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Hearing implant helps Sanford employee after years of issues

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At the audiology office inside Sanford Health’s Detroit Lakes Clinic, Melissa Duke is about to try out her new sound processor for the very first time. Duke has had hearing issues for most of her life.

A history of hearing issues

“It goes way back to when I was about three or four,” said Duke. My parents started noticing that I’d say ‘What?’ or just not respond a lot more than my older siblings.”

She first had tubes put in her ears as a child to help drain the constant infections. In middle school, surgery was required, and the scar tissue eventually caused some hearing loss. Still, Duke managed to live with it as best she could. She works at Sanford Bemidji, and the pandemic made her hearing problems more difficult to ignore.

“It really got to me, because that was around when COVID hit and I was doing reception. So the masks came, Plexiglas came, and I was really good at hiding the fact that I couldn’t hear. When that started happening, it really affected me. I’d actually have to get up and leave because, you know, I couldn’t hear them,” said Duke. “I’d have to have them repeat themselves and it would frustrate the patient. I would get frustrated and just kind of down. That was really hard.”

Audible options

After years of hearing loss and pain from ear infections, Duke went to Fargo and neurotologist, Dr. Michael Shinners, who would eventually perform two surgeries.

“There’s a certain type of surgery, a type of mastoidectomy, where we remove some of the bone behind your ear where you actually need to make the opening to the ear bigger so that you can clean their ear long term,” said Dr. Shinners. “The negative of that is it can make it hard to wear a hearing aid because the opening is bigger and it just doesn’t fit well, or the sound escapes and it just doesn’t work well.”

That’s what happened with Duke. Her ear infections went away, but when hearing aids didn’t work for her, Dr. Shinners provided one more option: a bone conduction implant.

“She has relatively decent hearing for her inner ear and that’s why we’re still able to use it via bone conduction,” said Dr. Shinners.

At the audiology offices, Duke tested her device. The implant is attached to her skull, under the skin. Outside of her skin, a sound receiver connects via magnet to the implant.

“The processor that we program today sits on the outside of the head, but what Dr. Shinners had put in and what that’s communicating to is the implant part that’s underneath that,” said Mary Richter, doctor of audiology at Sanford Detroit Lakes. “What that actually does is vibrates the implant portion, and that’s what gets that sound down into her inner ear.”

This receiver not only helps Duke hear better, but amazingly, it can be used with Bluetooth devices as well, allowing her to connect it to her phone or other devices. On her first day, she noticed some other advantages over her hearing aid too.

“The sound is much better than I thought it would be,” said Duke. “And I’m not really getting much outside. I’m not getting little things like paper crinkling. That was a big thing. When I wear my hearing aid, you can hear that paper crinkle or anything little, and it would kind of bother me, but I’m not hearing that.”

The future sounds great

Day one with her new hearing system has been a success, but Duke has plenty more to look forward to. She’s an avid concert-goer who says she can’t wait to hear what live music sounds like. She’s excited to take phone calls directly into her device too.

But most importantly, she can’t wait to feel more comfortable in her surroundings.

“I hid it for a long time and a lot of people didn’t know I was hard of hearing. Only when certain situations came up, I would let people know,” said Duke.

“I don’t have to really worry about that anymore. I’m not gonna be missing anything. In conversation sometimes I only heard bits and pieces and I’d have to try and put it together because I didn’t hear a word. So I’m hoping I won’t have that. And I don’t think I will. ‘Cause I’ve heard every single word.”

Learn more

…

Posted In
Bemidji, Brain & Spine, Detroit Lakes, Ear, Nose & Throat, Fargo

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Lauren Weber joins The Post as an accountability reporter focused on disinformation

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Announcement from National Editor Matea Gold, Deputy National Editor Philip Rucker and Health and Science Editor Stephen Smith:

We are delighted to announce that Lauren Weber, an accomplished health journalist, is joining the Health and Science team as an accountability reporter focused on disinformation.

Lauren will examine the forces promoting scientific and medical disinformation on subjects such as vaccines, drugs, nutritional supplements and health-care treatments, and will chronicle how academia, the health-care industry and government agencies fail to hold responsible those who profit from false claims. This is a newly created position that is part of The Post’s expanded commitment to health and science reporting.

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minister, Health News, ET HealthWorld

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Athens: Greece will restore thousands of health staff who refused to be vaccinated against Covid-19, the health minister said Tuesday, following a court ruling.

Like several other European countries, Greece brought in rules during the worst of the pandemic requiring staff at hospitals, doctors’ offices and care homes to be fully vaccinated.

The move enforced a year ago led to some 6,500 unvaccinated staff being sidelined, and was strongly opposed by the main union of hospital workers.

Greece’s top administrative court, the Council of State, called for the measure to be repealed last week, following a complaint brought by the union.

“The ruling will be implemented, though I tell you I think it is a dangerous decision for public health,” Health Minister Thanos Plevris told Mega TV.

Plevris said the move would likely be repealed from January 1, if not sooner.

The Kathimerini daily last month reported that over 2,000 health staff are still unvaccinated, including some 170 doctors.

Over 5.3 million Covid infections have been recorded in Greece since the start of the pandemic, according to the health ministry, with over 34,000 deaths attributed to the virus.

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Rural Colorado Tries to Fill Health Worker Gaps With Apprenticeships

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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — During her 12-hour overnight shift, Brianna Shelton helps residents at BeeHive Homes Assisted Living go to the bathroom. Many of them have dementia, and some can’t get out of bed on their own. Only a few can remember her name, but that doesn’t matter to her.

“They’re somebody’s mom, somebody’s grandma, somebody’s great-grandmother,” Shelton said. “I want to take care of them like I would take care of my family.”

Shelton trained to be a personal care aide through an apprenticeship program designed to meet the increasing need for health care workers in rural western Colorado. Here, far from Denver’s bustling urban corridor, worker shortages mount as baby boomers retire, young people move away from these older communities, and demand for health care in homes and facilities rises.

Rural areas often have larger shares of residents who are 65 or older than urban areas do. And the most rural regions have relatively fewer direct care workers, like personal care aides, to help people with disabilities than less-rural regions do, according to a recent study in the journal Health Affairs.

Besides increasing the number of direct care workers, the Colorado apprenticeship program offers opportunities for improving earning power to residents who live at or below the poverty line, who lost their jobs during the covid-19 pandemic, or who are unemployed or underemployed. They train to become personal care aides, who help patients with daily tasks such as bathing or housekeeping, or certified nursing assistants, who can provide some direct health care, like checking blood pressure.

Apprentices take training classes at Western Colorado Area Health Education Center in Grand Junction, and the center pays for students who live in more rural areas to attend classes at Technical College of the Rockies in Delta County. The apprentices receive on-the-job training with one of 58 local employers — an assisted living facility, for example — and they are required to work there for one year. Each apprentice has an employer mentor. Staff members at Western Colorado AHEC also provide mentorship, plus the center has a life coach on hand.

“We really just want students to get into health care, get jobs, and retain those jobs,” said Georgia Hoaglund, executive director of Western Colorado AHEC, which has 210 active apprentices and was bolstered by a $2 million grant from the U.S. Labor Department in 2021.

Some apprentices are recent high school graduates. Others are single mothers or veterans. They often have educational or economic barriers to employment. Hoaglund and her staff of 10 buy the apprentices scrubs so they can start new jobs with the right uniforms; otherwise, they might not be able to afford them. Staff members pay for apprentices’ gas if they can’t afford to fill up their tanks to drive to work. They talk to apprentices on the phone monthly, sometimes weekly.

Even though the apprenticeship program gives these workers a solid start, the jobs can be stressful, and burnout and low pay are the norm. Career advancement is another obstacle, said Hoaglund, because of the logistics or cost of higher education. Hoaglund, who calls her staff family and some of the apprentices her kids, dreams of offering more advanced training — in nursing, for example — with scholarship money.

Apprenticeships are perhaps better known as a workforce training tool among electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and other tradespeople. But they are also viewed as a way of building a needed pipeline of direct care health workers, said Robyn Stone, senior vice president for research at LeadingAge, an association of nonprofit providers of aging services.

“Traditionally, health care employers have hired people after they finish a training program,” said Susan Chapman, a registered nurse and a professor in the school of nursing at the University of California-San Francisco. “Now, we’re asking the employer to take part in that training and pay the person while they’re training.”

The pandemic exacerbated shortages of direct care workers, which could encourage employers to invest in apprenticeships programs, both Chapman and Stone said. Federal investment could help, too, and a Biden administration initiative to improve the quality of nursing homes includes $35 million in grants to address workforce shortages in rural areas.

Brandon Henry was a student working at a pet store in Grand Junction, Colorado, before he joined the Western Colorado Area Health Education Center’s apprenticeship program to become a certified nursing assistant. He expects to graduate from Colorado Mesa University and become a registered nurse. (Kate Ruder for KHN)

Shelton had never worked in health care before moving to Fruita, a small town that is about 12 miles northwest of Grand Junction and is surrounded by red sandstone towers. She left Fresno, California, a year ago to take care of an uncle who has multiple sclerosis. She and her 16-year-old daughter live in a trailer home on her uncle’s property, where Blackie, her rescue Labrador retriever, roams with the chickens and cats.

Blackie also sometimes accompanies Shelton to BeeHive to visit with the residents. Shelton said that it is more than a job to her and that she is grateful to the apprenticeship program for helping her get there. “It opened a door for me,” Shelton said.

Shelton works three 12-hour shifts a week, in addition to taking care of her uncle and daughter. Yet, she said, she struggles to have enough money for gas, bills, and food and has taken out small loans to make ends meet.

She is not alone. Personal care aides are often underpaid and undervalued, said Chapman, who has found significantly higher poverty rates among these workers than among the general population.

Direct care workers nationwide, on average, make $13.56 an hour, according to a study by nonprofit policy group PHI, and these low wages make recruiting and retaining workers difficult, leading to further shortages and instability.

In an effort to keep workers in the state, Colorado raised the minimum wage for personal care aides and certified nursing assistants to $15 an hour this year with money from the American Rescue Plan Act. And the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing’s 2023-24 budget request includes a bump to $15.75. Similar efforts to raise wages are underway in 18 other states, including New York, Florida, and Texas, according to a recent paper from the National Governors Association.

Another way to keep apprentices in jobs, and encourage career and salary growth, is to provide opportunities for specialized training in dementia care, medication management, or behavioral health. “What apprenticeships offer are career mobility and advancement,” Stone said.

To practice in Colorado, new certified nursing assistants complete in-class training, do clinical rotations, and pass a certification exam made up of a written test and a skills test. Hoaglund said the testing requirements can be stressful for students. Shelton, 43, has passed the written exam but must retake the skills test to become licensed as a certified nursing assistant.

Hoaglund’s program started in 2019, but it really took off with the 2021 federal grant. Since then, 16 people have completed the program and have received pay increases or promotions. Twice as many people have left without finishing. The largest hospital in Grand Junction, Intermountain Healthcare-St. Mary’s Medical Center, recruits workers from the program.

Hoaglund said each person who enters the health care field is a win.

Brandon Henry, 23, was a student at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction and working at PetSmart before he joined the apprenticeship program in 2019. After enrolling, he trained and worked as a certified nursing assistant through the worst of the pandemic. As an apprentice, he said, he learned the importance of having grace while caring for patients.

He went back for more training at Western Colorado AHEC to earn a license that allows him to dispense medicine in accredited facilities, such as assisted living centers. He now works at Intermountain Healthcare-St. Mary’s Medical Center, where he took training classes in wound care and physical therapy hosted at the hospital. This winter, he’ll graduate from Colorado Mesa with a Bachelor of Science in nursing.

“At the hospital, I’ve found more opportunities for pay raises and job growth,” Henry said.

Kate Ruder:

@KateRuderWriter

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Flavonoid-Rich Foods Improve Heart Health Later In Life, Study Shows

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Share on PinterestA new study shows that a diet high in flavonoid-rich foods may reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in older women. Juan Moyano/Stocksy

  • Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) causes calcium deposits in the abdominal aorta, a large artery that supplies blood from the heart to the abdominal organs and lower body.
  • People with AAC have an increased risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke.
  • A new study shows that a diet high in flavonoid foods like black tea, apples, and cruciferous vegetables may prevent AAC and protect heart health, particularly among women.
  • The findings indicate that older women who consumed more flavonoid foods were 36% less likely to have AAC compared to those who consumed fewer flavonoids.
  • More research is needed to determine whether flavonoid-rich foods could prevent calcification in other arteries.

Could a cup of tea or an apple a day really keep the doctor away? Maybe not — but new research suggests that a diet high in flavonoids such as tea, fruits, and cruciferous vegetables may lower your risk of heart disease.

A recent study from researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Australia found that older women who consumed high levels of flavonoids from plant-based food sources were less likely to have extensive abdominal aortic calcification (AAC).

AAC happens when calcium deposits build up in your abdominal aorta, a large artery that supplies blood from your heart to your abdominal organs and lower body.

People with AAC have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, such as heart attack and stroke. They’re also more likely to develop late-life dementia.

“This is just one of many, many studies that have shown a reduction in cardiovascular risk with eating more of a plant-based diet that’s rich in flavanoids,” Janice Friswold, RD, LD, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator at University Hospitals in Cleveland, OH, who was not involved in the new study, told Healthline.

“Some studies on flavonoids have also shown other benefits, such as reduction of cancer risk or cognitive decline, so there’s nothing but good stuff to say about these things.”

The ECU study was recently published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, which is a journal of the American Heart Association.

Flavonoids are a type of plant compound found in fruits, vegetables, spices, tea, and other plant-based foods. They’re antioxidants that help protect cells from damage caused by oxidative stress.

Scientists have identified more than 6,000 types of flavonoids, which are classified into 12 main groups.

Six of these groups are found in common foods:

“Eating a diet high in flavonoid-rich foods is really important,” Friswold said.

“I generally don’t recommend that people take [flavonoid] supplements because we know there’s over 6,000 different phytochemicals in the flavonoid group, and we’ve isolated a few of them, but who knows which is the magic combination.”

Instead, health and nutrition experts like Friswold encourage people to “eat the rainbow” by consuming a variety of fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods of different colors.

Edith Cowan researchers evaluated the eating habits of 881 older white women enrolled in the Perth Longitudinal Study of Ageing Women (PLSAW) to learn how flavonoid consumption could affect cardiovascular health.

These women were generally healthy and had no prior history of cardiovascular disease.

The researchers asked participants to complete food-frequency questionnaires to report how often they consumed certain foods and beverages during the past year.

The researchers also collected information about participants’ body mass index (BMI), smoking history, physical activity, and whether they had received a diagnosis or were taking medication for certain health conditions, such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure (hypertension), or high cholesterol.

After controlling for these factors, the researchers found that older women with higher total flavonoid intake were 36% less likely to have extensive AAC than those with lower flavonoid intake.

Black tea was the main source of flavonoids in participants’ diets. Women who drank 2–6 cups of black tea per day were 16–42% less likely to have extensive AAC than those who drank none.

Among participants who didn’t drink black tea, flavonoid intake from other dietary sources was still linked to a lower risk of AAC.

Although the findings suggest that a flavonoid-rich diet has health benefits, the study does have limitations.

For instance, the researchers evaluated a relatively healthy and racially homogeneous group of women and only asked about them their eating habits over the past year rather than their lifetime.

It can be challenging for many people to accurately recall their eating habits, especially over longer periods.

“What we don’t know is whether participants have been following the same diet for years or if they used to be on a different diet and have recently become healthier,” Dr. Johanna Contreras, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, NY, told Healthline.

“My question is — if I change my diet to eat healthy starting tomorrow, will I get this benefit? Or is this a benefit that participants had because they’ve been eating like that for a long time?”

The study also focused solely on AAC rather than evaluating calcification in other arteries.

“Just because a person has aortic calcification doesn’t mean they have calcification in their main coronary arteries,” Friswold said.

“So nowadays, we’re doing a CT calcium score, which looks at the three main arteries to see if there’s calcification there.”

Plant-based flavonoid foods are rich in healthful nutrients like antioxidants and fiber and may also help fight inflammation.

The new study from ECU is only one of many studies highlighting the potential benefits of eating a diet containing plenty of flavonoid-rich, plant-based foods.

For example, the authors of a 2013 study followed 93,600 healthy women from the Nurses Health Study II over 18 years and found that those with a high intake of anthocyanins had a lower risk of heart attack.

The authors specifically highlighted the apparent benefits of blueberries and strawberries, which are rich in anthocyanin.

And recently, in another new study published in Neurology, researchers linked antioxidant flavanol intake to slower memory decline.

Participants with the highest flavanol intake consumed an average of 15 milligrams daily, roughly equivalent to one cup of dark leafy greens.

The American Heart Association (AHA) encourages people to eat a wide variety of plant-based foods, including:

  • 2.5 servings of vegetables per day
  • 2 servings of fruit per day
  • 6 servings of grains per day, with whole grains preferred over refined grains

Friswold said it can be helpful to place less emphasis on which type of protein you’re going to consume at each meal and focus instead on what you’re going to have for fruits and vegetables.

The AHA also encourages people to practice other healthy eating habits by choosing lean protein sources and limiting consumption of saturated fat, trans fats, and added sugars.

Getting enough sleep, avoiding smoking, and exercising regularly are also important for lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease and many other chronic conditions.

“I always tell patients that if you know you have risk factors for coronary artery disease or you have calcified plaques in the arteries, improve your diet and keep moving,” Contreras said.

“Good diet and exercise are very important.”

New research builds on a large body of evidence in support of the many health benefits of flavonoids.

The ECU study found an association between the consumption of flavonoid-rich foods like black tea and apples and improved heart health among older women.

Still, the study focused mainly on abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), which means more research on how flavonoids could reduce calcification in other arteries is still needed.

If you’re interested in adding more heart-healthy foods to your diet, you may wish to consult with your healthcare team for additional guidance.

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Health News Roundup: WHO to use ‘mpox’ for monkeypox to tackle stigma; Eisai shares plunge 10% in Tokyo after report of death in Alzheimer’s trial and more

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Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

WHO to use ‘mpox’ for monkeypox to tackle stigma

The World Health Organization said on Monday it would start using a new preferred term, “mpox”, as a synonym for monkeypox and urged others to follow suit after receiving complaints that the current name for the disease was racist and stigmatizing. “Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while ‘monkeypox’ is phased out,” the WHO said in a statement.

Eisai shares plunge 10% in Tokyo after report of death in Alzheimer’s trial

Shares in Japanese drugmaker Eisai Co headed for their biggest plunge in more than a year on Tuesday after a report that a woman in a trial of the company’s Alzheimer’s disease treatment died. A woman receiving lecanemab, an experimental drug developed by Eisai and its U.S. partner Biogen Inc, recently died from a brain hemorrhage, research paper publisher Science.org reported on Sunday.

China records drop in new daily COVID cases for Nov. 28

China reported a decline in new COVID-19 infections for Nov. 28, posting of 38,645 cases, of which 3,624 were symptomatic and 35,021 asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday. On Monday, China posted a record daily high of 40,347 cases – 3,822 symptomatic and 36,525 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately.

Diphtheria infections rise in Britain, says UK health agency, citing migrant cases

The number of diphtheria cases in England has risen this year, health officials said on Monday, citing dozens of cases found among asylum seekers arriving into the country, but adding that the risk of infection to the wider public remained very low. Data released by the Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said there were around 50 cases among asylum seekers who arrived in England between Jan. 1 and Nov. 25, compared with an average of 2 to 11 cases in the country per year over the last decade.

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei says COVID protests will not shake government

From his Portuguese home, Ai Weiwei, the high-profile Chinese dissident whose art has often criticized Beijing’s policies, said the recent wave of protests would not shake Xi Jinping’s government because the police would simply crush them into silence. Protesters have taken to the streets of Shanghai, Beijing and other cities in recent days to demonstrate against COVID-19 measures and restrictions on freedom, a show of civil disobedience that is unprecedented since leader Xi assumed power.

UK’s C4X Discovery signs $400 million licensing deal with AstraZeneca

British drug discovery company C4X Discovery said AstraZeneca had signed a licence worth up $402 million to develop an oral therapy for the treatment of inflammatory and respiratory diseases using its NRF2 Activator program. C4XD said on Monday it would receive pre-clinical milestone payments worth up to $16 million ahead of the first clinical trial, including $2 million upfront.

China protests highlight Xi’s COVID policy dilemma – to walk it back or not

The rare street protests that erupted in cities across China over the weekend were a referendum against President Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policy and the strongest public defiance during his political career, China analysts said. Not since the protests of Tiananmen Square in 1989 have so many Chinese risked arrest and other repercussions to take to the streets over a single issue.

China police out in numbers to prevent more COVID protests

Chinese police were out in force in Beijing and Shanghai on Tuesday to prevent more protests against COVID curbs which have disrupted the lives of millions, damaged the economy and briefly sparked rare calls for President Xi Jinping to step down. At least one person in the city of Hangzhou was arrested late on Monday, according to social media videos, after reports a busload of demonstrators were taken away by police during Sunday night protests in Shanghai.

Shanghai Disneyland to remain temporarily closed starting Nov. 29

The Shanghai Disney Resort said on Monday it will be temporarily closed starting Tuesday, Nov. 29 to comply with COVID-19 prevention measures. The resort said it will provide refund or exchanges for all guests impacted during this period.

UnitedHealth expects 2023 profit below estimates

UnitedHealth Group Inc on Monday forecasted full-year 2023 profit below Wall Street estimates, sending shares down about 1% in extended trading. UnitedHealth, an industry bellwether, had said in October the direct impact of COVID-19 – which has led to fluctuations in health insurers’ medical costs – is expected to ease next year, while recovery in non-urgent procedures could slow due to inflation and labor shortages.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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U.S. House to intervene in rail workers strike, heeding Biden’s call

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WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday said the House will take up legislation to ratify an agreement between rail workers and operators in order to avert a nationwide rail strike.

“This week, the House will take up a bill adopting the Tentative Agreement — with no poison pills or changes to the negotiated terms — and send it to the Senate,” the California Democrat said in a statement. “It is my hope that this necessary, strike-averting legislation will earn a strongly bipartisan vote, giving America’s families confidence in our commitment to protecting their financial futures.”

The announcement follows President Joe Biden’s call on Monday directing Congress to adopt the agreement reached in September, which was based on recommendations from an emergency board that Biden established in July. 

That agreement would give workers a 24% raise over five years, from 2020 to 2024; one additional personal day; and some protection from the rail carriers’ punitive attendance policies so that workers can take time off for medical needs without fear of discipline.

But paid sick leave was not on the table and the board recommended to the unions that they withdraw their proposal to have 15 paid sick days. The way rail unions work is that all 12 unions — representing 115,000 freight rail workers — need to agree on a contract, and if one doesn’t agree, workers represented by the others don’t cross the picket line.   

Eight of the 12 voted to adopt and ratify the union’s tentative agreement, so the unions went into a cooling-off period that was set to end Dec. 9, meaning the unions then could strike.

The unions that did not ratify the September deal are the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division-International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen and International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, which represent about more than half of rail workers. 

“The most common sticking point for BMWED, BRS and IBB Members has been the lack of quality-of-life improvements, namely the lack of paid sick leave,” according to BMWED’s website. “BMWED, BRS and IBB have made paid sick leave proposals to the railroads, but the railroads have made it clear that they will neither engage in any meaningful discussions nor accept any sort of proposal regarding such.”

Biden said that he is concerned about no paid sick leave for rail workers and that he has pressed for legislation to enact it.

“Every other developed country in the world has such protections for its workers,” Biden said in a statement. “But at this critical moment for our economy, in the holiday season, we cannot let our strongly held conviction for better outcomes for workers deny workers the benefits of the bargain they reached, and hurl this nation into a devastating rail freight shutdown.”

These negotiations over employee pay, ability to take time off for medical appointments and paid sick leave have been going on since 2019, between labor unions representing railway employees and the National Carriers’ Conference Committee, which represents the railway carriers.

Congress has the ability to intervene, due to the Railway Labor Act, which governs disputes between railway carriers and labor unions. 

“We are reluctant to bypass the standard ratification process for the Tentative Agreement — but we must act to prevent a catastrophic nationwide rail strike, which would grind our economy to a halt,” Pelosi said.

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Higher vitamin K intake linked to lower bone fracture risk late in life — ScienceDaily

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Breaking bones can be life-changing events — especially as we age, when hip fractures can become particularly damaging and result in disability, compromised independence and a higher mortality risk.

But research from Edith Cowan University’s Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute has revealed there may be something you can do to help reduce your risk of fractures later in life.

In collaboration with the University of Western Australia, the study looked at the relationship between fracture-related hospitalisations and vitamin K1 intake in almost 1400 older Australian women over a 14.5-year period from the Perth Longitudinal Study of Aging Women.

It found women who ate more than 100 micrograms of vitamin K1 consumption — equivalent to about 125g of dark leafy vegetables, or one-to-two serves of vegetables — were 31 per cent less likely to have any fracture compared to participants who consumed less than 60 micrograms per day, which is the current vitamin K adequate intake guideline in Australia for women.

There were even more positive results regarding hip fractures, with those who ate the most vitamin K1 cutting their risk of hospitalisation almost in half (49 per cent).

Study lead Dr Marc Sim said the results were further evidence of the benefits of vitamin K1, which has also been shown to enhance cardiovascular health.

“Our results are independent of many established factors for fracture rates, including body mass index, calcium intake, Vitamin D status and prevalent disease,” he said.

“Basic studies of vitamin K1 have identified a critical role in the carboxylation of the vitamin K1-dependant bone proteins such as osteocalcin, which is believed to improve bone toughness.

“A previous ECU trial indicates dietary vitamin K1 intakes of less than 100 micrograms per day may be too low for this carboxylation.

“Vitamin K1 may also promote bone health by inhibiting various bone resorbing agents.”

So, what should we eat — and how much?

Dr Sim said eating more than 100 micrograms of vitamin K1 daily was ideal — and, happily, it isn’t too difficult to do.

“Consuming this much daily vitamin K1 can easily be achieved by consuming between 75-150g, equivalent to one to two serves, of vegetables such as spinach, kale, broccoli and cabbage,” he said.

“It’s another reason to follow public health guidelines, which advocate higher vegetable intake including one to two serves of green leafy vegetables — which is in-line with our study’s recommendations.”

Vitamin K1-rich foods

Vegetables: Kale, spinach, broccoli, green beans

Fruits: Prunes, kiwi, avocado

Story Source:

Materials provided by Edith Cowan University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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Crypto Market Daily Highlights – BNB Led a NASDAQ Fueled Pullback

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Key Insights:

  • It was a bearish Monday session for the crypto top ten. Binance coin (BNB) led the way down for a second consecutive session.
  • Risk aversion stemming from China protests sent the crypto market into the red, with news of BlockFi filing for bankruptcy adding to the negative sentiment.
  • The crypto market cap fell by $13.6 billion to end the day at $776.2 billion.

It was a bearish Monday session for the crypto top ten. BNB led the way down for a second day. Despite the bearish sentiment, BTC avoided sub-$16,000 for a sixth consecutive session.

Trading volumes rose on Monday as investors returned from the US Thanksgiving holidays. However, there was no post holiday cheer to support the crypto market, with news of protests across China weighing on investor appetite.

The NASDAQ Composite Index ended the day with a 1.58% loss.

News of BlockFi filing for bankruptcy added to the bearish mood. While attributing the bankruptcy filing to the demise of FTX, BlockFi stated,

“BlockFi has $256.9 million in cash on hand, which is expected to provide sufficient liquidity to support certain operations during the restructuring process.”

However, the Company did note that while the Company will focus on recovering all obligations owed, there will be delays in recoveries from FTX.

For the day ahead, US economic indicators, Fed chatter, and the NASDAQ Index will continue to provide direction. Investors will also need to monitor the crypto news for further updates on FTX-related news, including the BlockFi bankruptcy filing.

Total Market Cap – NASDAQ – 291122 5 Minute Chart

Crypto Market Falls on NASDAQ Composite Pullback and BlockFi

On Monday, the crypto market rose to an early high of $793.8 billion before sliding to a late afternoon low of $763.7 billion. Late in the day, the crypto market cap briefly revisited $783 billion before sliding back to sub-$800 billion.

The bearish end to the day left the market cap down by $13.6 billion to $776.2 billion.

Total Market Cap 291122 Daily Chart

The Crypto Market Movers and Shakers from the Top Ten and Beyond

It was a bearish Monday session for the crypto top ten.

BNB led the way down, sliding by 4.59%, with DOGE falling by 3.55%.

However, ADA (-2.24%), BTC (-1.36%), ETH (-2.18%), MATIC (-2.51%), and XRP (-1.91%) also struggled.

From the CoinMarketCap top 100, it was a mixed session.

Fantom (FTM) led the way, rallying by 10.13%, with apecoin (APE) and chainlink (LINK) seeing gains of 5.47% and 4.45%, respectively.

However, celo (CELO) led the way down, sliding by 13.23%, with UNUS SED LEO (LEO) and huobi token (HT) seeing losses of 9.90% and 8.92%, respectively.

24-Hour Liquidations Jump on Rising Volumes and Risk Aversion

Over 24 hours, total liquidations returned to normal levels alongside increased trading volumes. Risk aversion stemming from the China protests sent liquidations higher, with BlockFi’s bankruptcy filing contributing.

At the time of writing, 24-hour liquidations stood at $91.98 million, up from $39.52 million on Monday morning.

Liquidated traders over the last 24 hours also increased. At the time of writing, liquidated traders stood at 34,626 versus 15,088 on Monday morning. Liquidations were up over 12 hours while down over four hours and one hour.

Total Crypto Liquidations 291122

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations rose from $16.93 million to $30.63 million. Four-hour liquidations fell from $10.98 million to $1.53 million, with one-hour liquidations down from $9.67 million to $0.275 million.

The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.

Total Market Cap 291122 Hourly Chart

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Flu continues to spread across the U.S., infecting millions, CDC reports

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The floodgates have opened on flu, with millions of people across the U.S. reporting illness and nearly 3,000 deaths from influenza since the beginning of October, according to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With the start of the holiday season and large family gatherings, cases are expected to keep rising.

“We are likely to see an increase in the upcoming weeks,” Lynnette Brammer, an epidemiologist and team lead of CDC’s domestic influenza surveillance team, told NBC News.

So far this season, an estimated 6.2 million flu illnesses have been logged, according to the latest CDC data.

Twelve of the influenza deaths occurred in children.

Of the samples reported to the CDC this season, about 76% are the H3N2 strain of influenza A. The rest are H1N1. Both versions of the flu can result in severe illness.

However, most flu patients sick enough to end up in the intensive care unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville have tested positive for H1N1, said Dr. Todd Rice, director of VUMC’s medical intensive care unit.

“People don’t have a good appreciation for how severe flu can be,” said Brammer.

Flu barreled in unusually early this year, along with Covid and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which has inundated hospital systems. Several years of limited viral activity have resulted in few people with immune systems capable of fighting off the most virulent infectious diseases.

“We are dealing with three very contagious respiratory viruses,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, coordinator for the White House Covid-19 Task Force. “Our expectation is we are likely to see an increase in the upcoming weeks,” particularly with influenza and Covid.

The surge in RSV, however, may have peaked, Jha said. “Nationally, the numbers do seem to be turning down,” Jha said. “We’ll want to see over the next couple of weeks where that goes. But the preliminary evidence right now is pretty hopeful.”

Why are we vulnerable?

Typical flu seasons ramp up in December, peaking in January or February, said Dr. Julie Morita, executive vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

With the early start to the flu season this year, many people were infected before they had a chance to get vaccinated, making it easier for the virus to spread.

“There was a bigger pool of people who were unvaccinated than there would have been in ordinary seasons,” said Morita, who is also a former public health commissioner for Chicago. “That could be contributing to why we’re seeing such high rates of disease right now.”


As of Nov. 28, “influenza-like illness,” or ILI, activity — which includes the flu — was highest across the Southeast, as well as in New York City and Washington, D.C.CDC

The latest CDC data on flu activity shows spread “very high” across much of the nation, especially in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, as well as New York City and Washington, D.C.

There is no evidence that spread of the flu will burn out anytime soon.

“It’s a pretty safe bet that flu activity is going to continue on for several more weeks or months,” said Brammer.

Intensive care units are already seeing a surge in the sickest patients.

“Three weeks ago, we were not seeing much flu in our ICU,” Rice said. “Then the floodgates opened.”

Now, 30% to 40% of Rice’s patients in need of the most intensive care have the flu.

He blames, in part, the early arrival of influenza.

“It resulted in more people at risk because there were fewer people vaccinated.”

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