- Vaccine effectiveness: Which COVID-19 shots are most protective against severe disease? Medical Xpress
- Early Estimates of Updated 2023–2024 (Monovalent XBB.1.5) COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Against Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection Attributable to Co-Circulating Omicron Variants Among Immunocompetent Adults — Increasing Community Access to CDC
- Updated COVID-19 vaccines 54 percent effective against symptomatic cases: CDC The Hill
- New estimates show latest COVID vaccine cuts risk of symptomatic infection University of Minnesota Twin Cities
- COVID vaccine: Updated shots are 54% effective for adults, CDC says USA TODAY
Tag Archives: protective
Eminem Seeks Protective Order Against ‘RHOP’ Stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon – Entertainment Tonight
- Eminem Seeks Protective Order Against ‘RHOP’ Stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon Entertainment Tonight
- Eminem Does Not Want to Sit for a Deposition In His Trademark Fight With Two ‘Real Housewives’ Stars Rolling Stone
- Eminem Asks Not To Stand Up In Court Battle Over Trademarking The Term ‘Shady’ Deadline
- Eminem seeks protective order against Real Housewives of Potomac stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon amid his Daily Mail
- Eminem requests protective order against ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac’ stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon over ‘Shady’ trademark dispute. Entertainment Weekly News
Eminem Seeks Protective Order Against Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon – Entertainment Tonight
- Eminem Seeks Protective Order Against Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon Entertainment Tonight
- Eminem requests protective order against ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac’ stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon over ‘Shady’ trademark dispute. Entertainment Weekly News
- Eminem Seeks Protective Order Against Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon in Trademark Dispute Case PEOPLE
- Eminem Asks Not To Stand Up In Court Battle Over Trademarking The Term ‘Shady’ Deadline
- The Shady Legal Battle Between Eminem and Two ‘Real Housewives Of Potomac’ Stars Collider
Eminem requests protective order against ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac’ stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon over ‘Shady’ trademark dispute. – Entertainment Weekly News
- Eminem requests protective order against ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac’ stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon over ‘Shady’ trademark dispute. Entertainment Weekly News
- Eminem Seeks Protective Order Against Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon in Trademark Dispute Case PEOPLE
- Eminem Asks Not To Stand Up In Court Battle Over Trademarking The Term ‘Shady’ Deadline
- Eminem Does Not Want to Sit for a Deposition In His Trademark Fight With Two ‘Real Housewives’ Stars Rolling Stone
- Eminem Asks to Skip Deposition in Dispute With ‘RHOP’ Stars Us Weekly
Temecia and Rodney Jackson, parents who had home birth, say their child was wrongfully taken by Texas Department of Family and Protective Services – CBS News
- Temecia and Rodney Jackson, parents who had home birth, say their child was wrongfully taken by Texas Department of Family and Protective Services CBS News
- Texas parents demand newborn back from child protective services after doctor has baby removed WLS-TV
- Texas couple say CPS officials took infant in dispute over jaundice New York Post
- Lawmaker promises to press for answers after CPS takes custody of North Texas newborn in dispute over jaundice treatment WFAA.com
- North Texas couple says CPS made a mistake after taking their 9-day old infant KENS 5: Your San Antonio News Source
Newfound ‘protective shield’ in the brain is like a watchtower for immune cells
A newfound “protective shield” in the brain helps clear waste from the organ and serves as a sentry tower for watchful immune cells that monitor for signs of infection, scientists reported in a study of mouse and human brains.
The study, published Thursday (Jan. 5) in the journal Science (opens in new tab), describes a thin sheet of tissue that measures only a few cells thick and splits an overarching compartment in the brain called the subarachnoid space into two halves horizontally. Several distinct layers of tissue sit between the inner surface of the skull and the outer surface of the brain, and the subarachnoid space lies between two of those tissue layers. The space itself isn’t empty; it contains a spiderweb-like network of connective tissue that stretches between the neighboring tissue layers, major blood vessels, and a colorless fluid called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), according to the online medical resource StatPearls (opens in new tab).
The CSF surrounding the brain acts as a shock absorber, similar to the cushioning inside a bike helmet. However, this fluid doesn’t hang out only in the subarachnoid space. Instead, it flows through various tubes and compartments in and around the brain, delivering nutrients to the organ while flushing its waste products out into the bloodstream. The newly discovered “shield” likely helps control these important functions of CSF, the study authors concluded.
“The discovery of a new anatomic structure that segregates and helps control the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in and around the brain now provides us much greater appreciation of the sophisticated role that CSF plays not only in transporting and removing waste from the brain, but also in supporting its immune defenses,” senior author Dr. Maiken Nedergaard (opens in new tab), co-director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at University of Rochester and the University of Copenhagen, said in a statement (opens in new tab).
Related: How many organs are in the human body?
The shield, which the authors call the subarachnoid lymphatic-like membrane (SLYM), divides the subarachnoid space into an upper compartment, closer to the skull, and a lower compartment, closer to the brain. Experiments in mice suggested that the thin membrane blocks most proteins from crossing from one compartment into the other, although it allows very small molecules to pass through. (The team also found evidence of the SLYM in tissue samples from adult human brains.)
The newfound membrane may help separate fresh CSF from contaminated CSF containing waste and potentially harmful proteins, such as the amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and help direct these substances out of the brain, the authors theorized. Understanding how this works in a healthy brain and what happens if the shield incurs damage “will require more detailed studies,” they noted.
The study also revealed that a large number and variety of immune cells can be embedded in the shield, and showed that these immune cells increase in number in response to inflammation and advanced aging in mice. This finding hints that the SLYM serves as a site of “immunological surveillance,” from which immune cells monitor the CSF for signs of infection and inflammation and can summon additional defenses as needed, the authors concluded.
However, if the SLYM ruptures, immune cells from the skull’s bone marrow can then flood the surface of the brain, an area they normally wouldn’t reach. This finding could help explain why traumatic brain injuries often trigger prolonged inflammation of the brain and disrupt the normal flow of CSF through and around the organ, the authors suggested, although these hypotheses will have to be tested.
Traumatic brain injuries are also linked to an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s down the line, the authors added, and this increased risk may be partially explained by the trauma introducing new cracks in the brain’s protective shield — the SLYM, the authors theorize.
A Protective Probiotic for ALS Found
Summary: Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus HA-114, a non-commercial probiotic reduces neurodegeneration and has neuroprotective effects in lab models of ALS.
Source: University of Montreal
A probiotic bacterium called Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus HA-114 prevents neurodegeneration in the C. elegans worm, an animal model used to study amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
That’s the finding of a new study at Canada’s CHUM Research Center (CRCHUM) led by Université de Montréal neuroscience professor Alex Parker and published in the journal Communications Biology.
He and his team suggest that the disruption of lipid metabolism contributes to this cerebral degeneration, and show that the neuroprotection provided by HA-114, a non-commercial probiotic, is unique compared to other strains of the same bacterial family tested.
“When we add it to the diet of our animal model, we notice that it suppresses the progression of motor neuron degeneration,” said Parker, the study’s lead author. “The particularity of HA-114 resides in its fatty acid content.”
By enabling the transmission of signals to muscles so that they contract, motor neurons, which are nerve cells, allow us to move our body at will.
People with ALS see a gradual deterioration of their motor neurons. This makes them lose their muscular ability, to the point of total paralysis, with an average life expectancy of only 3 to 5 years after diagnosis.
Nearly 3,000 people in Canada have ALS.
“Recent research has shown that the disruption of the gut microbiota is likely involved in the onset and progression of many incurable neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS,” explained Parker.
Identifying neuroprotective bacterial strains could form a basis for new therapies.
A matter of diet
Central to this scientific project is Audrey Labarre, the study’s first author, a postdoctoral fellow working hard to advance research on ALS by focusing on motor neuron degeneration in C. elegans worms.
Measuring only one millimeter in length and sharing 60% of their genetic makeup with humans, these nematodes were genetically modified with ALS-associated genes for the purposes of the CRCHUM research.
To study the neuroprotective effects of a probiotic-based dietary supplement on this animal model, Labarre tested a total of 13 different bacterial strains and three strain combinations.
HA-114 stood out from the pack. The action of the probiotic helped reduce motor disorders in models with ALS and also Huntington’s disease, another neurodegenerative disease.
Two genes at play
Relying on data from the genetic study, genomic profiling, behavioral analysis and microscopy images, the scientific team identified two genes, acdh-1 and acs-20, which play a key role in this neuroprotective mechanism.
They were able to accomplish this meticulous work thanks to collaborations with Martine Tétreault, a CRCHUM researcher, and Matthieu Ruiz, a researcher at the Montreal Heart Institute Research Center.
Existing in equivalent forms in humans, both genes are involved in lipid metabolism and beta-oxidation, a process through which fatty acids are broken down into energy in the mitochondria, the true cellular power plants.
“We believe that fatty acids supplied by HA-114 enter the mitochondria through an independent, non-traditional pathway, said Parker. In doing so, they restore balance to impaired energy metabolism in ALS and lead to a decrease in neurodegeneration.”
The researcher’s team is now conducting similar studies on an animal model more complex than the C. elegans worm: the mouse.
See also
They will then validate in a clinical setting whether HA-114 could be a therapeutic complement to current ALS treatments. The advantage is that probiotics, unlike drugs, produce few side effects, they say.
To this end, a Canada-wide clinical study headquartered at the CRCHUM and led by ALS clinic director Dr. Geneviève Matte will be conducted with 100 subjects, starting in the spring of 2023.
About this ALS research news
Author: Bruno Geoffroy
Source: University of Montreal
Contact: Bruno Geoffroy – University of Montreal
Image: The image is credited to the researchers
Original Research: Open access.
“Fatty acids derived from the probiotic Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus HA-114 suppress age-dependent neurodegeneration” by Audrey Labarre et al. Communications Biology
Abstract
Fatty acids derived from the probiotic Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus HA-114 suppress age-dependent neurodegeneration
The human microbiota is believed to influence health. Microbiome dysbiosis may be linked to neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington’s disease. We report the ability of a probiotic bacterial strain in halting neurodegeneration phenotypes.
We show that Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus HA-114 is neuroprotective in C. elegans models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Huntington’s disease. Our results show that neuroprotection from L. rhamnosus HA-114 is unique from other L. rhamnosus strains and resides in its fatty acid content.
Neuroprotection by L. rhamnosus HA-114 requires acdh-1/ACADSB, kat-1/ACAT1 and elo-6/ELOVL3/6, which are associated with fatty acid metabolism and mitochondrial β-oxidation. Our data suggest that disrupted lipid metabolism contributes to neurodegeneration and that dietary intervention with L. rhamnosus HA-114 restores lipid homeostasis and energy balance through mitochondrial β-oxidation.
Our findings encourage the exploration of L. rhamnosus HA-114 derived interventions to modify the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.
Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard released, protective order issued in assault case
Texas men’s basketball head coach Chris Beard was issued a protective order and is facing felony assault charges after a woman said he strangled her early Monday morning, Austin police said.
Beard, 49, is accused of assaulting a family member at a home in the 1900 block of Vista Lane, according to police. He faces a third-degree felony charge of assault on a family/household member — impede breath circulation. It is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Officers responded about 12:15 a.m. Monday to a 911 call about a disturbance that was no longer ongoing at a home in the Tarrytown neighborhood of West Austin, police said. The caller reported that one of the individuals involved had left the house, where officers located a woman who said Beard assaulted and strangled her, police said.
Beard was booked into Travis County Jail at 4:18 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office. He made his first appearance in court Monday and was released after posting a $10,000 bond.
A judge also issued protective orders in the case. Beard is not allowed to be within 200 yards of the woman he is accused of assaulting while the case is pending, and under an emergency order set to expire Feb. 10, he is not allowed to be within 200 yards of his home, possess a firearm, or communicate in a threatening way with the woman.
After leaving the jail, Beard did not respond to questions from reporters. His attorney, Perry Minton, had told Austin television station KEYE-TV on Monday morning that Beard is “100 percent innocent of these charges.”
“He should have never been arrested,” Minton said in a prepared statement. “The complainant wants him released immediately and all charges dismissed. It is truly inconceivable.”
A University of Texas spokesperson released a statement Monday that did not offer any information about Beard’s status with the team.
“The University is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard. We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process.”
After five seasons at Texas Tech, Beard became the head coach of the Texas Longhorns, his alma mater, in 2021. He has a 29-13 record in two seasons and has led the Longhorns to 7-1 with wins over three ranked teams — Gonzaga, Arkansas and Creighton. Texas was ranked No. 2 in the country before dropping to seventh after the team fell to Illinois last week, its first loss of the season.
Texas is set to play Rice at 7 p.m. Monday at the Moody Center in Austin, followed by a trip to Dallas on Sunday to face Stanford at American Airlines Center.
Who is Chris Beard?
Beard started his coaching journey as a graduate assistant for the Longhorns in 1991. The road that led him back to his alma mater was long and winding, to say the least.
After leaving Texas in 1995, Beard spent time as an assistant at Abilene Christian and North Texas. He was the head coach at two different junior college programs. He even spent a year coaching the South Carolina Warriors, a semiprofessional team. Stints as the head coach at McMurry University in Abilene and Angelo State in San Angelo came next, before Beard started his Division I head coaching career at Arkansas-Little Rock.
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By the time he reached Texas Tech in 2016, he had built a reputation as a defensive mastermind, with teams at each stop embodying his philosophy.
“They are really good at reaching, poking and digging things outta there,’’ Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said of the Red Raiders in 2019. “So it’s real. That defense is real.’’
As was Beard’s coaching rise. He described himself and his teams as underdogs, but that title lost some relevancy after Beard took Tech to the national title game in 2019.
Despite losing to Virginia 85-77 in overtime, Beard had certified himself as one of the nation’s most talked-about coaches. When Texas and former coach Shaka Smart parted ways in 2021, Beard was the clear target.
He was adored at Texas Tech, but that changed when Beard signed a seven-year, $35 million contract with Texas — a Big 12 conference rival.
“Chris did so much for this community, for this program,” Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said last year. “Had he gone to any other university, he’d be celebrated.
“But there’s just certain things you cannot do, and one of them is you can’t leave Texas Tech for Texas.”
A hostile crowd and plenty of boos awaited Beard when he made his first trip to Lubbock with the Longhorns last season. The Red Raiders and new head coach Mark Adams won that game, and eventually made it to the Sweet 16 — one step further than the Longhorns and Beard, who lost to Purdue in the second round.
But it was the Longhorns’ first NCAA Tournament win since 2014 under Rick Barnes, and Beard finished his first season at 22-12. After the Longhorns secured a top-six recruiting class and multiple transfers, expectations were high for this season.
So far, Texas had lived up to it.
Find more Texas coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Protective Herbs And Spices For Diabetes
India is seeing a boom in diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is one of the leading public health issues that we face. While our ethnicity, genetic predisposition, makes us more vulnerable to diabetes, the cause for this is our life style . Urbanization, long working hours, stress, sleep deprivation, increased intake of processed food and lack of physical activity are the main reasons. Preventing and controlling diabetes needs a disciplined and consistent effort. Diet plays an important role in the prevention and control of diabetes, in addition spices and some foods have been found to support lowering of blood sugars, improving glucose metabolism, and also improve lipids, enhance antioxidant capacity and capillary functions, giving protection against heart diseases to.
Also read: World Diabetes Day 2022: Date, Significance And 5 Food Items To Include In Your Diet
If we look at the modifiable risk factors for diabetes:
- Weight: Obesity/ overweight, high waist to hip ratio, increases your risk of diabetes.
- Physical Activity: Lack of activity increases the risk of insulin resistance and obesity, which in turn increase the risk of diabetes
- Keeping the blood pressure under control will help with better diabetes management and prevention of onset.
- Cholesterol: Low HDL(good cholesterol) and high triglycerides increase the risk of T2DM.
- Smoking increases the risk of a number of health problems especially diabetes.
- Alcohol: over indulgence in alcohol has a detrimental effect on the pancreas , where it leads to inflammation and on the liver which it can damage.
- Lifestyle: Poor food choices, stress, and lack of sleep are very important contributing factors for early onset and management of blood sugar levels.
All these are easily manageable with making the right choices. Regular screening, regular doctor visit, taking your treatment as per your doctors advise, following a healthy diet and good lifestyle is the way.
Photo Credit: Istock
PROTECTIVE FOODS : Research has highlighted some spices, herbs and vegetables which have shown to support sugar control and also delay onset of diabetes and comorbidities. Here are 3 that can be added:
1.Cinnamon: is a common spice found in all our kitchens. It has been researched for its effect on controlling blood sugars extensively. In a study published by American diabetes association Cinnamon when taken in 1. 3 or 6 gms was found to reduce blood glucose by 18-29% and also reduced triglycerides (23-30%), LDL(7-27%), Cholesterol (12-26%) which means that it not only controls the blood sugars but also the risk factors associated with T2DM. In another meta-analysis published in Annals of family medicine also established the same outcomes. This affect may be because cinnamon improves uptake of glucose by the cells, improves insulin resistance by improving the cell receptor activity and increasing insulin production.
How to consume: Powder whole cinnamon and add 1, 3 or 6 gms and it can be consumed with water. Start with 1 gm and if you are comfortable 3 gms can be taken for 2-3 months
Also read: Cinnamon Water For Diabetes: How To Make It? Recipe, Benefits And More
2.Fenugreek or Methi Seeds: This has been long used for diabetes control in India. Fenugreek is an ancient medicinal herb used for decades by traditional Indian medicine. Fenugreek seeds as research has shown increases insulin sensitivity in the cells, stimulate insulin production and enhance carbohydrate metabolism. Fenugreek seeds also lower triglycerides, cholesterol (TC), and LDL-C. A compound, sapogenins, present in them is shown to increase the cholesterol excretion through bile.
How to consume: 10 gms soaked overnight and consumed along with the water. Powdered fenugreek powder can also be used. 1teaspoon twice daily. It can be added to dahi, or sprinkled on the chapati
3.Karela/ Bitter Melon: A bitter vegetable that has been consumed for diabetes control for a long time. This effect is because of the active compounds present in Karela , namely charanti,, which lowers blood sugars,vicine and a compound that is similar to insulin- polypeptide-p. Another compound, lectin works by supressing appetite and reducing blood sugar levels.
How to consume: The entire vegetable is found to be effective, so it can be cooked and 2 medium pcs eaten daily. It can be grated or juiced and consumed but in the raw form it may cause indigestion.
I have chosen these three as they are easily available and have some good research to back these claims. However, the first line of treatment has to be decided by your doctor, these are not alternatives to medicine but must be taken alongside. Also, a balanced meal, in the right quantity and right time along with physical activity is important. These are a part of the whole , and not a magic bullet which replaces good lifestyle practises.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
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Protective childbirth tattoos found on ancient Egyptian mummies
Lower back tattoos may seem like an early 21st century fad popularized by low-rise-jeans clad celebrities, but new archaeological evidence from Egyptian mummies shows the practice is actually more than three millennia old.
At the New Kingdom site of Deir el-Medina (1550 B.C. to 1070 B.C.), researchers Anne Austin and Marie-Lys Arnette have discovered that tattoos on ancient flesh and tattooed figurines from the site are likely connected with the ancient Egyptian god Bes, who protected women and children, particularly during childbirth. They published their findings last month in the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (opens in new tab).
Deir el-Medina (opens in new tab) lies on the western bank of the Nile, across from the archaeological site of Luxor. Beginning in 1922, around the same time that King Tut‘s tomb was found, the site was excavated by a French team. Known in the New Kingdom period as Set-Ma’at (“Place of Truth”), this was a planned community, a large neighborhood with rectangular gridded streets and housing for the workers responsible for building tombs for the Egyptian rulers. While the men would leave for days at a time to work on the tombs, women and children lived in the village of Deir el-Medina. An important feature of the site is the so-called Great Pit, an ancient dump full of pay stubs, receipts and letters on papyrus that have helped archaeologists better understand the lives of the common people.
Related: Ötzi the Iceman’s tattoos may have been a primitive form of acupuncture
But nothing in the Great Pit mentions the practice of tattooing, so the discovery of at least six tattooed women at Deir el-Medina was surprising. “It can be rare and difficult to find evidence for tattoos because you need to find preserved and exposed skin,” study lead author Anne Austin (opens in new tab), a bioarchaeologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, told Live Science in an email. “Since we would never unwrap mummified people, our only chances of finding tattoos are when looters have left skin exposed and it is still present for us to see millennia after a person died.”
The new evidence that Austin discovered came from two tombs that she and her team examined in 2019. Human remains from one tomb included a left hip bone of a middle-aged woman. On the preserved skin, patterns of dark black coloration were visible, creating an image that, if symmetrical, would have run along the woman’s lower back. Just to the left of the horizontal lines of the tattoo is a depiction of Bes and a bowl, imagery related to ritual purification during the weeks after childbirth.
The second tattoo comes from a middle-aged woman discovered in a nearby tomb. In this case, infrared photography revealed a tattoo that is difficult to see with the naked eye. A reconstruction drawing of this tattoo reveals a wedjat, or Eye of Horus, and a possible image of Bes wearing a feathered crown; both images suggest that this tattoo was related to protection and healing. And the zigzag line pattern may represent a marsh, which ancient medical texts associated with cooling waters used to relieve pain from menstruation or childbirth, according to Austin.
In addition, three clay figurines depicting women’s bodies that were found at Deir el-Medina decades ago were reexamined by study co-author Marie-Lys Arnette (opens in new tab), an Egyptologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, who suggested that they too show tattoos on the lower back and upper thighs that include depictions of Bes.
The researchers concluded in their paper that “when placed in context with New Kingdom artifacts and texts, these tattoos and representations of tattoos would have visually connected with imagery referencing women as sexual partners, pregnant, midwives, and mothers participating in the post-partum rituals used for protection of the mother and child.”
Sonia Zakrzewski (opens in new tab), a bioarchaeologist at the University of Southampton University in the U.K. who was not involved in the current study, told Live Science in an email that “the newly described tattoos are extremely intricate relative to earlier Egyptian tattoo practices,” and that “images of pregnant women are extremely rare in Egyptian art.” Because childbirth and fertility of the soil were linked in Egyptian thought, Zakrzewski suggested that “these tattoos are imprinting protective representations — including of gods — on their body, almost like the person has their own portable magical amulet with them.”
Tattooing in Deir el-Medina is even more common than people realized, according to Austin, though it is unknown how widespread it may have been elsewhere in Egypt during that period. “I’m hopeful more scholars will find evidence of tattooing so that we can see if what is happening in this village is unique or part of a broader tradition in ancient Egypt that we simply haven’t discovered yet,” she said.