Day: 09/28/2015

Animal bites.

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Key facts

  • Animal bites are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide.
  • Worldwide, up to five million people are bitten by snakes every year; the majority in Africa and South-East Asia.
  • Prompt medical treatment with appropriate antivenom is required for poisonous snake bites.
  • Dog bites account for tens of millions of injuries annually; the highest risk is among children.
  • Rabies is a significant health concern following dog bites, cat bites and monkey bites.

Animal bites pose a major public health problem in children and adults worldwide. The health impacts of animal bites are dependent on the type and health of the animal species, the size and health of the bitten person, and accessibility to appropriate health care.

Numerous animal species have the potential to bite humans; however the most important are those arising from snakes, dogs, cats and monkeys.

Snake bites

Scope of the problem

Worldwide, up to five million people are bitten by snakes every year. Of these, poisonous (envenoming) snakes cause considerable morbidity and mortality. There are an estimated 2.4 million envenomations (poisonings from snake bites) and 94 000–125 000 deaths annually, with an additional 400 000 amputations and other severe health consequences, such as infection, tetanus, scarring, contractures, and psychological sequelae. Poor access to health care and scarcity of antivenom increases the severity of the injuries and their outcomes.

Who is most at risk?

The majority of snake bites occur in Africa and South-East Asia. Snake bites are most common among people living in rural, resource-poor settings, who subsist on low-cost, non-mechanical farming and other field occupations. Agricultural workers, women and children are the groups most frequently bitten by snakes. Adding to the burden of these injuries is their socioeconomic impact on families and communities. Adult victims are often the wage earners or care providers of the family unit; and child victims can suffer lifelong disability intensifying demands on families and communities

Treatment

Approximately 600 species of snake are venomous and approximately 50-70% of bites by these cause envenomation. At the time of a bite, the cornerstone of care is complete immobilization of the affected body part and prompt transfer to a medical facility. Tourniquets and cutting wounds can worsen the effects of the venom and should not be used as first aid.

Frequently, victims of snake bites will require treatment with antivenom. It is important that the antivenom is appropriate for snakes endemic to the region. Additional measures include wound cleansing to decrease infection risk, supportive therapy such as airway support, and administration of tetanus vaccine upon discharge if the person has been inadequately vaccinated against tetanus.

Prevention of snake bites and their serious health consequences

Prevention of snake bites involves informing communities about snake bite risks and prevention techniques, such as to:

  • avoid tall grassy areas;
  • wear protective shoes/boots;
  • keep storage areas clear of rodents;
  • remove rubbish, woodpiles and low brush from around the home;
  • store food in rodent-proof containers, raise beds above floor level and tuck mosquito nets securely under sleeping mats within the home.

To prevent or limit the serious health consequences of snake bites, health-care providers should be educated on snake-bite management, including the proper use and administration of antivenom. Public health authorities and policy-makers should ensure appropriate supplies of safe and effective antivenoms to communities, countries and regions where they are most needed, and prioritize research initiatives that will further determine the burden of these injuries.

Dog bites

Scope of the problem

There are no global estimates of dog bite incidence, however studies suggest that dog bites account for tens of millions of injuries annually. In the United States of America for example, approximately 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs every year. Of these, nearly 885 000 seek medical care; 30 000 have reconstructive procedures; 3–18% develop infections and between 10 and 20 fatalities occur. Other high-income countries such as Australia, Canada and France have comparable incidence and fatality rates.

Low- and middle-income country data are more fragmented, however some studies reveal that dogs account for 76–94% of animal bite injuries. Dog bite fatality rates are higher in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries as rabies is a problem in many of these countries, and there may be a lack of post-exposure treatment and appropriate access to health care. An estimated 55 000 people die annually from rabies, and bites from rabid dogs account for the vast majority of these deaths.

Who is most at risk?

Children make up the largest percentage of people bitten by dogs, with the highest incidence in mid-to-late childhood. The risk of injury to the head and neck is greater in children than in adults, adding to increased severity, necessity for medical treatment and death rates.

In some countries, males have a higher frequency of dog bites than females. Dog bites account for over 50% of animal-related injuries in people who are travelling.

Treatment

Treatment depends on the location of the bite, the overall health condition of the bitten person and whether or not the dog is vaccinated against rabies. The main principles of care include:

  • early medical management;
  • irrigation and cleansing of the wound;
  • primary closure if the wound is low-risk for developing infection;
  • prophylactic antibiotics for high-risk wounds or people with immune deficiency;
  • rabies post-exposure treatment depending on the dog vaccination status;
  • administration of tetanus vaccine if the person has not been adequately vaccinated.
Prevention of dog bites and their serious health consequences

Communities – especially children – should be informed about the risks of dog bites and prevention techniques such as avoiding stray dogs and never leaving a child unattended around any dog.

Health-care providers should be educated on the appropriate management of dog bites. Health authorities and policy-makers should ensure rabies control within dog populations, ensure appropriate supplies of rabies vaccines for potential rabies exposure in people, and develop data collection systems to further document the burden of this problem.

Cat bites

Scope of the problem

Worldwide, cat bites account for 2–50% of injuries related to animal-bites. They are commonly second to dog bites in terms of incidence. In Italy for example, the incidence of cat-related injuries is 18 per 100 000 population, while in the United States of America, there are an estimated 400 000 cat bites and 66 000 visits to hospital emergency departments every year.

Who is most at risk?

Female adults have the highest rate of cat bites.

Treatment

Treatment depends on the location of the bite and the rabies vaccination status of animal species inflicting the bite. The main principles of care include:

  • early medical management including wound cleansing;
  • prophylactic antibiotics to decrease infection risk;
  • rabies post-exposure treatment depending on the animal vaccination status;
  • administration of tetanus vaccine if the person has not been adequately vaccinated.
Prevention of cat bites and their serious health consequences

Communities should be informed about the risks of cat bites and prevention techniques for cat bites including vaccinating cats against rabies.

Health-care providers should be educated on the appropriate management of these injuries. Health authorities and policy-makers should ensure rabies control within animal populations, and appropriate supplies of post-exposure rabies treatment and antibiotic prophylaxis for bitten people. They should also support research initiatives directed at providing more information on the burden of cat bites.

Monkey bites

Scope of the problem

Monkey bites account for 2–21% of animal bite injuries. In India for example, two studies found monkeys to be second to dogs as the most common source of animal bite injuries.

Who is most at risk?

Monkey bites are an important risk among travellers, being the second most common animal bite risk to travellers after dog bites.

Treatment

Treatment depends on the health status of the patient, the location of the bite and whether or not there is a suspicion of rabies in the monkey. The main principles of care include:

  • early medical management including wound cleansing;
  • prophylactic antibiotics to decrease infection risk;
  • rabies post-exposure treatment depending on the animal vaccination status;
  • administration of tetanus vaccine if the person has not been adequately vaccinated.
Prevention of monkey bites and their serious health consequences

Communities and travellers should be informed about risks of monkey bites and prevention techniques.

Health-care providers should be educated on the appropriate management of these injuries. Health authorities and policy-makers should ensure rabies control within monkey populations, and appropriate supplies of post-exposure rabies treatment and antibiotic prophylaxis for bitten people. They should also support research initiatives directed at providing more information on the burden of monkey bites.

WHO response

WHO is working to address the public health problem of animal bite injuries.

For snake bites, WHO has launched several tools to help guide the appropriate development, distribution and administration of antivenom.

For rabies, WHO advocates greater access to post-exposure treatment through promoting increased production of rabies biologicals, continuing education in rabies prevention and control, and widespread immunization of dog populations.

For all animal-bite injuries, WHO:

  • prioritizes data collection initiatives to help determine the burden and risk factors of these injuries;
  • advocates the strengthening of emergency response services for people that are injured;
  • promotes research initiatives that focus on effective prevention interventions and populations most affected.

Chemical exposure linked to rising diabetes, obesity risk: Endocrine Society releases scientific statement on endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

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Emerging evidence ties endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure to two of the biggest public health threats facing society — diabetes and obesity. EDCs contribute to health problems by mimicking, blocking or otherwise interfering with the body’s natural hormones. By hijacking the body’s chemical messengers, EDCs can alter the way cells develop and grow. Known EDCs include bisphenol A (BPA) found in food can linings and cash register receipts, phthalates found in plastics and cosmetics, flame retardants and pesticides. The chemicals are so common that nearly every person on Earth has been exposed to one or more.
Known EDCs include bisphenol A (BPA) found in food can linings and cash register receipts, phthalates found in plastics and cosmetics, flame retardants and pesticides. The chemicals are so common that nearly every person on Earth has been exposed to one or more.

Emerging evidence ties endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure to two of the biggest public health threats facing society — diabetes and obesity, according to the executive summary of an upcoming Scientific Statement issued today by the Endocrine Society.

The statement’s release comes as Society experts are addressing a global meeting, the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4), in Geneva, Switzerland, on the importance of using scientific approaches to limit health risks of EDC exposure.

The statement builds upon the Society’s groundbreaking 2009 report, which examined the state of scientific evidence on endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and the risks posed to human health. In the ensuing years, additional research has found that exposure is associated with increased risk of developing diabetes and obesity. Mounting evidence also indicates EDC exposure is connected to infertility, hormone-related cancers, neurological issues and other disorders.

EDCs contribute to health problems by mimicking, blocking or otherwise interfering with the body’s natural hormones. By hijacking the body’s chemical messengers, EDCs can alter the way cells develop and grow.

Known EDCs include bisphenol A (BPA) found in food can linings and cash register receipts, phthalates found in plastics and cosmetics, flame retardants and pesticides. The chemicals are so common that nearly every person on Earth has been exposed to one or more. An economic analysis published inThe Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in March estimated that EDC exposure likely costs the European Union €157 billion ($209 billion) a year in actual health care expenses and lost earning potential.

“The evidence is more definitive than ever before — EDCs disrupt hormones in a manner that harms human health,” said Andrea C. Gore, Professor and Vacek Chair of Pharmacology at the University of Texas at Austin and chair of the task force that developed the statement. “Hundreds of studies are pointing to the same conclusion, whether they are long-term epidemiological studies in human, basic research in animals and cells, or research into groups of people with known occupational exposure to specific chemicals.”

The threat is particularly great when unborn children are exposed to EDCs. Animal studies found that exposure to even tiny amounts of EDCs during the prenatal period can trigger obesity later in life. Similarly, animal studies found that some EDCs directly target beta and alpha cells in the pancreas, fat cells, and liver cells. This can lead to insulin resistance and an overabundance of the hormone insulin in the body — risk factors for Type 2 diabetes.

Epidemiological studies of EDC exposure in humans also point to an association with obesity and diabetes, although the research design did not allow scientists to determine causality. The research offers insights into factors driving the rising rates of obesity and diabetes. About 35 percent of American adults are obese, and more than 29 million Americans have diabetes, according to the Society’s Endocrine Facts and Figures report.

The Scientific Statement also examines evidence linking EDCs to reproductive health problems, hormone-related cancers such as breast and ovarian cancer, prostate conditions, thyroid disorders and neurodevelopmental issues. Although many of these conditions were linked to EDCs by earlier research, the number of corroborating studies continues to mount.

“It is clear we need to take action to minimize further exposure,” Gore said. “With more chemicals being introduced into the marketplace all the time, better safety testing is needed to identify new EDCs and ensure they are kept out of household goods.”

In the statement, the Society calls for:

  • Additional research to more directly infer cause-and-effect relationships between EDC exposure and health conditions.
  • Regulation to ensure that chemicals are tested for endocrine activity, including at low doses, prior to being permitted for use.
  • Calling upon “green chemists” and other industrial partners to create products that test for and eliminate potential EDCs.
  • Education for the public and policymakers on ways to keep EDCs out of food, water and the air, as well as ways to protect unborn children from exposure.

The statement also addresses the need to recognize EDCs as an international problem. Society members are currently meeting in Geneva for the fourth session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4). Attending members, including Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Liège in Belgium, emphasize key principles of endocrinology that are confirmed by recent research need to be taken into account when developing policies for identifying and regulating endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

“Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals during early development can have long-lasting, even permanent consequences,” said Bourguignon. “The science is clear and it’s time for policymakers to take this wealth of evidence into account as they develop legislation.”

Hybrid Chip Device Developed for Reliable Ebola Detection

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The 2014 outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever that killed more than 11,000 people exposed a simple if not frightening truth: much of the world is ill-prepared for a larger outbreak of this deadly virus. To fill in the gaps of the infectious disease ramparts, scientists have reenergized efforts to understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie the virulent nature of Ebola. Simple, fast, accurate, and low-cost detection methods are an area in need of innovation for infectious diseases and lie at the center of these renewed initiatives.

Now, a team of researchers led by scientists at the University of California Santa Cruz has developed chip-based technology, which they hope will allow for the reliable detection of Ebola and other viral-based pathogens. The new device uses direct optical detection of viral molecules and can be integrated into a simple, microfluidic device for use in field situations where rapid, accurate detections of Ebola infections are needed to control outbreaks.

The current gold standard for Ebola detection relies on RT-PCR methods for amplification of viral genes. While this method has been a proven diagnostic technique for infectious diseases like Ebola, it requires the use of specialized equipment and laboratory settings that are often incompatible with field setups.

“Compared to our system, PCR detection is more complex and requires a laboratory setting,” explained senior author Holger Schmidt, Ph.D., professor of optoelectronics at UC Santa Cruz. “We’re detecting the nucleic acids directly, and we achieve a comparable limit of detection to PCR and excellent specificity.”

The findings from this study were published recently in Nature Scientific Reports through an article entitled “Optofluidic analysis system for amplification-free, direct detection of Ebola infection.”

When the investigators tested the new system in the laboratory, they observed sensitive detection of the Ebola virus, without any false positive detection of two related viruses—Sudan and Marburg. Moreover, the device was able to accurately quantify the Ebola virus over six orders of magnitude.

“The measurements were taken at clinical concentrations covering the entire range of what would be seen in an infected person,” Dr. Schmidt noted.

The system combines two small chips, a microfluidic chip for sample preparation and an optofluidic chip for optical detection. Dr. Schmidt’s laboratory has been developing optofluidic technology for over a decade and decided to collaborate with researchers at UC Berkeley to design the microfluidic chip portion of the device, which is composed of a silicon-based polymer with microvalves and fluidic channels to transport the sample between nodes for preparation steps.

The device detects Ebola viral RNA by binding to a matching sequence of synthetic DNA oligonucleotide attached to magnetic microbeads. The microbeads are collected with a magnet, nontarget biomolecules are washed off, and the bound targets are then released by heating, labeled with fluorescent markers, and transferred to the optofluidic chip for optical detection.

Dr. Schmidt and his colleagues were excited by the devices capabilities and accuracy. However, they noted that they have not yet been able to test the system starting with raw blood samples, which will require additional sample prep steps and the use of a biosafety level 4 laboratory in Texas.

“We are now building a prototype to bring to the Texas facility so that we can start with a blood sample and do a complete front-to-back analysis,” Dr. Schmidt stated. “We are also working to use the same system for detecting less dangerous pathogens and do the complete analysis here at UC Santa Cruz.”

London is now recycling energy from train brakes to power their stations.

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London is now recycling energy from train brakes to power their stations

Awesome.

London has just finished testing a new system that can collect and recycle energy generated by their Tube trains when they brake, and it’s already powering their stations completely for more than two days per week.

The world-first, five-week trial was conducted on the Victoria line of the London Underground (LU), which reportedly transports 1.2 billion passengers across a total of 76.2 million km every year, with some stations catering to 89 million people. The city reports that it’s already shaving 5 percent off the annual energy bill, which might not sound like much, but that equates to about £6 million (US$9 million) every year that can be spent on improving the line.

“The trial puts London at the cutting edge of this kind of technology and clearly demonstrates how energy from trains can be recovered to power Tube stations, making the network more environmentally friendly and cost-effective,” Matthew Pencharz, Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, said in a press statement. “This complements our wider work to make other forms of public transport cleaner and greener, including our buses, where we have introduced hybrid and zero-emission technology.”

The technology used is called an inverter system, which has been installed at the Cloudesley Road substation on the Victoria line. The system works by collecting energy generated by the trains when they brake before feeding it back into the power mains as electricity. “In hybrid and electric cars, such recovery systems can help improve range, but in large heavily-packed passenger trains running regularly in one of the most heavily traveled cities in the world, the effects can be significant,”David Szondy writes for Gizmag.

According to the London transport authority, it collected an average of 1 Megawatt hour (MWh) of energy each day, which is enough to cover the line’s biggest stations, such as Holborn, for more than two days. The city will now be running the system permanently.

Another benefit of the inverter system is that by collecting up the energy and turning it into electricity, it prevents the train from converting it into heat. Normally, all that heat energy is radiated throughout the London Underground, and it requires a whole lot of air-conditioning to combat – presumably one of the biggest power saps the stations are dealing with.

“This state-of-the-art regenerative braking system has the potential to transform how we power stations across the … network, unlocking massive power savings and significantly reducing our energy bills,” Chris Tong, LU’s Head of Power and Cooling, said in a press release. “We are committed to doing more to reduce our energy use, and this technology – a world-first for metro railways – is one of a number of innovations we’re embracing to lower our environmental impact.”

According to the local government, this system is just one of a bunch of new initiatives they’re undertaking to make the public train system more environmentally friendly. Earlier this year, they announced that the Greenwich Power Station in southeast London would be converted into a low-carbon power generator for the Tube network, and they’ll be installing six new gas engines to replace existing boilers, which will provide cheaper, cleaner power for their trains.

We have a feeling other major cities around the world will be following suit in the coming decades, not just because it’s better for the environment – you just can’t argue with the economics of renewables anymore, so why fight it?

NASA Confirms Evidence That Liquid Water Flows on Today’s Mars

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recurring slope lineae
These dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks called recurring slope lineae flowing downhill on Mars are inferred to have been formed by contemporary flowing water. Recently, planetary scientists detected hydrated salts on these slopes at Hale crater, corroborating their original hypothesis that the streaks are indeed formed by liquid water. The blue color seen upslope of the dark streaks are thought not to be related to their formation, but instead are from the presence of the mineral pyroxene. The image is produced by draping an orthorectified (Infrared-Red-Blue/Green(IRB)) false color image (ESP_030570_1440) on a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of the same site produced by High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (University of Arizona). Vertical exaggeration is 1.5.

New findings from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars.

Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), and disappear at colder times.

“Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water,’ in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we’ve long suspected,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water — albeit briny — is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”

These downhill flows, known as recurring slope lineae (RSL), often have been described as possibly related to liquid water. The new findings of hydrated salts on the slopes point to what that relationship may be to these dark features. The hydrated salts would lower the freezing point of a liquid brine, just as salt on roads here on Earth causes ice and snow to melt more rapidly. Scientists say it’s likely a shallow subsurface flow, with enough water wicking to the surface to explain the darkening.

Garni crater on Mars
Dark narrow streaks called recurring slope lineae emanating out of the walls of Garni crater on Mars. The dark streaks here are up to few hundred meters in length. They are hypothesized to be formed by flow of briny liquid water on Mars. The image is produced by draping an orthorectified (RED) image (ESP_031059_1685) on a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of the same site produced by High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (University of Arizona). Vertical exaggeration is 1.5.

“We found the hydrated salts only when the seasonal features were widest, which suggests that either the dark streaks themselves or a process that forms them is the source of the hydration. In either case, the detection of hydrated salts on these slopes means that water plays a vital role in the formation of these streaks,” said Lujendra Ojha of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, lead author of a report on these findings published Sept. 28 by Nature Geoscience.

Ojha first noticed these puzzling features as a University of Arizona undergraduate student in 2010, using images from the MRO’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). HiRISE observations now have documented RSL at dozens of sites on Mars. The new study pairs HiRISE observations with mineral mapping by MRO’s Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM).

The spectrometer observations show signatures of hydrated salts at multiple RSL locations, but only when the dark features were relatively wide. When the researchers looked at the same locations and RSL weren’t as extensive, they detected no hydrated salt.

Ojha and his co-authors interpret the spectral signatures as caused by hydrated minerals called perchlorates. The hydrated salts most consistent with the chemical signatures are likely a mixture of magnesium perchlorate, magnesium chlorate and sodium perchlorate. Some perchlorates have been shown to keep liquids from freezing even when conditions are as cold as minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 70 Celsius). On Earth, naturally produced perchlorates are concentrated in deserts, and some types of perchlorates can be used as rocket propellant.

Perchlorates have previously been seen on Mars. NASA’s Phoenix lander and Curiosity rover both found them in the planet’s soil, and some scientists believe that the Viking missions in the 1970s measured signatures of these salts. However, this study of RSL detected perchlorates, now in hydrated form, in different areas than those explored by the landers. This also is the first time perchlorates have been identified from orbit.

MRO has been examining Mars since 2006 with its six science instruments.

“The ability of MRO to observe for multiple Mars years with a payload able to see the fine detail of these features has enabled findings such as these: first identifying the puzzling seasonal streaks and now making a big step towards explaining what they are,” said Rich Zurek, MRO project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

For Ojha, the new findings are more proof that the mysterious lines he first saw darkening Martian slopes five years ago are, indeed, present-day water.

“When most people talk about water on Mars, they’re usually talking about ancient water or frozen water,” he said. “Now we know there’s more to the story. This is the first spectral detection that unambiguously supports our liquid water-formation hypotheses for RSL.”

The discovery is the latest of many breakthroughs by NASA’s Mars missions.

“It took multiple spacecraft over several years to solve this mystery, and now we know there is liquid water on the surface of this cold, desert planet,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “It seems that the more we study Mars, the more we learn how life could be supported and where there are resources to support life in the future.”

This animation simulates a fly-around look at one of the places on Mars where dark streaks advance down slopes during warm seasons, possibly involving liquid water. This site is within Hale Crater. The streaks are roughly the length of a football field.
 Watch the video. URL:https://youtu.be/MDb3UZPoTpc

There are eight co-authors of the Nature Geoscience paper, including Mary Beth Wilhelm at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California and Georgia Tech; CRISM Principal Investigator Scott Murchie of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland; and HiRISE Principal Investigator Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona. Others are at Georgia Tech, the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique in Nantes, France.

The agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin built the orbiter and collaborates with JPL to operate it

Early exposure to tobacco can cause behavioral problems in children.

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Researchers have analyzed data on pre- and postnatal exposure to tobacco in the homes of 5,200 primary school children, and have found that early exposure to tobacco can lead to behavioral problems in children.
Smoking near children may lead to behavioral problems. “Our data indicate that passive smoking, in addition to the well-known effects on health, should also be avoided because of the behavioural disorders it may cause in children,” concludes the researcher.

Researchers from Inserm and Pierre and Marie Curie University (UPMC), in collaboration with the university hospitals of 6 French cities, have analysed data on pre- and postnatal exposure to tobacco in the homes of 5,200 primary school children. They show that this exposure is associated with a risk of behavioural disorders in children, particularly emotional and conduct disorders. The association is stronger when exposure takes place both during pregnancy and after birth. These data show the risk associated with smoking in early life and its behavioural repercussions when the child is of school-going age.These results are published in the journal PLOS ONE.

The consequences of tobacco exposure are widely documented. It leads to many illnesses, including asthma. However, the potential role of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is much less well known in terms of its link to behavioural problems in children. In this context, the team led by Isabella Annesi-Maesano, Inserm Research Director at Unit 1136, “Pierre Louis Public Health Institute” (Inserm/UPMC) examined the association between pre- and postnatal ETS exposure and behavioural problems in children.

“Exposure to ETS in the postnatal period, alone or in association with exposure during pregnancy, increases the risk of behavioural disorders in primary school children,” explains Isabella Annesi-Maesano, Inserm Research Director.

These data come from the 6 Cities Study (see box), which targeted 5,221 primary school children. Prenatal (in utero smoking) and postnatal exposure to tobacco smoke in the home was assessed using a standardised questionnaire completed by the parents. Behavioural disorders were assessed via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) used to assess the behavioural and psychosocial functioning of the children, which was also completed by the parents.

In greater detail, emotional disorders are associated with exposure to ETS during both the prenatal and postnatal periods, which concerns 21% of the children in the study. Conduct disorders are also associated with ETS exposure in these children. The association also exists in cases of prenatal or postnatal exposure alone, but is less pronounced.

These observations seem to confirm those carried out in animals, i.e. that the nicotine contained in tobacco smoke may have a neurotoxic effect on the brain. During pregnancy, nicotine in tobacco smoke stimulates acetylcholine receptors, and causes structural changes in the brain. In the first months of life, exposure to tobacco smoke generates a protein imbalance that leads to altered neuronal growth.

“Our data indicate that passive smoking, in addition to the well-known effects on health, should also be avoided because of the behavioural disorders it may cause in children,” concludes the researcher.

Blocking light improves preemies’ survival rates

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The survival rate of preemies born between 26 to 31 weeks of gestation is improved by blocking light from reaching the intravenously-fed infused nutritious mixture they depend on for survival, researchers have revealed in a new study.
The survival rate of preemies born between 26 to 31 weeks of gestation is improved by blocking light from reaching the intravenously-fed infused nutritious mixture they depend on for survival, researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine and the University of Montreal have revealed in a new study. Premature babies need to be fed intravenously due to the immaturity of their digestive system and their high nutritional requirements during their first days of life. This also prevents serious potential complications such as pulmonary and kidney dysfunction or generalized infection.

The survival rate of preemies born between 26 to 31 weeks of gestation is improved by blocking light from reaching the intravenously-fed infused nutritious mixture they depend on for survival, researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine and the University of Montreal have revealed in a new study. Premature babies need to be fed intravenously due to the immaturity of their digestive system and their high nutritional requirements during their first days of life. This also prevents serious potential complications such as pulmonary and kidney dysfunction or generalized infection. “The conclusions to be drawn are clear. An easy to implement, fully light-shielded delivery system for parenteral nutrition needs to be developed to reduce mortality rates in premature infants,” said Jean-Claude Lavoie, lead author of the study which was published in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

Parenteral nutrition is essential to the survival of babies born preterm because it provides them with vital nutrients like proteins, fat and glucose, and enables them to develop just as fetuses of their age would do in their mother’s womb. Ironically, exposing this type of food preparation to light generates oxidants which the premature infant’s immature defenses cannot fight. ?The photo-excited vitamins B2 and ‘electron donors’ such as vitamin C, amino acids and lipids all interact in the multivitamin solution and generate oxidants,” Jean-Claude Lavoie explains. “This creates an oxidative stress which damages and kills newborn cells. Fortunately, studies show that shielding parenteral nutrition from light significantly decreases such an interaction,” he adds. “However, the solution has to be shielded from the moment it is prepared in the pharmacy all the way through to infusion on the ward, including all bags, tubing and syringes through which it passes,” specifies Maxime Thibault, a pharmacist at CHU Sainte-Justine. “Partial photo-protection is ineffective in preventing oxidant generation.”

To reach these conclusions, researchers ran a meta-analysis of studies reporting the outcome of photo-protected parenteral nutrition on preterm infants. The mortality rates of cohorts totalling 800 infants born preterm (between 26 and 31 weeks of pregnancy) at hospital discharge or when they had reached the equivalent of 36 weeks gestational age were analyzed. Only randomized studies were taken into account, where groups receiving a light-protected solution or a light-exposed solution were formed randomly. A 50% reduction in mortality rates was reported. Male infants were also reported to be half as resistant to oxidative stress, which leads scientists to suggest that this variable should be considered in preterm infant care.

Jean-Claude Lavoie’s team is about to launch a clinical trial to assess the efficacy of an end-to-end photo-protected delivery system that would be easy to implement in clinical settings. With a rising number of children and adults — for example with cancer — under long term home parenteral nutrition as part of a life-sustaining therapy, further studies need to be pursued to assess the potential benefits of photo-protection on severe complications that impede their quality of life.

Incredible Doctor Creates Breathing Apparatus For Asthmatic Toddler On Transatlantic Flight .

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UNILADs Incredible Doctor Creates Breathing Apparatus For Asthmatic Toddler On Transatlantic Flight imageTwitter

A quick thinking doctor is being hailed as a hero after he built a makeshift breathing apparatus for a toddler who was suffering an asthma attack during a long flight.

Dr Khurshid Guru, director of robotic surgery at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in New York, didn’t panic when faced with the emergency, but instead channelled the spirit of resourceful 90s TV character MacGyver.

Armed with only a plastic water bottle, a cup, some tape and an oxygen tank, Guru got creative when he was told that a child was in medical distress on the Air Canada flight from Spain to the U.S.

The parents of the 2-year-old boy told Dr Guru they had accidentally packed their son’s asthma medication in their luggage. The boy was crying and finding it very difficult to breathe, with more than three hours left before the plane would land.

So, the badass Dr Guru jumped into action and cobbled together a makeshift nebulizer.

The plane only came equipped with an adult inhaler which requires the patient to breathe in the asthma medicine so, knowing the youngster needed both the medication and oxygen, he hooked up the inhaler to a hole in a plastic bottle and fed oxygen through another opening he created so the boy could inhale both simultaneously.

Men’s Obsession with Protein Powder Is an Eating Disorder

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Scientists have known for decades that protein is an essential building block of muscle tissue, not to mention hormones, antibodies, blood plasma, and enzymes. So it’s not obvious why Americans have become obsessed with dietary protein over the last 10 years. We love protein bars, shakes, fortified cereals — Coca-Cola is even developing a protein-enhanced milk.

Protein_powder

According to the Food and Nutrition Board, adults should consume 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight. That comes to an average of 56 grams for men and 46 for women.

“The way in which men’s bodies are being objectified by the media is catching up rapidly to what has been done to women’s bodies for decades.”

Among men, the overconsumption of protein powder is enough to constitute an eating disorder, says Richard Achiro of the California School of Professional Psychology. Men are being driven toward a lean, muscular body by low self-esteem and gender role conflict, “which is an underlying sense of insecurity about one’s masculinity.”

“The way in which men’s bodies are being objectified by the media is catching up rapidly to what has been done to women’s bodies for decades,” said Achiro.

The average American currently consumes three to five times the needed amount of daily protein, and most of us, so far as I can tell by looking, aren’t training to be competitive athletes or bodybuilders. While we take protein to be a vessel of robust health, we continue to lead sedentary lives. And when we don’t exercise, the body quickly stores any and all excess protein as fat. The health site Medical Daily reports that,

The average American currently consumes three to five times the needed amount of daily protein.

“[C]onsistent protein overload will flood the kidneys, and cause digestive issues, nausea, harm to your brain and nervous system, and unusual weight gain. You’ll also be putting your body at risk of developing more serious long-term health problems, such as a buildup of amino acids, insulin, ammonia, and other toxic substances in your bloodstream.”

Likewise, when dietitians recommend foods high in protein, they are not talking about bacon and hamburgers. Non-animal sources of protein include the Japanese vegetable dish edamame (which packs 16 grams of protein per cup), chia seeds, quinoa, lentils, Greek yogurt, tempeh, nut butters, and chickpeas.