Approximately 20% of US child passenger deaths involve an alcohol-impaired driver, typically in the child’s own vehicle. The higher the blood alcohol concentration of a driver, the more likely his or her child passenger was unrestrained in the fatal crash.

The risk of a child passenger dying while being transported with an alcohol-impaired driver varies meaningfully across states. These state-specific rates may help to inform renewed prevention efforts. (Read the full article)

Homicide is the third leading cause of mortality in general population youth aged 15 to 29 years. Groups at greatest risk for early violent death (racial/ethnic minorities, males, poor persons, and urban youth) are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system.

We examined rates of and risk factors for firearm homicide and other causes of death in delinquents 16 years after detention. Our study analyzes gender differences; compares Hispanics, African Americans, and non-Hispanic whites; and includes a representative sample of delinquents. (Read the full article)

Infant mortality is an important indicator of societal health, and approximately two-thirds of all infant deaths occur during the neonatal period and in neonatal intensive care units.

We report detailed information on the cause of death in infants admitted for intensive care. Factors associated with death are multifactorial, diverse, and change with gestational age. Potentially modifiable factors were identified in 31%. (Read the full article)

Various clinical and demographic factors are associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and an association between altitude of residence and SIDS has been questioned but not yet demonstrated in any large observational studies.

This study demonstrates an association between altitude and SIDS, with higher SIDS rates observed at high elevation (>8000 feet) than at the more moderate elevations (<6000 feet). (Read the full article)

Source: www.brooklynpaper.com - Saturday, May 09, 2020
The owner of the iconic Park Slope events venue Grand Prospect Hall, Michael Halkias, died from COVID-19 on Wednesday. He was 82. Halkias’ death sent shockwaves throughout Brooklyn, where community leaders and friends remember him as a passionate, generous figure. “ He was a Brooklyn character for sure in the best sort of way,” said Randy Peers, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. “He was larger than life.” Halkias and his wife Alice bought Grand Prospect Hall in 1984 and turned the extravagant Prospect Avenue building into an opulent catering hall. The space became a New York icon because of the its long-running, popular commercials, where Alice Halkias declares in a Greek accent, “We make your dreams come true!” Saturday Night Live spoofed the famous commercial in February of 2019, and the pair appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live in October to remake the ad with Mets player Pete Alonso. Grand Prospect Hall, a Victorian banquet hall built in 1892, attracted big names such as dancer Fred Astaire and mafioso Al Capone during its heyday in the early 20th century — and boasted some of the borough’s oldest treasures, such as Brooklyn’s first reported elevator, which functions to this day. But by the 1980s, the landmarked building had fallen into disrepair: its walls had been painted black, molding had been stripped off the walls, and the chandeliers were gone, Halkias told Brooklyn Paper in 2004. The couple spent 20 yea

Penn State and the Palmer Museum of Art mourn the loss of dear friend, generous donor, and loyal champion John P. Driscoll, who died from complications due to COVID-19 on Friday, April 10. Driscoll, owner of Driscoll Babcock Galleries in New York, was a longtime friend and supporter of the Palmer Museum and will be remembered for his role as a leader, gracious mentor and trusted adviser, as well as for the expansive gifts he made to the collection and to his alma mater, Penn State.

Antimicrobial peptides and proteins play critical roles in the host defense against invading pathogens. We recently discovered that recombinantly expressed human and mouse serum amyloid A1 (rhSAA1 and rmSAA1) proteins have potent antifungal activities against the major human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. At high concentrations, rhSAA1 disrupts C. albicans membrane integrity and induces rapid fungal cell death. In the current study, we find that rhSAA1 promotes cell aggregation and targets the C. albicans cell wall adhesin Als3. Inactivation of ALS3 in C. albicans leads to a striking decrease in cell aggregation and cell death upon rhSAA1 treatment, suggesting that Als3 plays a critical role in SAA1 sensing. We further demonstrate that deletion of the transcriptional regulators controlling the expression of ALS3, such as AHR1, BCR1, and EFG1 in C. albicans results in similar effects to that of the als3/als3 mutant upon rhSAA1 treatment. Global gene expression profiling indicates that rhSAA1 has a discernible impact on the expression of cell wall- and metabolism-related genes, suggesting that rhSAA1 treatment could lead to a nutrient starvation effect on C. albicans cells.

The shooting death of a 10-year-old spectator at a high school football game exposes a critical vulnerability and crucial responsibility for schools: keeping people safe at events outside school buildings.

C. Michael Cotten
Jan 1, 2009; 123:58-66
ARTICLES

Juan Roberto Meléndez-Colón was exonerated, in 2002, after nearly 18 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. He visited Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus to share his story on March 5.

Source: www.geekwire.com - Friday, May 08, 2020
University of Washington researchers work with the virus that causes COVID-19 in a restricted lab. (UW Medicine via YouTube) In a newly published study, a University of Washington researcher argues that the eventual death toll from COVID-19 could be more than twice as high as the figures currently being discussed. The study was written by Anirban Basu, a health economist and statistician who’s the director of UW’s Comparative Health Outcomes, Policy and Economics Institute, also known as the CHOICE Institute . In his research paper , published online Thursday by the journal Health Affairs, Basu acknowledges there’s still lots of uncertainty surrounding the fatality rate for the disease caused by the coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2. But he says there’s evidence that the U.S. death toll could amount to 350,000 to 1.2 million. Anirban Basu is the Stergachis Family Endowed Director of the CHOICE Institute at the University of Washington’s School of Pharmacy. (UW Photo) “This is a staggering number, which can only be brought down with sound public health measures,” Basu said in an interview with MedicalResearch.com . The latest projections from UW’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimate that the U.S. death toll due to COVID-19 will amount to nearly 135,000 by Aug. 4. IHME’s projections are closely watched (and occasionally lowballed) by the White House. “We’ll be at 100,000” or 110,000 deaths, President Donald Trump to

Sanaa, Yemen, Mar 24, 2020 / 04:40 pm (CNA).- A Yemeni appeals court run by Houthi rebels on Sunday upheld the death sentence of a member of the Baha'i religion. The court also ordered the dissolution of Baha’i institutions.

Hamed bin Haydara was detained by Houthi rebels in 2013, and was denied access to a March 22 appeal hearing in Sanaa which upheld an earlier death sentence.

“This alarming decision is an egregious violation of religious freedom and the fundamental rights of Yemeni Baha’is,” Gayle Manchin, vice chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, said March 23. “USCIRF has been long concerned with the welfare of Mr. bin Haydara and the Yemeni Baha’i community. We call on Houthi authorities to immediately reverse this verdict and cease their baseless persecution of this peaceful religious minority.”

According to USCIRF, bin Haydara was charged with “with spying for Israel, teaching literacy classes deemed incompatible with Islam, and attempting to convert Muslims.”

The Baha'i International Community said it was "utterly dismayed at this outrageous verdict" and demanded the court reverse the decision, AFP reported.

"At a time when the international community is battling a global health crisis, it is incomprehensible that the authorities in Sanaa have upheld a death sentence against an innocent individual solely because of his beliefs instead of focusing on safeguarding the population, including Baha'is," said Diane Ala'i, a Baha’i representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

According to AFP, the Houthis have sought to ban the Baha’i religion.. The Houthi movement’s courts have started proceedings against 20 members of the religion, six of whom have been detained. The movement controls Sanaa and much of the westernmost part of the country.

In January, Pope Francis told Holy See diplomats that the crisis in Yemen is “one of the most serious humanitarian crises of recent history.”

The civil war between Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and a Saudi Arabian-led coalition has killed over 100,000 people since 2015. According to a Center of Strategic and International Studies report, the war has also caused nearly 24 million people to be in need of humanitarian assistance. 

Restraint on humanitarian organizations and aerial attacks has left 80% of Yemen’s population in need of food, fuel, and medicine, the CSIS Task Force on Humanitarian Access reported.

The Associated Press reported in February that half of the United Nations’ aid delivery programs had been blocked by the Houthi rebels. The rebels had requested that 2% of the humanitarian budget be given directly to them, heightening concerns that the group has been diverting charitable funds to finance the war.

In recent years, the pope has often asked for prayers for the Yemeni people in his public audiences.

“Pray hard, because there are children who are hungry, who are thirsty, who have no medicine, and are in danger of death,” Pope Francis said during an Angelus address in February 2019.

By Bishop Arthur Serratelli

One of the most famous figures of all English literature is the ghost of Hamlet’s father. Three times he appears in Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. He demands that his son settle accounts with his uncle who murdered the dead king. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Julius Caesar and Richard III, ghosts also appear. From the 3rd century B.C. Epic of Gilgamesh through Homer, Virgil, Ovid, Shakespeare and Dickens, ghosts populated the pages of literature. They have appeared in films and even starred in their own TV show, Ghost Hunters.

Are ghosts merely fictional? Do they really exist?  First Lady Grace Coolidge said that she saw Abraham Lincoln’s ghost looking out the window of the Oval Office. Many others have, likewise, reported sightings of the ghost of our 16th President at the White House. Among those claiming to have seen a spectral Lincoln are Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and President Reagan’s daughter Maureen.

Within the Old Testament, there is the famous incident of the ghost of the prophet Samuel. In 1 Samuel 28, King Saul is facing a fierce battle with the Philistines. He wants to know the outcome; and, so he consults the witch of Endor. The spirit of the dead prophet Samuel appears and predicts Saul’s imminent defeat and death. Some commentators say that Samuel came because God allowed him to come and speak on God’s behalf (cf. Sir 46:20). Other commentators consider this incident a demonic apparition. In either case, they accept the apparition.

The New Testament gives evidence that the disciples of Jesus believed in the reality of ghosts. After the miracle of the loaves and fish, “when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost,’ they said, and they cried out in fear” (Mt 14:26). When the Risen Lord appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room in Jerusalem on Easter Sunday, “they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then [Jesus] said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have’ ” (Lk 24:37-39). 

The word “ghost” simply means “spirit.” It refers to the spirit of a deceased person who has made himself or herself present to the living. According to polls taken in the last ten years, almost forty-two percent of Americans believe in ghosts. According to a recent poll, almost thirty percent of Americans say they have been in touch with someone who has died.

Stories about contact with the dead continue to fascinate us. They provoke the imagination. They manifest our awareness that there is more to reality than the physical world which we empirically experience. These reports of the spirits of those who have died clearly suggest personal survival after death. 

In her wisdom, the Church rightly condemns consulting mediums to be in touch with the dead. In fact, “all forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2116).

As Catholics, we hold that, at death, we face an immediate judgment of our lives. If we are in the state of perfect charity, we go to heaven. If we die in the state of mortal sin (God forbid!), we suffer eternal estrangement from God in hell. And, those of us who die in the state of grace, but not in perfect charity, undergo a purification of love in purgatory before we come into the presence of God. In a word, death is not the end of our personal existence. Nor does the Grim Reaper sever our relationships with each other. All tales of ominous specters appearing from beyond the grave pale before the brilliant truth of the Risen Christ who leaves the tomb empty and joins the living and the dead in one holy Communion of Saints where we assist each other with our prayers!
 

OM workers in Central Asia minister to homeless people. Some people reject their help, but others find new life.

Other defendants face prison time for weapons, assault, and strangulation charges A 17-year-old from Middletown pleaded guilty to charges in Superior Court for the fatal shooting of another teenager. Derrick Caudle pleaded to Murder Second Degree and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony for the 2018 killing of Todd Dorn, 18, […]

Other defendants face prison time on manslaughter, drug, weapons, robbery, and burglary charges Syiee Parker, a Wilmington man who left his 10-month-old child in a car one day last summer has pleaded guilty to causing her death. In July 2019, Parker, 37, dropped his wife off at work, and took 6 other children to summer […]

Poor diet is a major cause behind the COVID-19 deaths and the Indians must urgently cut down on ultra-processed food to build resilience against the deadly virus, a leading Indian-origin cardiologist...

The United States recorded 1,635 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 77,178, according to the latest real-time tally Friday reported by Johns Hopkins University.

The United States recorded 1,635 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 77,178, according to the latest real-time tally Friday reported by Johns Hopkins University.

Spain's daily death count from the coronavirus fell to 179 on Saturday, down from 229 on the previous day, the health ministry reported.

India reported 3,320 new coronavirus patients and 95 deaths linked to the highly contagious illness in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 59,662 cases, the Union Health Ministry said this...

The Division of Public Health (DPH) is reporting two more flu-related deaths that occurred during the last two weeks of February, bringing the 2017-2018 season death total to 30. This number breaks the previous single-season record of 28 flu-related deaths, set in 2014-2015. The deceased were both females, 83 and 84 years old, from New Castle and Kent counties, respectively. Both had multiple underlying health conditions.

Statewide flu totals in Delaware decreased for the third week in a row, according to the Division of Public Health (DPH). During the week ending March 10, DPH reports 290 laboratory-confirmed flu cases, down from the prior week’s total of 381 confirmed cases. The latest numbers increase the total number of influenza cases for the season to 7,433. DPH is also reporting one additional flu-related death, a 62-year-old female from New Castle County with multiple underlying health conditions, bringing the number of flu-related deaths for the 2017-2018 flu season to 31.

NEW CASTLE (May 28, 2018) – Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker is warning people in active substance use in Delaware that two people have died from suspected overdoses in a 24-hour period that involve heroin packets with the same stamp. DHSS is not identifying the stamp so people […]

NEW CASTLE (Aug. 14, 2018) – Eight people have died from suspected overdoses in a four-day span across the state causing Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker to alert the community to the wave of deaths and urging people in active use to seek treatment immediately and to carry […]

The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), and Department of Agriculture (DDA) are asking residents to increase efforts to prevent exposure to rabies after the death of a Kent County woman from the disease. The woman, who lived west of Felton, is the second Delawarean to contract, and subsequently pass away from, the disease. The first was a young boy from Newport, who passed away in 1941 after being bitten by a stray dog.

The Division of Public Health (DPH) is reporting the first flu-related deaths of the 2018-2019 flu season. A 65-year-old man who was infected with Influenza A passed away last week, making him the first person to die due to flu complications this season. In addition, a 73-year-old man and a 77-year-old woman, both also infected with Influenza A, passed away within the last week. All three individuals were Sussex County residents and all had underlying health conditions.

DOVER  — The number of laboratory-confirmed flu cases continues to increase in Delaware, and the Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing three recent flu-related deaths, bringing the total number of deaths for the 2018-2019 season thus far to eight. The most recent victim is an 83-year-old man from New Castle County, with underlying health […]

DOVER (March 1, 2019) — Although the overall number of laboratory-confirmed flu cases in Delaware this flu season remains lower than the total number of cases reported at the same time last year, the number of flu-related deaths has continued to increase during the 2018-2019 flu season. As of February 16, 2019, the most recent […]

NEW CASTLE (March 13, 2019) – Health and public safety officials are urging people in active use of heroin or other opioids and their families to seek immediate treatment and acquire the overdose-reversing medication naloxone on hand in the wake of three suspected heroin overdose deaths in five days in Sussex County involving the same […]

NEW CASTLE (Sept. 3, 2019) – Health and public safety officials are urging people in active use of heroin or other opioids and their families to seek immediate treatment and to acquire the overdose-reversing medication naloxone in the wake of six suspected overdose deaths, including four in Sussex County, during the holiday weekend. The six […]

Currently in Delaware, there are 11 cases of vaping-related lung injury that meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) case definition as either probable or confirmed. Additionally, DPH announced today that one of the cases associated with this outbreak involves an individual who died.

DOVER – The Division of Public Health (DPH) is reminding Delawareans to protect themselves and those around them this influenza season by getting vaccinated as DPH announces the first two flu-related deaths of the 2019-2020 flu season. A 68-year-old woman infected with influenza A, and a 65-year-old man infected with influenza B, passed away this […]

DOVER – As the number of confirmed influenza cases in Delaware continues to rise, the Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing two recent flu-related deaths, bringing the total number of deaths for the 2019-2020 season thus far to four. The most recent victim is a 29-year-old New Castle County man diagnosed with influenza B […]

As of February 15, 2020, there have been 5,047 confirmed cases of influenza in Delaware, including 267 hospitalizations. These numbers reflect only the number of lab-confirmed cases; the actual number of cases circulating statewide is likely much higher. By comparison, at the same time in the 2018-2019 season, there were 3,264 flu cases in Delaware, including 537 hospitalizations, and 13 flu-related deaths.

SMYRNA (March 26, 2020) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is confirming the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related fatality in the State of Delaware. The deceased is a 66-year-old male from Sussex County who passed away while hospitalized out of state. The individual had underlying health conditions and was critically ill. The […]

SMYRNA (March 26, 2020) – The Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) is announcing the first long-term care facility coronavirus-related death in Delaware and the first outbreak of positive cases in such a facility. The death of an 86-year-old male resident of Little Sisters of the Poor Jeanne Jugan Residence in Newark was reported […]

SMYRNA (March 28, 2020) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing three additional fatalities related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and is providing an update on the number of positive cases reported in the state. In total, five Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. The most recent deaths involve […]

SMYRNA (March 29, 2020) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing one additional fatality related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and is providing an update on the number of positive cases reported in the state. In total, six Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. The most recent death involves […]

Division of Public Health also announces 22 total recovered SMYRNA (March 30, 2020) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing one additional fatality related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and is providing an update on the number of positive and recovered cases reported in the state. In total, seven Delawareans have passed […]

SMYRNA (March 31, 2020) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing three additional fatalities related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and is providing an update on the number of positive and recovered cases reported in the state. In total, 10 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. There have been […]

State also announces 49 recovered in Delaware SMYRNA (April 1, 2020) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing one additional fatality related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and is providing an update on the number of positive and recovered cases reported in the state. In total, 11 Delawareans have passed away due […]

SMYRNA (April 2, 2020) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing one additional fatality related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and is providing an update on the number of positive and recovered cases reported in the state. In total, 12 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. There have been […]

SMYRNA (April 3, 2020) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing two additional fatalities related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and is providing an update on the number of positive and recovered cases reported in the state. In total, 14 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. There have been […]

SMYRNA (April 4, 2020) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing 143 additional positive cases bringing the total cases related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to 593, including 32 new hospitalizations across the state. No new fatalities were reported today in the state. The latest Delaware COVID-19 case statistics, cumulatively since March 11, include: 593 total laboratory-confirmed […]

SMYRNA (April 6, 2020) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing one additional fatality related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and is providing an update on the number of positive cases. In total, 15 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. The most recent death involves an 84-year-old male from Kent County who had […]

The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing one additional fatality related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and is providing an update on the number of positive cases and recovered individuals.  

In total, 19 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19 SMYRNA (April 8, 2020) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing three additional fatalities related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is providing an update on the number of positive cases and recovered individuals. In total, 19 Delawareans have passed away due […]

SMYRNA (April 9, 2020) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing four additional fatalities related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is providing an update on the number of positive cases and recovered individuals. In total, 23 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. Individuals who have died from COVID-19 ranged in […]

CORRECTION: This release includes changes based on new statistical reporting. SMYRNA (April 10, 2020) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing nine additional fatalities related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is providing an update on the number of positive cases and recovered individuals. DPH is now reporting deaths of laboratory-confirmed individuals and “probable” […]