Sweet Kor

People who are super obese and those with the most chronic health problems face an increased risk for dying within a year after weight-loss surgery, a new U.S. study has found.

The research involved 856 men and women who had bariatric (weight-loss) surgery at 12 Veterans Affairs medical centers between 2000 and 2006. They averaged 54 years old and had an average body-mass index (BMI) of 48.7. BMI is a measurement based on height and weight, and a BMI of 40 or greater is considered class 3 or morbid obesity.

About 36 percent of the group was considered super obese, with a BMI of 50 or higher. In addition, 8 percent also had such chronic diseases as diabetes and heart disease.

During the follow-up, 54 people died, including 1.3 percent who died within 30 days of their surgery, 2.1 percent who died within 90 days of surgery and 3.4 percent who died within a year, the study found.

Those who were super obese and those with co-existing chronic diseases had the highest risk for early death. Super obese people accounted for 30 of the 54 deaths and had 30-day, 90-day and one-year death rates of 2 percent, 3.6 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively. People with co-existing health problems had death rates of 1.5 percent after 30 days, 5.8 percent after 90 days and 10.1 percent at one year.

The chances of dying after bariatric surgery may be greater for people who are super obese, according to the researchers, because the added abdominal fat makes the procedure more difficult, wound complications and blood clotting are more likely and they’re more apt to have obesity-related illnesses.

“The results of this study should inform discussions with patients with regard to the potential risks and benefits of bariatric surgery,” wrote co-author Dr. David Arterburn, of Group Health Research Institute in Seattle, and his colleagues in their report, published in the October issue of Archives of Surgery.

“These findings also suggest that the risks of bariatric surgery in patients with significant comorbidities, such as congestive heart failure, complicated diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, should be carefully weighed against potential benefits in older male patients and those with super obesity,” they concluded. Yahoo DailyNews

What most people know about the use of life insurance is to simply provide for survivors when the ability to support them has evaporated due to untimely death. A lump sum death benefit can pay off existing debt and provide a replacement income stream, whether it be short or long-term. Providing life insurance to care for your family’s needs is the most basic of estate plans. But what really is estate planning with life insurance and what benefit does it bring? Well, it is a process used to insure that your assets go where you want with as little tax or liability as possible during life or at death and having an estate plan is one of the most important ways to protect and pass on your hard-earned assets.

Worldwide demand for a safe and secure food supply is growing with plant breeding at the forefront of sustainability discussions; however many research programs have seen their funding decrease due to the erosion of traditional public or formula grants. Researchers are now turning to other sources for funding for their domestic and international plant breeding programs.

Stakeholders from public and private sectors of the plant breeding community will share their perspectives on the current funding landscape during the symposium, “Building a Strong Financial Base for Sustaining a Healthy Plant Breeding Community,” on Thursday, Nov. 5, from 7:55 to 10:50 am in Room 321, David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The event is part of the 2009 Annual Meetings of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), and Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) in Pittsburgh, PA.

Symposium presenters will discuss successes in public-private partnerships; commercialization strategies now driving public programs; the impact of foundations in targeted support for cultivar development; and national and global programs that may help build capacity and provide public support:

David Bergvinson, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will discuss the organization’s Crop Improvement Grants, which allow farmer-preferred and adapted crop varieties to reach small-hold farms in regions of Asia and Africa. From basic research through to delivery, the foundation has developed broad and innovative partnerships to achieve sustainable food production worldwide.

Steve Rhines, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc, will discuss the non-profit’s outreach to farmers and ranchers through education, consultation, and research. The foundation’s contributions to the improvement of forage crops for agriculture and livestock production systems has enhanced agricultural productivity regionally, nationally, and internationally since its inception in 1945.

Robyn Stevens, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), will discuss the organization’s past and present efforts to influence legislation and increase funding for plant genome research. The NCGA continues to advocate for significant increases in agricultural research funding, but needs the help of both public and private sector scientists to make their voices heard in legislature.

Donn P. Cummings, Monsanto Company, will discuss the need for cross-functional training in plant science, in order for the industry to achieve genetic gains and meet worldwide food needs. Monsanto has forged many partnerships to help rebuild and fund Plant Breeder education programs in the US and sustain the nation’s large and diverse plant breeding workforce.

Stacy A. Bonos and William Meyer, Rutgers State University, will discuss the many innovations of the Rutgers Turfgrass Program over the last half century. The organization has continued to grow and expand. It now operates as a self-sustaining center for turfgrass research and exploration, funded through its cultivars’ licensing royalties.

Ed Ready, United Soybean Board (USB), will discuss efforts by the organization to increase soybean crop yields through genomic tools and plant breeding. The USB has a funding structure in place to evaluate which research projects will best contribute to crop improvement goals that include mitigating the impact of crop stressors, increasing yield, and improving composition to meet end-users’ needs.

Daryl Strouts, Kansas Wheat Alliance (KWA), will discuss the structure of KWA, an organization comprised of public and private sector industry stakeholders aimed at furthering wheat variety research. The group is funded through the commercialization of new wheat varieties developed at Kansas State University. KWA manages the sublicensing of these varieties to wheat seed producers and protects the intellectual property rights associated with the varieties. Revenue from the program is funneled into future wheat research. redOrbit

In today’s world of cosmetic dentistry, cosmetic filler companies are keenly aware that potential treatment discomfort is a major deterrent to many patients, and a couple is beginning to introduce fillers to the aesthetic market in response, especially that one of the first things people notice about you is your smile. Well, Plano cosmetic dentist are inviting you to share the vision of your perfect smile, so they can create the smile you’ve been dreaming about. They strive to understand your needs to achieve your long-sought beautiful and healthy smile. Thus, if you want to discuss your goals and options then just visits the above mentioned also for your free consultation.

Probably you are thinking about having vacations this weekend. Obviously, we are facing the high fuel prices that are affecting almost everything worldwide, but not everything related to fuel prices should stop your decision to go on vacations. Subsequently, with multiple projects, assignments and responsibilities it is easy to make the thought of being away from the office a low priority. However, to continue to perform at peak levels and provide top quality services it is necessary and healthy to temporarily get out and oftentimes change environment by taking and having the orlando vacations one of your next stop. So, what about you guys there? For more details and information’s just visits the aforementioned.

The world’s tiger population is declining fast despite efforts to save them, and new strategies are urgently needed to keep the species from dying out, international wildlife experts said Tuesday.

“We are assembled here to save tigers that are at the verge of extinction,” Nepal’s secretary of forest and soil conservation, Yuvaraj Bhusal, told a conference of tiger experts from 20 countries, including the 13 where wild tigers are still found.

An estimated 3,500 to 4,000 tigers now roam the world’s forests, down from the more than 100,000 estimated at the beginning of the 20th century. All the remaining tigers are in Asia. Participants at the conference, which also includes the World Bank, the World Wildlife Fund and other groups, plan to discuss strategies for tiger conservation, as well as challenges such as poaching, the trade of tiger parts and conflicts between tigers and local populations.

In a recent case, a Sumatran tiger died after being caught in a pig snare last week in Indonesia, the country’s news agency, Antara, reported Monday. The report said the tiger died as it was being prepared for surgery Monday. Only about 250 Sumatran tigers remain in the wild. “Despite our efforts in the last three decades, tigers still face threats of survival. The primary threat is from poaching and habitat loss,” Nepal’s prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal told the conference.

He said extreme poverty has also challenged efforts. “Global and regional solidarity and corrective measures are more necessary now than ever to face these challenges,” the prime minister said. Bhusal, the forest secretary, said participants hope to make high-level policy makers in their countries more aware of the animal’s possible extinction.

The 13 countries where wild tigers are still found include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam. The conference continues through Friday. By Binaj Gurubacharya, Houston Chronicle

Two Swiss businessmen who are at the centre of a diplomatic tussle between Libya and Switzerland are being held in good conditions, Libya’s deputy foreign minister was reported as saying on Sunday.

Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey has accused Libya of “kidnapping” the two, who have been prevented from leaving Tripoli for some 15 months in a row over the brief arrest in Geneva of one of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi’s sons.

Last month, the men, who were mainly staying in the Swiss embassy, were asked by Libyan authorities to undergo a medical check-up.

Swiss diplomats and relatives said they had lost contact with the two since then and had no news of them.

“The two Swiss have not been kidnapped,” the Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim as saying.

They are being held at “a house” in a safe location, in “accordingly good circumstances, even if they would rather be in another place”, he added.

The Swiss government said on Thursday that Tripoli repeatedly failed to honour pledges made in recent weeks to try to solve the row, despite a high-profile apology by President Hans-Rudolf Merz in August.

The spat erupted in July 2008 after police in Geneva arrested Hannibal Kadhafi and his pregnant wife in a luxury hotel over allegations that the couple had mistreated two servants.

Police detained the Kadhafis for two days, sparking outrage from Libyan authorities and retaliatory sanctions against Switzerland, although the charges were dropped after the two servants reportedly received compensation.

The businessmen have been identified by an employer or relatives as Max Goeldi, local manager for Swedish-Swiss engineering firm ABB, and Rachid Hamdani, who will be 69 on Tuesday. Yahoo DailyNews