Yingchun Liu, Liping Huang, Keith E. Gubbins, and Marco Buongiorno Nardelli Using first-principles calculations we have studied the reactions of water over Ti-decorated C in order to assess the possibility of using this system as a catalyst for water dissociation. Our results show that a single water molecule dissociates exothermically with a small energy barrier on a singl ... [J. Chem. Phys. 133, 084510 (2010)] published Tue Aug 31, 2010. (Source: Journal of Chemical Physics)

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The Cry1Ia12 entomotoxin from a Brazilian Bacillus thuringiensis strain is currently being expressed in cotton cultivars to confer resistance to insect-pests. The present study aimed to assess the effects of a diet containing Cry1Ia12 protein on growing rats. A test diet containing egg white and Cry1Ia12 (0.1% of total protein) as a protein source was offered to rats for ten days. In addition, an acute toxicity bioassay was performed in rats with a single oral dose of the entomotoxin (12 mg/animal). No adverse effects were observed in the animals receiving the test diet when compared to those receiving a control diet (egg white). The analysed parameters included relative dry weight of internal organs, duodenum histology, blood biochemistry, and nutritional parameters. The results of th...

nSightec Ltd., the global leader in MR guided focused ultrasound technology and the only company to receive FDA approval for its ExAblate(R) system for treating uterine fibroids, announced that its ExAblate(R) system has been used for the first time for the treatment of prostate cancer patients. Seven patients with localized low-risk prostate cancer were treated worldwide so far. The patients were treated at two leading medical centers: the N.N. Petrov Research Institute of Oncology in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and at the National Cancer Centre at the Singapore General Hospital, Singapore... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE: VRX) announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date for ezogabine to 30 November 2010. The original goal date was 30 August 2010... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Bionovo, Inc. (Nasdaq: BNVI, BNVID) announced that it has received positive guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the Company's Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) plan for its lead drug candidate Menerba®. The FDA indicated its agreement with Bionovo's plan. This agreement provides the necessary groundwork for the Company to progress to pivotal phase 3 clinical testing. Menerba is a botanically derived drug candidate designed for the safe and effective treatment of vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes) associated with menopause... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

MonoSol Rx, the developers of PharmFilm® technology and a drug delivery company specializing in film pharmaceutical products, today announced that its partner, Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (LSE: RB), has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market Suboxone® (buprenorphine HCl/naloxone HCl dihydrate) sublingual film for the treatment of opioid dependence. This is the second U.S... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

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BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRN) announced that it has received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for BMN-701, a novel fusion of insulin-like growth factor 2 and alpha glucosidase (IGF2-GAA) in development for the treatment of Pompe disease. An investigational new drug application (IND) for BMN-701 has been submitted, investigational material has been manufactured and a Phase I/II study is expected to start in the first quarter of 2011... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

With a major famine unfolding in Niger and other countries of West Africa's dry Sahelian region, an agricultural scientist reports new progress in disseminating an innovative system for irrigated vegetable production -- a valuable option in a region that is highly dependent on subsistence rainfed cropping. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)

Conclusion. This case provides the eighth report of Metronidazole induced pancreatitis. All of the cases were reported in females and ran a benign course.Early diagnosis, discontinuation of the drug and supportive care will lead to a successful recovery in the majority of cases. (Source: HPB Surgery)

Nosocomial pneumonia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality for hospitalized patients. Antimicrobial resistance is increasing, creating a strain between ensuring the provision of adequate empiric therapy and slowing the development of antimicrobial resistance. Excessive antimicrobial therapy places patients are at greater risk of drug interactions, adverse events, and superinfections. Ways to maximize adequate empiric therapy include (1) categorizing each patient’s risk of being infected with a multidrug-resistant pathogen and knowledge of local susceptibility patterns, (2) de-escalating antimicrobial therapy to decrease the rates of superinfections such as Clostridium difficile, and (3) limiting the duration of therapy to decrease the likelihood of adverse events, drug interact...

Abstract: There is growing concern that results of tightly controlled clinical trials may not generalize to broader community samples. To assess the proportion of community dwelling adults with cannabis dependence who would have been eligible for a typical cannabis dependence treatment study, we applied a standard set of eligibility criteria commonly used in cannabis outcome studies to a large (N=43,093) representative US adult sample interviewed face-to-face, the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Approximately 80% of the community sample of adults with a diagnosis of cannabis dependence (N=133) would be excluded from participating in clinical trials by one or more of the common eligibility criteria. Individual study criteria excluded from 0% to 41.0...

Conclusion: Some users of illicit drugs also use AAS for reasons other than the anabolic properties of these compounds. Therefore, considering that AAS may cause or contribute to diverse morbidity, it is important to ask users of illicit drugs about AAS use, even when obvious external signs of AAS use are lacking. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)

This study demonstrates that in a large urban cohort of persons with a history of injection drug use, risky drug use and sexual risk behavior are associated with subsequent alcohol consumption. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)

Abstract: Dropout and recidivism from addiction treatment has been found to be associated with individuals’ readiness for change. Motivation for treatment among participants entering the North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI) randomized controlled trial, which compared heroin assisted treatment (HAT) to optimized methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), was assessed. Through multivariate regression, we aimed to determine whether baseline motivational status was predictive of four treatment outcomes: early dropout, 12-month retention, 12-month response to treatment, and time to discontinuation of treatment. Among the 251 out-of-treatment chronic opioid dependent patients recruited in Montreal, Quebec and Vancouver, British Columbia, 52% reported having a high level of motivatio...

Conclusion: Rates of retention among opioid-dependent patients receiving naltrexone implant treatment are encouraging and support this as a feasible long-term treatment option. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)

Conclusion: Consistent with other studies, alcohol dependence and abuse criteria reflected a latent variable representing a single AUD. Results suggested little effect in removing legal problems and little gained by adding weekly at-risk drinking. Results contribute to knowledge about AUD criteria by examining them in a low-consumption country. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)

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Abstract: Objective: The aim of this study was to examine disturbances in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) associated with methamphetamine abuse.Methods: Using Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), rCBF was measured in 20 men who had previously injected methamphetamine intravenously for over 30 months and who were now abstinent for a minimum of 9 months and for an average of 2 years. Values were compared with those in 12 healthy men who had never injected methamphetamine.Results: While rCBF was significantly and disproportionately reduced in subcortical and dorsal cortical brain regions, including the striatum, thalamus, cingulum, mesiodorsal prefrontal cortex, and pons (all t's>8.3 after global normalization, corrected p's (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)

Conclusions: Cannabis withdrawal is a common syndrome among adults not seeking treatment. The intention to relieve withdrawal symptoms can drive relapse during quit attempts, giving cannabis withdrawal clinical significance as a target of treatment. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)

Conclusions: Outcome expectancies for affect management emerged as an important risk factor for smoking escalation and the development of nicotine dependence during adolescence. The present findings highlight the potential importance of cognitively-driven expectancies as a risk factor for smoking escalation during this critical developmental period. (Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence)

Abstract: Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection prevalence among young injection drug users (IDUs) differs substantially between cities in the United States (U.S.).Methods: Between 2002 and 2004, IDUs aged 15–30 were recruited for the Third Collaborative Injection Drug User Study in five U.S. cities using respondent-driven methods. Our cross-sectional study examined correlates and geographic distribution of prevalent HCV infection (HCV+) from the Baltimore (n=736) and Chicago (n=586) study sites. We evaluated baseline socio-demographic and behavioral data collected from computer-assisted self-interviews and serological antibody testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis A, B, and C.Results: HCV prevalence was 53.0% in Baltimore and 13.7% in Chicago (p (Source: D...