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Can Omega 3 Fatty Acids Prevent Depression In Coronary Heart Disease?
Depression is an established risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) in healthy patients and for adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with existing CHD. Dietary factors resulting in lower levels of omega 3 fatty acids not only increase CHD risk, but may also be involved in the pathophysiology of depression. The investigators measured red blood cell levels of two omega 3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and assessed depressive symptoms in a cross-sectional study of 987 adults with CHD. Omega 3 fatty acids were blindly measured in fasting venous blood samples using capillary gas chromatography to measure the fatty acid composition of red blood cell membranes. Red blood cell levels of EPA and DHA are presented as a percentage composition of total fatty acid methyl esters. The investigators assessed current depression using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire. They evaluated the association between omega 3 fatty acid levels and depressive symptoms as continuous variables using linear regression.

Special Reconstruction Method Improves Postoperative Quality Of Life In Gastric Cancer Patients
Given equivalent results with regards to survival, the impact of anastomotic methods on QOL becomes even more important. There is still no consensus on how to choose a reconstruction method for proximal gastrectomy in patients with upper third gastric cancer.
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Reducing Gasoline Emissions Will Benefit Human Health
President Barack Obama and Energy Secretary Steve Chu are consistent in their message that when it comes to transportation fuels, carbon-neutral biofuels as an alternative to gasoline are coming. While the focus of a shift from gasoline to biofuels has been on global warming, such a shift could also impact human health. A grant from the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) has produced a novel and comprehensive "Life Cycle Impact Assessment" to measure the benefits on human health that might result from a switch to biofuels. Although there are a number of uncertainties that must be addressed for a more accurate picture, these early results show that a biofuel eliminating even 10-percent of current gasoline pollutant emissions would have a substantial impact on human health in this country, especially in urban areas.
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USAID Commits $1M To Help Several African Nations Deal With Natural Disasters, Disease Spread

USAID announced on Thursday a $1 million commitment to a Red Cross project aimed at helping those "living along southern Africa"s Zambezi River cope with worsening natural disasters because of climate change," the AP/Washington Post reports. "For the 32 million people who live in the Zambezi"s basin - some of the world"s poorest - the river is a of transportation, jobs and fertile soil for agriculture," the AP/Washington Post writes. "But it also brings misery with a cycle of flood and drought that displaces hundreds of thousands of people annually. Extreme flooding and dry spells destroy crops and cause food shortages, while receding waters leave cholera, dysentery and malaria," according to AP/Washington Post. The Red Cross chose to launch the Zambezi River Basin Initiative after this year"s devastating flood season claimed the lives of 90 people and displaced over 276,000 in Namibia alone, according to the AP/Washington Post. Through the three-year $8.6 million initiative, the Red Cross will work with "the seven nations that the river winds through - Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe" to "boost early warning systems and local training for disaster management, as well provide funds for malaria, cholera, and HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention projects," the AP/Washington Post writes (Theriault, AP/Washington Post, 6/25). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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