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10th National Medical Writing Workshop and 3rd Writeshop for Young Researchers

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines

8-9 August 2016

Application deadline: July 15, 2016

The Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD), in cooperation with Philippine Association of Medical Journal Editors (PAMJE) and Asia Pacific Association of Medical Journal Editors (APAME) is organizing the 10^th National Medical Writing Workshop and 3rd Writeshop for Young Researchers on 8-9 August 2016 in Palawan. The workshop aims to help young investigators in health and health social sciences acquire practical knowledge and skills in preparing a scientific article for publication in a scholarly peer-reviewed journal. Successful applicants will be granted free workshop registration, accommodation for participants and meals during the workshop, and assigned to a mentor-facilitator who will guide them in preparing their articles for a brief presentation.

Requirements for participants

The workshop is designed for a maximum of forty (40) researchers in health sciences and health social sciences, aged 35 years old and below, who have completed a research project and have drafted a manuscript for submission to a scholarly journal. The selected draft manuscripts will be reviewed and revised during the workshop, based on the lectures and exercises, under the guidance of the faculty and mentor – facilitators. All participants are expected to present a 7-minute power point summary of their revised manuscripts on the second day of the workshop, and agree to submit the article to an appropriate scholarly peer-reviewed journal within three (3) months after the workshop.

Instructions

Applicants should e-mail the following requirements to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. on or before 15 July 2016:

1. Application forms (incomplete forms will not be considered)

2. Conforme slip

3. Abstracts

4. Draft Journal Manuscripts

5. Instructions to authors of prospective journal

The results of the selection of participants for the Workshop will be communicated on July 30 2016.

If there are any questions about the Workshop, please contact Ms. Ciaren Itulid at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (02) 837-7534.

1st International Biosensing Technology Workshop and Conference

Invitation for 65th Annual Convention of the Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology (PhilAAST) and 8th Asian Heads of Research Councils (ASIAHORCs) Joint Symposium

The Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology (PhilAAST) is inviting participants to attend their upcoming 65^th Annual Convention on 22-23 September 2016 in Manila, Philippines.

The said Convention will be held in conjunction with the 8^th Asian Heads of Research Councils (ASIAHORCs) Joint Symposium to provide a platform for discussion and interaction among PhilAAST members and co-workers and science experts in Asia on the most recent findings and developments related to the impact of the changing environment on global health in order to promote and strengthen scientific and technological collaboration among Asian countries.

With the theme, “Impact of Changing Regional Environment on Global Health”, presentations will comprise topics on strengthening health resilience to climate change, increased focus on health disaster risk management, vector-borne diseases and climate change, environmental stressors in diseases and implications for human health during disasters, and promoting health while mitigating climate change.

Expected participants include PhilAAST members, ASIAHORCs delegates, educators, researchers in the academe and government, industry representatives, and other S&T practitioners.

For more information, you may download the copy of 65^th Annual Convention of PhilAAST and 8^th ASIAHORCs Joint Symposium brochure athttp://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph/phocadownload/ASIAHORCS%20Brochure.pdf.

WHO warns vs e-cigarettes

THE WORLD Health Organization (WHO) has advised that the sale of electronic cigarettes be controlled or restricted by the government, citing lack of evidence the battery-operated devices were a “healthier alternative” to tobacco.

WHO country representative Dr. Gundo Weiler said the verdict was still out as to the “exact nature” of e-cigarettes which are designed to look, feel and taste like regular nicotine-laden cigarette sticks.

“But we don’t expect any positive effect of [these devices] decreasing smoking prevalence,” Weiler said in a press briefing on Monday during the “Smoke-Free Schools” campaign at Rizal High School in Pasig City.

“There’s still a debate going on on the scientific level about the effects of e-cigarettes but there is certainly concern they are not at all the solution to alternative smoking,” he said.

At the same event, Health Secretary Janette Garin said e-cigarettes were being aggressively marketed, circumventing tobacco control policies. She said the government should consider if these gadgets could be covered by the sin tax law.

“E-cigarettes can be given a classification under the sin tax law. The president can certify it as urgent and, once certified, it can be an amendment to the sin tax law, especially so if its effects on health is the same [as cigarettes],” Garin said.

But classifying e-cigarettes as dangerous could only be done if its ill effects were well-documented, she said.

“It is very difficult [to classify] at this point because of the absence of [published] evidence,” she added.

E-cigarettes use a liquid-filled cartridge that contains nicotine and flavors like fruits, mint, cola and vanilla, which are vaporized into a mist that is inhaled into the lungs.

Earlier, the WHO said there was a trend in other countries of people who used the battery-operated stick ending up smoking the real thing, thus the need to regulate its sale.

source: Philippine Daily Inquirer
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/791746/who-warns-vs-e-cigarettes

Excess blood triglycerides tied to fracture risk in middle aged women

Women around the age of menopause with elevated blood fats known as triglycerides may also have elevated risk of breaking a bone, a U.S. study suggests_.

Researchers followed more than 2,000 pre-menopausal women with no history of bone fractures for nearly 15 years. By the end of that time, some women with high triglycerides were more than twice as likely as others to have experienced a fracture.

While the study doesn't prove that high triglycerides cause fractures, it "supports this possibility," said senior study author Dr. Jennifer Lee, a researcher at Stanford University and Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Medical Center in California.

"This study suggests that women entering the midlife should take action to lower elevated triglycerides," Lee added by email.

During menopause, as estrogen levels decline, levels of fats in the blood increase over time as part of the aging process. Fracture risk also increases, although it’s not clear if blood fats and bone strength are related, or how, Lee’s team writes in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

To explore this question, Lee and her colleagues analyzed data from a large, long-term study of women who were 42 to 52 years old when they were enrolled at seven U.S. sites between 1995 and 1997.

At the start of the study, half of the women were at least 46 years old and many were overweight. Three quarters of them had low to normal triglyceride levels.

Blood triglyceride concentrations of less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) are considered normal, while levels from 150 mg/dL to 199 mg/dL are considered borderline high and anything above 199 is too high.

After reviewing data from the women’s annual medical exams over the next 13 years, the study team found that 147 women had what's known as nontraumatic fractures – broken bones, but not the result of a traumatic accident like a car crash. About a third of these injuries were fractures of the foot, while about 16 percent were broken ankles and 13 percent were broken wrists.

An increase of 50 mg/dL in a woman’s triglyceride levels during one of the annual exams was associated with a 31 percent increased risk of fractures two to five years later and an overall 11 percent increase in fracture risk.

Women who started out with triglycerides over 300 mg/dL before menopause were also two and a half times more likely to experience fractures by the end of the 13-year study than women who started with levels below 150 mg/dL.

Other factors may influence the association between elevated triglycerides and fractures, said Dr. Walter Willett, a nutrition and public health researcher at Harvard University who wasn't involved in the study.

"The findings should be interpreted cautiously because triglycerides are a sensitive marker of a bad metabolic state related to lower physical activity, high intake of unhealthy carbohydrates and unhealthy fats, and a prediabetic state," Willett said by email.

Still, an increase in triglycerides is a red flag that lifestyle changes may be needed, he added.

"Regular physical activity and healthy diets will lower triglycerides and have many health benefits, including lower risk of fracture," Willett said.

At the same time, women may avert fractures by taking steps to prevent falls and other accidents, noted Naila Khalil, a community health researcher at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, who wasn't involved in the study.

Women can prevent falls by doing exercises to strengthen balance and muscle tone, getting regular eye exams, removing loose rugs from rooms, placing furniture with easy paths to navigate, proper lighting, and supports or rails on stairs and in bathrooms to prevent tripping, Khalil said by email.

To lower the odds of fractures, women should get adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D, exercise several times a week, and have bone mineral density tests to assess if they should take medications to decrease bone loss, Khalil added.

source: Reuters Health
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-triglycerides-women-fractures-idUSKCN0Z82EP