The Helper
Jun
05
Jun
05
It is not just the pollution caused by traffic that is affecting our health, but also the noise according to a new European study, which found that exposure to excessive traffic noise is linked to a higher risk of heart disease.
Led by Dr. Yutong Cai from Imperial College London, the new study looked at data from 144,000 adults in Norway and the Netherlands, and compared their exposure to levels of air pollution and traffic related noise to levels of blood biological markers, which are often used to assess the risk of heart disease.
Although air pollution has already been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, asthma, and risk of death, and noise pollution linked to raised blood pressure, disturbed sleep, and an increase in stress hormones, until now little research has been carried out on the effects of noise pollution and air pollution -- which are often found together -- on health.
Defined as noise louder than conversation level -- around 60 decibels (dB) -- noise pollution mainly affects those living near busy roads, under flight paths, or those who are exposed to industrial machinery.
To look at its effect on health the researchers tested the participants' blood for a range of biological markers that could indicate heart disease, including C-reactive protein (CRP), a protein that indicates inflammation and can lead to health problems like heart disease, lipids and triglycerides, which are linked to heart attacks when found at higher levels, and...
Led by Dr. Yutong Cai from Imperial College London, the new study looked at data from 144,000 adults in Norway and the Netherlands, and compared their exposure to levels of air pollution and traffic related noise to levels of blood biological markers, which are often used to assess the risk of heart disease.
Although air pollution has already been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, asthma, and risk of death, and noise pollution linked to raised blood pressure, disturbed sleep, and an increase in stress hormones, until now little research has been carried out on the effects of noise pollution and air pollution -- which are often found together -- on health.
Defined as noise louder than conversation level -- around 60 decibels (dB) -- noise pollution mainly affects those living near busy roads, under flight paths, or those who are exposed to industrial machinery.
To look at its effect on health the researchers tested the participants' blood for a range of biological markers that could indicate heart disease, including C-reactive protein (CRP), a protein that indicates inflammation and can lead to health problems like heart disease, lipids and triglycerides, which are linked to heart attacks when found at higher levels, and...
Jun
05
Shape-shifting bodies. Cracking voices. Hairs sprouting in new places. Puberty marks a dramatic period of change for young people. Now new research shows children who grow up in poor homes enter puberty early.
Not only do they experience more emotional, behavioral and social problems compared to their peers, early puberty puts them at risk of a range of health issues for the rest of their lives.
The research, published today in the journal Pediatrics, adds to a body of work showing the cumulative effect of adversity in childhood can have lifelong physical, mental and behavioral repercussions.
However, the reason why these disadvantaged children enter puberty early remains unclear. And work is continuing to pinpoint factors that trigger the cascade of hormones that mark this critical period of development.
Read more here. (Quartz)
Not only do they experience more emotional, behavioral and social problems compared to their peers, early puberty puts them at risk of a range of health issues for the rest of their lives.
The research, published today in the journal Pediatrics, adds to a body of work showing the cumulative effect of adversity in childhood can have lifelong physical, mental and behavioral repercussions.
However, the reason why these disadvantaged children enter puberty early remains unclear. And work is continuing to pinpoint factors that trigger the cascade of hormones that mark this critical period of development.
Read more here. (Quartz)
Jun
03
Cannabis smokers often report that they use the drug to relax or relieve stress, but few studies provide clinical evidence of these effects.
Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Chicago report that low levels tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, does reduce stress, but in a highly dose-dependent manner: very low doses lessened the jitters of a public-speaking task, while slightly higher doses — enough to produce a mild “high” — actually increased anxiety.
Cannabis is a highly regulated category 1 substance, and permits to study the drug are difficult to obtain. While it is common knowledge that many people use cannabis for its stress-relieving effects, “very few published studies have looked into the effects of THC on stress, or at the effects of different levels of THC on stress,” says Emma Childs, associate professor of psychiatry in the UIC College of Medicine and corresponding author on the study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
“We found that THC at low doses reduced stress, while higher doses had the opposite effect, underscoring the importance of dose when it comes to THC and its effects.”
Childs and her colleagues recruited 42 healthy volunteers 18 to 40 years old who had some experience with cannabis use but who were not daily users.
Participants were randomly divided into three groups: The low-dose group received a capsule containing 7.5 milligrams of THC;...
Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Chicago report that low levels tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, does reduce stress, but in a highly dose-dependent manner: very low doses lessened the jitters of a public-speaking task, while slightly higher doses — enough to produce a mild “high” — actually increased anxiety.
Cannabis is a highly regulated category 1 substance, and permits to study the drug are difficult to obtain. While it is common knowledge that many people use cannabis for its stress-relieving effects, “very few published studies have looked into the effects of THC on stress, or at the effects of different levels of THC on stress,” says Emma Childs, associate professor of psychiatry in the UIC College of Medicine and corresponding author on the study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
“We found that THC at low doses reduced stress, while higher doses had the opposite effect, underscoring the importance of dose when it comes to THC and its effects.”
Childs and her colleagues recruited 42 healthy volunteers 18 to 40 years old who had some experience with cannabis use but who were not daily users.
Participants were randomly divided into three groups: The low-dose group received a capsule containing 7.5 milligrams of THC;...
Jun
02
The life of a sheep is not as cushy as it looks. They suffer injury and infection, and can’t tell their human handlers when they’re in pain. Recently, veterinarians have developed a protocol for estimating the pain a sheep is in from its facial expressions, but humans apply it inconsistently, and manual ratings are time-consuming.
Computer scientists at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have stepped in to automate the task. They started by listing several “facial action units” (AUs) associated with different levels of pain, drawing on the Sheep Pain Facial Expression Scale. They manually labeled these AUs—nostril deformation, rotation of each ear, and narrowing of each eye—in 480 photos of sheep. Then they trained a machine-learning algorithm by feeding it 90% of the photos and their labels, and tested the algorithm on the remaining 10%.
The program’s average accuracy at identifying the AUs was 67%, about as accurate as the average human, the researchers will report today at the IEEE International Conference on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition in Washington, D.C. Ears were the most telling cue. Refining the training procedure further boosted accuracy.
Given additional labeled images, the scientists expect their method would also work with other animals....
Computer scientists at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have stepped in to automate the task. They started by listing several “facial action units” (AUs) associated with different levels of pain, drawing on the Sheep Pain Facial Expression Scale. They manually labeled these AUs—nostril deformation, rotation of each ear, and narrowing of each eye—in 480 photos of sheep. Then they trained a machine-learning algorithm by feeding it 90% of the photos and their labels, and tested the algorithm on the remaining 10%.
The program’s average accuracy at identifying the AUs was 67%, about as accurate as the average human, the researchers will report today at the IEEE International Conference on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition in Washington, D.C. Ears were the most telling cue. Refining the training procedure further boosted accuracy.
Given additional labeled images, the scientists expect their method would also work with other animals....
Jun
01
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Florida will become the first state to issue what’s essentially a birth certificate to women who’ve had miscarriages.
Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Wednesday that will allow the state to start issuing “certificates of nonviable birth” beginning July 1.
Under the Grieving Families Act, the state will issue the certificates only if parents request them.
It would be available to women whose pregnancies end after nine weeks and before 20 weeks of gestation.
Pregnancies that end at 20 weeks or later are considered stillbirths, and death certificates must be issued.
Parents can also request a birth certificate in such cases. Parents would be able to name the lost fetus on the certificate.
The certificates will contain language that they’re not to be used as proof of a live birth.
Source. (WFLA)
Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Wednesday that will allow the state to start issuing “certificates of nonviable birth” beginning July 1.
Under the Grieving Families Act, the state will issue the certificates only if parents request them.
It would be available to women whose pregnancies end after nine weeks and before 20 weeks of gestation.
Pregnancies that end at 20 weeks or later are considered stillbirths, and death certificates must be issued.
Parents can also request a birth certificate in such cases. Parents would be able to name the lost fetus on the certificate.
The certificates will contain language that they’re not to be used as proof of a live birth.
Source. (WFLA)
Jun
01
Anxiety can do many things to the body, including increasing blood pressure and heart rate. But a new study suggests that it does not stop there.
Researchers from the University of Bristol suggest a heightened state of anxiety affects the ability to read facial expressions, with some people unable to distinguish between happy and angry. The study, State anxiety and emotional face recognition in healthy volunteers, was published in the journal of Royal Society Open Science.
They found that those suffering from a heightened nervous disorder saw angry facial expressions more often than not.
The study aimed to elucidate how 'levels of anxiety influence how we see the world,' Prof Marcus Munafò, professor of biological psychology told The Guardian's Nicola Davis.
21 staff and students from Bristol volunteered for the study, and they were given an oro-nasal facemask which pumped normal air or air with a high amount of carbon dioxide into the participants — the change in blood pressure resulting from this induced an anxiety attack.
The first part of the study consisted of participants being shown 15 different facial expressions. The images showed one individuals face, which morphed from surprised to sad to happy to fear to disgust and then finally to anger. The...
Researchers from the University of Bristol suggest a heightened state of anxiety affects the ability to read facial expressions, with some people unable to distinguish between happy and angry. The study, State anxiety and emotional face recognition in healthy volunteers, was published in the journal of Royal Society Open Science.
They found that those suffering from a heightened nervous disorder saw angry facial expressions more often than not.
The study aimed to elucidate how 'levels of anxiety influence how we see the world,' Prof Marcus Munafò, professor of biological psychology told The Guardian's Nicola Davis.
21 staff and students from Bristol volunteered for the study, and they were given an oro-nasal facemask which pumped normal air or air with a high amount of carbon dioxide into the participants — the change in blood pressure resulting from this induced an anxiety attack.
The first part of the study consisted of participants being shown 15 different facial expressions. The images showed one individuals face, which morphed from surprised to sad to happy to fear to disgust and then finally to anger. The...
Jun
01
Drilling into the Alpine Fault to measure the conditions of the fault and monitor what happens before a major earthquake, a team of New Zealand and international scientists found extremely hot water just a couple of hundred metres down.
The Westland Deep Fault Drilling Project — jointly led by Victoria University of Wellington, GNS Science and the University of Otago — drilled almost 900 m into the fault from a site in Whataroa near Franz Joseph. The team published a paper in Nature today about their surprising find of water hot enough to boil only 630 m down, with temperatures at the bottom of the borehole (around 820m) around 120˚C.
The San Andreas fault in California was drilled in a similar way, Professor Dave Craw from the University of Otago who was not involved in the study, told the Associated Press. But the “temperatures and thermal gradient encountered there were much lower than the Alpine Fault”, making the high temperatures unusual in a global context.
“We’d always thought it was going to be warmer than normal,” Professor John Townend...
The Westland Deep Fault Drilling Project — jointly led by Victoria University of Wellington, GNS Science and the University of Otago — drilled almost 900 m into the fault from a site in Whataroa near Franz Joseph. The team published a paper in Nature today about their surprising find of water hot enough to boil only 630 m down, with temperatures at the bottom of the borehole (around 820m) around 120˚C.
The San Andreas fault in California was drilled in a similar way, Professor Dave Craw from the University of Otago who was not involved in the study, told the Associated Press. But the “temperatures and thermal gradient encountered there were much lower than the Alpine Fault”, making the high temperatures unusual in a global context.
“We’d always thought it was going to be warmer than normal,” Professor John Townend...
May
31
High concentrations of silica point to the existence of groundwater long after lakes evaporated. This finding extends the potential window for life on the planet.
The discovery of light-toned bedrock – called ‘halos’ – with high concentrations of silica in Mars’ Gale crater, reveals that groundwater persisted once the lake in Gale crater dried up. The discovery was made by NASA’s Curiosity rover which traveled more than 16 km over 1,700 Martian days from the bottom of Gale crater to Mount Sharp in the crater’s center. For researchers who published the study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, it is now a question of whether this extended window of water on Mars enabled life to develop.
We spoke to the lead author Jens Frydenvang about the work.
ResearchGate: What motivated this study?
Jens Frydenvang: The NASA Curiosity rover landed in Gale crater, Mars in 2012, and has been exploring the crater ever since. Already, this exploration has led to evidence of a long-lived lake (or lakes) early in Mars’ history; but we are still looking for evidence on how long this habitable environment persisted, and how Mars became the arid planet we know today. The results presented in this study, represent the strength of an...
The discovery of light-toned bedrock – called ‘halos’ – with high concentrations of silica in Mars’ Gale crater, reveals that groundwater persisted once the lake in Gale crater dried up. The discovery was made by NASA’s Curiosity rover which traveled more than 16 km over 1,700 Martian days from the bottom of Gale crater to Mount Sharp in the crater’s center. For researchers who published the study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, it is now a question of whether this extended window of water on Mars enabled life to develop.
We spoke to the lead author Jens Frydenvang about the work.
ResearchGate: What motivated this study?
Jens Frydenvang: The NASA Curiosity rover landed in Gale crater, Mars in 2012, and has been exploring the crater ever since. Already, this exploration has led to evidence of a long-lived lake (or lakes) early in Mars’ history; but we are still looking for evidence on how long this habitable environment persisted, and how Mars became the arid planet we know today. The results presented in this study, represent the strength of an...
May
31
BEIJING — Most smokers in China, the world’s largest tobacco consumer, have no intention of kicking the habit and remain unaware of some of its most damaging health effects, Chinese health officials and outside researchers said Wednesday.
An estimated 316 million people smoke in China, almost a quarter of the population, and concerns are growing about the long-term effects on public health and the economy.
The vast majority of smokers are men, of whom 59 percent told surveyors that they have no plans to quit, according to a decadelong study by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Canadian researchers with the International Tobacco Control project.
Such numbers have prompted efforts to restrict the formerly ubiquitous practice. Major cities including Beijing and Shanghai having recently moved to ban public smoking, with Shanghai’s prohibition going into effect in March. In 2015, the central government approved a modest nationwide cigarette tax increase.
But Chinese and international health officials argue that more is needed, including a nationwide public smoking ban, higher cigarette taxes and more aggressive health warnings. Such actions are “critically important,” Yuan Jiang, director of tobacco...
An estimated 316 million people smoke in China, almost a quarter of the population, and concerns are growing about the long-term effects on public health and the economy.
The vast majority of smokers are men, of whom 59 percent told surveyors that they have no plans to quit, according to a decadelong study by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Canadian researchers with the International Tobacco Control project.
Such numbers have prompted efforts to restrict the formerly ubiquitous practice. Major cities including Beijing and Shanghai having recently moved to ban public smoking, with Shanghai’s prohibition going into effect in March. In 2015, the central government approved a modest nationwide cigarette tax increase.
But Chinese and international health officials argue that more is needed, including a nationwide public smoking ban, higher cigarette taxes and more aggressive health warnings. Such actions are “critically important,” Yuan Jiang, director of tobacco...
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