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Assumptions About Human Behavior Challenged By First Live 'Cloning' Of Faces
Computer scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have developed a new way of cloning facial expressions during live conversations to help us better understand what influences our behaviour when we communicate with others.

The 32nd British Transplant Games 30th July - 2nd August 2009
This year the British Transplant Games takes place in Coventry and 900 transplant athletes are preparing to take part. For a handful of these athletes, the Games offers vital training and preparation for other major sporting challenges such as triathlons and marathons. The event organisers, Transplant Sport UK shines the spotlight on these inspiring people, who visibly demonstrate that there is life after transplant, allowing them to train to a high level of fitness against all the odds.
News of the day
GAO Report Finds Veterans Affairs Facilities Do Not Comply With Privacy Standards For Women
All Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinics and hospitals are failing to fully comply with federal privacy standards for women, according to a Government Accountability Office report, the AP/Boston Globe reports. The report comes as thousands of female veterans are entering the VA health system after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.GAO auditors said that many VA facilities had gynecological tables that faced the door. In one instance, a gynecological table faced a door opening to a waiting room. The investigation also found cases where women had to walk through waiting rooms to use the restroom -- a violation of VA policy requiring adjoining restrooms. Four VA hospitals did not guarantee women access to private bathing facilities. In two of those cases, the facilities did not have locks.Nearly 20% of female veterans have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and many of them have experienced sexual trauma while serving, according to the report. The report also said that most female veterans at VA facilities are ages 20 to 29. On average, female veterans using VA facilities are much younger than male VA patients, it noted.Randall Williamson, director of health care issues at GAO, said that although top VA officials are committed to improving care for female veterans, facilities are not always taking simple steps, such as repositioning exam tables. Patricia Hayes, chief consultant for VA"s veterans strategic health care group, said that the agency recognizes issues and is making changes to address disparities in care. She noted that VA is creating a long-term plan for construction improvements to address space and building layout challenges (AP/Boston Globe, 7/15).
Public Health

11 West African Countries To Partake In Polio Vaccination Campaign; Benin Campaign Postponed Due To Health Worker Strike

A health workers" strike has caused Benin to indefinitely delay a polio vaccination campaign, part of a regional effort taking place in several West African countries, IRIN reports. The Benin campaign was due to start on May 29. "It is the strike that has pushed the government to postpone indefinitely the [immunization] campaign," a Benin health ministry official said. Last week, members of the health workers" union held a sit-in at the health ministry and many later participated in a political opposition march in the commercial capital, Cotonou (IRIN, 5/29). More than 400,000 polio vaccinators in 11 West African countries were expected to immunize about 74 million children to curb a spreading epidemic, according a joint release issued by the WHO, UNICEF and Rotary International. The aim is to deliver oral polio vaccine house-to-house throughout the following countries in the region: Benin, Burkina Faso, CÓ´te d"Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo. This year, 62 polio cases have been confirmed in seven countries that were previously free of the disease. Recently, the outbreak was confirmed to have spread to Guinea, which reported its last polio case in 2004. "We know most of West Africa has been polio-free before, we know this region has suffered outbreaks and managed to stamp them out, and we are confident that these countries will again be polio-free soon," Luis Gomes Sambo, the WHO"s regional director for Africa, said in the statement (WHO/UNICEF/Rotary International release/ReliefWeb, 5/28). Oliver Rosenbauer, spokesperson for the WHO"s polio eradication group, said Benin is "one of the countries that has had breakthrough transmission - that is, [new] cases have been reported since the February-March immunization campaign." The Benin Health Ministry said that although health workers are "trained and ready," the campaign could not be launched because of the strike. "[E]verything must be in place and there must not be disruptions," the ministry of health said. One health worker said, "We will wait for all of our demands to be met for every last health worker before resuming workò€¦[The government] has not taken us seriously. Enough is enough" (IRIN, 5/29). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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