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Following Pediatric Concussion Experts Stipulate - No Sports, No Schoolwork, No Text Messaging
When it comes to concussions, children and teens require different treatment, according to international experts who recently published consensus recommendations. The British Journal of Sports Medicine"s new guidelines say children and teens must be strictly monitored and activities restricted until fully healed. These restrictions include no return to the field of play, no return to school, and no cognitive activity.

A New UK Survey Suggests Primary Care Clinicians Need Clearer Post-Mi Guidelines To Provide Their Patients With Optimal Care
A new survey published in the British Journal of Cardiology suggests that inconsistencies in clinical guidance for the ongoing management of post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients may contribute to significant variation in clinical practice reported by GPs and practice nurses.1a These findings indicate that, in some areas of the UK, care for post-MI patients after leaving hospital may not be optimal,1b according to authors from the Follow Your Heart group. *
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Make Sure Your Baby Is Seeing The Most Important Things In Their World
When should a parent schedule a comprehensive eye assessment for a baby? Clinical research has shown that at 6 months, the average baby has reached a number of critical developmental milestones, making this an appropriate age for the first eye and vision assessment.
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NIST Researchers 'All Aglow' Over New Test Of Toxin Strength

A new National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) assay using a "glow or no glow" technique may soon help the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defend the nation against a spectrum of biological weapons that could be used in a terrorist attack. One very dangerous toxin on the list is ricin, a protein derived from castor beans that is lethal in doses as small as 500 micrograms - about the size of a grain of salt. As part of its efforts to address the threat, DHS is working with NIST to create a standardized ricin sample with a known potency. Such a standard is needed both to check the accuracy of detection equipment, and, should an attack occur, to confirm the success of decontamination procedures. A major step toward this goal - the development of a rapid, reliable and precise assay of the potency of a ricin sample - has now been achieved by NIST scientists. As detailed in an article posted online this week in Assay and Drug Development Technologies,* the new NIST assay uses a commercially available cell line genetically engineered to produce large amounts of green fluorescent protein (GFP). Ricin shuts down ribosomes - the protein manufacturing factories of a cell. Assay cells exposed to the toxin will quickly stop synthesizing GFP. This, in turn, will result in a measurable decrease in fluorescence - a drop that correlates directly to the strength of the ricin present. The NIST assay yields many advantages over traditional cytotoxicity measuring systems, including: a highly sensitive response to ricin (as little as 1 nanogram per milliliter) within six rather than 24 hours; detection of the toxin long before significant cell death has occurred; results that are highly reproducible; no need for the addition of any reagents; and the flexibility to measure the potency of other ribosome inhibitors, even nanoparticles, with the same precision as ricin. Notes: Partial support for this work was provided by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate. * M. Halter, J.L. Almeida, A. Tona, K.D. Cole, A.L. Plant and J.T. Elliott. A mechanistically relevant cytotoxicity assay based on the detection of cellular green fluorescent protein. Assay and Drug Development Technologies, Vol. 7, No. 4 (August 2009; posted online the week of June 15, 2009). Michael E. Newman National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)


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