University of Southampton

One fifth of drips ‘are dangerous’

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Nurse attending to drip

A fifth of patients on an intravenous drip develop complications because they are given the wrong levels of fluid, according to a review of guidance in England and Wales.

Too much fluid can cause heart failure and too little leads to kidney problems.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said doctors and nurses needed better drip training.

Patients’ groups said the scale of the problem was “staggering”.

Thousands of people each year need a drip in hospital. But NICE warns that staff are putting lives in danger due to a lack of education in managing intravenous drips.

It has developed new guidelines for the NHS in England and Wales.

Dr Mike Stroud, a gastroenterology consultant at Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, who developed the guidelines, said: “Doctors and other health professionals are not well educated in terms of what a patient needs and that is astonishing really.

“This needs to change.”

Drip chief

Hospitals will also be expected to appoint an “intravenous fluid champion” and patients’ drips will need to be managed and monitored more closely.

Katie Scales, a consultant nurse at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “The majority of patients who receive intravenous fluids do so without complications but this is not the case for every patient.

“This NICE guideline is an important lever for improvement and may ultimately help to save lives.”

Katherine Murphy, the chief executive of the Patients’ Association, said the guidelines were “very welcome” due to the “staggering” figure of one in five patients developing complications.

“It’s essential that all staff receive support and training in the administration of IV fluids and hospitals should ensure time is dedicated to this,” she added.

Dr Mike Durkin, director of patient safety at NHS England, said: “I welcome this new guidance.

“Hospitals across the country need to ensure that the recommendations are implemented as routine practice so that the clinical effectiveness of infusion fluids are maximised and any risks are minimised.”

Dolphin-inspired bomb radar tested.

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A dolphin
Dolphins send out signals in pairs to help target prey

British engineers have taken inspiration from dolphins for a new type of radar that could help detect roadside bombs more easily.

The device sends out two pulses instead of one, mimicking how dolphins pinpoint their prey.

The twin inverted pulse radar (TWIPR) can distinguish between the electronics at the heart of an explosive and other “clutter” such as pipes or nails.

Experts said the system “showed promise”.

The radar device has been developed by a team led by Prof Tim Leighton, of the University of Southampton, and scientists from University College, London.

Strong signal

Prof Leighton took his inspiration from the way dolphins are able to process their sonar signals to pinpoint prey in bubbly water.

Some dolphins blow bubble nets around schools of fish to force them to cluster together.

Their sonar would not work if they could not distinguish the fish from the bubbles.

He wanted to see if the same technique would work with radio waves, and so developed a system that also sent out pulses in pairs.

Traditional radar typically sends out just one pulse.

The device his team came up with was just 2cm in size and cost less than £1 to put together.

The second pulse has the reverse polarity of the first.

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Any technology that increases the probability of detecting IEDs [improvised explosive device] or buried earthquake victims while reducing false alarms will undoubtedly save lives”

Gary Kemp Cambridge Consultants

This means that if it hits an electronic device, it turns the pulse into a positive, which in turn gives off a very strong signal.

In tests the team applied the radar pulses to an antenna typical of the circuitry used in explosive devices, which was surrounded by “clutter” metals.

The antenna showed up 100,000 times more powerfully than the other metal “clutter”.

Animal super-senses

Such a device could also be extremely helpful in finding surveillance device as well as bombs, the team said.

It could even help locate people buried after an avalanche or earthquake by detecting their mobile phones.

“Such technology could also be extended to other radiations, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and light detection and ranging (Lidar)… offering the possibility of early fire detection systems,” said Prof Leighton.

Gary Kemp, programme director at technology consultancy Cambridge Consultants, said that the system “shows promise”.

He said: “We continue to take inspiration from the many animal super-senses found in nature, whether from the sophisticated echolocation techniques used by bats and cetaceans or the remarkable chemical detection ability of dogs and bees.

“Any technology that increases the probability of detecting IEDs [improvised explosive device] or buried earthquake victims while reducing false alarms will undoubtedly save lives,” he added.

Lightning powers Frankenstein phone.

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Scientists use lightning bolt to charge mobile phone

 

Mobile phone receiving a lightning strike
The lightning bolt was recreated in the lab

Some 200 years after Mary Shelley used lightning to breathe life into Frankenstein’s monster, scientists have copied her idea to power a phone.

The proof-of-concept experiment was conducted at the University of Southampton in collaboration with Nokia.

The mobile firm warned users “not to try this at home”.

Harnessing nature in this way could provide power sources where electricity is in short supply, said experts.

Huge step

Using a transformer, the team recreated a lightning bolt in the lab by passing 200,000 volts across a 30cm (12in) air gap.

“We were amazed to see that the Nokia circuitry somehow stabilised the noisy signal, allowing the battery to be charged,” said Neil Palmer, from the University of Southampton’s high voltage laboratory.

Southampton University lab The proof-of-concept experiment is a step towards harnessing the energy from lightning

“This discovery proves devices can be charged with a current that passes through the air, and is a huge step towards understanding a natural power like lightning and harnessing its energy.”

Lightning is a discharge of static electricity that occurs when there is an imbalance in the electrical charge between a cloud and the earth’s surface.

On average three people die in the UK each year from lightning strikes, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa).

“We obviously aren’t recommending people try this experiment at home, but we are always looking to disrupt and push the boundaries of technology,” said Chris Weber, executive vice-president for sales at Nokia.

Finding new ways to charge mobile phones and extend battery life is one of the number one priorities for the mobile industry.

“It’s certainly a striking idea,” said Ben Wood, of analyst firm CCS Insight.

“Nokia has been among the forerunners of device-charging technology for some time. It’s also very committed to caring for the environment. So it’s perhaps not surprising that the company’s involved in what might appear to be a wacky idea.”

He thinks the concept might be useful in areas without reliable electricity.

“If you live in a remote village in India you might welcome the possibility of a communal device that charges phones.”

Anti-depressants’ ‘link to diabetes’

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People prescribed anti-depressants should be aware they could be at increased risk of type 2 diabetes, say UK researchers.

The University of Southampton team looked at available medical studies and found evidence the two were linked.

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But there was no proof that one necessarily caused the other.

It may be that people taking anti-depressants put on weight which, in turn, increases their diabetes risk, the team told Diabetes Care journal.

Or the drugs themselves may interfere with blood sugar control.

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These findings fall short of being strong evidence that taking anti-depressants directly increases risk of type 2 diabetes”

Dr Matthew Hobbs of Diabetes UK

Their analysis of 22 studies involving thousands of patients on anti-depressants could not single out any class of drug or type of person as high risk.

Prof Richard Holt and colleagues say more research is needed to investigate what factors lie behind the findings.

And they say doctors should keep a closer check for early warning signs of diabetes in patients who have been prescribed these drugs.

With 46 million anti-depressant prescriptions a year in the UK, this potential increased risk is worrying, they say.

Prof Holt said: “Some of this may be coincidence but there’s a signal that people who are being treated with anti-depressants then have an increased risk of going on to develop diabetes.

“We need to think about screening and look at means to reduce that risk.”

Diabetes is easy to diagnose with a blood test, and Prof Holt says this ought to be part of a doctor’s consultation.

“Diabetes is potentially preventable by changing your diet and being more physically active.

“Physical activity is also good for your mental health so there’s a double reason to be thinking about lifestyle changes.”

Around three million people in the UK are thought to have diabetes, with most cases being type 2.

Dr Matthew Hobbs of Diabetes UK, said: “These findings fall short of being strong evidence that taking anti-depressants directly increases risk of type 2 diabetes. In this review, even the studies that did suggest a link showed only a small effect and just because two things tend to occur together, it doesn’t necessarily mean that one is causing the other.

“But what is clear is that some anti-depressants lead to weight gain and that putting on weight increases risk of type 2 diabetes. Anyone who is currently taking, or considering taking, anti-depressants and is concerned about this should discuss their concerns with their GP.”

Source: BBC

‘Most family doctors’ have given a patient a placebo drug.

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Most family doctors have given a placebo to at least one of their patients, survey findings suggest.

In a poll, 97% of 783 GPs admitted that they had recommended a sugar pill or a treatment with no established efficacy for the ailment their patient came in with.

The PLOS One study authors say this may not be a bad thing – doctors are doing it to help, not to deceive patients.

The Royal College of GPs says there is a place for placebos in medicine.

But they warn that some sham treatments may be inappropriate and could cause side effects or issues such as drug resistance.

For example, one of the placebo treatments identified in the study was antibiotics for suspected viral infections.

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This is not about doctors deceiving patients”

Dr Jeremy HowickThe study’s co-author

Antibiotics are powerless against viruses and doctors are told not to use them.

About one in 10 of the GPs in the study said they had given a patient a sugar pill or an injection of salty water rather than a real medicine at some time in their career.

One in 100 of them said they did this at least once a week.

‘Offering reassurance’

Almost all of the GPs said they had provided patients with treatments, like supplements, probiotics and complementary medicines, that were unproven for their medical condition. Three-quarters said they offered unproven treatments on a daily or weekly basis.

Dr Jeremy Howick, co-author of the study that was carried out by the University of Oxford and the University of Southampton, said: “This is not about doctors deceiving patients.

The power of placebo

The placebo effect – when the patient feels better despite taking a medicine with no active ingredient – can be surprisingly strong.

One study even found patients with irritable bowel syndrome reported improvements despite knowing they were taking a dummy pill.

And its not just pills, fake acupuncture has been shown to reduce the severity of headaches and migraines.

The effect is based on the patient’s expectation of a cure and seems to work best for subjective measures such as pain.

The size, colour, and branding of placebo treatments have all been shown to influence ‘effectiveness’.

The placebo is the backbone of medical research enabling doctors to distinguish between real and expected or perceived effects of treatment.

But when it comes to their use in general medicine some believe their use can damage the doctor-patient relationship.

The question is whether the patient minds as long as they have their ‘cure’.

“The study shows that placebo use is widespread in the UK, and doctors clearly believe that placebos can help patients.”

The GPs in the study said they used placebos either because patients requested treatment or to reassure patients.

Half said they told their patients that the therapy had helped other patients without specifically telling them that they were prescribing a placebo.

Dr Clare Gerada, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said it was perfectly acceptable to use a placebo as long as it did not cause harm and was not expensive.

“Lots of doctors use them and they can help people.

“If you think about it, a kiss on the cheek when you fall over is a placebo.

“But there are risks. Not all of the placebo treatments that the researchers looked at in this study are inert. If you take too many vitamins, for example, some can cause harm.”

She said fobbing off patients with an ineffectual treatment was never acceptable. “But admitting to your patient that you do not know exactly what is going on, but that a therapy might help is.”

Source:BBC

 

Imprisoned Molecules ‘Quantum Rattle’ in Their Cages.

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Scientists have discovered that a space inside a special type of carbon molecule can be used to imprison other smaller molecules such as hydrogen or water.

The nano-metre sized cavity of the hollow spherical C60 Buckminsterfullerene — or bucky ball — effectively creates a ‘nanolaboratory’, allowing detailed study of the quantum mechanical principles that determine the motion of the caged molecule, including the mysterious wave-like behaviour that is a fundamental property of all matter.

Experiments by the international collaboration of researchers, including physicists from The University of Nottingham, have revealed the wave-like behaviour and show how the imprisoned H2 and H2O molecules ‘quantum rattle’ in their cage.

Professor Tony Horsewill, of the School of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Nottingham, said: “For me a lot of the motivation for carrying out this investigation came from the sheer pleasure of studying such a unique and beautiful molecule and teasing out the fascinating insights it gave into the fundamentals of quantum molecular dynamics. Intellectually, it’s been hugely enjoyable.

“However, as with any blue-skies research initiative there is always the promise of new, often unforeseen, applications. Indeed, in the case of water molecules inside bucky balls we have a guest molecule that possesses an electric dipole moment and the collaboration is already investigating its use in molecular electronics, including as an innovative component of a molecular transistor.”

The research, which involved scientists from the US, Japan, France, Estonia and the universities of Nottingham and Southampton in the UK, has recently been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The discovery of the C60 Buckminsterfullerene, and the related class of molecules the fullerenes, in the mid-1980s earned Professors Harry Kroto, Robert Curl and the late Richard Smalley the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996.

It has a cage-like spherical structure made up for 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons and resembles a soccer ball, earning it the nickname ‘bucky ball’.

In a recent breakthrough in synthetic chemistry, the Japanese scientists from Kyoto have invented a molecular surgery technique allowing them to successfully permanently seal small molecules such as H2 and H2O inside C60.

They used a set of surgical synthetic procedures to open the C60 ‘cage’ producing an opening large enough to ‘push’ a H2 or H2O molecule inside at high temperature and pressure. The system was then cooled down to stabilise the entrapped molecule inside and the cage was surgically repaired to reproduce a C60.

Professor Horsewill added: “This technique succeeds in combining perhaps the universe’s most beautiful molecule C60 with its simplest.”

The Nottingham research group has employed a technique called inelastic neutron scattering (INS) where a beam of neutrons, fundamental particles that make up the atomic nucleus, is used to investigate the ‘cage rattling’ motion of the guest molecules within the C60.

Their investigations have given an insight into the wavelike nature of H20 and H2 molecules and their orbital and rotational motion as they move within the C60.

Professor Malcolm Levitt, of the School of Chemistry at The University of Southampton, who has used the technique nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to study the quantum properties of the caged molecules, said: “By confining small molecules such as water in fullerene cages we provide the controlled environment of a laboratory but on the scale of about one nanometre.

“Under these conditions, the confined molecules reveal a wave-like nature and behave according to the laws of quantum mechanics. Apart from their intrinsic interest, we expect that the special properties of these materials will lead to a variety of applications, such as new ways to brighten the images of MRI scans, and new types of computer memory.”

The work published in the PNAS paper has also separately identified two subtly different forms of H2O — ortho-water and para-water . These so called nuclear spin-isomers also owe their separate identities to quantum mechanical principles.

Source: Science