Jaffa Shrine hosts annual ‘Walk for Love' despite rainy weather
Despite the rain, the annual 'Walk for Love' took place inside the Jaffa Shrine. The 1-mile walk usually starts on Broad Avenue and turns onto 29th Street.
The walk supports Shriners Children's Philadelphia who provides care for children with fractures, sports injuries, orthopedic conditions, scoliosis, spinal cord conditions and spine injuries.
'Every dollar we raise, you know, it goes to the Philadelphia hospital and allows them to buy equipment and that kind of thing. So it is hugely important that we get a big support for this and the hospitals, they so much appreciate everybody that comes out here,' Gary Smith, 2025 Potentate for Jaffa Shriners said.
This year's walk saw a decline in attendance, but Smith said they're looking to raise just as much as last year.
Johnstown community walks to raise funds for cancer patients
Children from all over the Commonwealth are transported to Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia, including children from Blair and surrounding counties.
'Without that need for that hospital, these children would be handicapped for life. So, it's a lifesaving experience for those children. And we really need the community to support us and what we're doing for these children in the area,' Lawrence Maasaro, a Road Runner for the Jaffa Shriners said.
For future events at the Jaffa Shrine click here. To support or donate to Shriners Children's Philadelphia, visit their website.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Medscape
17 minutes ago
- Medscape
CATALYST: A Novel Approach to Treating Diabetes
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We were very surprised to find that 24% of them had a cortisol that did not fully suppress. They met the criteria for hypercortisolism as recommended by the European and the US endocrine societies today, at more than 1.8. Jain: That's a staggering number. Fonseca: That is a staggering number. It was quite a surprise to me and my colleagues. Jain: Once you identify these individuals, what's the next step for them? Fonseca: For the next steps, there is a range of things to do. If you identify hypercortisolism, you want to see whether there's an adrenal tumor or something like that. We did CT scans of the abdomen in that population, and one third of them had some abnormality. Not all of them had a tumor that was surgically resectable. Some had bilateral disease, and some just had thickening, which you would just wait and watch. Here, you have a population with hypercortisolemia at a higher rate than expected, with or without an abnormality on imaging. Some of them were surgically treatable, but for this particular study, we chose to take that group of people and treat them medically. There is a wide variety of medicines available for treating elevated cortisol, which have mainly been tested in Cushing syndrome. Mifepristone is a nonspecific steroid hormone receptor blocker that's known to block cortisol action and is approved for treating hyperglycemia in people with hypercortisolism. It was okay to actually test it in this population, so we did a randomized trial, randomizing those people with hypercortisolemia in a 2:1 ratio to mifepristone or placebo and following them for 24 weeks. Jain: What were the results? Fonseca: Again, another very surprising result. The A1c fell by 1.47%, almost 1.5% from the baseline of 8.5%. That is a very, very robust response. What I like about it is that this is not giving it to everybody with diabetes. You're using what I would call precision medicine. You find an abnormality, you treat that abnormality, and you get a very good result. There were a few other spinoff things. The weight fell significantly. The waist circumference declined significantly. There were also side effects that are consistent with the mifepristone side effect profile. The potassium fell. You get hypokalemia because the cortisol levels don't fall. They rise because you're blocking the receptor and you stimulate the mineralocorticoid receptor. The blood pressure went up a little bit, but it was still mostly at goal in most of the patients. You can treat that hypokalemia, so I won't go into that. We also had what we call glucocorticoid withdrawal syndrome. People on steroids who just stop, when you treat Cushing syndrome, or any of the medications for hypercortisolemia will give you a feeling of withdrawal of the steroid that you're used to. Those are to be expected. The side effect profile shows expected side effects in many people. But still, we can get around it and get a very good result on diabetes treatment. Jain: This is fascinating. We are unmasking hypercortisolemia as an underlying reason for insulin resistance. Fonseca: I wouldn't say unmasking. We are recognizing it in a novel way for the first time, and are able to treat people who we were throwing many drugs at [the problem] — wasting those drugs, if you ask me — when we were not treating the fundamental problem. Jain: When should clinicians think about this as an underlying issue? Fonseca: The way I translate every clinical trial, you do it for what the trial was done for. You have people who are uncontrolled, or you may say difficult to control, uncontrolled or on many medications. Often, you find comorbidities. They have had this problem for a while. Many of them have complications of diabetes, and a significant number had heart disease. You treat them with a very specific treatment, and you get a good result. Now, in some people the treatment may be surgical. You could use this drug or other drugs, and there are some new ones. This has become an important target for therapy, so we will see this approach. That also leaves the question as to [the fact that] there were 24% with this abnormality. What's happening in the other 75%? Maybe there are other abnormalities that we haven't recognized. I think you and I still have a large amount of work to do. Jain: We do indeed. Your target population was individuals with type 2 diabetes. Fonseca: Type 2 diabetes that was not controlled. Jain: Do you think this could be an underlying problem in type 1 diabetes as well? Fonseca: Hypercortisolism can occur in anybody. If you're finding many challenges in type 1 diabetes, you could do it. Obviously, people who are not doing well in their general health without diabetes could have hypercortisolism. This is not what we recognize as the textbook Cushing syndrome. These people did not have those features. 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CNET
17 minutes ago
- CNET
A Ring and a Smart Bed Tracked My Sleep for 30 Nights. Here's What I Learned
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Our CNET sleep editors have tested various trackers over the years to find those that work best for each of us. Types of sleep trackers The most accurate sleep test is a polysomnography, which is conducted in a lab. It uses sensors to monitor physiological factors such as brain waves, eye movements, heart rate, etc. It's extremely precise -- but it's not practical for everyday use. Most people who receive a polysomnography only do so because they're being tested for a sleep disorder. While not as accurate as PSG and unable to diagnose sleep disorders, many other types of sleep trackers are available for everyday use. They come in all shapes and sizes, from wearable rings and watches to mattress covers or pads. Dr. Carlos Nunez, chief medical officer at Resmed, explains, "Many wearable devices allow you to track your sleep patterns, such as bedtime, wake time, how often you wake up at night and some even track your sleep stages, like REM. 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"If you're interested in more advanced data like REM versus deep sleep, sleep apnea detection or unusual breathing patterns, consult your doctor. Sleep trackers are a helpful tool, but not diagnostic devices. Medical guidance is essential for interpreting deeper metrics or addressing potential sleep health concerns," explains Nunez. Sleep trackers compared Sleep Number vs. Oura Ring 4 Metrics Oura Ring Sleep Number Overall sleep score ✓ ✓ Total sleep time ✓ ✓ Time awake ✓ ✓ Time in bed ✓ ✓ Sleep latency ✓ ✓ Heart rate variability ✓ ✓ Heart rate ✓ ✓ Respiratory rate ✓ ✓ Movement ✓ ✓ Helpful insights ✓ ✓ Recovery index ✓ x Light sleep ✓ x REM sleep ✓ x Sleep efficiency ✓ x Body temperature ✓ x Blood oxygen ✓ x Readiness score ✓ x Bed exit x ✓ At the beginning of our test, I didn't have high expectations for Sleep Number's tracking capabilities. However, when comparing the numbers with Oura, the results were surprisingly similar (for the most part). As you can see in the nightly sample below, Oura reported 6 hours and 42 hours of total sleep, while Sleep Number reported 6 hours and 44 minutes. Oura said I spent 44 minutes awake, while Sleep Number reported 38 minutes of restlessness. While it's hard to pinpoint the exact moment on either app, both Sleep Number and Oura reported my sleep and wake times within minutes of each other. Comparison of my sleep data from the Oura Ring (left) and the Sleep Number ClimateCool bed (right). Aly Lopez/CNET/Oura/Sleep Number Oura indicated my total time in bed was 7 hours and 25 minutes, while Sleep Number noted 7 hours and 35 minutes. Sleep Number gave me a SleepIQ score of 80; Oura gave me a 78. As expected, there were nights when the data did not match this well. In those scenarios, Sleep Number almost always displayed the more generous sleep scores and total time slept. Part of this discrepancy is because the Sleep Number smart bed occasionally assumes I've fallen asleep while watching television or reading, while Oura recognizes I have not yet entered dreamland. The bed may sometimes mistake Dillon's body movements or our dog's as mine, whereas our Oura rings don't have that issue. Read more: I Tested Three Sleep Trackers for 30 Days. Here's the One I'd Actually Use Sleep data compared External factors occasionally affected our sleep quality, resulting in data that didn't accurately reflect Oura or Sleep Number's tracking capabilities. An example is when I'd fall asleep on the couch and then move to the bed in the middle of the night. There were a few nights when I put my ring on its charger and forgot to put it back on before falling asleep. Additionally, factors like illness or menstrual cramps sometimes make me uncomfortable enough to sleep somewhere other than our smart bed. I excluded these nights to ensure the accuracy of this comparison. As a result, the sleep data presented here is not perfectly consecutive. Instead, to paint a better picture of how they track, it includes 30 nights of solid sleep on our Sleep Number smart bed while wearing Oura. Using both trackers for 30 nights, Oura reported an average total sleep of 7:35 hours (7.58), and Sleep Number reported 7:36 hours (7.60) -- just one minute difference. Aly Lopez/CNET For 30 nights using both sleep trackers, the average total sleep reported was only one minute apart: 7 hours and 35 minutes according to Oura, and 7 hours and 36 minutes according to Sleep Number. Both reported an average of exactly 1 hour of restlessness or time awake per night. Sleep Number gave me an average sleep score of 86, and Oura gave me 82. The health metrics tracked were also similar: Sleep Number reported my average resting heart rate as 53, and Oura indicated it as 52. Both trackers registered an average breath rate of 17. Oura reported my average heart rate variability to be 64, while Sleep Number reported it as 124. This discrepancy isn't necessarily because one brand is more accurate than the other, but because they calculate HRV differently. Both measure the time intervals between heartbeats throughout the night, but Oura uses a method called Root Mean Square of Successive Differences, while Sleep Number uses Standard Deviation of NN Intervals. Regardless of how it's calculated, higher HRV numbers are considered better, indicating good recovery and physical adaptability. Lower HRV numbers can be indicative of high stress levels, dehydration, alcohol consumption, poor sleep and more. Here's an example of the biosignals reported in Sleep Number's monthly summary. Aly Lopez/CNET/Sleep Number Why does tracking your sleep matter? As Vanessa Hill, PhD, sleep research and specialist, explains, "Tracking your sleep can offer helpful insights into what happens after your head hits the pillow. For many of us, sleep can feel poor quality, maybe because of fragmented sleep or nighttime awakenings. Tracking can show whether you're actually getting the recommended 7 to 9 hours a night." Observing your biosignals over time helps explain how your habits and lifestyle impact your sleep quality and patterns. For instance, my sleep quality on nights after consuming alcohol, not exercising during the day or going to bed later than usual is always worse, and it's reflected in my lower HRV numbers on both trackers. "What's more valuable than a single night's data is looking at sleep trends over time. A month or more of sleep tracking gives a better picture of your overall sleep health," adds Hill. If you're just beginning your sleep tracking journey, making sense of all the numbers can be overwhelming. Nunez recommends starting with the following basics to help you build a consistent sleep routine and improve your sleep health overall: Sleep-wake times: Track what time you go to bed and wake up each day. Research shows that a consistent sleep schedule is key to improved focus, productivity and mood. Track what time you go to bed and wake up each day. Research shows that a consistent sleep schedule is key to improved focus, productivity and mood. Total sleep duration: Aim for the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Aim for the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Time awake during the night: Frequent disruptions may signal restlessness or a potential health condition worth exploring with a medical professional. Frequent disruptions may signal restlessness or a potential health condition worth exploring with a medical professional. Sleep interruptions: Noting events like snoring or movement can provide added context to your sleep quality. 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Compatibility: Check that it works well with your smartphone or other devices to access the data without challenges. Check that it works well with your smartphone or other devices to access the data without challenges. Reliability: Some devices have been well-tested and approved by the FDA for sleep monitoring, while others are more general consumer products. Some devices have been well-tested and approved by the FDA for sleep monitoring, while others are more general consumer products. Privacy: Understand how your data is stored and shared. Ultimately, the best tracker is one you'll wear regularly, and that makes accessing and understanding your data simple.' The bottom line If you have a Sleep Number bed and are wondering how accurate the sensors are, I'm pleased to share that they appear pretty dang precise. I had not been expecting the results of this 30-night comparison between the Oura Ring 4 and Sleep Number ClimateCool smart bed to be so similar. Still, there's much more room for error with trackers like smart beds and mattress covers compared to a wearable worn tightly on your body. If you're looking for one of the more accurate sleep trackers, I recommend opting for a wearable like Oura or Whoop -- but as Hill put it, "Choosing a sleep tracker really comes down to comfort and budget. Choose what works best for you, including something you'll actually use."
Fast Company
17 minutes ago
- Fast Company
Pura Scents recalls more than 850,000 diffuser covers over ingestion hazard to children
Pura Scents is recalling more than 850,000 diffuser covers because some magnets may detach and cause a possible ingestion hazard to children. The company is recalling the detachable covers for about 851,400 Pura 4 Smart Home Fragrance Diffusers. It said an additional 1,100 were sold in Canada. Pura Scents said that the magnets on the inside cover of the product can detach, posing an ingestion hazard to children. When high-powered magnets are swallowed, the ingested magnets can attract each other, or other metal objects, and become lodged in the digestive system. This can result in perforations, twisting or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning and death. The company has received three reports of magnets detaching from the cover. No injuries have been reported. The diffusers were sold at Target, Scheels and other stores nationwide from August 2023 through May 2025 for about $50. They were also sold online through Pura's website, as well as online at Amazon, Target and Scheels. Pura Scents is offering a free replacement cover. Consumers are advised to immediately dispose of the existing detachable cover and to keep the diffusers out of the reach of children and pets. To receive the free replacement cover, individuals may contact Pura Scents at 855-394-5292 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday. The company can also be emailed at replacement@ Consumers may also visit the company's website and click on 'Recall' at the bottom of the page for more information.
