MIMR researchers find a protein link to STI susceptibility

Public release date: 28-Feb-2013
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Contact: Caroline Page
caroline.page@monash.edu
61-408-267-346
Monash Institute of Medical Research

Melbourne, AUSTRALIA - Monash Institute of Medical Research scientists have found a protein in the female reproductive tract that protects against sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) such as chlamydia and herpes simplex virus (HSV).

It is estimated that 450 million people worldwide are newly infected with STIs each year. Chlamydia has the highest infection rate of all the STIs reported in Australia.

The research, published today in the prestigious journal, Science, was led by Prof Paul Hertzog, Director of MIMR's Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, and his team including, Ka Yee Fung and Niamh Mangan.

The team discovered a protein, which they called Interferon epsilon (IFNe), and showed it plays an important role in protecting females against infections. It could have clinical potential to determine which women may be more or less susceptible to disease such as STIs or to boost protective immunity.

IFNe could also be used potentially to treat STIs or other inflammatory diseases.

"One way this protein is unusual is because of the way it's produced," Prof Hertzog said. "Most proteins protecting us against infection are produced only after we're exposed to a virus or bacteria.

"But this protein is produced normally and is instead regulated by hormones so its levels change during the oestrous cycle (an animal's menstrual cycle) and is switched off at implantation in pregnancy and at other times like menopause," Prof Hertzog said.

"Some of these times when normal IFNe is lowest, correlate with when women are most susceptible to STIs so this might be an important link to new therapeutic opportunities IFNe follows different rules to normal immuno-modulatory proteins, and therefore this might also be important to vaccines and the way they're formulated to boost our protective immunity.

"Since this protein boosts female reproductive tract immune responses, it's likely, although we haven't addressed it directly, that this finding will be important for other infectious diseases like HIV and HPV and other diseases."

Prof Hertzog said STIs are a critical global health and socioeconomic problem.

According to the 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics, chlamydia has the highest infection rates of the notifiable STIs, and infection rates have more than tripled over the past decade. Men and women in the 15-19-year age group saw the largest increase in infection rates. According to these statistics, chlamydia affects more women than men, with 46,636 women aged over 15 diagnosed compared with 33,197 men aged 15 and over.

Prof Hertzog said the next step for this research would be to work towards clinical studies within the next five years. He is also keen to see whether this work can be applied across other diseases including cancer, female reproductive tract related disorders including endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease, as well as other non reproductive tract diseases.

###

This research was carried out in collaboration with partners at other departments of Monash University, the University of Newcastle, University of Adelaide, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the University of Oklahoma.

For more information contact:

Caroline Page
MIMR Communications Manager
Mobile: +61 3 408 267 346
Email: caroline.page@monash.edu

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 28-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Caroline Page
caroline.page@monash.edu
61-408-267-346
Monash Institute of Medical Research

Melbourne, AUSTRALIA - Monash Institute of Medical Research scientists have found a protein in the female reproductive tract that protects against sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) such as chlamydia and herpes simplex virus (HSV).

It is estimated that 450 million people worldwide are newly infected with STIs each year. Chlamydia has the highest infection rate of all the STIs reported in Australia.

The research, published today in the prestigious journal, Science, was led by Prof Paul Hertzog, Director of MIMR's Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, and his team including, Ka Yee Fung and Niamh Mangan.

The team discovered a protein, which they called Interferon epsilon (IFNe), and showed it plays an important role in protecting females against infections. It could have clinical potential to determine which women may be more or less susceptible to disease such as STIs or to boost protective immunity.

IFNe could also be used potentially to treat STIs or other inflammatory diseases.

"One way this protein is unusual is because of the way it's produced," Prof Hertzog said. "Most proteins protecting us against infection are produced only after we're exposed to a virus or bacteria.

"But this protein is produced normally and is instead regulated by hormones so its levels change during the oestrous cycle (an animal's menstrual cycle) and is switched off at implantation in pregnancy and at other times like menopause," Prof Hertzog said.

"Some of these times when normal IFNe is lowest, correlate with when women are most susceptible to STIs so this might be an important link to new therapeutic opportunities IFNe follows different rules to normal immuno-modulatory proteins, and therefore this might also be important to vaccines and the way they're formulated to boost our protective immunity.

"Since this protein boosts female reproductive tract immune responses, it's likely, although we haven't addressed it directly, that this finding will be important for other infectious diseases like HIV and HPV and other diseases."

Prof Hertzog said STIs are a critical global health and socioeconomic problem.

According to the 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics, chlamydia has the highest infection rates of the notifiable STIs, and infection rates have more than tripled over the past decade. Men and women in the 15-19-year age group saw the largest increase in infection rates. According to these statistics, chlamydia affects more women than men, with 46,636 women aged over 15 diagnosed compared with 33,197 men aged 15 and over.

Prof Hertzog said the next step for this research would be to work towards clinical studies within the next five years. He is also keen to see whether this work can be applied across other diseases including cancer, female reproductive tract related disorders including endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease, as well as other non reproductive tract diseases.

###

This research was carried out in collaboration with partners at other departments of Monash University, the University of Newcastle, University of Adelaide, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the University of Oklahoma.

For more information contact:

Caroline Page
MIMR Communications Manager
Mobile: +61 3 408 267 346
Email: caroline.page@monash.edu

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/miom-mrf022213.php

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Hessel, France's surprise elder icon, dies at 95

FILE - This Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011 file photo shows Stephane Hessel during an interview with The Associated Press in Paris, France. Stephane Hessel, a concentration camp survivor and member of the French resistance whose 32-page book "Time for Outrage" became a bestseller and an inspiration for the left in Europe and the U.S., has died at 95. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

FILE - This Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011 file photo shows Stephane Hessel during an interview with The Associated Press in Paris, France. Stephane Hessel, a concentration camp survivor and member of the French resistance whose 32-page book "Time for Outrage" became a bestseller and an inspiration for the left in Europe and the U.S., has died at 95. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

FILE - This Jan. 19, 2012, file photo shows Stephane Hessel sharing a laugh at the end of a debate on the topic "France, reasons for hope", as part of French presidential candidate Francois Hollande's campaign visit, in Nantes, western France. Stephane Hessel, a concentration camp survivor and member of the French resistance whose 32-page book "Time for Outrage" became a bestseller and an inspiration for the left in Europe and the U.S., has died at 95. (AP Photo/David Vincent, File)

FILE - This Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011, file photo shows Stephane Hessel during an interview with The Associated Press in Paris, France. Stephane Hessel, a concentration camp survivor and member of the French resistance whose 32-page book "Time for Outrage" became a bestseller and an inspiration for the left in Europe and the U.S., has died at 95. (AP Photo/ Francois Mori, File)

PARIS (AP) ? Stephane Hessel of France was a man of many talents.

As a spy for the French Resistance, he survived the Nazi death camp at Buchenwald by assuming the identity of a French prisoner who was already dead. As a diplomat, he helped write the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And at age 93, after a distinguished but relatively anonymous life, he published a slim pamphlet that even he expected would be little more than a vanity project.

Au contraire.

Hessel's 32-page "Time for Outrage" sold millions of copies across Europe, tapping into a vein of popular discontent with capitalism and transforming him into an intellectual superstar within weeks. Translated into English, the pocket-sized book became a source of inspiration for the Occupy Wall Street movement.

In the book, Hessel urges young people to take inspiration from the anti-Nazi resistance to which he once belonged and rally against what he saw as the newest evil: The love of money.

The book, called "Indignez-vous" in French, had an initial run of 8,000 copies in 2010 and sold for ?3 ($4) before becoming a best-seller.

Hessel died overnight in Paris. He was 95.

"I'm eagerly awaiting the taste of death. Death is something to savor, and I hope to savor mine. In the meantime, given that it has not yet happened and that I'm generally getting around normally, I'm using the time to throw out some messages," Hessel told RTL radio in 2011.

Born in Germany, Hessel and his parents immigrated to France in 1924, where they settled into an avant-garde life, hanging out with artists like Alexander Calder and Marcel Duchamp.

Hessel fled to London to join the resistance led by Gen. Charles de Gaulle in 1941, but snuck back into occupied France on a spying mission in 1944, where he was arrested by the Gestapo and shipped off to the Nazis' Buchenwald concentration camp. The day before he was to be hanged, he swapped his identity with another French prisoner who had died of typhus.

As a French diplomat after World War II, Hessel joined a panel that included former U.S. first lady Eleanor Roosevelt which wrote up the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Hessel "leaves us with the invaluable heritage of fighting for universal human values and his inalienable sense of liberty," Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said Wednesday.

A proud Socialist, Hessel said the aim of "Time for Outrage" was to convince adrift or discouraged young people that they can change society for the better ? even if they feel the world is controlled by entrenched and financially powerful interests. But he hardly expected it would find a large audience in France, much less elsewhere.

Hessel said he purposely offered no solutions.

"I am not giving them a meaning, but I am saying: 'Do try to find for yourself what would be meaningful.'"

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Hessel had succeeded in that goal.

"In France, in Europe, in the world, Stephane Hessel was the spirit of resistance incarnate," he said. "For every generation, for young people, he was a source of inspiration but also a reference. At 95, he embodied faith in the future of this new century."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-27-France-Obit-Hessel/id-56b7e98801d248a895d73132fc4fb935

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Steps To Make Your Online Marketing A Success - Empower Network

What a time to start! More than likely, you have many questions about how and where to get started. The tips below provide some great advice that will help you achieve your affiliate marketing goals.

TIP! Researching affiliate companies is important even if they are one of the most profitable in the industry. You can most likely market it without any issues.

Social media is a great way to grab Google?s attention. Google places a high value on social media sites and will rank your site higher if you have new relevant content. Twitter, Facebook, Digg and other social media and bookmarking sites provide links to popular pages, helping them get indexed faster and more often by Google.

Use banners sparingly. Doing so makes your site looj cheap and unprofessional. Make sure that there is an abundant amount of content on your website. Design your website so that when someone visits it, their attention is immediately focused on the content, and not the banners.

Keep your intended audience in mind as you decide which affiliates to join. If your niche is selling high fashion shoes, there is no reason to affiliate with advertisers who sell laundry detergent. If your visitors click on your site thinking ?fancy clothes,? then they expect to see fancy clothes. Keep your target audience in mind when choosing ads.

TIP! Consider a unique niche for more affiliate marketing opportunities. Specialty niches are usually more profitable because you have few competitors and your unique products attract a lot of targeted traffic.

You?ll want to know how orders not processed on your affiliate company?s website are tracked. You need to ensure that you get credit for any phone or mail orders your customers make. Otherwise you won?t get paid for them.

To improve as an affiliate marketer, set small goals for each day. This particular item shows you what you still have to complete, which can better motivate you.

TIP! It?s a good idea to take advantage of affiliate networks as a means to improve your affiliate marketing. Affiliate networks are very useful and connect webmasters with high-quality advertisers.

Daily communication is the key for a binding and beneficial relationship among affiliate partners. Frequent communication works as a way to protect your affiliate revenue stream. Your best affiliate partners are irreplaceable, and you should do what?s necessary to maintain good relations with them.

To increase your profits from affiliate programs, write inviting product reviews that include visually appealing elements like videos, photos and screenshots. Appealing visuals help make your product more attractive to potential buyers. Always offer lots of details in your reviews. People are interested in learning about products they buy.

TIP! Make sure you are one up on your competition by building a solid Google Plus following. If you tell your current social network about your new Google Plus account, you?ll find many are already signed up there and your following will grow quickly.

Craft your newsletter well, so people will want to become a part of your mailing list. The novelty of simply receiving any email at all wore off a decade ago. Most internet users tend to protect their addresses from promotional offers and spam. Make sure your newsletter is not perceived as such.

Work with companies that provide multiple types of payment options. There are companies that will only send you your money after you have earned a specific amount; however, other companies give you access to your bank via e-wallet features such as AlertPay and PayPal.

TIP! Don?t allow your affiliate marketing campaign to rest on a few partner?s shoulders. It?s best to work with a variety of products and vendors.

It is a good idea to explain to your readers that you are an affiliate marketer to your customers so as to establish trust. Honesty will bring you the best results in your marketing efforts. Your customers should understand why you market certain goods. If they do, they are more likely to buy them.

Boost the sales of your products and services through a special, affiliate-focused website. Presenting your affiliates professionally and positively will convince other affiliates to join you. If you implement SEO on your website effectively, you may even draw in affiliates who do not know anything about your product.

TIP! Use positive language to help market your product. Phrases that could be perceived as negative should be changed.

It will likely take you a decent bit of time to discover which affiliate advertisements have been the most effective for your particular demographic. You will have to tailor your approach to advertisement depending on your audience and products. Perhaps an unobtrusive ad is better than a flashy one for your audience. Your target audience should always be the driving force when you decide which products you wish to sell.

Experiment with secret links. There are certain ways you can embed affiliate links throughout your articles and other content without being obnoxious or blatant about it. Use these to keep the article aesthetically pleasing, but let the readers know and don?t attempt to trick them into clicks. When your readers know what they are going to be visiting, they will be more likely to click on your links.

TIP! Keep in mind that pay-per-sale plans are a risky affiliate strategy. If things do work out, it could provide a fairly decent income.

After you have decided which products to sell for your online marketing program, you will want to design your marketing strategy to target the right audience for each product. If it?s a cheaper product, then just simply having a high traffic flow will ensure that it sells. If it?s cheap enough, people will be more likely to buy it after a quick click and view. The more expensive a product is, the more it relies upon focused, intense selling techniques.

These steps should have put you on the road to success. If you thought you knew a lot previously, you will probably feel like you?re at an expert level now. Apply the advice in this article to get started with online marketing as it applies to your website.

If you are truly serious about making money on the internet sooner than later, you need to check out Create Wealth From Home | Free Article Marketing Webinar | Make Money Today | Free Facebook Training and if your are NOT earning 100% Commissions, Watch this Free Video how to earn 100% Commissions

To Your Success,
Dave Wertz
Work With Me Personally

Source: http://www.empowernetwork.com/dwertz/blog/steps-to-make-your-online-marketing-a-success/

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Large shark kills man in New Zealand; beach closed

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) ? A shark possibly 14 feet (4 meters) long killed a swimmer near a popular New Zealand beach on Wednesday, then disappeared after police attempting to save the man fired gunshots at the enormous predator.

Muriwai Beach near Auckland was closed after the fatal attack, one of only about a dozen in New Zealand in the past 180 years.

Police recovered the body of the victim, identified as Adam Strange, a 46-year-old television and short film director, the New Zealand Herald said. Strange won a Crystal Bear award for best short film at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival, according to his company's website.

The newspaper said his family issued a statement expressing their shock and requesting privacy.

Pio Mose, who was fishing at the beach, told the Herald he saw the swimmer struggle against the huge shark. He told the man to swim to the rocks, but it was too late.

"All of a sudden there was blood everywhere," Mose said. "I was shaking, scared, panicked."

Police Inspector Shawn Rutene said in a statement that the swimmer was about 200 meters (650 feet) offshore when the shark attacked. He said police went out in inflatable lifesaving boats and shot at the shark, which they estimated was 12 to 14 feet long.

"It rolled over and disappeared," Rutene said, without saying whether police were certain that they killed the creature.

About 200 people had been enjoying the beach during the Southern Hemisphere summer at the time of the attack. Police said Muriwai and other beaches nearby have been closed until further notice.

Police did not say what species of shark was involved in the attack. Clinton Duffy, a shark expert with the Department of Conservation, said New Zealand is a hotspot for great white sharks, and other potentially lethal species also inhabit the waters.

Attacks are rare. Duffy estimated that only 12 to 14 people have been killed by sharks in New Zealand since record keeping began in the 1830s.

"There are much lower levels of shark attacks here than in Australia," he said. "It's possibly a function of how many people are in the water" in New Zealand's cooler climate.

He said that during the Southern Hemisphere summer, sharks often come in closer to shore to feed and to give birth, although that doesn't necessarily equate to a greater risk of attack.

"Ninety-nine percent of the time they ignore people," he said. "Sometimes, people get bitten."

Around the world, sharks attacked humans 80 times last year, and seven people were killed, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File. The death toll was lower than it was in 2011 but higher than the average of 4.4 from 2001 to 2010.

Police comfort a woman believed to be a family member of a man attacked by a shark at Muriwai Beach near Auckland, New Zealand, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Police said a man was found dead in the water... more? Police comfort a woman believed to be a family member of a man attacked by a shark at Muriwai Beach near Auckland, New Zealand, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Police said a man was found dead in the water after being "bitten by a large shark." (AP Photo/Ross Land) less? ?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/large-shark-kills-man-zealand-beach-closed-030458494.html

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World HR Net presents Mr Diaa Mohamed as Featured Expert of the ...

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PRLog (Press Release) - Jan. 4, 2013 - The popular online human resources portal World HR Net (http://www.worldhrnet.com) is now showcasing Mr Diaa Mohamed in its ?Featured Expert? section (check http://worldhrnet.com/E_DiaaMohamed.php). This section is dedicated to promoting accomplished professionals who come with a wealth of experiences and learning in the HR domain.

Having worked in top HR positions with global brands like BP and Motorola and presently the technology giant Hewlett Packard, Mr Diaa Mohamed brings with him a strong HR experience. He has received the HR Leadership Award by the Asia Pacific HRM Congress and Global HR Award by Rapport Bangladesh Limited. He has been a key speaker in many international HR and business conferences throughout the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

In his interview with World HR Net, he immaculately shares his HR vision, the nuances of HRM in the Middle East & African (MEA) region (a region he has been closely working with), HR policies, leadership and much more. ?A link to the Mr Mohamed?s Featured Expert page is given on the World HR Net home page too (http://www.worldhrnet.com). ?

The ?Featured Expert? section is presented in the form of an engaging question and answer session where the HR expert shares his/her thoughts and viewpoints on various aspects of people management and some interesting insights on global trends. Some of the previously featured experts are Ms Laurie Bassi (owner of McBassi & Company and author of Good Company), Ms Moonmoon Varma (VP, HR - APAC, Credit Suisse) and Mark Fogel (CHRO, the Marcum Group).

About World HR Net:
World HR Net is the effective platform for communication in the domain of human resource management across the globe. It provides for an engaging network of HR professionals, head hunters, consultancies, organizations and assertively any professional who seeks to climb high on his or her career. Whether the lookout is for the right talent or for the right profile, it is here to offer solutions to both. World HR Net is, in essentiality, of the people and for the people.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/12053167-world-hr-net-presents-mr-diaa-mohamed-as-featured-expert-of-the-month.html

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House approves $9.7 billion in Sandy aid

Still under pressure to provide federal aid to victims of Superstorm Sandy, the House on Friday voted to increase the borrowing limit for the National Flood Insurance Program, which will pay out 140,000 insurance claims for property damage.

The federal program offers subsidized insurance plans to homeowners who live near the nation's coasts, and it was on track to run out of money by next week if Congress did not act. The payouts in the bill will cost the federal government $9.7 billion.

Local leaders from areas hit hardest by the storm were outraged this week that the congressional vote on the extended funding did not come sooner.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday lashed out at Congress for failing to act, placing particular blame on House Speaker John Boehner.

"There's only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims, the House majority and their speaker, John Boehner," Christie said.

Now that the bill has passed the House, the Senate intends to pass the measure on to President Barack Obama using an expedited process that requires no vote.

The funding increase to the insurance program is just the first step in a series of votes related to Sandy. The House plans to vote again later this month on a $51 billion package in relief aid to state governments still rebuilding after the storm.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/house-approves-funding-sandy-insurance-claims-162500066--election.html

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Iraqi president said to be recovering from stroke

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Iraq's ailing president is responding to treatment and is making progress in recovering from a stroke last month, the leader's office said Saturday.

The brief statement described Jalal Talabani's condition as "reassuring" and said his medical team has started him on a course of rehabilitation. It added that he "has passed the difficult stages faster than expected," but the statement did not provide details about the president's current health nor did it say whether he is able to communicate.

The president's office released the statement following a report late Friday in the French newspaper Le Figaro that described Talabani as "clinically dead," citing unnamed Kurdish officials. Talabani's office rejected the report, calling it "totally baseless."

Talabani, a 79-year-old senior Kurdish leader, was flown to Germany for treatment more than two weeks ago. The Berlin hospital where he is being treated declined Saturday to comment on Talabani's health, citing patient confidentiality. It would only confirm that he is still being treated there.

Telephone calls to Talabani's spokesman Saturday went unanswered.

Questions have swirled about the seriousness of the president's condition, with several officials saying Talabani slipped into a coma soon after he was rushed to a Baghdad hospital on the evening of Dec. 17. No images of him have been released since that date.

The president's illness has injected further uncertainty into Iraq's political future as unrest grows in the country's Sunni areas over detainees held by the Shiite-led government and the Sunni minority's complaints of perceived second-class status.

The Iraqi presidency is a largely ceremonial role, with the prime minister acting as the head of government. But Talabani has at times played an important role in mediating disputes among Iraq's ethnic and sectarian factions.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iraqi-president-said-recovering-stroke-135543039.html

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