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Obama Has Larger Pool Of Female Judges To Select From For Supreme Court Nominee
In selecting a Supreme Court nominee, President Obama will have a more diverse pool of judges to choose from than his predecessors did, largely because the number of women on the federal bench has increased dramatically over the past two decades, the AP/Kansas City Star reports. Just two of the 110 justices that have served on the Supreme Court are women: former Justice Sandra Day O"Connor and current Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Most of the candidates Obama is considering are women.According to the AP/Star, there are 212 full-time female judges serving in the federal courts, meaning that women make up more than one quarter of the federal judiciary. In contrast, there were about 40 female federal judges during the Reagan administration. In addition, women make up at least 40% of the judges on 22 of the 53 state supreme courts, another likely for nominees. The AP/Star reports that the increase in the number of female judges reflects the rise in the number of practicing female lawyers; women currently account for about one-third of lawyers and nearly half of all law school graduates. Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women"s Law Center, said, "I wouldn"t say the doors have swung open as fully as we would like." She added, "Nonetheless, there are superb women in the judiciary, academia and private practice."The AP/Star also reports that Obama might seek to increase racial diversity on the Supreme Court, as only two of the 110 justices have been black men: current Justice Clarence Thomas and former Justice Thurgood Marshall. There has never been a Hispanic, Asian-American or American Indian justice (Sherman, AP/Kansas City Star, 5/20).

Policies On Organ Donation After Cardiac Death Vary Considerably Among Children's Hospitals
Although a large number of children"s hospitals have developed or are developing policies regarding organ donation after cardiac death, there is considerable variation among policies, including the criteria for declaring death, according to a study in the May 13 issue of JAMA.
News of the day
House Ways And Means Panel Rejects Amendments To Exclude Abortion Coverage From Health Reform
The House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday voted 23-18 to approve its health care reform bill (HR 3200) after rejecting dozens of Republican amendments, including attempts to exclude abortion coverage from the essential benefit package created in the legislation, CQ Today reports. An amendment offered by Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) was rejected in an 18-23 vote; Reps. Bill Pascrell (N.J.), Earl Pomeroy (N.D.) and John Tanner (Tenn.) were the only Democrats to support the amendment. The amendment included exceptions for abortion to save the woman"s life or in cases of rape or incest. Committee members voted 19-22 to reject a similar amendment by House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.).The House health reform bill would establish a panel to set a minimum benefits package that health insurers must offer. The bill aims to expand health insurance coverage by mandating that individuals obtain insurance, requiring employers to offer workers coverage or pay a fine, and establishing a health insurance exchange where people could compare and purchase plans. The exchange would include a government-run health insurance option that would compete with private plans (Rubin, CQ Today, 7/17).
Cardiovascular

Women Show More Pronounced Health Benefits From Physical Activity

Many experimental studies have found that physical exercise can improve cholesterol levels and subsequently decrease the risks of cardiovascular disease; however, few of these studies have included enough participant diversity to provide ethnic breakdowns. Now, a long-term study of over 8,700 middle-aged men and women provides race- and gender- specific data on the cholesterol effects of physical activity, with the interesting result that women, particularly African-American women, experience greater benefits as a result of exercise than men. The analysis of this large Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, which appears in the August issue of Journal of Lipid Research, was carried out by Keri Monda and colleagues at North Carolina and Baylor. They found that over a 12 year period, all individuals who increased their exercise by about 180 metabolic units per week (equivalent to an additional hour of mild or 30 minutes of moderate activity per week) displayed decreased levels of triglycerides and increased levels of the "good" HDL cholesterol. However, statistically significant decreases in the "bad" LDL cholesterol were only observed in women, with particularly strong effects in menopausal women and African-American women. And total cholesterol levels were only significantly decreased in African-American women. The authors speculate that these novel differences may arise from hormonal differences between the sexes, especially considering the extra effects seen post-menopause. The racial differences observed may stem from genetic variations that require further exploration. The authors do also note that their exercise data was assessed by questionnaire and this was non-scientific, though the particular methodology used has been extremely reliable in other studies. They also note that all evaluated participants were healthy, so these results cannot be generalized to individuals with diabetes or those on cholesterol-lowering medications. From the article: Longitudinal impact of physical activity on lipid profiles in middle-aged adults: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, by Keri L. Monda, Christie M. Ballantyne and Kari North Nick Zagorski American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology


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