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Zulfiqar Rana, MD, MPH, FACP
Board Certified in Internal Medicine
Category Archives: Pharma
Self-strengthening polymer
Posted by on March 27, 2011
Check out: “Self-strengthening polymer nanocomposite works best under pressure” – www.engadget.com
No one keeps carbon nanotubes down — especially not these ones. The always popular allotropes have been enlisted by researchers at Rice University to create a composite material that gets stronger under pressure. When combined with polydimethylsiloxane, a rubbery polymer, the tubes form a nanocomposite that exhibits self-strengthening properties also exhibited in bones. During testing, the team found the material increased in stiffness by 12 percent after 3.5 million compressions. Apparently, the crew is stumped on why it reacts this way, but is no less eager to see it working in the real world — discussion is already underway to use the stuff as artificial cartilage. And here we thought aerogel was cool…
For some primary care, try your local pharmacist
Posted by on March 27, 2011
The average adult fills about a dozen prescriptions and refills every year; after age 65, they fill more than 30 prescriptions annually. For many people, their local pharmacist may be as familiar as their doctor — and often a lot easier to get time with. Some pharmacists are building on that position, expanding their role from drug dispenser to drug educator and chronic disease coach. By doing so, they may fill a void created by the shortage of primary-care physicians while boosting their business…
Here is the link: http://fluentnews.com/s/26594619
Hazards: Misuse of Drugs Crowds Emergency Rooms
Posted by on March 5, 2011
From The New York Times:
VITAL SIGNS: Hazards: Misuse of Drugs Crowds Emergency Rooms
Some 700,000 Americans are taken to the hospital each year after ingesting drugs, both legal and illegal, a new study reports. And the care costs nearly $1.4 billion in emergency room charges alone.
The study, published in the March issue of The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, was based on data from the 2007 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, a government database that includes information on 27 million visits to 970 emergency rooms in 27 states…
Better Drug Ads, Fewer Side Effects
Posted by on February 10, 2011
From The New York Times:
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR: Better Drug Ads, Fewer Side Effects
Congress should pass legislation to let drug companies develop joint ad campaigns that are specific to certain ailments but not to any particular drug.
Diet News
- Junk food may impair our deep sleep
- Low-flavanol diet drives age-related memory loss, large study finds
- Brain-belly connection: Gut health may influence likelihood of developing Alzheimer's
- The feeling of hunger itself may slow aging in flies
- More structure, fewer screens makes for healthier kids in the school holidays
- Kombucha to kimchi: Which fermented foods are best for your brain?
- Non-biological factors and social determinants of health important in women's CVD risk assessment
- Bariatric surgery may reverse diabetes complications for people with obesity
- Researchers leverage cell self-destruction to treat brain tumors
- Exposure therapy to feared foods may help kids with eating disorders
Health News
- Louisiana Senate passes bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender youths
- Slow start to New York's legal pot market leaves farmers holding the bag
- Texas bans gender-affirming care for minors after governor signs bill
- Maker of anti-addiction drug Suboxone reaches $102.5 million settlement over antitrust claims
- Some trans people turn to crowdfunding to leave Florida after anti-LGBTQ+ laws
- Germany reports labor shortage in one-sixth of professions
- Some trans people turn to crowdfunding to leave Florida after anti-LGBTQ+ laws
- Border Patrol wouldn't review the medical file of a girl with a heart condition before she died
- College student accused of setting fire to Wyoming's only abortion clinic pleads not guilty
- Idaho hospitals working to resume full operations after cyberattack
Zulfiqar Rana, MD, MPH, FACP 