes.
• Don't skimp on health care. Putting off doctor visits, especially when you have symptoms, hurts your health more in the long run, as does skipping medications or splitting pills to cut costs. Maintain regular checkups. Look at pharmaceutical company prescription programs if medication costs are a concern for you.
• Stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke. Smoking is an expensive habit that greatly increases your risk of cardiovascular problems. Quitting smoking quickly reduces the risk to your heart.
• Reduce stress. Find a positive outlet -- such as exercise, meditation or the company of others -- to ease stress and improve your health.
• Maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Get your levels checked and talk to your physician about the best plan of action to keep your LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels low and your HDL ("good") cholesterol levels high.
• Check your blood pressure. Hypertension is called the "silent killer," because it exhibits few warning signs. Today, several effective treatments are available for high blood pressure. If your blood pressure is normal, maintain it with a healthy lifestyle.

More information

http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.aspx?docID=623601

Schools reopen after CDC reversal

The announcement that three Prince George's County schools that had closed because of four probable cases of swine flu would reopen Wednesday was welcomed by parents who had struggled to find child care during the school days.

County school officials made the announcement late Tuesday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that schools no longer needed to be closed for suspected or confirmed cases of swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus.

"This is great news for parents and students," schools Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said in a statement released Tuesday. "We understand the strain that families have been under with the uncertainty of when schools would reopen. We encourage children and adults to continue practicing prevention. Working together with parents, we can help students stay healthy and schools stay open."

An 8-year-old student at Montpelier Elementary in Laurel and a teacher at University Park Elementary were found to have probable cases of the virus, also known as the H1N1 virus, last week. A student at Vansville Elementary School in Beltsville was diagnosed as probable on Monday, the same day a second student at Montpelier also tested probable.

Dr. Donald Shell, health officer for the county's health department, said at a County Council meeting Tuesday that all the children and the adult have ties to an after-school karate program where up to 40 children were participating. All 40 children are being monitored and seven are currently sick, Shell said. He said he did not know the name of the program but said everyone involved had been notified.

Shell said he is hopeful the schools may reopen within 10 days rather than the full 14, since the illness is not severe.

"That's a good thing," Shell said. "We've been fortunate, both as a country and as a region."

The school statement Tuesday said the closed schools "continue to be cleaned daily" and that the CDC recommends that ill students and staff members stay home to prevent spreading the flu.

But the school closings have been hard on many, council members noted.

"There's a social impact, especially in the area of Montpelier," said Councilman Thomas Dernoga (D-Dist. 1), who said single parents and lower income families with students are being hit economically by the closings. "There's a real concern as to whether this will have an employment impact."

Shell said the county asked the state to step up assistance to food banks and food stamp benefits for people affected by the quarantine.

The closures of the three schools while tests were being conducted to check for the virus sent parents scrambling to find answers and daytime care for their children.

"I'm just worried about them not having anything to do," said Kesha Cotton of Laurel, who has a sixth-grader and kindergartener at Montpelier. "I mean, no homework, nothing was given to them to do while they're home for these two weeks."

Cotton's husband, Troy, took off work Monday to watch their children, Yasmine, 11, and Justin, 6. Cotton's mother will babysit Tuesday and Wednesday, and Cotton or her husband was expecting to miss work Thursday and Friday to watch them.

Ashley Woodall, 11, is a fifth-grader at Montpelier and a member of the school's county championship Science Bowl team. She and her four teammates were scheduled to be honored at Tuesday night's PGCPS Board of Education awards ceremony.

That was until the county disinvited the Montpelier team, citing health concerns.

"She was in tears," said Ashley's mother, Rikki Woodall. "I understand, but it's kind of a bummer. The kids were really looking forward to it. It was such a huge accomplishment for them."

The board plans to honor Montpelier's team at a May 27 ceremony, said county schools spokesman John White. But for now, the team could pose a health risk to other schools' students.

"The health department advises us against having that level of exposure," White said.

This week, Ashley is being watched by her grandfather, Richard Woodall of Lanham. His schedule is open because he was laid off from his job as a courier manager several months ago.

"His misfortune is my fortune," said Rikki Woodall, a settlement coordinator for a title company. "If he wasn't available, I'd have to leave her home by herself."

Other parents, like Chris Harvey of University Park, had to juggle responsibilities. Harvey, a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, will miss three days this week while caring for her daughter, Anna, 8. If schools were closed longer, she planned a baby-sitting rotation with a neighbor.

"We're sort of shuffling kids around from one home to the next," she said.

There were 15 probable swine flu cases in Maryland as of Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Four of the cases — a high school student and two adults in Baltimore County and a pre-schooler in Anne Arundel County — have been confirmed as definite swine flu cases. Six schools in the state and three in Prince George's were expected to be closed for up to 14 days unless the CDC recommended otherwise.

County schools have not determined whether the three will have to make up the days they miss, White said. Make-up days are usually allotted on a countywide basis, such as in the case of weather emergencies.

"In our case, it's only [three] schools," White said. "This is a little different."

While Montpelier, University Park and Vansville elementaries deal with the fallout from their suspected cases, parents at other schools are worried that swine flu could come their way.

Julia Shepperson of Landover hopes her children's classmates at Glenarden's Judge Sylvania W. Woods Elementary practice good hand washing and have access to hand sanitizer in each classroom. Her children Jordan, 8, a third-grader, and Justine, 11, a sixth-grader, both attend the school.

"Perhaps they could put a bathroom monitor on just to ensure that that is being done," Shepperson said.

Wanda Michals of Capitol Heights continues to remind her children, Joshua, 5, a pre-kindergartener, and Paige, 8, a third-grader, to keep their hands out of their mouths and keep their distance from coughing children. Both attend Capitol Heights Elementary School.

"If it did come to the school, I would say just to be on the safe side they should close it," Michals said. "If a child got sick and they weren't sure, I'd rather they err on the side of caution, even if it meant them going into summer break."

Michals said she was surprised to hear about the cases in the county. She said she hopes Capitol Heights Elementary is diligent about sanitizing the cafeteria and bathrooms daily.

"I was surprised and just more cautious like, ‘Wow, it's getting closer,'" Michals said."That safety net that we still had is dwindling. Daily."

Mark Lockett, PTA president for Arrowhead Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, said he is not too worried about the swine flu because he has taught his children to wash their hands and to be cautious. But he said he worries that other parents are not doing the same.

"I am concerned about a lot of parents," said Lockett, of Upper Marlboro. "They should be teaching their kids how to cover their mouth, how to do certain things."

Lockett said he is keeping a careful eye on the situation at Arrowhead, especially because his daughter has asthma. If he hears about a lot of students falling ill or being absent, he already knows what he will do.

"I am prepared, at a moment's notice, to keep her out of school," he said.

Upper Marlboro resident Aletha Mills, who has a son in the seventh grade at Kettering Middle School, said she hopes teachers, cafeteria workers and other employees at the school are washing their hands regularly and encouraging students to do the same.

"It's a little alarming," she said. "It's about hygiene now."

But Mills said she is also worried children will be singled out as having the swine flu just for having flu-like symptoms.

"You don't want kids being [singled out] because they have allergies," said Mills, who said her son has them. "It's like, ‘Oh, have you been to Mexico lately?'"

Staff writers Greg Holzheimer, Natalie McGill and Daniel Valentine contributed to this story.

Source: http://www.gazette.net/stories/05072009/prinsch174201_32536.shtml

The Killer Swine Flu: Origins & Prevention!!!

How to avoid the Swine Flu.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

Uganda: Country to Conduct HIV Survey

Kampala — THE Ministry of Health plans to carry out another national HIV/AIDS sero-behavioural survey later this year.

"The survey taskforce is working out the modalities like mobilising the funds, but by October, we expect to have kicked off," said Dr. Sam Zaramba, the director general of health services.

He disclosed that the survey would cost about $5m (sh10b), which will be financed by the Government and development partners.

A sero-status survey is carried out to establish the magnitude, knowledge and management of HIV/AIDS and other sexually-transmitted infections.

Zaramba said the 2004/2005 survey showed an increase in HIV infections among adults. This, he explained, is one of the critical areas that this year's survey will focus on.

According to the 2004/5 survey, 6.4% of Ugandans aged between 15-49 were HIV-positive.

The HIV prevalence was higher among women at 7.5%, while that in men was 5%.

The survey showed that 10.1% of urban residents were infected, while the prevalence rate in their rural counterparts was 5.7%.

The central region had a prevalence rate of 8.5%, followed by northern Uganda with 8.2%.

The survey also showed a high prevalence of other sexually-transmitted infections.

Zainab Akol, the head of the AIDS Control Programme in the health ministry, said there had been an increase in the number of people accessing voluntary counselling services. About 20% of Ugandans know their sero status.

The Government has been encouraging people, especially the youth, to test and establish their sero status so as to live responsibly Akol, however, said an increase in the number of people living with HIV and AIDS is expected.

An estimated 135,000 people are infected with the virus every year.

Nearly 650,000 Ugandans unknowingly live with HIV-positive sexual partners.

Medical practitioners have expressed concern that about 85,000 people risk contracting HIV this year if they are not sensitised about the virus.

source:http://allafrica.com/stories/200905040386.html

6 probable swine flu cases - WA health officials

Health officials have reported six probable cases of swine flu in Washington state.

Three of the cases are in King County, which includes Seattle, two are in Snohomish County, just north of Seattle, and one is in Spokane County in northeast Washington.

Officials told a Wednesday night news conference that samples have been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for formal confirmation.

Dr. David Fleming, director and health officer for Public Health-Seattle & King County, said he expects the region will see more infections of the swine flu H1N1 virus, which has been confirmed or suspected in dozens of patients in at least a dozen other states and several foreign countries.

The King County cases involve an 11-year-old Seattle boy, who officials say was hospitalized and is improving; a 27-year-old Seattle man; and a 33-year-old Seattle woman who is a physician, and whose husband and two children have also shown symptoms. They were not hospitalized and are improving.

The Snohomish County cases are a 6-year-old boy and a 34-year-old woman. Additional details on them were not immediately available.

The Spokane case involves a man in his 40s who recently traveled to California, the Spokesman-Review reported.

The Seattle boy attends Madrona Elementary School, but did not go to class at the time he showed symptoms, and officials said no school sessions have been canceled.

Dr. Gary Goldbaum, Snohomish County Health District health officer, told the news conference there was no evidence schools in his county were affected.

"Health experts in our state are monitoring the situation and have a well-practiced plan in place," Gov. Chris Gregoire said in a statement.

State Secretary of Health Mary Selecky urged people to follow basic precautions to prevent spread of the disease.

"We need the people of our state to help prevent the spread of germs by covering their coughs and staying home if they're sick," she said. Health experts also recommend frequent hand washing.

The state Health Department said in a news release that there is no vaccine to prevent swine flu, but the state expects to receive a precautionary supply of antiviral medication - enough to treat about 230,000 people - in the next several days from the federal government.

The outbreak has hit about a dozen states amid confirmation of the first U.S. death - a Mexican toddler who visited Texas with his family - and the confinement of dozens of Marines after one came down with the disease in California.

The Washington cases were discovered from among about 70 samples that have been sent so far to the state testing lab in Shoreline. Testing continues on dozens of those samples sent in since last weekend by hospitals, clinics and doctors.

Symptoms of the swine flu are typical of other flu strains, including fever, coughing, joint aches, headache, and in some cases vomiting and diarrhea.

Health officials say the disease, despite its name, is spread from human to human - not from pigs to humans - and that it is not spread by eating properly cooked pork products.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said the city would activate its Emergency Operations Center at its first level to coordinate procedures and communications that might be needed in response to the flu cases.

Thanks to previous federal grants for pandemic preparedness, state health officials have TV public service advertisements ready, they've written up plans and practiced exercises on how to receive and distribute medication to combat the flu, and there's flu information available online, state Health Department spokesman Tim Church said.

Local health officials meet daily by phone with the state Health Department and everyone is working on getting information out to the public, Church said.

"We have a plan in place. We've practiced it. Everybody knows their roles," he said. "Four to five years ago, we wouldn't have had that in place."

Church said the overall flu season, which typically peaks in February, is tailing off. He said there have not been an abnormal number of flu cases for this time of year in the state.

The department estimates the flu situation by checking with a few schools and nursing homes.

The University of Washington has a small number of students in Mexico, about eight or nine, but the university is not advising them to come home, UW spokesman Bob Roseth said.

source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009148996_apwaswineflu4thldwritethru.html

Stocks Drop on Swine Flu, Economy Concern; Yen Gain, Treasuries

April 27 - Stocks declined around the world, Treasuries gained and the yen strengthened as the swine flu outbreak spread and Lawrence Summers said the U.S. economy will keep shrinking.

Air France - KLM Group, Europe's largest airline, Autogrill SpA, the world's biggest manager of airport restaurants, and Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA dropped at least 3 percent after swine flu spread beyond Mexico and the U.S. government declared a public health emergency. Drugmakers Roche Holding AG and GlaxoSmithKline Plc advanced more than 2 percent as authorities seek a broader range of medicines to protect against a pandemic.

The MSCI World Index dropped for the first time in five days, slipping 0.5 percent at 10:07 a.m. in London. The gauge of 23 developed countries has rebound 27 percent since March 9 as companies from American Express Co. and Ford Motor Co. to Italy's Eni SpA posted earnings that beat analysts' estimates.

The outbreak of swine flu "is clearly something that is undermining the market in the short term but I am not sure it's going to de-rail the fact that the markets have their sights on a recovery ahead," said Mike Lenhoff, who helps oversee about $36 billion as chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin Securities Ltd. in London. "It could be just an excuse for some consolidation today."

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index fell 1.2 percent, led by travel and leisure companies, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.3 percent, reversing an earlier advance of 1.4 percent.

'Sharp Declines'

Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 1.7 percent. The U.S. economy will experience "sharp declines in employment for quite some time this year," Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council, said yesterday on "Fox News Sunday."

The yen rose against the dollar and Treasuries advanced as investors sought havens from a prolonged recession. The yen strengthened to 96.74 per dollar in London from 97.17 last week in New York. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes fell six basis points to 2.93 percent, according to BG Cantor Market Data.

The Mexican peso declined 2 percent to 13.61 per dollar after more than 80 people died of swine flu in the nation. BBVA, which owns Mexico’s biggest bank, slid 3.2 percent to 7.81 euros. Sol Melia SA, which operates resorts in Mexico, slumped 9.7 percent to 3.80 euros.

Air France fell 8.2 percent to 8.24 euros. Four people in the country suspected of having swine flu have tested negative for the virus, an official at the French Health Ministry said today. Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA, Spain's biggest airline, lost 6.6 percent to 1.42 euros in Madrid trading while Autogrill declined 4.7 percent to 5.76 euros in Milan.

Medicine Stockpiles

A growing number of swine flu cases led the U.S. government to release stockpiles of medicine. Japan, Malaysia and Singapore said they are screening passengers at checkpoints for fever, while Hong Kong raised its swine-flu response level.

Roche, which said it has an ample supply of the Tamiflu treatment that can reduce the symptoms of swine flu, added 3.8 percent to 144.9 Swiss francs. Glaxo, which said it is producing its Relenza flu treatment at “full capacity,” added 2.4 percent to 1,030.5 pence.

ArcelorMittal declined 4.1 percent to 19.78 euros after the Financial Times said the world's biggest steelmaker may have to reduce its steel capacity on a long-term basis by as much as 10 percent. The newspaper citied Peter Fish, managing director of steel analysts Meps.

Merck, Aviva

Merck KGaA added 2.2 percent to 67.84 euros even after the company posted a 76 percent drop in first-quarter profit to 56.7 million euros ($74.7 million) as the global recession damped demand for liquid crystals used in flat-panel televisions and monitors.

Aviva Plc climbed 4.6 percent to 285.75 pence. The U.K.'s biggest insurer said its capital surplus increased to 2.5 billion pounds ($3.6 billion) at the end of the first quarter from 2 billion pounds three months earlier.

The insurer's first-quarter revenue from its life and pensions business rose to 9.6 billion pounds from 8.6 billion pounds a year earlier, while sales in North America increased 84 percent.

Siemens AG fell 2.8 percent to 47.91 euros after the Financial Times reported Europe's largest engineering company is planning to lower a profit forecast this week as a deeper-than-expected recession hurts its earnings plans. The newspaper did not say where it got the information.

source:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aBpgJTGK3x8w&refer=europe

MDH released 326 new HIV/AIDS cases in 2008

Reported new cases of HIV infection in Minnesota reached 326 in 2008 compared to 325 new cases in 2007 and 318 cases in 2006, according to a new report from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), "HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report – 2008."

A total of 8,819 HIV/AIDS cases have been reported, including 2,976 people who have died, since MDH began tracking AIDS in 1982 and HIV in 1985. An estimated 6,220 people are currently living with HIV in Minnesota. On average, MDH received a new reported HIV case every 27 hours in 2008.

"The annual number of cases appears to be inching upward," said Peter Carr, director of the STD and HIV Section at MDH. "We have averaged about 300 cases per year starting in 2001 until recently when we saw about 320 cases being reported each year for the last 3 years."

Health officials noted the increases seen among males, ages 13 to 24, where cases have more than doubled since 2001. There were only 18 new cases reported in 2001 compared with 42 cases in this age group in 2008.

MDH data show that of the 326 new HIV infections reported in 2008, 238 were male and 88 were female. While cases among males decreased by four percent overall, cases among white males and among men who have sex with men both increased by 13 percent.

Cases among women represented 33 percent of the total cases reported in 2008. Although the number of cases remained stable among women of color, they still represented 69 percent of all new cases among women. The data also indicated higher rates of infection among certain ethnic and racial groups.

Infection rates are higher among communities of color when compared to whites. About 38 percent of all new cases reported in 2008 were among men of color. Statewide rates for African Americans and Latinos are nearly 10 and five times greater, respectively, than whites. Rates for African communities are over 24 times greater than for whites.

"Socioeconomic status appears to be the most important factor in communities and neighborhoods where higher rates of HIV infection are seen," Carr said. "Limited incomes can mean lack of insurance, limited access to health care, poor housing situations, homelessness, social stigma, risks associated with incarceration, and marginalized social status."

MDH data show that about 31 percent of persons diagnosed in 2008 were considered "late testers" which means that they already had AIDS when they were initially tested for HIV or were diagnosed with AIDS less than one year after the initial diagnosis. An AIDS diagnosis usually occurs after being infected with HIV for five to ten years. Latinos had the highest percentage of "late testers" compared to all other population groups at 43 percent. This may be due to cultural and language barriers.

To help find undiagnosed HIV infections, guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) call for health providers to routinely provide HIV testing during general health screenings and exams.

"Getting tested and getting into care if you are positive is of utmost importance," said Carr. "The new treatments and combination therapies have added years of life to those who are HIV positive. Being in care also allows those who are infected to learn how to prevent transmission to others."

Health officials point out that routine HIV testing of pregnant women has dramatically reduced the rate of transmission from infected mothers to their infants – from 25 percent to less than two percent once they received care during their pregnancies.

There is no cure or vaccine for HIV, but health officials emphasize that the spread of HIV infection remains highly preventable. Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, are highly effective in reducing HIV transmission. The spread of HIV can also be prevented by avoiding the sharing of needles or equipment to tattoo, body pierce or inject drugs.

To help curb the epidemic in Minnesota, the STD and HIV Section at MDH currently funds 22 programs through 16 agencies aimed at preventing the spread of HIV in adults and young people of all races. The Office of Minority and Multicultural Health (OMMH) at MDH provides funding to eight community-based organizations to help them educate and teach skills that impact individuals, organizations, and communities in the fight to eradicate HIV/AIDS.

At the national level, a new public awareness campaign has been launched, "Act against AIDS," to encourage testing, reduce risky behaviors and provide awareness on the impact HIV/AIDS has had in the U.S. Downloadable resources and information are available on the campaign's web site: Nine And A Half Minutes.

The complete HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report – 2008 can be found on the MDH Web site at www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/hiv/hivstatistics.html.

Information about HIV is available from the Minnesota AIDS Project (MAP) AIDSLine, 612-373-2437, 1-800-248-2437. MAP AIDSLine offers statewide information and referral services, including prevention education, HIV risk assessments, HIV testing and referrals to HIV testing sites.

source: http://www.health.state.mn.us/news/pressrel/2009/hiv041509.html

Rocket Fuel Chemical Found in Baby Formula

When a parent puts a bottle of baby formula to a child's lips, the parent might not know exactly what ingredients are in that thick, nutritionally packed mix. But rocket fuel? That's not an ingredient many expect to find.

A study by government researchers released Thursday tested 15 different brands of formula and found a chemical -- also found in rocket fuel -- contaminating every single one.

While the levels of the chemical, perchlorate, have been deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency, some worry public health is at risk.

Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested the formula for the presence of perchlorate, a chemical used as the main ingredient in solid rocket fuel. It's a worry because perchlorate can interfere with the production of thyroid hormones by inhibiting the absorption of iodine.

The CDC study found cow's milk-based formula contained more perchlorate than that made with soy or other ingredients.

The two brands with the highest levels -- more than double that of the other milk-based products -- command 87 percent of the market share for infant formula.
The report does not specify the brand names of any formula tested.

Perchlorate has been found in the water supplies of 35 states and has been detected in everything from vegetables to milk. In the case of dairy, the rocket fuel in the water flows into grass, which is eaten by cows, and is then passed along into milk.
The perchlorate was found in levels within a range that's been deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.

CDC researchers write that "this is reasssuring at first glance," but add that it could be problematic because drinking water in 26 states has high perchlorate levels. So, mixing contaminated powdered milk with contaminated water in those places could result in a dangerous exposure.

"The widespread penetrance of these products, and the potential for utilization of water for reconstitution that has even minimal concentrations of perchlorate," the researchers write, "suggest that a significant number of infants consuming bovine milk-based [powdered infant formula] with lactose, will have perchlorate doses in excess of the [recommended limit]."

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http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/Story?id=7242880&page=1