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N.C. Bill Gives Students 'Vital Access' To Accurate Sex Education Instruction, Editorial States
A bill (S. 221) approved by the North Carolina Legislature that would require a public school sex education curriculum covering abstinence, contraception and sexually transmitted infections "will be the most comprehensive and science-based approach the state has used" for sex education, a Charlotte Observer editorial states, adding that Gov. Bev Perdue (D) "should sign it." The bill would require all public school districts in the state to teach a curriculum that focuses on abstinence but also includes information on preventing pregnancy and STIs. Parents would be able to have their children removed from the comprehensive portions of instruction. According to the editorial, the measure "still gives parents a choice in deciding what kind of sex education their children will receive." The editorial adds, "It also finally provides a curriculum that gives N.C. students vital access to age-appropriate, science-based information critical to their health, safety and well-being," which is "the kind of information that can help them make smart choices in serious situations."Parents are "often the best people for kids to turn to for advice and information" on sex, but "not all children have parents who can provide it, or are even willing to," and "not all children [who] go to their parents adhere to their advice," the editorial states. It continues, "The schools provide another avenue to get this critical advice and information -- and state lawmakers are right to make it available." According to the Observer, North Carolina has the ninth-highest teenage pregnancy rate in the U.S., and about "20,000 teenagers will get pregnant in North Carolina this year." A "comprehensive, science-based education program can help reduce the number of unintended teen pregnancies" and help reduce the spread of STIs, the editorial says. It concludes, "By reaching agreement on this matter, state lawmakers have given the children of this state vital tools to safeguard their health and welfare. ... Perdue should sign this bill and make it law" (Charlotte Observer, 6/26).
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British Breast Screening Service Chooses Sectra MicroDose: "This Has Made Our Mammography Screening Operation Far More Efficient"
Warwickshire, Solihull & Coventry Breast Screening Service (WSCBSS), which installed its first Sectra MicroDose system in 2005, has now invested in another two systems. With the new units, WSCBSS will become one of the first publicly operated breast screening services in the UK to provide a fully direct digital mammography screening service.
News of the day
Laughter - The Best Medicine? Spain Hosts The Most Renowned International Symposium On Sense Of Humor And Its Applications
Spain hosts this week, for the first time in history, this event, the most renowned international symposium on humour and laughter, where scientists and experts from four continents will discuss the latest advances and research of this field of study. The ninth occasion of the "International Summer School and Symposium on Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications" is being hosted by the University of Granada, and they will analyse the relationship between sense of humour and different fields such as anthropology, sociology, medicine or philosophy.
Oncology

Are Angiotensins Involved In The Hemodynamic Changes Of Cirrhosis Patients?

Liver cirrhosis has been recently studied in the light of the new view of the renin angiotensin system (RAS). While the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)-Ang 2-AT1 receptor arm contributes to liver tissue injury and fibrosis and the maintenance of basal vascular tonus in non-compensated cirrhosis, the activation of the ACE2-Ang-(1-7)-Mas receptor arm exerts anti-fibrotic actions and probably has also a role in arterial vasodilation in liver cirrhosis. In a previous study published last year in WJG by the same research group, it was shown that chronic treatment with propranolol in cirrhotic patients was characterized by marked changes in the precursors of the RAS cascade (renin and Ang 1 with repercussions on the 2 main RAS components, Ang 2 and Ang-(1-7), in the splanchnic and peripheral circulation. Therefore, the circulating profile of RAS components at different stages of liver cirrhosis and their role in hemodynamic changes of cirrhosis remained unclear. A research article published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addressed this issue. The research team led by Prof. Santos from the Federal University of Minas Gerais measured the circulating levels of angiotensins in patients at different stages of liver cirrhosis by radioimmunoassay, and further evaluated the influence of RAS components on hemodynamic changes during liver transplantation. The study showed that the progression of liver dysfunction is characterized by marked changes in circulating Ang-(1-7) and Ang 2 levels. In the initial stages, there were a predominance of Ang-(1-7) rather than Ang 2. On the other hand, advanced stages of cirrhosis showed an activation of the peripheral and splanchnic RAS, and a deviation toward the formation of Ang-(1-7) in the splanchnic circulation. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between the Ang-(1-7)/Ang 2 ratio and cardiac output and a negative correlation between this ratio and systemic vascular resistance, indicating that the final functional effects of the RAS may reflect a balance between these 2 opposing peptides. The relationship between Ang-(1-7) and Ang 2 may play a role in hemodynamic changes of human cirrhosis. The peptide Ang-(1-7) probably predominates in the peripheral circulation in the initial stages of human cirrhosis and in the splanchnic circulation in the advanced stages, both contributing to a reduction in vascular resistance and consequently to hyperdynamic circulation. In the peripheral circulation of patients with advanced cirrhosis, when compared to the splanchnic circulation, Ang 2 probably leads to extra-splanchnic vasoconstriction. Although further studies with a larger number of patients should address the precise role of RAS in human cirrhosis, this research opens the possibility that future therapies interfering with the RAS in both the systemic and splanchnic circulation should lead to more success in the management of the hemodynamic changes in human cirrhosis. Reference: Vilas-Boas WW, Ribeiro-Oliveira Jr A, Pereira RM, Ribeiro RC, Almeida J, Nadu AP, Simçµes e Silva AC, Santos RAS. Relationship between angiotensin-(1-7) and angiotensin 2 correlates with hemodynamic changes in human liver cirrhosis. Correspondence to: Robson Augusto Souza dos Santos, Laboratory of Hypertension, Department of Physiology, Biological Sciences institute, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Antonio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil. Lai-Fu Li World Journal of Gastroenterology


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