Vitamin C may head off lung problems in babies born to pregnant smokers

May 4, 2013 ? Pregnant women are advised not to smoke during pregnancy because it can harm the baby's lungs and lead to wheezing and asthma, among other problems. If a woman absolutely can't kick the habit, taking vitamin C during pregnancy may improve her newborn's lung function and prevent wheezing in the first year of life, according to a study to be presented Saturday, May 4, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC.

"Vitamin C is a simple, safe and inexpensive treatment that may decrease the impact of smoking during pregnancy on childhood respiratory health," said lead author Cynthia T. McEvoy, MD, MCR, FAAP, associate professor of pediatrics at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Doernbecher Children's Hospital.

The study included 159 women who were less than 22 weeks pregnant and were unable to quit smoking. Participants were randomly assigned to take either one 500 milligram capsule of vitamin C or a placebo each day with a prenatal vitamin. Neither the study investigator nor the women knew what was in the capsule they were taking. A group of nonsmoking pregnant women also was studied.

Investigators tested the newborns' pulmonary function at about 48 hours of life. They measured how the newborn breathed in and out, how easily the baby's lungs moved and how big the baby's lungs were. Results showed that babies born to smoking women who took vitamin C had significantly improved lung function at birth compared to babies whose mothers took a placebo.

The researchers also contacted the parents through the infants' first year of life to document any episodes of wheezing and other respiratory symptoms. They found that infants whose mothers were in the vitamin C group had significantly less wheezing through 1 year of age than the infants whose moms had received the placebo.

Specifically, 21 percent of infants in the vitamin C group had at least one episode of wheezing compared to 40 percent of those in the placebo group and 27 percent of infants born to nonsmokers. In addition, 13 percent of infants whose mothers were randomized to vitamin C needed medication for their wheezing compared to 22 percent of infants in the placebo group and 10 percent in the nonsmoking group.

"Getting women to quit smoking during pregnancy has to be priority one, but this finding provides a way to potentially help the infants born of the roughly 50 percent of pregnant smokers who won't or just can't quit smoking no matter what is tried," said study co-author Eliot Spindel, MD, PhD, senior scientist at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at OHSU.

In addition, the researchers also found that one genetic variant shown to increase the risk of smokers developing cancer and associated with reduced ability to quit smoking and high likelihood of relapse seemed to intensify the harmful effects of maternal smoking on how the baby's lungs formed, Dr. McEvoy said.

"Though the lung function of all babies born to smokers in our study was improved by supplemental vitamin C," she said, "our preliminary data suggest that vitamin C appeared to help those babies at the greatest risk of harm during their development from their mother's smoking in pregnancy."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Academy of Pediatrics, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/aDlhAck0Z94/130504163306.htm

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Sports Reporter Fired: Susannah Collins Let Go Over "Sex" Snafu, Controversy

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/sports-reporter-fired-susannah-collins-let-go-over-sex-snafu-con/

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Will Downey suit up again after $175M 'IM3' haul?

Actor Robert Downey Jr. gives a high-five to his "Iron Man" character during opening bell ceremonies of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, April 30, 2013. Stock prices are opening mostly lower on Wall Street as weak earnings from Pfizer and other companies drag down major market averages. Downey's film, "Iron Man 3," also starring Don Cheadle and Gwyneth Paltrow, opens nationwide on May 3. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Actor Robert Downey Jr. gives a high-five to his "Iron Man" character during opening bell ceremonies of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, April 30, 2013. Stock prices are opening mostly lower on Wall Street as weak earnings from Pfizer and other companies drag down major market averages. Downey's film, "Iron Man 3," also starring Don Cheadle and Gwyneth Paltrow, opens nationwide on May 3. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

This undated publicity photo released by Marvel shows Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man in a scene from Marvel's "Iron Man 3." The movie releases in the USA on May 3, 2013.(AP Photo/Marvel, Zade Rosenthal)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Iron Man reigns as the standard-bearer of Hollywood superheroes with a $175.3 million domestic opening weekend for his latest sequel and an overseas haul of a half-billion dollars in less than two weeks.

According to studio estimates Sunday, "Iron Man 3" has raced to a worldwide total of $680.1 million. That includes $175.9 million in its second weekend overseas, where the film has rung up $504.8 million so far.

No other solo superhero ? not even Batman or Spider-Man ? has managed this kind of business.

Yet the future of Marvel Studios' flagship franchise is in the hands of a mortal man with no metal armor, gadgets or special powers, other than his ability to rebound from Hollywood pariah to hottest star on the planet.

"Iron Man 3" hints that Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark might hang up his high-tech suits and live a normal life from now on. As the centerpiece behind not only the "Iron Man" flicks but also Marvel's superhero ensemble "The Avengers," Downey seems crucial to this comic-book world.

Could Disney's Marvel Studios conjure anywhere near the same magic if it relaunched "Iron Man" with another actor? Without Downey, would the upcoming "Avengers" sequel have quite the same appeal as last year's record-grossing first installment?

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Dave Hollis, head of distribution for Disney. "Marvel has found a way to tell interesting stories with a variety of characters over time, and it will continue to do so."

"Iron Man 3" had the second-biggest domestic debut ever, behind the $207.4 million start over the same weekend last year for "The Avengers," which teamed Downey's Stark with other Marvel Comics heroes. The new sequel surpassed the $169.2 million opening for 2011's "Harry Potter" finale, the previous second-place debut.

In just nine days, the film shot past the $312 million international total for "Iron Man 2" in its entire theatrical run.

Among the overseas totals so far: $63.5 million in China, $42.6 million in South Korea, $38.3 million in Great Britain and $35.8 million in Mexico.

Domestically, "Iron Man 3" far outpaced the franchise's first two movies. "Iron Man" launched the series with a $98.6 million domestic debut in 2008, while 2010's "Iron Man 2" opened with $128.1 million.

The film also opened higher than last year's Batman finale "The Dark Knight Rises" ($160.9 million) and the biggest of the Spider-Man movies ($151.1 million for "Spider-Man 3").

If Downey doesn't sign on for more, it would leave a gaping hole in the expanding superhero universe Marvel is taking to the big-screen.

"I honestly don't know how you can go on with that character without Downey," said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst with box-office tracker Hollywood.com. "I think he's as important to this franchise and to Marvel as any actor is to any character."

Downey seems just as vital to "The Avengers." That ensemble probably could thrive without him, given how the first film and previous solo superhero adventures have established a team that includes Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Chris Evans' Captain America, Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow and Mark Ruffalo's Hulk.

But without Downey, Marvel might have to settle for something less than the colossal $1.5 billion worldwide results for "The Avengers."

"He's the spark that ignites all those characters, it seems," Dergarabedian said. "He's the lead guitarist, and they're just all kind of following him."

Before convincing reluctant Marvel executives that he was the man to put on the metal suit, Downey still was trying to live down drug addiction and jail time in his 20s and 30s that nearly ruined his career.

The success of "Iron Man" led to another blockbuster franchise in "Sherlock Holmes," and Downey's professional choices now look limitless.

In an interview before the release of "Iron Man 3," Downey said that "Avengers" director Joss Whedon had been editing a first cut of that film and told him the movie didn't really start until Stark and girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) appeared together on screen.

Downey said that was a testament to the groundwork laid years earlier in "Iron Man," which "when we were shooting it, this kind of became the heart of several franchises."

"So you know we're having a nice time," Downey said, sidestepping comment on whether he might return for more "Iron Man" and "Avengers" sequels.

"Iron Man 3" did four times the domestic business of every other movie out there; the combined total of all other releases was $43.7 million, according to Hollywood.com.

While it was a huge weekend for Marvel and Disney, the overall industry continued to slump, thanks to the record start for "The Avengers" over the same weekend a year ago. Domestic revenues this weekend totaled $219 million, down 15 percent from the $258.1 million during that "Avengers" weekend last year.

Hollywood's domestic revenue this year is at $3.14 billion, off 11 percent from 2012's pace, according to Hollywood.com.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Iron Man 3," $175.3 million ($175.9 million international).

2. "Pain & Gain," $7.6 million.

3. "42," $6.2 million.

4. "Oblivion," $5.8 million ($6.5 million international).

5. "The Croods," $4.2 million ($17.4 million international).

6. "The Big Wedding," $3.9 million ($2.5 million international).

7. "Mud," $2.2 million.

8. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $1.8 million.

9. "Scary Movie 5," $1.4 million ($4 million international).

10. "The Place Beyond the Pines," $1.3 million.

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "Iron Man 3," $175.9 million.

2. "The Croods," $17.4 million.

3. "Oblivion," $6.5 million.

4 (tie). "Les Profs," $4 million.

4 (tie). "Scary Movie 5," $4 million.

6 (tie). "The Big Wedding," $2.5 million.

6 (tie). "Olympus Has Fallen," $2.5 million.

6 (tie). "Somos Tao Jovens," $2.5 million.

9. "Evil Dead," $2.47 million.

10. "Jurassic Park" in 3-D, $1.4 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-05-05-Box%20Office/id-46cc2a33567d499bba824d0d4fe28f63

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Ebola's secret weapon revealed

Friday, May 3, 2013

Researchers have discovered the mechanism behind one of the Ebola virus' most dangerous attributes: its ability to disarm the adaptive immune system.

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston scientists determined that Ebola short-circuits the immune system using proteins that work together to shut down cellular signaling related to interferon. Disruption of this activity, the researchers found, allows Ebola to prevent the full development of dendritic cells that would otherwise trigger an immune response to the virus.

"Dendritic cells typically undergo a process called 'maturation' when they're infected by a virus ? they change shape and present antigens on their surface that tell T-cells to attack that particular virus, thus generating an adaptive immune response," said UTMB professor Alexander Bukreyev, senior author of a paper on the discovery now online in the Journal of Virology. "But Ebola prevents dendritic-cell maturation and produces a severe infection without an effective adaptive immune response. We found that its ability to do this depends on several specific regions of two different proteins."

Bukreyev's research group made the discovery after a series of procedures that started with a clone of the Ebola Zaire virus strain. Working under maximum-containment conditions in a biosafety level 4 facility in UTMB's Galveston National Laboratory, the team introduced mutations into the virus' genetic code at four locations thought to generate proteins that affected immune response.

They then infected human dendritic cells with each of the resulting new strains and compared the results with those produced by unmutated Ebola Zaire. Each of the four new viruses, they found, was unable to suppress dendritic-cell maturation.

"We saw two very interesting things," Bukreyev said. "First, that these mutations restore maturation of dendritic cells very effectively, and second, that a mutation in even one of these genetic domains makes the virus unable to suppress maturation. That means that the virus needs multiple combined effects in order to undermine the immune system in this way."

Ebola's ability to evade the human immune response is one of the factors that accounts for its high mortality rate ? up to 90 percent in humans ? and the notoriety that it gained after its first appearance in Zaire in 1976, in an outbreak that killed 280 people. Zaire ? now the Democratic Republic of the Congo ? is the home country of Ndongala Lubaki, lead author on the paper and a postdoctoral fellow at UTMB.

###

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston: http://www.utmb.edu

Thanks to University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston for this article.

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Avoiding Web Host Scams | Cool Blog Tricks

Making a smart choice when selecting a web host for your website or blog is one of the most critical steps to success in establishing an online presence. No matter if you are creating a personal blog, a site to share photos or building an e-commerce site sell your services or products online or promote a local business you are going to need a web host to make your site accessible to the worldwide web.

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An extensive amount of confidential and sensitive information is exchanged on the Internet. Determine the assurances the host company offers that your important data is not compromised and remains safe and secure from hackers or others that would use it for fraudulent purposes. How is your site protected in the event of a national disaster or act of terrorism?

A passionate writer for more than 30 years, Marlene Affeld writes of her love of all things natural.?

Affeld's passion for the environment inspires her to write informative articles to assist others in living a green lifestyle. She writes for a prominent website as a nature travel writer and contributes articles to other online outlets covering wildlife, travel destinations and the beauty of nature. Affeld enjoys sharing her experiences as a freelance writer and offers tips and resources for writing, web hosting, best online jobs and more.?

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Second U.S. Cargo Plane Crashes in Central Asia

Why can she never win?? Poor Jennifer Aniston, lonely lady of Los Angeles, scorned bride and future crone. All she wants to do is marry Justin Theroux as planned, but of course then her ex, Brad Pitt, had to go and make plans to marry Angelina Jolie this summer, thus ruining everything. So Aniston is pushing back her wedding plans, it's said, to an unknown time, in the fear that the two events will be associated. So tragic. Jennifer Aniston just cannot get a break. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/second-u-cargo-plane-crashes-central-asia-111606575.html

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Asante Samuel, stop flaunting your heterosexuality ? we have kids out here too (Americablog)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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