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Progress Seen In Some African HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment Programs, U.N. Special Envoy Says At World Economic Forum On Africa
Several African countries have successfully scaled up their HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs, U.N. Special Envoy for HIV and AIDS in Africa Elizabeth Mataka said during a media briefing at the World Economic Forum on Africa being held in Cape Town, South Africa, the ZANIS/Lusaka Times reports. Zambia and Botswana were among some of the countries that have made significant progress in southern Africa, according to Mataka.

Drop In Access To Abortion Would Reward Antiabortion-Rights Violence, Opinion Piece Says
After the murder last month of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, "there is a very real danger" that the availability of abortion later in pregnancy "will end in this country -- not after public deliberation, legislative debate and majority vote, but because antiabortion absolutists on the fringe have intimidated and blacklisted doctors and successfully threatened violence against them," Jim Buie, author of the blog The Buie Knife, writes in a Newsweek.com opinion piece. Buie writes that his parents in the early 1950s chose to institutionalize his three-year-old-brother, who was born with severe Down syndrome, after their attempts to care for him left them with "severe emotional distress" and unable "to meet the needs of their healthy children."Buie continues that he "cannot say that the option of a late-term abortion would have been the right one for my parents." However, "some of the arguments advanced by pro-life forces disturb me," he says, especially a "tendency to romanticize, sentimentalize and idealize life with a cute, forever-young Down-syndrome "angel child."" Buie adds, "It"s an argument I find off-putting, especially when it"s espoused by people who have never been through the wringer trying to care for a child whose disability level is on the most severe end of the scale." He continues, "At the same time, it is very disturbing that until recently, the majority of Down-syndrome fetuses were aborted without expectant mothers receiving proper information or support."Because of Tiller"s murder, it is "possible there won"t be any doctors in the country willing to perform" abortion later in pregnancy, "even if prenatal tests indicate severe retardation," according to Buie, who adds that this would mean that "domestic terrorism could win." He concludes, "It would mean that parents like my own would no longer have a choice, and would instead be forced to endure the same harsh realities that were present in the 1950s" (Buie, Newsweek.com, 6/17).
News of the day
Method For Computing Evolutionary Trees Could Revolutionize Evolutionary Biology
Detailed, accurate evolutionary trees that reveal the relatedness of living things can now be determined much faster and for thousands of species with a computing method developed by computer scientists and a biologist at The University of Texas at Austin.
Oncology

Philips Showcases Enhancements To Help EP Professionals Simplify Complex Interventional Procedures

What At the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) annual meeting (May 13-16, 2009) in Boston, Philips Healthcare is announcing several new product developments and updates aimed at helping electrophysiology (EP) professionals simplify procedures, reduce costs and support confident decisions. Why New offerings address efficiencies and organization Philips is introducing a new feature to its Xper Information Management Physiomonitoring 5 product for EP logging and reporting. This feature enables EP labs that perform complicated procedures to capture and integrate clinical information at the point of care, which can free up clinicians to focus more time on the patient. Capabilities include vital signs monitoring, customizable templates for EP clinical reporting and data mining for improved operational efficiency. Optionally, this configuration can interface with third-party EP recording systems, as well as with Philips Xcelera cardiology image management system, which allows electrophysiologists to view and incorporate images into their clinical reports. Additionally, the Philips EP cockpit XL is equipped with a high-resolution, 56-inch, 8-megapixel color monitor, enabling clinicians to view clinical images and video from Philips and third-party systems on a single, freely configurable, large LCD screen. The EP cockpit XL concept provides viewing flexibility at the tableside and supports clinicians in carrying out procedures more efficiently. A SuperZoom function with advanced image-sharpening algorithms lets clinicians magnify images and examine fine details, providing enhanced insight during interventions. Philips collaborations help advance EP Philips Healthcare has teamed up with C.R. Bard and Hansen to develop and integrate technologies that deliver cutting-edge systems to meet the needs of electrophysiologists, to help shorten procedures and gain detailed visualizations for interventions. Specifically, Philips and Bard"s electrophysiology division are co-developing ways to integrate image guidance with mapping and analysis of complex arrhythmias. At HRS, Philips and Bard will demonstrate the first result of this collaboration-a second generation mapping, recording and navigation system, based on the EP recorder and X-ray system, the core tools of the electrophysiologist. Philips and Hansen will also reveal first results of their collaborative effort to further integrate the Xper Allura EP intervention lab with Hansen"s Sensei robotic catheter manipulation system. The innovations seek to enable electrophysiologists to perform intricate interventions, such as placing mapping catheters in hard-to-reach anatomical locations within the heart, with greater confidence and enhanced efficiency. Philips


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