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Most Complete Picture Of North American Industrial Pollution Presented In Latest Trinational Report
Ninety percent of the 5.5 billion kilograms of toxic pollutant releases and transfers reported in North America in 2005 can be traced to just 30 substances from 15 industrial sectors across the United States, Canada and Mexico, according to the latest tri-national pollution report from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC).
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Hampton Court Allergy Screening A Success, UK
The National Pharmacy Association and Allergy UK provided free allergy screening to the public at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show from 7-12 July. Over 7,000 members of the public picked up information on community pharmacy allergy screening or asked for advice and 75 allergy screenings were carried out.
News of the day
Department Of Justice, HHS Boosts Number Of Investigators, Prosecutors Looking At Medicare, Medicaid Fraud
HHS and the Department of Justice on Wednesday launched the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team to detect and prevent fraud in Medicare and Medicaid, the Washington Post reports (Johnson, Washington Post, 5/21). DOJ also plans to establish teams to address fraud in the Medicare Part D program and CHIP (Kennedy, AP/Houston Chronicle, 5/20). Wednesday"s announcement also included a recommendation by President Obama"s administration to include $311 million in the fiscal year 2010 budget to address health care fraud, which is a 50% increase from FY 2009. According to Attorney General Eric Holder, efforts to combat health care fraud will contribute to the administration"s health care overhaul plans (Clark/Weaver, McClatchy/Kansas City Star, 5/20). The task force, which will include HHS and DOJ staff members, law enforcement agents and prosecutors, will meet biweekly, CQ HealthBeat reports (Norman, CQ HealthBeat, 5/20). Under the plan, existing enforcement teams in Miami and Los Angeles will be expanded and new teams will be established in Houston and Detroit, where officials say suspicious billing patterns have emerged. In addition, the plan will set up task forces in 10 other major cities, which were not named (AP/Houston Chronicle, 5/20). The enforcement teams will increase site visits to durable medical equipment suppliers upon their enrollment. In addition, officials will expand training to help providers identify and prevent fraud or other mistakes (CQ HealthBeat, 5/20). The task force will use electronic claims data to detect "unusual billing problems," according to the Post (Washington Post, 5/21). HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the task force also intends to simplify billing systems and assist state officials in conducting Medicaid audits (CQ HealthBeat, 5/20). According to Holder, the joint task force will allow officials to share real-time intelligence data on health care fraud by monitoring claims payments, billing patterns and targeted surveillance (AP/Houston Chronicle, 5/20). Money
Oncology

Structure Of Bacteria Responsible For Traveler's Diarrhea Identified By Researchers

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), the Naval Medical Research Center and the National Institutes of Health, have solved the structure of thin hair-like fibers called "pili" or "fimbriae" on the surface of bacteria that cause traveler"s diarrhea. The findings, appear in the June issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and have important implications for creating better therapeutics against diarrheal diseases. According to the World Health Organization, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) bacteria causes the largest number of recorded community-acquired cases of childhood diarrhea in the developing world, and is the most common culprit in traveler"s diarrhea. ETEC uses surface "pili" or "fimbriae" to attach to host intestinal epithelia, an early, vital step in diarrhea pathogenesis. These fibers are essential for initiation of infection in the intestines by ETEC. According to the researchers, this study elucidates the mechanics of assembly of the fimbriae helical fibers as they exit the bacterium through a pore on the bacterial surface. "Atomic resolution detail of the proteins in the fibers and analysis of genetic variability among different clinical strains were combined to show that each bacterial strain presents a different outer surface of the major protein while preserving the protein components that are buried within the fiber," said senior author Esther Bullitt, an associate professor in the department of physiology and biophysics at BUSM. "Because of this, the antibodies produced against ETEC during one episode of infection are often not protective against later infections by other strains," she added. As a result of this new study, the researchers believe that developing a cross-protective vaccine will require a strategy that focuses on use of the tip protein as an antigen. "The structural findings reported here have bearing on research to help guide vaccine development." Funding for this study was provided by the NIH (NIGMS) and NCI) the United States Army and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation. Gina DiGravio Boston University Medical Center


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