You won't believe what's hiding inside this former beauty queen's stomach

 

Here's a hint: it's another part of her body. As in, it was once attached to her person elsewhere, only to be removed and tucked away inside her belly for safekeeping. Give up? It's her skull. Her skull! In her stomach! How amazing is that? But we're getting ahead of ourselves. The abdomen in question belongs to former "Mrs. Idaho" Jamie Hilton. Back in June, Hilton was involved in a devastating accident, and had to undergo emergency brain surgery. In the process, her doctors removed 25% of her skull so that her severely swollen brain would have room to return to its normal size. Fully intending to reattach the skull fragment later, Hilton's doctors stowed it away inside her stomach, where her body would keep it nourished until she was ready to have it reattached. In the weeks ahead, Hilton recovered marvelously, all while missing a full quarter of her skull. She wore a helmet to help prevent further injury. By mid-July, Hilton's swelling had subsided enough for doctors to remove the fragment from her abdomen and put it back in place with the aid of some titanium screws and plates. It's been over two months since her second surgery, and she seems to be doing incredibly well, telling the New York Post that the only lasting effect seems to have been a change in her tastebuds and the loss of her sense of smell. As for her head, it's back to its normal shape, albeit with a pretty awesome-looking scar. And we're willing to bet it will be barely noticeable once her hair grows back in. You can read more about Hilton's remarkable healing process over on her blog, where she and her husband have catalogued the entire ordeal. For more information on the surgery that Hilton had performed (decompressive hemicraniectomy), check out this post by Bradley Voit, who wrote about the procedure in detail when Congresswoman Gabby Giffords had it performed back in January 2011. [Jamie Hilton via NY Post] All images via Hilton's blog source: www.io9.com

 

 

 

LG G Watch R vs. Asus ZenWatch: In pictures

 

Gizmag takes a hands-on look at the LG G Watch R (left) and Asus ZenWatch (Photo: Will Shanklin/Gizmag.com) Image Gallery (57 images) LG and Asus made two of the best-looking smartwatches of 2014. Let's take a quick look at the two fashionable Android Wear watches, the LG G Watch R and Asus ZenWatch. If you want a smartwatch that hits a nice balance between fashion and function, then we recommend these two, along with the Moto 360, as your best picks this year. We've already talked at length about these three, but we have a few more thoughts, as well as plenty of shots in our image gallery, about how these two specifically compare. Both watches have luxury watch-inspired designs and could, from a distance, pass for standard timepieces. The G Watch R is still the only Android Wear watch you can buy with a fully round screen (the Moto 360 has a little sliver cut-out at the bottom), and it's one of the LG watch's biggest draws. The diving watch-inspired dial around its bezels might draw some polarizing reactions, but it's grown on me. It also helps that some of LG's clock faces are tailor-made to complement it. Screen shape is a big part of your decision, but screen size shouldn't be. Though the watches have different diagonal measurements, never mind that: screen area, a more telling measurement, has them at pretty much the exact same size. Both watches ship with leather bands, and are swappable with standard 22 mm bands. The G Watch R's default black band is more neutral, while the tan-colored band on the ZenWatch becomes a more eye-catching part of its aesthetic. Apart from the stark contrast in styles, these two are very close to being the same watch. Both have long battery life, and you can leave their always-on clock face settings on and still last a full day with room to spare. Both have smooth performance, and run the exact same Android Wear software (you can check out Gizmag's Android Wear review for more on that). Asus threw in a couple of optional companion apps that give you a few extra features. Most of these are easily duplicated by third-party Play Store apps, like a flashlight, compass and "leave my phone unlocked when the watch is near" feature (don't turn that on: it kills the ZenWatch's otherwise great battery life). The ZenWatch Wellness app does add a useful nudge feature, inspired by Jawbone trackers: you can set it to vibrate your wrist if you've been sitting still for too long. The ZenWatch's heart rate sensor is also (oddly) located on its front bezels. The G Watch R measures your pulse using your wrist, so you don't have to do anything but try to hold still. On the ZenWatch, you have to put two fingers on the watch's bezels (like you're making a peace sign) to get a reading. The ZenWatch can also use your heart rate to assign a "relaxation score." I didn't find this to be any more useful than a straightforward heart rate measurement, but your mileage could vary. The only other big difference is price. The G Watch R is going to cost you an extra US$100 (LG's watch costs $300, next to $200 for the ZenWatch), so even if you like the G Watch's look a little better, you'll want to ask yourself if you like it "$100 better." For a closer look at these two, we invite you to thumb through our image gallery. And for more on the watches themselves, you can hit up Gizmag's individual reviews of the G Watch R and Asus ZenWatch.

 

 

BMW techs using Google Glass in pre-series vehicle tests

 

Google Glass is being used in a pilot program to evaluate pre-series vehicles Image Gallery (7 images) Google Glass has had some bad press of late, with users called some very unkind names and some industry analysts calling it this decade's Segway, but BMW has some love for the wearable head-mounted display. At its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, BMW is running a pilot program to see how Google Glass can improve the quality control of its pre-series vehicles as they make the transition from prototype to full production. Pre-series cars are a vital link in modern car manufacturing. Cars that begin life as eye-catching concepts and then go on to become working prototypes still have a major hurdle before they're ready to be sold to the public. That's where pre-series cars come in. These are essentially production prototypes that are put together in a production-like setting to see if the design is capable of being reliably and economically mass produced instead of handmade in a machine shop. It's a vital step because building the pre-series cars can uncover all manner of flaws that wouldn't have been apparent until the car went into production. The problem is, evaluating the pre-series cars requires a lot of communication between the quality testers and the design engineers to determine how the cars are deviating from plan. This is especially tricky because the problems are often vague and difficult to explain. As a result, BMW says written reports and photographs are less than adequate in roughly one out of four cases. What BMW hopes is that by using a wearable technology like Google Glass, it will be possible to show rather than tell what is wrong. The idea is that the device will use a background video mode to record video feeds in two-minute segments, which can be permanently stored at the press of a button for later reference and discussion between the quality testers and design engineers instead of relying on handwritten notes or similar methods. In addition, the technology allows testers to remain with the vehicle and to sign off on a test using voice control. The pilot program is part of BMW's 4.0 campaign to introduce new technologies to support planning and production. The company says that so far the trial, which can involve between 10 and 25 individual tests for each car depending on its equipment package, have proven so promising that it is considering using the system in the final assembly of series vehicles. Source: BMW

 

 

The Rise of All-Purpose Antidepressants

 

Doctors are increasingly prescribing SSRIs to treat more than just depression Oct 16, 2014 By Julia Calderone Antidepressant use among the US people  is skyrocketing. Adults  consumed four times more antidepressants in the late 2000s than they did in the early 1990s. As the third most frequently taken medication in the U.S., researchers estimate that 8 to 10 percent of the population is taking an antidepressant. But this spike does not necessarily signify a depression epidemic. Through the early 2000s pharmaceutical companies were aggressively testing selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the dominant class of depression drug, for a variety of disorders—the timeline below shows the rapid expansion of FDA-approved uses. As the drugs' patents expired, companies stopped funding studies for official approval. Yet doctors have continued to prescribe them for more ailments. One motivating factor is that SSRIs are a fairly safe option for altering brain chemistry. Because we know so little about mental illness, many clinicians reason, we might as well try the pills already on the shelf. Common Off-Label Uses Doctors commonly use antidepressants to treat many maladies they are not approved for. In fact, studies show that between 25 and 60 percent of prescribed antidepressants are actually used to treat nonpsychological conditions. The most common and well-supported off-label uses of SSRIs include: Abuse and dependence ADHD (in children and adolescents) Anxiety disorders Autism (in children) Bipolar disorder Eating disorders Fibromyalgia Neuropathic pain Obsessive-compulsive disorder Premenstrual dysphoric disorder Investigational Uses SSRIs have shown promise in clinical trials for many more disorders, and some doctors report using them successfully to treat these ailments: Arthritis Deficits caused by stroke Diabetic neuropathy Hot flashes Irritable bowel syndrome Migraine Neurocardiogenic syncope (fainting) Panic disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder Premature ejaculation An Expanding Repertoire: Above are the SSRIs approved in the U.S. and the dates the FDA approved each to treat various disorders. This article was originally published with the title "All-Purpose Antidepressants."

 

 

 

 

Matched 'hybrid' systems may hold key to wider use of renewable energy

 

Wind farms such as this one in Idaho might be combined with other forms of alternative energy to better balance the output of sustainable energy. The use of renewable energy in the United States could take a significant leap forward with improved storage technologies or more efforts to "match" different forms of alternative energy systems that provide an overall more steady flow of electricity, researchers say in a new report. Historically, a major drawback to the use and cost-effectiveness of alternative energy systems has been that they are too variable -- if the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine, a completely different energy system has to be available to pick up the slack. This lack of dependability is costly and inefficient. But in an analysis just published in The Electricity Journal, scientists say that much of this problem could be addressed with enhanced energy storage technology or by developing "hybrid" systems in which, on a broader geographic scale, one form of renewable energy is ramping up even while the other is declining. "Wind energy is already pretty cost-competitive and solar energy is quickly getting there," said Anna Kelly, a graduate student in the School of Public Policy at Oregon State University, and an energy policy analyst. "The key to greater use of these and other technologies is to match them in smart-grid, connected systems. "This is already being done successfully in a number of countries and the approach could be expanded." For instance, the wind often blows more strongly at night in some regions, Kelly said, and solar technology can only produce energy during the day. By making more sophisticated use of that basic concept in a connected grid, and pairing it with more advanced forms of energy storage, the door could be opened for a much wider use of renewable energy systems, scientists say. "This is more than just an idea, it's a working reality in energy facilities around the world, in places like Spain, Morocco and China, as well as the U.S.," Kelly said. "Geothermal is being paired with solar; wind and solar with lithium-ion batteries; and wind and biodiesel with batteries. By helping to address the price issue, renewable energy is being produced in hybrid systems by real, private companies that are making real money." Advanced energy storage could be another huge key to making renewable energy more functional, and one example is just being developed in several cooperating states in the West. Electricity is being produced by efficient wind farms in Wyoming; transmitted to Utah where it's being stored via compressed air in certain rock formations; and ultimately used to help power Los Angeles. This $8 billion system could be an indicator of things to come, since compressed air can rapidly respond to energy needs and be readily scaled up to be cost-competitive at a significant commercial level. "There are still a number of obstacles to overcome," said Joshua Merritt, a co-author on the report and also a graduate student in mechanical engineering and public policy at OSU. "Our transmission grids need major improvements so we can more easily produce energy and then send it to where it's needed. There are some regulatory hurdles to overcome. And the public has to more readily accept energy systems like wind, wave or solar in practice, not just in theory." The "not in my back yard" opposition to renewable energy systems is still a reality, the researchers said, and there are still some environmental concerns about virtually any form of energy, whether it's birds killed by wind turbine rotors, fish losses in hydroelectric dams or chemical contaminants from use of solar energy. The near future may offer more options, the researchers said. Advanced battery storage technologies are becoming more feasible. Wave or tidal energy may become a real contributor, and some of those forces are more predictable and stable by definition. And the birth of small, modular nuclear reactors -- which can be built at lower cost and produce no greenhouse gas emissions -- could play a significant role in helping to balance energy outflows from renewable sources. The long-term goal, the report concluded, is to identify technologies that can work in a hybrid system that offers consistency, dependability and doesn't rely on fossil fuels. With careful matching of systems, improved transmission abilities and some new technological advances, that goal may be closer than realized, they said. "With development, the cost of these hybrid systems will decrease and become increasingly competitive, hopefully playing a larger role in power generation in the future," the researchers wrote in their conclusion.

 

 

Artificial pancreas shown to improve treatment of type 1 diabetes

 

 

The world’s first clinical trial comparing three alternative treatments for type 1 diabetes was conducted in Montréal by researchers at the IRCM and the University of Montreal, led by endocrinologist Dr. Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret. The study confirms that the external artificial pancreas improves glucose control and reduces the risk of hypoglycemia compared to conventional diabetes treatment. The world's first clinical trial comparing three alternative treatments for type 1 diabetes was conducted in Montréal by researchers at the IRCM and the University of Montreal, led by endocrinologist Dr. Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret. The study confirms that the external artificial pancreas improves glucose control and reduces the risk of hypoglycemia compared to conventional diabetes treatment. The results, published in the scientific journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, could have a significant impact on the treatment of type 1 diabetes, a chronic disease that can cause vision loss and cardiovascular diseases. An emerging technology to treat type 1 diabetes, the external artificial pancreas is an automated system that simulates the normal pancreas by continuously adapting insulin delivery based on changes in glucose levels. Two configurations exist: the single-hormone artificial pancreas that delivers insulin alone and the dual-hormone artificial pancreas that delivers both insulin and glucagon. While insulin lowers blood glucose levels, glucagon has the opposite effect and raises glucose levels. "Our clinical trial was the first to compare these two configurations of the artificial pancreas with the conventional diabetes treatment using an insulin pump," says Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret, Director of the Obesity, Metabolism and Diabetes research clinic at the IRCM and professor at the University of Montreal's Department of Nutrition. "We wanted to determine the usefulness of glucagon in the artificial pancreas, especially to prevent hypoglycemia, which remains the major barrier to reaching glycemic targets." People living with type 1 diabetes must carefully manage their blood glucose levels to ensure they remain within a target range in order to prevent serious long-term complications related to high glucose levels (such as blindness or kidney failure) and reduce the risk of hypoglycemia (dangerously low blood glucose that can lead to confusion, disorientation and, if severe, loss of consciousness, coma and seizure). "Our study confirms that both artificial pancreas systems improve glucose control and reduce the risk of hypoglycemia compared to conventional pump therapy," explains engineer Ahmad Haidar, first author of the study and postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret's research unit at the IRCM. "In addition, we found that the dual-hormone artificial pancreas provides additional reduction in hypoglycemia compared to the single-hormone system." "Given that low blood glucose remains very frequent during the night, the fear of severe nocturnal hypoglycemia is a major source or stress and anxiety, especially for parents with young diabetic children," adds Dr. Laurent Legault, paediatric endocrinologist at the Montreal Children's Hospital, and co-author of the study. "The artificial pancreas has the potential to substantially improve the management of diabetes and the quality of life for patients and their families." IRCM researchers are pursuing clinical trials on the artificial pancreas to test the system for longer periods and with larger patient cohorts. The technology should be available commercially within the next five to seven years, with early generations focusing on overnight glucose control. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, an estimated 285 million people worldwide are affected by diabetes, approximately 10 per cent of which have type 1 diabetes. With a further 7 million people developing diabetes each year, this number is expected to hit 438 million by 2030, making it a global epidemic. Today, more than nine million Canadians -- or one if four -- are living with diabetes or prediabetes. Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by Universite de Montreal. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference: Ahmad Haidar, Laurent Legault, Virginie Messier, Tina Maria Mitre, Catherine Leroux, Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret. Comparison of dual-hormone artificial pancreas, single-hormone artificial pancreas, and conventional insulin pump therapy for glycaemic control in patients with type 1 diabetes: an open-label randomised controlled crossover trial. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 2014; DOI: 10.1016/S2213-8587(14)70226-8

What happened to England's abandoned mansions?

 

By Katie Wray BBC News

Evocative of an aristocratic and glorious history, there are many mansions around England that now stand empty or abandoned.

These impressive buildings may look lonely and forlorn but behind every mansion is a story.

Winstanley Hall in Winstanley, Wigan

Shiela Gummerson, 72, spent much of her childhood living in the grounds of Winstanley Hall, where her parents worked for its owners, the Bankes family.

"It was my own personal Downton Abbey," she said. "We were downstairs and the Bankes family were upstairs."

The hall dates back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and had been the home of the Bankes family since 1595.

Mrs Gummerson lived in a cottage on the grounds from 1942 until 1969 when her father, Frederick Parker, was their chauffeur and her mother, Sarah, was their cook.

"We got on well with the Bankes family. Every year they used to have a daffodil day once a year in the spring, where they'd invite local people to come and buy daffodils that would grow outside the Hall. Mother used to cook yeast buns and sell them to the locals."

She lived there until she was 27 when she got married. Her mother, by now a widow, left the cottage two years later.

The last member of the Bankes family left the house in 1984 and the building has since fallen into disrepair. It was sold to developers in 2000 and Save Britain's Heritage is now working to rescue it from decay.

While Mrs Gummerson has nostalgic memories towards the Hall, she has not been back since 1978.

"I can't bring myself to do it," she said. "I can see on the internet what it looks like now and I get so upset."

Shiela Gummerson in 1963, the morning after her 21st birthday, and her father - Frederick Thomas Parker - who was a chauffeur for the Bankes family

Woodchester Mansion, near Nympsfield, Gloucestershire

Work began on Woodchester Mansion in the 1850s but it was abandoned unfinished in 1873

While most mansions fell into disrepair after decades of use, Woodchester Mansion was never actually finished. Work began in the 1850s but construction was abandoned in 1873.

According to rumour, a French plasterer was bludgeoned to death in the kitchen and his spirit scared the tradesmen off the site. However, the more likely explanation for its abandonment is that the owner, William Leigh, ran out of money after taking out a £10,000 mortgage, according to the estate manager Hannah McCanlis.

Andrew Fryer lived and worked in the mansion as a caretaker from 1994 until 2011. For the first 10 years he lived in one room on the ground floor with a Saniflo toilet.

"There were always weird things happening - noises coming from areas that no-one was allowed in," he said.

Despite now standing empty, Woodchester Mansion does have some unusual residents. It houses five different breeds of bat. Two of the bat colonies, the lesser horseshoe and greater horseshoe, live in the attics of the mansion.

The entire mansion is left in different states of incompletion, but the carved stonework is some of the best in the country, said Ms McCanlis.

Woodchester Mansion currently attracts about 6,000 visitors yearly and is open six days a week between April and October.

Andrew Fryer looked after Woodchester Mansion for 17 years, and lived in the caretaker's apartment behind him

Witley Court in Worcestershire

The South Portico of Witley Court, eight columns wide and two columns deep

Today, Witley Court is a large and impressive ruin, but 100 years ago it was in spectacular condition.

The rich industrialist Sir Herbert Smith bought the house in 1920 and lived there for 17 years until a devastating fire broke out in September 1937 while he was away.

The blaze began in the bakery in the basement of the south-east corner of the house. Fanned by strong winds, the fire spread rapidly to the main rooms, completely gutting the central and eastern sections.

According to English Heritage, insurance money would not pay for more than a quarter of the cost of rebuilding.

Therefore Sir Herbert decided to leave the property, and it has been empty since 1938.

English Heritage has restored the south garden. In addition to this, Wolfson Foundation funding has assisted with major restoration works in the East Parterre garden.

The service courtyard behind the curved wing of the Court, was known as the "kitchen court" or "back court". Servants and tradesmen would access the house this way

Poltimore House, near Exeter in Devon

Poltimore House has become increasingly derelict since a great fire in 1987

Poltimore House dates back to the 16th Century and was home to the Bampfylde family for five centuries before becoming Poltimore College, a girls' school, in 1921.

However, a fire destroyed the former ballroom wing in 1987 and it has since fallen prey to vandalism, theft and the effects of bad weather.

Jocelyn Hemming, now 90 years old, was 21 when her parents bought the 112-acre estate in 1945.

The family lived in two rooms on the ground floor while the house was converted into a hospital.

She is now a member of the Poltimore House Trust, which has looked after the site since 2000 and hopes to restore it.

"I don't want to let the house go," she said. "It needs a lot of tender loving care and money.

"But my parents really loved that place, and I know they would like to think we were looking after it."

Jocelyn Hemming outside Poltimore House in 1949, and in 2014 with Ashley Roberts, who was born in the house in 1951 when it was a hospital

Bank Hall in Bretherton, Lancashire

Bank Hall in Bretherton has stood empty since 1962

Bank Hall, which dates back to the 17th Century, was used as a military headquarters during World War Two.

The Royal Engineers used it as a base for co-ordinating the transatlantic crossing of convoys of merchant shipping and also billeted officers there between journeys.

The Grade II-listed country house was built in 1608 but since the early 1960s it has been empty and "at the mercy of vandals", according to the Bank Hall Action Group, which is hoping to save it.

Janet Edwards, the group's chairwoman, said she had been fascinated by the building since she was 10 years old and the group had run a 16-year campaign to save it.

"It is a project that no-one in their right minds would take on, but once under its spell, it is hard to walk away," she said.

In February it was announced that Bank Hall would receive £1.69m for a restoration project from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Planning consent is currently in place to turn the hall into a series of apartments while the Prospect Tower will be open for public exhibitions and tours.

Janet Edwards, chairwoman of Bank Hall Action Group, is passionate about restoring the Hall to its former glory

Leading medical experts call for an end to UK postcode lottery for liver disease treatment, detection

 

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In a major new Lancet Commission, led by Professor Roger Williams, Director of the Institute of Hepatology, London, UK, doctors and medical scientists from across the UK call for a radical scale up of liver disease treatment and detection facilities in the country, which has one of the worst rates of death from liver disease in Europe.

The UK is the only country in western Europe (except Finland) where the prevalence of liver disease has increased in the past three decades, and the rate of death from the disease for those under the age of 65 years has increased by almost 500% since 1970.

"There is a human, social, and financial imperative to act now if the UK's burden of liver disease and all its consequences are to be tackled and the NHS is not to be overwhelmed by the cost of treating advanced stage liver disease," says Professor Williams.

Although 1 in 10 people in the UK will experience liver disease at some stage in their lifetime, the Commission shows that nationally, early detection of liver disease through primary care services (such as GPs and walk-in centres) is virtually non-existent, despite the fact that the disease is much more effectively treated when identified early.

As a recent Public Health England (PHE) report showed, the burden of liver disease in different regions of the UK is closely linked to socioeconomic deprivation, with areas such as the north west of England experiencing nearly four times as many deaths from liver disease as more affluent areas.

Despite the fact that these regions experience a far greater burden of death and illness from liver disease, the Commission shows that specialist treatment services for liver disease in its advanced stages are unevenly distributed throughout the UK, with some of the regions most badly affected having inadequate specialist provision, leading to a postcode lottery for patients which is resulting in unacceptable rates of death and illness in many regions of the UK.

As well as improving treatment and detection services, the Commission demonstrates that a powerful commitment is needed from UK policymakers to implement policies which address the lifestyle factors leading to most death and illness from liver disease, especially excessive alcohol use and obesity. This includes recommendations to implement minimum pricing policies for alcohol, prominent health warnings on alcohol packaging, and regulation of sugar content in food and soft drinks.

The Commission provides a cost-effective and achievable blueprint for improving hospital care for people with severe liver disease, by recommending that Liver Units providing acute services are established in every District General Hospital in the UK, linked with 30 Specialist Centres -- for more complicated cases -- distributed equitably around the country. Screening of high risk individuals using new diagnostic techniques are part of proposed improvements at GP and community level.The authors also recommend a review of the transplant services to ensure better access for patients in some areas of the country, and to ensure sufficient capacity for an anticipated 50% increase in availability of donor organs by 2020.

Although the report highlights shortcomings of the current national provision for liver disease in adults, it shows that UK services for childhood liver disease -including genetic disorders or viral infection -- could, in terms of their centralised funding and organisation, provide a positive example for improving adult services.

The report also suggests that another major cause of liver disease, hepatitis C, could be eliminated from the UK by 2030, now that safe and highly effective antiviral drugs are available. The spread of hepatitis B also needs to be controlled, with monitoring of immigrants from countries with high prevalence of the infection bringing new infections into the country a priority.

According to Professor Williams, "This Commission builds on recent work by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hepatology and Public Health England, amongst others, to clearly identify the scale of the problem posed by liver disease in the UK, and current deficiencies in NHS care provision. The evidence outlined in the report, contributed by some of the UK's leading experts in the field, should leave nobody in any doubt about the present unacceptable levels of premature death and the overall poor standards of care being afforded to liver patients."

"The good news is that if our recommendations -- many of which will require additional government regulatory action -- are followed, deaths from liver disease will fall, with profound benefits in health and social wellbeing and economic productivity, as well as reduced costs for the NHS. However, the health and policy reforms we are recommending need to take place now -- the scale of the problem is too great for it to take second place to short-term political considerations."

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by The Lancet. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Roger Williams, Richard Aspinall, Mark Bellis, Ginette Camps-Walsh, Matthew Cramp, Anil Dhawan, James Ferguson, Dan Forton, Graham Foster, Sir Ian Gilmore, Matthew Hickman, Mark Hudson, Deirdre Kelly, Andrew Langford, Martin Lombard, Louise Longworth, Natasha Martin, Kieran Moriarty, Philip Newsome, John O'Grady, Rachel Pryke, Harry Rutter, Stephen Ryder, Nick Sheron, Tom Smith. Addressing liver disease in the UK: a blueprint for attaining excellence in health care and reducing premature mortality from lifestyle issues of excess consumption of alcohol, obesity, and viral hepatitis. The Lancet, 2014; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61838-9

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'Trigger' for stress processes discovered in brain

 

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At the Center for Brain Research at the MedUni Vienna an important factor for stress has been identified in collaboration with the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm (Sweden). This is the protein secretagogin that plays an important role in the release of the stress hormone CRH and which only then enables stress processes in the brain to be transmitted to the pituitary gland and then onwards to the organs. A current study on this molecular switch has now been published in the EMBO Journal.

"If, however, the presence of secretagogin, a calcium-binding protein, is suppressed, then CRH (= Corticotropin Releasing Hormone) might not be released in the hypothalamus of the brain thus preventing the triggering of hormonal responses to stress in the body," explains Tibor Harkany of the Department of Molecular Neurosciences at the MedUni Vienna.

The hypothalamus requires the assistance of CRH to stimulate the production and release of the hormone ACTH from cells in the pituitary gland into the blood stream. Thus, ACTH reaches the adrenal cortex and once there stimulates the production and release of further hormones including, cortisol, a vital stress hormone. Upon stress, the hypothalamus responds by releasing CRH and thus produces the critical signal orchestrating also ACTH and cortisol secretion. However, if this cycle is interrupted, it is not possible for acute, and even chronic, stress to arise.

Another interesting fact: secretagogin was discovered at the MedUni Vienna 15 years ago by Ludwig Wagner at the University Department of Internal Medicine III in connection with research on the pancreas.

Therapeutic approach for stress

"Now we have a better understanding of how stress is generated," says Tomas Hökfelt of the Karolinska Institutet and guest professor at the MedUni Vienna. This could result in a further development where secretagogin is deployed as a tool to treat stress, perhaps in people suffering from mental illness such as depression, burn out or posttraumatic stress disorder, but also in cases of chronic stress brought on by pain. If a rapid recovery phase follows a period of stress, body and mind are restored to "normal working," which is associated with a suppression of the release of circulating stress hormones.

In contrast, the consequences of chronic stress are manifold and can, for example, lead to an increased tendency to suffer from infections but also to high blood pressure, diabetes and an increased risk of cardio-vascular disease right through to chronic headaches, tinnitus or osteoporosis.

Illnesses resulting from stress steadily increase in frequency and place a burden on the health care system. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has therefore dedicated 2014 to the subject of stress. According to the Austrian employees' organisation, international studies show that in Europe over 50 percent of sick leave is attributable to a form of stress. In a recent analysis by the Austrian Economic Research Institute, IWS, a figure of seven billion Euros a year was placed on the economic damage due to mental illness in Austria

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Medical University of Vienna. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. R. Romanov, A. Alpar, M.D. Zhang, A. Zeisel, A. Calas, M. Landry, M. Fuszard, S. Shirran, R.Schnell, A. Dobolyi, M. Olah, L. Spence, J. Mulder, H. Martens, M. Palkovits, M. Uhlen, H. Sitte, C. Botting, L. Wagner, S. Linnarsson, T. Hökfelt, T. Harkany. A secretagogin locus of the mammalian hypothalamus controls stress hormone release. EMBO Journal, October 2014 DOI: 10.15252/ embj.201488977

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New research supporting stroke rehabilitation

 

November 27, 2014

Frontiers

New research could help improve stroke patients' rehabilitation, experts say. The research may provide useful applications for the care of stroke patients who have restricted use of their upper limbs. If stroke patients practice the techniques recommended by the study, it could potentially help maintain activity in movement-related brain areas, especially when used alongside more traditional physiotherapy techniques where the same movements are also practiced physically.

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Using world-leading research methods, the team of Dr David Wright and Prof Paul Holmes, working with Dr Jacqueline Williams from the Victoria University in Melbourne, studied activity in an area of the brain responsible for controlling movements when healthy participants observed a video showing simple hand movements and simultaneously imagined that they were performing the observed movement.

Using transcranial magnetic stimulation -- a technique where a coil placed over the scalp delivers a stimulation to the brain, activates neurons in the underlying area, and causes a muscular contraction in the participant's hand -- the researchers found that combining imagery (imagining the feelings associated with performing the movement) with observation (watching the movement) created the strongest activity in the brain.

Using electrodes on the participant's hand, the researchers found that muscle contractions in response to the cortical stimulation were larger when participants were concurrently imagining themselves moving their muscle whilst watching a video of a hand moving on screen, compared to when they used the imagery or observation techniques alone. or engaged in various control conditions.

This research, which is published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, may provide useful applications for the care of stroke patients who have restricted use of their upper limbs. If stroke patients practice the recommended techniques, it could potentially help maintain activity in movement-related brain areas, especially when used alongside more traditional physiotherapy techniques where the same movements are also practiced physically.

Dr Wright said: "The idea is that because imagery and observation techniques share some characteristics with physical movement in terms of activating similar areas of the brain, if someone can't perform the movements themselves physically, it might be possible to keep those areas of the brain active through imagery and observation techniques. This might help contribute to the recovery of motor function."

Currently, imagery and, less frequently, observation are used separately alongside physical therapy during the rehabilitation of stroke patients, but Prof Holmes suggested that combining the two techniques may support re-learning of movement patterns for some patients.

He said: "After a stroke, parts of the brain die and will not recover. To compensate, other parts of brain can alter their function to take control of the lost behaviour -- a form of brain plasticity. We think that combining imagery and observation, in addition to physical therapy, may allow the brain to speed up this plastic change as well as benefitting more psychological aspects of recovery such as movement confidence." He continued, "the research team's work in this area has the potential to make a real impact on the way physiotherapists, occupational therapists and nurses work with the stroke community"

"These changes may happen without the intervention -- it is certainly not a miracle cure -- but the combined imagery and action observation approach should speed up the process of relearning movements that have been lost."

The research was funded by Manchester Metropolitan University's Knowledge Exchange Innovation Fund and a Research Accelerator Grant awarded to Dr Wright (an early career researcher in the Motor Cognition Research section of the Centre of Health, Exercise and Active Living).

Future research by the Group will seek to establish optimal methods for delivering these psychological interventions for stroke rehabilitation by investigating the effects of different types of instruction given to participants and different video presentation methods on activity in the brain during combined imagery and observation. The team also expect to release a stroke rehabilitation App in early 2015.

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Frontiers. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. David J. Wright, Jacqueline Williams, Paul S. Holmes. Combined action observation and imagery facilitates corticospinal excitability. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2014; 8 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00951

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Mindfulness treatment as effective as CBT for depression, anxiety

 

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Group mindfulness treatment is as effective as individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in patients with depression and anxiety, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden and Region Skåne. This is the first randomized study to compare group mindfulness treatment and individual cognitive behavioral therapy in patients with depression and anxiety in primary health care.

The researchers, led by Professor Jan Sundquist, ran the study at 16 primary health care centres in Skåne, a county in southern Sweden. They trained two mindfulness instructors, from different occupational groups, at each primary health care centre during a 6-day training course.

In spring 2012, patients with depression, anxiety or reactions to severe stress were randomized to either structured group mindfulness treatment with approximately 10 patients per group, or regular treatment (mainly individual CBT). Patients also received a private training programme and were asked to record their exercises in a diary. The treatment lasted 8 weeks. General practitioner and mindfulness instructor Ola Schenström designed the mindfulness training programme and model for training instructors.

A total of 215 patients were included in the study. Before and after treatment, the patients in the mindfulness and regular treatment groups answered questionnaires that estimated the severity of their depression and anxiety. Self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety decreased in both groups during the 8-week treatment period. There was no statistical difference between the two treatments.

"The study's results indicate that group mindfulness treatment, conducted by certified instructors in primary health care, is as effective a treatment method as individual CBT for treating depression and anxiety," says Jan Sundquist. "This means that group mindfulness treatment should be considered as an alternative to individual psychotherapy, especially at primary health care centres that can't offer everyone individual therapy."

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Lund University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Jan Sundquist, Åsa Lilja, Karolina Palmér, Ashfaque A. Memon, Xiao Wang, Leena Maria Johansson And Kristina Sundquist. Mindfulness group therapy in primary care patients with depression, anxiety and stress and adjustment disorders: randomised controlled trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry, November 2014 DOI: 10.1192/bjp.bp.114.150243

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Soon we could make all sorts of things from sawdust

 

Sawdust can be converted into a fuel additive – among other things – using a new chemical process (Photo: Rasbak)

 

This is science at its best: When I was growing up, the only practical use for sawdust was to soak up vomit, but thanks to scientists at a Belgian university who developed a new chemical process, that same sawdust could soon be used in gasoline and other products normally derived from petroleum.

Researchers at KU Leuven university’s Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis have been able to take the cellulose in sawdust and convert it into hydrocarbon chains. These can be used as an additive in gasoline or as building blocks to create plastics, rubber, nylon, insulation foams and other materials normally made from ethylene, propylene and benzene.

"This is a new type of bio-refining, and we currently have a patent pending for it," says Dr. Bert Lagrain, co-author of a paper on the team's findings. "We have also built a chemical reactor in our lab: we feed sawdust collected from a sawmill into the reactor and add a catalyst – a substance that sets off and speeds the chemical reaction. With the right temperature and pressure, it takes about half a day to convert the cellulose in the wood shavings into saturated hydrocarbon chains, or alkanes."

The resulting product does not come out as fully-distilled gasoline – this requires one final step – but the researchers say their biomass-based product can be used as a green additive that replaces a "portion of traditionally-refined gasoline."

The researchers are also excited about the potential of cellulose to replace other products currently derived from petroleum, and its general abundance and accessibility. "Cellulose is available everywhere; it is essentially plant waste, meaning it does not compete with food crops in the way that first generation energy crops – crops grown for bioethanol, for example – do," says KU Leuven's Prof. Bert Sels.

The team's paper was recently published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science.

Source: KU Leuven

 

Can China Cut Coal?

 

By David Biello | November 25, 2014

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

 

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On a visit to China a few years back, I asked a local official about pollution controls after enjoying my first sour, gritty taste of the country’s air. China’s new coal-fired power plants and other industrial boilers often came equipped with expensive scrubbers to clean acid rain and smog-forming sulfur dioxide out of the hot mix of gases that went up and out the smokestack. But the scrubbers required energy to run, this official noted, and therefore were shut off except on days when dignitaries (or foreign journalists) visited.

An old coal-fired power plant on the banks of the Yangtze River. © David Biello

According to Hu Tao, an ecologist and environmental economist who directs the China program at the World Wildlife Fund, not much has changed. On his recent visit to a coal-fired power plant, the scrubber was turned off for “inspection,” he explained at a talk at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s China Environment Forum on November 24. How often were such machines inspected, Tao inquired? Well, if no one from the government was visiting, the plant manager told him, the machine is turned off every day.

The control room of a typical modern coal-fired power plant in China. © David Biello

That is the current context for China’s recent decree that the country will never consume more than 4.2 billion metric tons of coal per year, the action following a historic agreement with the U.S. to begin to combat climate change. Already, caps on the amount of coal a given locality can burn seem to have dropped coal’s share of total energy in China for the first time in the 21st century, though overall it has tripled since 2000. “The vast majority of China’s CO2 emissions are a result of coal combustion,” said Jake Schmidt, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s international program at the CEF event.

If the central government’s cap is achieved, then China’s carbon dioxide emissions would never top 12 billion metric tons per year or so—up from roughly 10 billion metric tons per year as of now. Already, China’s coal burning alone accounts for 20 percent of the entire world’s CO2 pollution.

Courtesy of U.S. Energy Information Administration

For comparison, the U.S. emits slightly more than 5 billion metric tons of CO2 per year these days. And if the recent pledges hold firm, the American and Chinese lifestyles would converge at a pollution level of roughly 10 metric tons per person by 2030.

This is a tall order. To achieve such a halt in coal consumption, China will have to build as much wind, solar, nuclear and hydropower in the next 10 years as it has built coal-fired power plants in the last 10 years—as much as 1000 gigawatts worth of alternatives to coal, also including natural gas, whether pipelined from Russia or fracked out of the country’s own shale deposits. And even if that dream is realized, an International Energy Agency analysis suggests such a build out, though possible, is not sufficient to slow rising coal consumption unless China’s economic or electricity use growth also slow significantly. To truly get China’s CO2 pollution problem under control will require yet more technology, such as CO2 capture and storage, to clean up the emissions from existing coal-fired power plants.

The question is: once that technology is installed, will it be turned on?

Several pivots to which wind turbine blades attach, awaiting assembly at a factory in China. © David Biello

Coal is cheap and getting cheaper in China. In fact, though the country may require more and more coal imports to satisfy its voracious demand, the cost of coal is cheaper now than in 2000, according to an analysis by WWF’s Hu. As a result, the owners of coal-fired power plants can still make money burning the polluting rock to generate electricity—and even more money if they keep pollution controls in the off position. Local governments have few reasons to complain (unless the provincial or central government steps in) given the resulting economic growth, increasing number of jobs and tax revenue. As a result, China’s carbon intensity—the amount of CO2 produced per unit of economic output—has stopped declining in recent years, thanks mostly perhaps to the unprecedented boom in burning coal to make cement and steel to build China’s burgeoning cities and infrastructure. “For the companies, one side is low coal price and the other side is coal cap regulations. Which one should they follow?” Tao asked, noting that a carbon tax could solve this conundrum decisively. “One says use more and one says use less.”

A smoggy view of Chongqing, an inland mega-city and one of the "furnaces" of China. © David Biello

The real crisis in China is not invisible CO2 but the more visible kind of air pollution, which, in addition to killing people prematurely, is obscuring entire cities. The joke the last time I visited China was that the smog shielded the country from U.S. spy satellites but the truth is that cities like Beijing, Jinan, and Shenyang suffer from soot and smog in the air at levels at an air quality index level above 200 on some days. The central government considers anything below 100 to be a “blue sky day” though the World Health Organization recommends the AQI should never go above 20 (the U.S. and Europe also fail to meet that standard). “If you live in Beijing, it doesn’t matter if you are poor or rich, you cannot avoid air pollution,” Schmidt noted.

As a result, air pollution has become a central focus of the central government—and the country’s prime minister Li Keqiang went so far as to declare a war on it. “Air pollution has become one of the most important issues facing China today, both for social stability and also international reputation,” said Barbara Finamore, NRDC’s Asia director and Beijing resident, in a conference call with reporters on November 6. “Efforts to drive air pollution down are having very beneficial impacts on coal use.”

WWF’s Hu suggests the best way to reduce coal use even further is to make sure the price goes up by imposing the equivalent of a carbon tax—and the central government is considering a countrywide price on CO2 as part of a national cap and trade market in greenhouse gas pollution in coming years. Such a program might also give the central government a better chance of seeing what’s actually happening with coal use and pollution control at the local level. “If we don’t reduce coal consumption, we have no way to reduce PM 2.5,” or particular matter of 2.5 microns smaller, more commonly known as soot, added Yang Fuqiang, NRDC’s senior advisor on energy, environment and climate change in Beijing, at the CEF event.

A smokestack pokes up above the buildings in Beijing on a blue-sky day. © David Biello

But battling soot does not necessarily mean curbing CO2 pollution as well. One solution for air quality in a city like Beijing is to move factories and other coal-fired industry out of the city or to turn coal to gas or liquids before burning it, which reduces the soot choking lungs but results in even more CO2 pollution than just burning the coal directly. “There is a real potential for shifting coal use in China from most polluted regions inland, which is why a national cap on coal consumption that’s mandatory is so important,” Finamore said.

At the same time, regions in the west of China may now rush to build coal-fired power plants and industry before any national efforts take effect. “We give a warning to the western regions, you have to set up coal right now,” Yang said. “In the future, it is too late.”

In short, how China actually grows its energy system in the next decade or so will determine whether or not the world has any real hope to combat climate change. If the Chinese dream does include a good environment, as China’s President Xi Jinping has said in the past, then a transformation even more remarkable than the one the country has undergone in the last 25 years will be required. And that means turning the pollution controls on for good.