It is often believed that mega-events like the Olympics are good for a city or country. Many of the benefits are implied but they still get a monetary value attached when selling it to the public; 'leadership','world-stage', etc. The hangover that occurs economically afterward often leaves host countries wondering who did the math.

But if you are a small charity relying on corporate donations, it may be a good idea to get behind all of those taxpayers underwriting big occasions. Even smaller events like political conventions, and certainly the Super Bowl, deliver a morale-boost in the form of hometown pride and that translates into corporate largess, says a new paper that refutes beliefs that corporate philanthropy remains stable even during high-profile activities.

Nearly 10,000 participants are in Istanbul at  the congress of the ERA-EDTA (European Renal Association - European Dialysis and Transplant Association) to share their knowledge and discuss the latest research findings. New pioneering studies have been presented: 

- Gupta, A et al. "SOLUBLE FERRIC PYROPHOSPHATE (SFP) ADMINISTERED VIA HEMODIALYSATE REDUCES ESA USE" 

By SFP-iron administration, the ESA dose could be reduced by 35% while maintaining stable Hb levels. There were no SFP-related adverse effects and no cases of iron overload.

 - Van Eps, C. "THE EFFECTS OF TOPICAL ANTIBACTERIAL HONEY ON CATHETER-RELATED INFECTIONS IN PERITONEAL DIALYSISPATIENTS " 

Extended use of the common antibiotic azithromycin may prolong the time between hospitalizations for patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a post-hoc analysis of a multicenter study which compared the hospitalization rates of patients treated with a 12-month course of azithromycin to the rates of those treated with placebo. 

Yesterday, a monster tornado almost 2-miles wide tore through Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City, wiping out entire blocks and killing 24 people. 

The National Weather Service upgraded its calculation of the storm's strength today, declaring it was a rare EF5, the most powerful ranking on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, and had winds exceeding 200 miles per hour and left a trail of destruction measuring about 17 miles long. Debris from the tornado fell as far as 100 miles away, reaching the city of Tulsa.

Proteins may be more of a factor in shaping regulatory patterns than environment, according to a new study that looks at how cells' protein networks relate to a bacteria's genome.

The lab of computer scientist Luay Nakhleh ar Rice University reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that when environmental factors are eliminated from an evolutionary model, mutations and genetic drift can give rise to the patterns that appear. They studied changes that show up in regulatory networks that determine the organism's characteristics.

A novel approach to obstructing the runaway inflammatory response implicated in some types of asthma has shown promise in a Phase IIa clinical trial, according to researchers.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial tested the efficacy and safety of the monoclonal antibody, dupilumab, in patients with "persistent, moderate-to-severe asthma" and elevated eosinophils, which are immune cells that mobilize in response to allergens and infections and are commonly seen in asthma.

Dupilumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody discovered by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and being developed by Regeneron and Sanofi, thwarts activation of the Th2 immune response implicated in asthma by blocking two cytokines, interleukin-4 and interleukin-13.