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Meat production creates high greenhouse gas emissions while consumption of wild game meat presumably has lower greenhouse gas impacts. We estimated the amount of meat legally harvested in the United States for animals with state or federal harvest data and determined caloric value and the greenhouse gas impact (emissions savings) of these harvests. Hunting of reported game accounts for approximately 487 billion Kcal, about 3% of U.S. annual meat consumption, although the total is probably higher if non-reported (small game) are included. Wild game consumption may equal more than two billion kg of avoided CO2 emissions, equivalent to more than $120 million USD in annual carbon avoidance societal benefits. Our results suggest that wild game harvests contribute a relatively small, but not irrelevant, greenhouse gas savings. Wildlife conservation organizations could use the positive climate attributes of wild game harvesting as a public relations tool to encourage hunting and subsequent emissions reductions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a painful, ulcerating neutrophilic dermatosis commonly associated with a variety of underlying systemic conditions. We report a child with neurofibromatosis-1 (NF-1) and an aseptic splenic abscess who developed multifocal PG in areas of iatrogenic skin trauma. There is no clinical evidence or theoretical basis to suggest a causal relationship between NF-1 and PG. Systemic corticosteroid and cyclosporine therapy led to complete resolution of the lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the need for establishing a federally run, full-time, resident, self-contained national academy: the U.S. Homeland Security Intelligence Academy (HSIA). At HSIA, students will earn an undergraduate degree in homeland security and intelligence studies. This program will provide students with homeland security and intelligence-related practical and tactical skills as well as relevant leadership capabilities. It is the goal of HSIA to produce tier-one education and training for future homeland security and intelligence-focused agents and other professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality with nearly 700 000 deaths occurring annually. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major contributor to HCC and acquired mutations in the HBV genome may accelerate its pathogenesis. In this study, a matched case–control investigation of 345 men who died of HCC and 625 controls were nested within a cohort of male hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers from Qidong, China. Matched preserving odds ratios (ORs) were used as a measure of association and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) as a measure of precision. Real-time polymerase chain reaction allowed for a quantitative comparison of the levels of the HBV 1762T/1764A mutation in cases and controls. A total of 278 (81%) of the cases were positive for the HBV 1762T/1764A mutation compared with 250 (40%) of the controls. The matched preserving OR of 6.72 (95% CI: 4.66 to 9.68) strongly indicated that cases were significantly more probably than controls to have the mutation. Plasma levels of DNA harboring the HBV mutation were on average 15-fold higher in cases compared with controls (P < 0.001). Most strikingly, the level of the mutation in the 20 controls who later developed and died of HCC were on average 274-fold higher than controls who did not develop HCC. Thus, within this cohort of HBsAg carriers at high risk of developing HCC, individuals positive for the HBV 1762T/1764A mutation at enrollment were substantially more probably to subsequently develop HCC, with a higher concentration of the mutation in plasma enhancing predisposition for cancer development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generalized whole brain volume loss is well documented in moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Whether this atrophy occurs in the thalamus and brainstem has not been systematically studied in children. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) quantitative analysis was used to investigate brain volume loss in the thalamus and brainstem in 16 traumatic brain injury subjects (age range 9-16 years) compared with 16 age and demographically matched controls. Based on multiple analysis of covariance, controlling for age and head size, reduced volume in the thalamus and the midbrain region of the brainstem were found. General linear model analyses revealed a relation between processing speed on a working memory task and midbrain and brain stem volumes. Reduced volume in thalamic and brainstem structures were associated with traumatic brain injury. Reduction in midbrain and thalamic volume is probably a reflection of the secondary effects of diffuse axonal injury and reduction in cortical volume from brain injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While closed head injury frequently results in damage to the frontal and temporal lobes, damage to deep cortical structures, such as the hippocampus, amygdala, and basal ganglia, has also been reported. Five deep central structures (hippocampus, amygdala, globus pallidus, putamen, and caudate) were examined in 16 children (eight males, eight females; aged 9–16y), imaged 1 to 10 years after moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), and in 16 individually-matched uninjured children. Analysis revealed significant volume loss in the hippocampus, amydala, and globus pallidus of the TBI group. Investigation of relative volume loss between these structures and against five cortical areas (ventromedial frontal, superomedial frontal, lateral frontal, temporal, and parieto-occipital) revealed the hippocampus to be the most vulnerable structure following TBI (i.e. greatest relative difference between the groups). In a separate analysis excluding children with focal hippocampal abnormalities (e.g. lesions), group differences in hippocampal volume were still evident, suggesting that hippocampal damage may be diffuse rather than focal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]