Day: 05/22/2012

Raspberry Pi to add camera later this year.

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The Raspberry Pi, a uniquely priced, no casing computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard., will be given a camera accessory later this year. That may be “oh-so-what” news if this were a mainstream machine but the Raspberry Pi is quite something else. This is a Model-A, Model-B $25 to $35 credit-card sized PC that grew out of The Raspberry Pi project, a UK based foundation. When the computer was made available in March, the device’s first batch sold out in hours after sites distributing the product witnessed unprecedented traffic.

The device is designed as a means of helping young people learn about computers beyond uploading pics and downloading documents. The developers created a computer that includes a 700 MHz processor, 256 MB RAM and the capability of playing games, doing spreadsheets, word processing and playing high definition video. (Model A has been redesigned to have 256 Mb RAM, one USB port and no Ethernet. Model B has 256Mb RAM, two USB ports and an Ethernet port.) Now a camera is on its way.Information so far is that the team has been working with a 14-megapixel camera but because user cost, not panache, is paramount, the camera of final choice may be scaled back.

Price was a key consideration in the early days of coming up with the Raspberry Pi, as the team behind the computer spent much time hunting down components that would achieve for them the best balance between cost and quality. (One question that is sometimes asked is why if the foundation is UK-based does it present its prices in US dollars. The team buys components that are priced in dollars and they negotiate manufacturing in dollars.)

The camera type will also need to keep in line with affordability considering their target user base.“We don’t have a price for the camera module yet; we’ll need to finalize exactly what hardware is in it first, but we will, of course, be ensuring that it’s very affordable,” according to site comments about the camera on its way.

The Raspberry Pi team sees the camera as a further extension of their education aims, for those who may be interested in robotics and building home-automation apps.

While design plans are not finalized, what is known is that the camera will attach to the Raspberry Pi with ribbon cable. According to the site, the module will be released for sale later this year, “hopefully before the end of the summer.”

The team also plans on selling cases by the summer; buyers will be able to choose a unit with or without a case or a case on its own,

Source: Physics.Org

Pasireotide effective in patients with active acromegaly.

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Patients with acromegaly who took pasireotide long-acting release were 63% more likely to obtain biochemical control than those who took ocreotide long-acting release, according to data presented at the 2012 Joint 15th International Congress of Endocrinology and 14th European Congress of Endocrinology Meeting.

Annamaria Colao, MD, researcher and professor of endocrinology, chief of the neuroendocrine unit in the Department of Molecular and Clinical Endocrinology and Oncology, Federico II University of Naples, and colleagues conducted a randomized, double-blind, phase 3 study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of pasireotide (SOM230, Novartis) LAR compared to octreotide (Sandostatin, Novartis) LAR (octreotide/IM injection) in patients with acromegaly.

The 12-month study included 358 patients with active acromegaly – a rare endocrine disorder marked by the enlargement of the hands, feet, internal organs and facial structure. Those patients were assigned to two types of treatment categories: intramuscular injections of pasireotide LAR 40 mg (n=176) or octreotide LAR 20 mg (n=182) every 28 days for 12 months.

“While Sandostatin LAR is an effective treatment, inadequate control of GH and IGF-1 remains an issue for many patients with acromegaly and new therapeutic approaches are needed for these patients to better control their disease,” Colao said. “We are very encouraged by the findings of this study, the largest ever in this population, which found that pasireotide LAR provided full control in nearly a third of study participants.”

The study was completed by 80.1% (141/176) of patients taking pasireotide LAR and 85.7% (156/182) of patients taking octreotide LAR, with dose increases in 50.6% patients on pasireotide LAR and 67.6% on octreotide LAR.

Researchers said the primary endpoint was met when more patients treated with pasireotide LAR (31.3%) accomplished full control of acromegaly, compared with those taking octreotide LAR (19.2%; P=0.007).

By month 3, mean GH and IGF-1 decreased and remained surpressed. In addition to these findings, researchers found both treatments were beneficial in reducing GH levels and tumor volume, as well as improving quality of life and signs or symptoms associated with acromegaly.

Despite a higher prevalence of hyperglycemia, researchers concluded that the safety of pasireotide LAR was similar to that of octreotide LAR.

Patients who did not acquire full control during the 12-month study could switch to the other treatment in a 6-month extension study. After the extension, 21% of the 81 patients who switched to pasireotide LAR gained full control of the disease, whereas just 2.6% of 38 patients who switched to octreotide LAR achieved the same results.

Source: Endocrine today.

 

 

 

 

Regulating testosterone in elderly men yielded weight loss, improved BP.

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By raising serum testosterone to normal levels, progressive weight loss, waist circumference and improved metabolic profile were evident among patients in a cumulative prospective study, according to data presented at the 19th European Congress on Obesity Meeting in Lyon, France.

“Raising serum testosterone to normal reduced body weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure, and improved metabolic profiles. These improvements were progressive over the full 5 years of the study,” the researchers said.

With an understanding that obesity is associated with reduced testosterone, and low testosterone induces weight gain, Farid Saad, MD, of Medical Affairs Men’s Health Care at Bayer Pharma AG in Berlin, and colleagues analyzed the effects of normalizing serum testosterone in mainly elderly (aged 38 to 83 years) hypogonadal men (n=251).

For at least 2 years, 214 men were studied, and 115 were studied for at least 5 years, with a mean age of 61 years.

The patients’ baseline testosterone levels were 0.14 ng/mL to 3.5 ng/mL (with a cutoff for testosterone treatment of ≤3.5 ng/mL), and they were assigned parenteral testosterone undecanoate 1,000 mg during the course of the study. Injections were given at baseline, after 6 weeks and every 12 weeks thereafter.

Of the 115 men studied for 5 years, 16 kg was the average weight loss, and mean weight of the group decreased from 106 kg to 90 kg. Additionally, men lost an average of 3.5 inches of their waist circumference (42 inches to 38.5 inches), and the average BMI decreased from 34 to 29, dramatically decreasing the average BMI of the patients from obese (>30) to overweight (25-30).

The results of the study improved the overall metabolic profile, with LDL cholesterol lowered from 163 mg/dL to 109 mg/dL, triglycerides from 276 mg/dL to 189 mg/dL, and average blood glucose measurements from 103 mg/dL to 94 mg/dL. Systolic BP decreased from 153 mm Hg to 137 mm Hg and diastolic BP from 93 mm Hg to 79 mm Hg.

An increase in energy and motivation were also apparent among patients participating in the study.

Source: Endocrine today.

 

Gut microbiota, low protein diet increased risk for childhood obesity.

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Low concentrations of Bacteroides fragilis, when grouped with a low protein diet in childhood, may increase the risk for obesity, according to data presented at the 19th European Congress on Obesity Meeting in Lyon, France.

Liene Bervoets, a PhD student and researcher in the department of medicine at the University of Hasselt in Belgium, and colleagues developed a cross-sectional study that included 26 obese and 27 non-obese children aged 6 to 16 years.

The aim was to determine whether the composition of the gut microbe B. fragilis was related to diet, physical activity and obesity in children.

“Our results suggest that low concentrations of B. fragilis group bacteria, together with a low protein intake during childhood, could lead to the development of obesity. Therapeutic manipulation of our gut microbiota, through changing dietary habits or administering prebiotics or probiotics at an early life stage, may be a useful strategy in the prevention of obesity,” the researchers said.

Fecal samples were analyzed to establish gut microbiota composition by quantitative plating and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and all children finished a dietary and physical activity survey.

Results from both quantitative techniques demonstrated a negative link between BMI standard deviation score (SDS) and concentration of B. fragilis (beta=–0.41 and –0.82; P=.033 and P=.013, respectively). However, another analysis (MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry) displayed a positive link between BMI SDS and B. fragilis colonization (beta=0.02; P=.049).

Data confirmed that a higher intake of proteins (g/kg body weight) was associated with a higher colonization of B. fragilis (beta=0.5; P=.043) and a lower existence of B. fragilis (beta=–12.01; P=.032) in the gut, researchers said.

Future studies will assess the existing guidelines on protein consumption based on these findings, Bervoets concluded.

Source: Endocrine today.

 

 

Age, caloric intake associated with dropout in weight-loss program.

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Patients aged at least 60 years and those on very low calorie diets were more likely to remain enrolled in a weight-loss program compared with those aged younger than 40 years with low BMI, depression and psychosis, according to data presented at the 19th European Congress on Obesity Meeting in Lyon, France.

Observational data on weight loss and dropout from the Itrim weight-loss program — a program used in multiple health centers throughout Sweden — were linked to national health registries.

Erik Hemmingsson, PhD, researcher in the department of medicine at Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues studied 8,361 consecutively enrolled patients on a 1-year weight-loss program.

Weight loss was induced by 6 to 10 weeks on a very low calorie diet (VLCD; n=3,773; BMI 34 ± 5 kg/m²; 80% women; aged 45 ± 12 years) or meal replacements (n=4,588; BMI 30 ± 4 kg/m²; 86% women; aged 50 ± 11 years), followed by a diet and exercise support program.

“Most people think that slow weight loss is preferable to rapid, but it is actually the other way around: Rapid initial weight loss is associated with a larger long-term net weight loss. Make no mistake, however, it takes a lot of hard work to keep the weight off long-term,” Hemmingsson said.

At baseline, 18% of patients were treated for hypertension, 12% for depression, 8% for cardiovascular disease, 7% for dyslipidemia, 3% for diabetes, 2% for cancer and 1% for psychosis, the researchers said.

After a brief analysis, VLCD patients’ weight change was –13.9 kg with 18% dropout, whereas weight change for those who completed meal replacements was –8.8 kg with 23% dropout, they said.

Additional analyses concluded that patients aged 40 years and younger were 4.4 times more likely to drop out than older patients (aged 60 years or older). Patients aged 50 to 59 years were 13% more likely to drop out compared with those aged older than 60 years, and patients aged 40 to 49 years were 2.5 times more likely to dropout compared with those aged older than 60 years, Hemmingsson and colleagues said.

Source: Endocrine today.