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Romney says health law isn't 'all bad'

In Sunday news appearances, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said that if elected, he would dismantle the health care law, but retain some of the more popular provisions, including coverage of pre-existing conditions for those who had had continuous health insurance.

10 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 10, 2012

Today's headlines include news from the presidential campaign trail, including reports detailing how GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said, if elected, he would retain some parts of the 2010 health law.

10 Sep 2012

Concussion: an interview with Dr Rob Reid

Concussion happens when something produces a concussive force to the head, such as a blow to the head. The definition from the 2008 consensus, which was in Zurich, is, “concussion is defined as a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanical forces.”

10 Sep 2012

Study finds surprising difference in eating habits of younger and older overweight children

A new study by University of North Carolina School of Medicine pediatrics researchers finds a surprising difference in the eating habits of overweight children between ages 9 and 17 years compared to those younger than 9.

10 Sep 2012

New oral antiseptic spray effective in killing 99.9% of infectious airborne germs

University Hospitals Case Medical Center clinical researchers will present findings about a one-two punch to prevent colds and flu in San Francisco at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) on Sept. 9.

10 Sep 2012

Study finds high prevalence of bullying involvement for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

A new study suggests an estimated 46.3 percent of adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were the victims of bullying, according to a report published this week in the American Medical Association's Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

10 Sep 2012

Tight blood sugar control does not benefit pediatric patients undergoing heart surgery

Although some studies have portrayed tight blood sugar control as a potential means of lowering infection rates in critically ill adults, a new study-led by principal investigator Michael Agus, MD, director of the Medicine Critical Care Program at Boston Children's Hospital-found no indication that the approach benefits pediatric patients undergoing heart surgery.

10 Sep 2012

Yale researchers to investigate poorly understood nature of autism in females

The reasons why autism spectrum disorders are almost five times more common among boys than among girls may soon be revealed, thanks to a five-year, $15 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant awarded to Yale School of Medicine for the Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) research program.

10 Sep 2012

Bullying prevention experts available for comment

Bullying was once considered a childhood rite of passage. Today, however, bullying is recognized as a serious problem. Up to half of all children are bullied at some point during their school years, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. And thanks to tech-savvy kids, cyberbullying and other forms of electronic harassment are now commonplace.

7 Sep 2012

State news: Fla. hospitals fight over trauma center rules

She has been at the center of at least three public firestorms -- for removing consumer protections in health insurance rules approved by her predecessor, for attending a campaign fund-raiser held by an insurance company and for suggesting that the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association raise premium rates.

7 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Obama's 'talk of tough choices'; Championing personal responsibility

And he clearly laid out a vision for governing squarely at odds with the one that Mr. Romney has, but was hidden from view at last week's Republican convention in Tampa, Fla. He promised deficit reduction "without sticking it to the middle class"; to enact a reformed tax code that raises rates on income above $250,000 to where it was under Mr. Clinton; to preserve middle-class deductions; to "never turn Medicare into a voucher."

7 Sep 2012

Private sector plays important role in agribusiness success, feeding billions

"Severe droughts, rising grain prices and food shortages -- the latest headlines are an urgent call for action," and "it is time to step up our response," Suma Chakrabarti, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Jose Graziano da Silva, director-general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), write in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

7 Sep 2012

Research roundup: Reducing risk in shared savings programs

The Design And Application Of Shared Savings Programs: Lessons From Early Adopters --"Shared savings programs reward providers for holding spending below specific targets, thus introducing a level of financial accountability not present in strictly volume-based payment models, such as fee-for-service," researchers write.

7 Sep 2012

GlobalPost examines maternal, child health in Afghanistan

"A report on Afghanistan backed by UNICEF shows the country still has leaps and bounds to go in the areas of maternal and child health and education," GlobalPost reports.

7 Sep 2012

Simple low-cost biosensor to detect contaminated drinking water

Diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old - killing as many as 1.5 million children worldwide every year. These startling statistics from the World Health Organization (2009) point to the reason why a group of undergraduate students from Arizona State University is working to develop a low-cost biosensor - a simple device that would detect contaminated drinking water.

7 Sep 2012

Civil registration of African children necessary for human rights, access to health, education, other services, conference hears

"Birth certificates and other forms of civil registration of children in Africa are critical for their enjoyment of human rights and access to health, education and other services, an official of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) told a conference on the issue, in Durban, South Africa," the U.N. News Centre reports.

7 Sep 2012

Phthalates may be asthma trigger

Research suggests that exposure to two phthalates may be a trigger for asthma-related airway inflammation.

7 Sep 2012

Bipolar conversion in children linked to family history

Conversion from bipolar disorder not otherwise specified to a diagnosis of bipolar I or II disorder is common among children, research confirms, and is predicted by a family history of mood disorders.

7 Sep 2012

AAP urges snoring screening for all children

All children and adolescents should be screened for snoring as part of routine health-maintenance visits and polysomnography considered for those with co-occurring symptoms such as daytime sleepiness, according to guidelines from the AAP.

7 Sep 2012

Children and young patients with chronic HBV infection do have a protective immune response

Scientists from A*STAR's Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), together with clinical collaborators from London , discovered for the first time that children and young patients with chronic Hepatitis B Virus infection (HBV carriers) do have a protective immune response, contrary to current belief, and hence can be more suitable treatment candidates than previously considered.

7 Sep 2012