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New technique can detect mercury contamination in water

Chemists at the University of Burgos (Spain) have manufactured a sheet that changes colour in the presence of water contaminated with mercury. The results can be seen with the naked eye but when photographing the membrane with a mobile phone the concentration of this extremely toxic metal can be quantified.

9 Feb 2013

‘Elephant in the room’ adds to rectal surgery costs

Anastomotic leakage occurs after one in 10 anterior resection procedures and costs English hospitals up to £ 3.5 milion per year, research shows.

6 Feb 2013

Kraton Polymers' Cariflex polyisoprene products to be showcased at MEDTEC Europe

Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc., a leading global producer of styrenic block copolymers and other engineered polymers, announces plans to showcase Cariflex polyisoprene products, the pure and clean alternative to natural rubber for high performance medical applications, at MEDTEC Europe in Stuttgart, Germany.

31 Jan 2013

Libya becomes the first country to use Masimo Pronto-7 hemoglobin spot-check device

Masimo announced today that Libya has become the first country to begin using the Masimo Pronto-7— a handheld noninvasive hemoglobin spot-check device — to screen potential blood donors for low hemoglobin level in all of its major blood-donation centers.

31 Jan 2013

Leading-edge Masimo medical devices to be displayed at Arab Health

Masimo returns to Arab Health Jan. 28-31, the world's longest running healthcare exhibition and congress held each year in Dubai, UAE, to showcase advanced, noninvasive patient monitoring technologies – including breakthrough SET Measure-Through Motion pulse oximetry and rainbow Pulse CO-Oximetry – that are becoming the standard-of-care across the Middle East.

28 Jan 2013

Flow cytometry can now be used for quantification of microbial cells in drinking water

Flow cytometry (FCM) can now be officially used for the quantification of microbial cells in drinking water. The new analytical method - developed at Eawag and extensively tested both in Switzerland and abroad - has been incorporated into the Swiss Food Compendium (SLMB) by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

25 Jan 2013

Roundup: Ariz. Gov. proposing hospital tax for Medicaid expansion as Nev. ponders options; Vt. hospitals form ACO

Ariz. Gov. Jan Brewer, who has become something of a conservative icon for her aggressive opposition to Mr. Obama's policies, surprised many Legislature watchers at her State of the State address last week by saying she wanted to expand the state's Medicaid program to include anyone who makes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, or $14,856 for an individual.

23 Jan 2013

Ban on thiomersal in vaccines would harm global immunization efforts

"Government representatives are meeting in Geneva this week to decide whether to introduce a global ban on mercury that could include thiomersal, a mercury-based preservative that has been used in some vaccine manufacturing since the 1930s to prevent bacterial or fungal contamination of multidose vials of vaccine," Seth Berkley, a medical epidemiologist and chief executive of the GAVI Alliance, writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

19 Jan 2013

Catheter Connections receives U.S. patent for DualCap IV disinfection technology

Catheter Connections, a start-up company co-founded by nurses seeking to reduce deadly hospital-acquired bloodstream infections, announced today the issuance of U.S. Patent Number 8,343,112.

18 Jan 2013

Farmworkers more likely to develop illnesses because of inadequate food facilities in camps

Farmworkers are at potential risk from food and waterborne illnesses because of the condition of cooking and eating facilities available to them, according to a new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

18 Jan 2013

Five flu-prevention tips from Kimberly-Clark Professional

This year's flu season has now been declared an epidemic, with a particularly dangerous strain that has hospitalized more than 3,700 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

17 Jan 2013

Cholera could be contained in Haiti by vaccinating less than half the population

Cholera could be contained in Haiti by vaccinating less than half the population, University of Florida researchers suggest in a paper to be published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports.

11 Jan 2013

Researchers develop new materials to support stem cell growth

Stem cell manufacturing for drug screening and treatments for diseases such as Huntington's and Parkinson's could be boosted by a new method of generating stem cells, a study suggests.

9 Jan 2013

Alcohol-impregnated disinfection caps would prevent 21 CLABSIs and four deaths each year

Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) dropped by 52 percent when an alcohol-impregnated disinfection cap was used instead of standard scrubbing protocol, according to a new study published in the January issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

3 Jan 2013

Novel virus-based gene therapy holds promise for Canavan disease

Research led by Paola Leone, PhD, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine (UMDNJ-SOM), demonstrates the long term safety and benefit of a virus-based gene therapy that has been applied for the first time in a clinical setting.

21 Dec 2012

Novel way to design metal organic frameworks under completely liquid-free conditions

Researchers at Aldrich Materials Science, a strategic technology initiative of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation have discovered an innovative way to design an important class of three-dimensional (3D) hybrid structures, Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs), under completely liquid-free conditions.

20 Dec 2012

Researcher explores new PCR system to discover dangerous foodborne pathogens

Pina Fratamico is on the quest to find the easiest and fastest way to test for harmful Escherichia coli in ground beef. In an article published in Frontiers in Microbiology on the 20th of December, she explores using a next-generation real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system to discover specific gene targets that indicate the presence of dangerous foodborne pathogens. The results show that assays performed using this PCR system are rapid, sensitive, and reliable.

20 Dec 2012

Tips to prevent food allergies during Christmas

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, candles filling the air with the smell of cinnamon and beloved decorations making their yearly appearance really do help make the season bright. But for kids with allergies these holiday delights can make the atmosphere miserable and even deadly.

19 Dec 2012

Isolite Systems to offer dental isolation in Canada

Isolite Systems announced today that it will begin offering its dental isolation systems for sale in Canada. This includes the company's award-winning Isolite and Isodry dental isolation systems, and its patented single-use Isolite Mouthpieces that are used with the systems.

13 Dec 2012

Roundup: Health centers moving into contaminated tracts; Mass. budget cuts worry health advocates

The community health center rising on a derelict corner here in West Philadelphia never would have broken ground if not for the asbestos inside the building that was demolished to make way for it. Because of the contamination, Spectrum Health Services received a $2 million federal cleanup grant, the first piece of a $14 million construction financing puzzle.