Daily Digest for 2008-10-07
October 6th |
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8:59pm | Daily Digest for 2008-10-06 |
Yesterday |
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5:48am | Brother Introduces New Compact Line of Inkjet All in Ones |
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6:18am | NIH Launches New Web Site for Parents on Medical Research Studies for Children |
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3:15pm |
Reviewed 22 websites on StumbleUpon. (Show Details)
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4:24pm |
Favorited 38 websites on StumbleUpon. (Show Details)
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NIH Launches New Web Site for Parents on Medical Research Studies for Children
From asthma and cancer treatments to vaccines, research in children saves lives and improves their health and well-being. A new Web site from the National Institutes of Health NIH, Children and Clinical Studies (www.ChildrenAndClinicalStudies.nhlbi.nih.gov), offers parents and health care providers an insider’s guide to children’s medical research. The Web site combines information about how clinical studies in youth are conducted with award-winning video of children, parents, and healthcare providers discussing the rewards and challenges of participating in research.
In June, the main 10-minute video earned three Telly awards, including a silver (the highest award) in education. The prestigious Tellys honor outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs; film and video productions; and web ads, videos and films.
“Clinical studies are essential to improving our understanding of how to diagnose, prevent, and treat disease - as well as how to stay healthy - and this is true of children as well as adults,” said Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., director of NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which developed the Web site. “We hope this new resource will help parents and others learn more about how clinical studies are conducted in children, so they can make well-informed decisions about whether to enroll their child in a study.”
The Web site describes why research in children is important, how studies are conducted, and what measures are taken to protect participants’ safety and privacy. NHLBI — which supports pediatric research on asthma, heart disease, sickle cell anemia, obesity, and other conditions — developed the Web site in collaboration with New England Research Institutes and Hands On Productions. Additional support was provided by the NIH Foundation; NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Center for Research Resources; and the National Marfan Foundation.
“Children are not little adults - their bodies and their brains are still developing,” notes Renee R. Jenkins, M.D., president of the American Academy of Pediatrics and professor, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Howard University College of Medicine, who appears in the video. “A good example of their unique research needs is understanding how medications affect the developing child and adolescent, and clinical trials are the best way to do that.”
Research studies can enroll healthy children or children with specific conditions. They can involve simple observations or health tests, such as weight and height, or more complex tests, vaccines, or treatments for a condition.
In one of the Web site videos, a young teen enrolled in a study of treatments for Fabry disease says that being in a research study is “going to be worth it in the long run, because I’m helping myself and future generations and people who have the disease now.” Fabry disease is an inherited condition that can cause severe pain, vision problems, kidney and heart disease, and stroke.
“Children and Clinical Studies” includes a list of questions for parents to consider asking the research team when deciding whether to enroll their child in a study. Other topics include:
* How institutional review boards monitor studies for safety
* Who’s who on the research team
* Important terms to know, such as informed consent and assent
* How a child’s participation in a research study can affect the entire family
* The rights of families enrolled in clinical studies
“It’s perfectly natural for parents to be concerned about the risks and benefits of enrolling their child in a research study,” notes Gail Pearson M.D., Sc.D., an NHLBI pediatric cardiologist who oversees the Pediatric Heart Network. “They should know that there is almost no other time in a child’s life that they will have as many safeguards brought to bear on their well being than when they are in a clinical trial.”
Gathering information is key for parents to feel comfortable, adds one parent, whose daughter is participating in a study on a treatment for Marfan syndrome, a hereditary condition that weakens connective tissue, often leading to dangerous problems in the heart and blood vessels, as well as bones and joints, eyes, and lungs. In the video, she suggests that other parents “get the information [about the study] so you can make an honest decision about what you’re going to be doing. Your child is sick, and this study may help, or it might not. But it may help someone, some day.”
Resources:
* Children and Clinical Studies, www.ChildrenAndClinicalStudies.nhlbi.nih.gov
* Database of clinical studies, http://clinicaltrials.gov/
* NHLBI Pediatric Heart Network, www.pediatricheartnetwork.com/
NCRR provides laboratory scientists and clinical researchers with the resources and training they need to understand, detect, treat and prevent a wide range of diseases. NCRR supports all aspects of translational and clinical research, connecting researchers, patients, and communities across the nation. For more information, visit www.ncrr.nih.gov.
NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the Institute’s Web site at www.nichd.nih.gov.
NHLBI plans, conducts, and supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders. The Institute also administers national health education campaigns on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other topics. NHLBI press releases and other materials are available online at www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health - The Nation’s Medical Research Agency - includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
Brother Introduces New Compact Line of Inkjet All in Ones
Brother’s Easy-to-Use MFC-790 All-in-One Meets Home Office Needs With Fast Printing, Copying, Scanning and Faxing and a TouchScreen for $179.99
Brother International Corporation today introduced its next generation, color inkjet line to provide home office and small office professionals with a robust all-in-one machine. Each model in the line is outfitted with the essential tools for reliable printing, copying, scanning and faxing, and the MFC-790CW includes an easy-to-navigate TouchScreen and wireless networking. With this new all-in-one line, Brother continues its leadership in understanding the needs of today’s home offices and small offices by providing an abundance of features in one small footprint.
Available as of October 2008 and retailing for approximately $179.99#, the MFC-790CW is the line’s flagship model. The user-friendly unit offers a plethora of features important to every office environment, such as:
802.11 bg wireless networking for easy connection to multiple PCs via a wireless or wired connection
4.2 inch TouchScreen for easy menu navigation
Direct photo printing on demand from media slots and PictBridge interface
Photo enhancement and editing features on-screen
Up to 15 page automatic document feeder
User friendly front loading cartridges
Convenient telephone handset
* Separate color ink cartridges for efficient replacement
The MFC-790CW also boasts a sleek and stylish design, with rounded curves, a glossy piano black finish, enhanced control panel design, and blue back-lit lights.
Brother is dedicated to developing technology that is not only innovative but also is easy to operate and user-friendly, explains Brother’s Senior Marketing Manager Marie Le. From its compact design to the most necessary all-in-one features, the MFC-790CW was developed to make home office users lives easier at an affordable price.
The MFC-790CW covers the essential needs for today’s home office and small office, whether the user wants to print brilliant color photos or is on deadline to print and copy business documents. The machine also offers a built-in answering machine and telephone to streamline the office.
Brother’s all-in-one line includes the following models:
MFC-290C ($99.99) up to 30 ppm color and 25 ppm black printing speed, built-in fax function, automatic document feeder, media card slots, PictBridge USB direct interface
MFC-490CW ($129.99) all the features of the MFC-290C, plus up to 33 ppm color and 27 ppm black printing speed, a widescreen 3.3 inch color LCD display, built-in wireless and Ethernet networking and photo bypass tray
MFC-790CW ($179.99) all the features of the MFC-490C, plus a TouchScreen 4.2 inch color LCD display, built-in answering machine and telephone
All models are currently shipping.
Each all in one comes with Brother’s One Year Express Exchange limited warranty. The entire line will be available for purchase at national office superstores as well as other retailers, dealers and online resellers. Estimated street price may vary
About Brother
Brother International Corporation is one of the premier providers of products for the home, home office and office. The U.S. corporate office in Bridgewater, N. J., was established on April 21, 1954 and currently markets many industrial products, home appliances and business products manufactured by its parent company, Brother Industries, Ltd. of Nagoya, Japan. These products include an award-winning line of Multi-Function Center machines and printers. Brother also provides the number-one line of facsimile machines in the U.S. and is the leader in electronic labeling, with its full line of P-touch Electronic Labeling Systems. For more information you can visit the Web site at www.brother.com.