Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Many factors of a child’s birth and the condition of the newborn are linked to the future development of autism, but no single factor has been identified as the cause, a meta-analysis of forty previously published research studies concludes.

Autism refers to a cluster of neurological developmental disorders, ranging to mild and severe, that interfere the child’s ability to adjust normally, including defects in normal communication and social interaction.

The systematic review, published in Monday’s issue of Pediatrics, presented the results of a meta-analysis of over sixty perinatal and neonatal risk factors associated with autism reported in the forty published studies. It identified sixteen that were significantly associated with autism. These included low birth weight, complications associated with delivery, fetal distress during labor, “poor condition” of the newborn along with a low Apgar score, multiple births, birth injuries to the baby, and hemorrhaging of the mother during childbirth.

However, the review found that often these factors are linked; not occurring independently but in combination, making the effect of any one factor difficult to determine. Further, the conclusions of the studies often were in conflict with each other regarding the relationship of any single one of the factors to autism. The researcher concluded there was “insufficient evidence to implicate any one perinatal or neonatal factor in autism etiology.” However, they said some evidence suggested the presence of “multiple neonatal complications may increase autism risk.”

The review also ruled out some factors, finding some were not linked to autism such as the use during childbirth of anesthesia, forceps delivery or vacuum extractor delivery. High birth weight and large head circumference of the newborn were also discounted.

The researcher who headed the study, Hannah Gardener, who was at the Harvard School of Public Health at the time and is now at the University of Miami School of Medicine, emphasized in an interview that parents should not worry if any one of the factors was present at the time of their child’s birth.

She said, “There is no single strong cause of autism.”

Twin studies have concluded that there is a genetic component to autism and Gardener emphasized the importance of the review’s conclusions that point to the need for continuing study of how factors surrounding birth may interact with genetic factors to result in future autism in a child.

Saturday, March 26, 2005

Beijing’s city legislature has approved a bill, one year in the making, to safeguard the historical and cultural heritage of old Beijing. The new 41-article set of regulations will come into effect May 1, requiring the city to protect listed heritage sites and unlisted sites deemed of historical or cultural value. It also guarantees protection for the area within the city’s Second Ring Road.

Director of the Beijing Administrative Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Mei Ninghua, said “the most encouraging content of the regulations is that Beijing will pay more attention to protecting the old city’s landscape in its entirety, rather than just focussing on scattered heritage sites.” This means the old city layout, colours of buildings, and the names of houses and lanes will have legal protection.

“We took measures to protect the city’s siheyuan courtyard houses by tagging protection plates on more than 650 of them in 2003, preventing them from being demolished or damaged during the city’s massive housing reconstruction projects,” said Mei.

“Now the new regulations give legal buttress to the protection of siheyuan courtyard homes, as well as other unmovable ancient treasures, that have yet to be listed but are at risk of being demolished during urban renovation.”

Modern Beijing, capital of China for 850 years, was built by Mongul Emporer Kublai Khan in 1267 AD. In the vicinity of the current city once was Ji (?), the capital of the State of Yan (?), a power of the Warring States Period – but it has been lost in the mists of time.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Yesterday, the United States House of Representatives voted to effectively reject the Senate version of a bill, passed with bipartisan support, to extend a payroll tax cut two months past its year-end expiration date. The House voted instead to create a conference committee to settle differences between members of both bodies.

Although the tax cut extension itself has support among Republicans and Democrats, lawmakers disagree on how Congress should go about compensating for the cost of extending the cut and the policy changes it would entail.

During an appearance yesterday, President Obama condemned opposition to the Senate-passed version of the bill, accusing Republicans in the House of trying to negotiate on matters unrelated to the bill. Republicans, in response, say there is still time to negotiate the bill, insisting that lawmakers ought to concentrate on a year-long plan rather than a two-month extension. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, however, says he will not agree to negotiate the tax cut extension until the Senate-approved bill is passed by the House.

If the tax cut is not extended and instead expires on December 31, approximately 160 million Americans will be affected by the tax increase; President Obama insists the only way to prevent the tax hike beginning January 1 is for the House to pass the Senate bill. In response, House Speaker and Republican John Boehner wants Obama to “call on the Senate to return” to negotiate. The Senate, shortly after passing the bill, adjourned for the Holiday break.

Also included in the bill is a provision that would require President Obama to make a decision regarding the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, a pipeline that would transport oil from Canada to Texas.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi blamed the congressional year-end impasse on “Tea Party Republicans.” In a letter to President Obama, Speaker Boehner requested he galvanize the Senate to negotiate on the bill’s provisions, writing “The differences between the two different bills can be quickly reconciled to provide the American people the certainty of a full-year bill. There are still 11 days before the end of the year, and with so many Americans struggling, there is no reason they should be wasted. You have said many times that Congress must do its work before taking vacation”.

Friday, September 1, 2006

Results of gene therapy trials at the US National Cancer Institute, Bethesda to fight cancer published online yesterday by the scientific journal Science show some levels of success. However experts have warned that despite the promise more work is needed for this to become a viable cure.

Dr Stephen Rosenberg, who lead the research team, said “It’s important to emphasize this is a highly experimental treatment that’s still in the course of development.”

The team treated 17 terminal skin cancer patients with modified cells from their immune systems. The technique uses genetically modified white blood cells (more specifically T cells) to attack and kill the cancer cells. Of the 17 subjects only 2 were cured of the disease (an aggressive form of skin cancer called a melanoma which is usually fatal in advanced stages). Before the treatment, which lasted 18 months, the patients were only expected to live for up to 6 months. The remaining 15 patients were not affected by the treatment.

One of the successful patients was Mark Origer (53) from Wisconsin. He has been fighting cancer since first being diagnosed in 1999. After finding out about the new trial on the internet he applied and, after interviews, was accepted along with 16 other candidates. The treatment removed Origer’s melanoma and also shrunk another tumor in his liver – to the extent it could be removed surgically. Doctors confirmed he was free of the disease last week, nearly 2 years after treatment began. A second man (39) was cleared of his cancer which had spread to the lungs, liver and lymph nodes. Cancer that progresses to the lymph nodes is usually untreatable and fatal.

T cells can attack and destroy bacteria and other harmful cells like cancer cells. However cancer cells sometimes reduce the signals on their outer surface by which they are recognised, so the immune system cannot affect them. Gene therapy involves modifying some of a patients T cells to contain a new receptor. (Receptors are what enable the immune cell to identify harmful cells, like those corrupted by viruses. The new receptor is inserted with the use of a viral vector, i.e. a virus made safe to insert the receptor in the cell.

In the trial, T Cells were removed from each patient and modified in the laboratory. Patients underwent chemotherapy to kill most of their current immune system, which was replaced by the mutated cells. The modified cells successfully survived after injection into the body – making up 10% of the subject’s T cell count during the first 2 months. The team is now looking for ways to enable the cells to survive longer and in greater numbers.

Experts have called this a significant technical advance but warn that more patients need testing and the technique refining before any conclusive results can be drawn. Dr Edel O’Toole, consultant dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesman, said: “I think that the success of this approach in two patients shows promise, however 15 patients did not respond to the treatment suggesting that further work is needed to optimise this approach for all patients, which could take many years.”

Rosenberg now hopes to run a new trial with possibly stronger gene therapy treatments, he is currently awaiting FDA approval.

Gene therapy was much hyped after it’s first successful application in so called “bubble boys” (patients with severe combined immunodeficiency). After follow-up, these trials were stopped when it was discovered that three of eleven patients in one trial had developed leukemia.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

A luxury train derailed in South Africa outside the capitol of Pretoria yesterday, killing at least two people and leaving 25 injured.

The train had been entering a station in Pretoria when seventeen cars derailed, apparently during a switch between steam and electric locomotives, although the exact cause is not known. The train had been coming from Cape Town, with 55 passengers and an unknown number of crew on board.

None of the dead were identified, and nationalities were not released. However, a spokesperson for the operator of the train, Rovos Rail, said that passengers were from several different countries, and that most customers of the railroad were from the US or Europe.

Chris Botha, an emergency worker at the scene said that the derailment had produced “absolute carnage.” According to him, “[s]ome of the railway coaches are lying on top of each other and absolute wreckages. They had to use hydraulic rescue equipment to cut some of the people free.” The section of track where the incident occurred has been closed off.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Last Monday, the police entered the abandoned house in Leuven, Belgium, that anarchist squatters had occupied for seven years. None of the squatters were present at the time, mostly due to exams. The premises was evacuated and the police dumped everything inside in containers. The house, which the squatters had baptised Villa Squattus Dei, belongs to the Catholic organisation Opus Dei.

As a reaction, the anarchists had called for a non-violent demonstration on Friday, starting at 20:00 p.m. (UCT+1) in front of city hall of the Flemish university town near Brussels. One of the protesters, who wished to remain anonymous, told Wikinews that the protest was mainly because the squatters were filled with indignation by the way the eviction took place. He also criticised the hypocrisy of the town mayor and politicians in the way they treated the squatters. Several media outlets reported speculation this week that some cases of arson were a retribution to the eviction of the Villa Squattus Dei.

The police had completely cordoned off the Great Market square with barb wire fences. All pubs were closed and the preparation for a festival taking place the next day on the square, were delayed. Well over 100 squatters, anarchists and supporters gathered next to the Great Market. The Flemish radio- and television station VRT reports that prior to the beginning of the demonstration, 10 people were already arrested.

The protesters marched through the city’s main streets. At a students house, which according to the squatters belongs to Opus Dei, the protesters threw paint, and a window got broken. During the demonstration, mayor Louis Tobback and alderman Brepoels responsible for housing, the police and Opus Dei were disparaged with slogans which translate to “You can’t evacuate ideals, fuck the police, squatting continues” and “Opus Dei get lost, Tobback go to your grave.”

The police blocked the crowd’s passage to the Court building, but besides a little pushing the demonstration was non-violent up to that point. A police helicopter started tracking the demonstration from the air.

On the Fish Market square, the police were pelted with stones and fireworks. A cameraman from VRT was hit by one of the stones and sustained a minor head injury. A little further down the street, some demonstrators started pushing an officer, and the police used their batons on the assailants, which they arrested.

Since the passage to the city centre was again blocked, the squatters led the protesters to a nearby park to get some rest and regroup. From there, the demonstration moved up a hill, and to the nearby ring road. The police could not prevent the crowd to get onto the busy road, stopping the traffic in both directions. The police decided to take decisive action, with police cars storming in, and officers chasing the scattered crowd through the nearby bushes of the nearby abbey. Dozens of protesters were arrested.

• At a students house, which according to the squatters belongs to Opus Dei, the protesters threw paint and rocks.

• The police blocked the crowd’s passage to the Court building.

• Some demonstrators started pushing an officer, and the police used their batons on the assailants, which they arrested.

• The police could not prevent the crowd from getting onto the busy road, stopping the traffic in both directions.

Via dark muddy forest roads, what was left over of the squatters and anarchists ended up near the canal harbour, where some of them decided to hide in another squat, an empty house and hangar.

As nearby inhabitants gathered, police reinforcements from several nearby cities arrived in front of the squat house. According to VRT journalists on the scene, some 250 officers pulled an extra shift that day.

Around 22:40 p.m. the police gave their first order to the squatters to evacuate the house. The area around the canal was completely sealed off. Some of the protesters were still among the crowd watching the police force, and the police arrested several more teenage protesters.

Meanwhile, the police shifted their actions to the city centre, where they hoped to arrest several groups who took part in the protest. All night long, police cars drove around in the city centre looking for anarchists and squatters.

Around 23:30 p.m. the squatters were still in their hideout near the canal, but the police force started leaving. There were only a few dozen protesters left in the squat, and the procedure to get a court order to evacuate them from the house hadn’t started yet, according to the Chief Constable on the scene.

This morning around 11:00 a.m., the only trace of the squatters left was graffiti on the squat and a flag with anarchist symbols and the words “squat the city”.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance.

Originally formulated in 1973 by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, these five stages are well-known to many as the “Five Stages of Grief“. However, despite their familiarity, the five-stage theory had remained untested empirically, until Paul K. Maciejewski, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and the Yale Bereavement Study completed several years of research, findings for which were published in the February 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

According to Dr. Kübler-Ross’s theory, denial is the first and most defining indicator of grief. The Yale Bereavement Study’s findings, in contrast, show acceptance to be the most common indicator, and yearning the strongest negative indicator.

The authors explain, “Disbelief decreased from an initial high at one month postloss, yearning peaked at four months postloss, anger peaked at five months postloss, and depression peaked at six months postloss. Acceptance increased steadily through the study observation period ending at 24 months postloss.”

Study author Holly Prigerson, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute‘s Center for Psycho-Oncology and Palliative Care Research, says, “This would suggest that people who have extreme levels of depression, anger or yearning beyond six months would be those who might benefit from a better mental health evaluation and possible referral for treatment.”

The Yale Bereavement Study followed the progress of 233 participants from January 2000 through January 2003 who had lost family, most often a spouse, and was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Center for Psycho-Oncology and Palliative Care Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Women’s Health Research at Yale University.

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Buffalo, New York —Councilmember Joesph Golombek has responded to the lawsuit filed against the city of Buffalo for allegedly ‘fast-tracking’ a hotel that will be built on the corner of Elmwood and Forest Avenues in Buffalo. The lawsuit, filed by Attorney Arthur J. Giacalone, was filed in New York State Supreme Court on April 21, 2006.

The Elmwood Village Hotel is a 72-room, seven-million-dollar hotel proposed by Savarino Construction Services Corporation and designed by architect Karl Frizlen of the Frizlen Group. Its construction would require the demolition of at least five buildings, currently at 1109-1121 Elmwood, which house several shops and residents. Although the properties are “under contract,” it is still not known whether Savarino Construction actually owns the buildings. It is believed that Hans Mobius, a resident of Clarence, New York and former Buffalo mayoral candidate, is still the owner. The hotel is expected to be a franchise of the Wyndham Hotels group. Buffalo’s Common Council, Planning Board, Mayor of Buffalo, Byron W. Brown, Savarino Construction Services Corporation, Hans J. Mobius and his son Hans S. Mobius owners of the properties at stake, Pano Georgiadis, owner of Pano’s Restaurant on Elmwood, and Cendant Corporation, the parent company of Wyndham Hotels are among those named in the suit.

Councilmember Joesph Golombek said that the Law Department is “fighting the lawsuit because they believe that we did everything fairly and properly (as well as legally).”

Golombek also stated that the lawsuit “could delay the start of the project” and that if he were “Mr. Savarino I would counter sue for any damages a postponement could bring.”

“Except for the lawsuit the city is finished with the project. In my opinion I believe those opposed to the project are simply use to the city procrastinating on projects. This one was passed quickly by comparison. Thus part of their frustration.” said Golombek.

“I understand the frustration of some of the people opposed to the project. But, in order for Elmwood to grow and thrive it will need to change. This change is a positive for that community,” he added.

Golombek also said that he is looking into “helping the displaced businesses.”

At least five businesses, Six Nations Gift Shop, Don Apparel, H.O.D. Tattoo, Skunk Tail Glass Company, and Mondo Video, will be forced to close their doors or relocate. Many of the buildings are also home to residents who will also have to move.

“I have personally contacted adjacent and nearby business associations and property owners to ask about the possibility of helping the displaced businesses. Hopefully the project will go through in a timely fashion and the displaced businesses will be able to relocate,” said Golombek.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled to take place at 9:30 a.m. on June 8, 2006 in the Supreme Court building at 50 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, on the 8th floor, part 31.

==Related Wikinews==

• “Others named in lawsuit against Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal” — Wikinews, April 26, 2006
• “Lawsuit sends Buffalo, N.Y. hotel proposal to New York Supreme Court” — Wikinews, April 25, 2006

Tuesday, March 29, 2005A team of Australian surgeons yesterday reattached both hands and one foot to 10-year-old Perth boy, Terry Vo, after a brick wall which collapsed during a game of basketball fell on him, severing the limbs. The wall gave way while Terry performed a slam-dunk, during a game at a friend’s birthday party.

The boy was today awake and smiling, still in some pain but in good spirits and expected to make a full recovery, according to plastic surgeon, Mr Robert Love.

“What we have is parts that are very much alive so the reattached limbs are certainly pink, well perfused and are indeed moving,” Mr Love told reporters today.

“The fact that he is moving his fingers, and of course when he wakes up he will move both fingers and toes, is not a surprise,” Mr Love had said yesterday.

“The question is more the sensory return that he will get in the hand itself and the fine movements he will have in the fingers and the toes, and that will come with time, hopefully. We will assess that over the next 18 months to two years.

“I’m sure that he’ll enjoy a game of basketball in the future.”

The weight and force of the collapse, and the sharp brick edges, resulted in the three limbs being cut through about 7cm above the wrists and ankle.

Terry’s father Tan said of his only child, the injuries were terrible, “I was scared to look at him, a horrible thing.”

The hands and foot were placed in an ice-filled Esky and rushed to hospital with the boy, where three teams of medical experts were assembled, and he was given a blood transfusion after experiencing massive blood loss. Eight hours of complex micro-surgery on Saturday night were followed by a further two hours of skin grafts yesterday.

“What he will lose because it was such a large zone of traumatised skin and muscle and so on, he will lose some of the skin so he’ll certainly require lots of further surgery regardless of whether the skin survives,” said Mr Love said today.

The boy was kept unconscious under anaesthetic between the two procedures. In an interview yesterday, Mr Love explained why:

“He could have actually been woken up the next day. Because we were intending to take him back to theatre for a second look, to look at the traumatised skin flaps, to close more of his wounds and to do split skin grafting, it was felt the best thing to do would be to keep him stable and to keep him anaesthetised.”

Professor Wayne Morrison, director of the respected Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery and head of plastic and hand surgery at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, said he believed the operation to be a world first.