Updated : Sat, 5 Jul 2008 15:54:13 MST
The rate of alcohol-related deaths in Scotland is about double the level of the UK as a whole, figures suggest. (Source: BBC News | Health | UK Edition)
Publ.Date : Thu, 22 Feb 2007 17:05:28 +0100
Priory Healthcare, best known for its drugs and alcohol rehabilitation clinic for celebrities, has appointed Morgan Stanley, the investment bank, to carry out a... (Source: FT.com - Drugs and Healthcare)
Publ.Date : Fri, 16 Feb 2007 02:00:00 +0100
Recognition of emotional facial expressions (EFEs) is a key form of non-verbal communication that is lacking among alcoholics. New findings show continuing EFE decoding deficits among alcoholics even after three months of abstinence.Alcoholics with the worst EFE decoding performance at initial assessment not only dropped out of treatment, but all of them later relapsed. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Publ.Date : Thu, 22 Feb 2007 05:00:00 +0100
This new book explores the fact that bad genes persist even though evolution is supposed to weed them out. Long story short: There's enough good in the bad that in the big picture, the good/bad outweighs the bad/bad. Much more here at the author's (Dr. Sharon Moalem) website. Read excerpts from three of the book's chapters here. From Chapter III IF you're of Asian descent and have ever had an alcoholic beverage, there's a fifty-fifty chance your heart rate shot up, your temperature climbed, and your face turned bright red. If you're not Asian but you've ever been in a bar frequented by people with an Asian background, chances are you've seen this reaction. It's called Asian flush or, more formally, alcohol flush response. It happens to as many as half of all people of Asian descent, but it's uncommon in just about every other population group. So what's the story? When you consume alcohol, your body detoxifies it and then extracts calories from it. It's a complex process that involves many different enzymes and multiple organs, although most of the process takes place in the liver. First, an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase converts the alcohol into another chemical called acetaldehyde; another enzyme—cleverly called acetaldehyde dehydrogenase—converts the acetaldehyde into acetate. And a third enzyme converts that into fat, carbon dioxide, and water. (The calories synthesized from alcohol are generally stored as fat—beer bellies really do come from beer.) Many Asians have a genetic variation (labeled ALDH2*2) that causes them to produce a less powerful form of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase—one that isn't as effective in converting acetaledehyde, that first by-product of alcohol, into acetate. Acetaldehyde is thirty times as toxic as alcohol; even very small amounts can produce nasty reactions. And one of those reactions is the flushing response. That's not all it does, of course. After even one drink by people who have the ALDH2*2 variation, the acetaldehyde buildup causes them to appear drunk; blood rushes to their face, chest, and neck; dizziness and extreme nausea set in—and the drinker is on the road to a nasty hangover. Of course, there's a side benefit to all this — people who have ALDH2*2 are highly resistant to alcoholism. It's just too unpleasant for them to drink! In fact, the resistance to alcoholism is so strong in people with ALDH2*2 that doctors often prescribe alcoholics with a drug called disulfiram, which essentially mirrors the ALDH2*2 effect. Disulfiram (Antabuse) interferes with the body's own supply of the acetaldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme, so anyone who drinks alcohol while taking it ends up with something that looks an awful lot like Asian flush and feels truly awful to boot. So why is the ALDH2*2 variation so common among Asians and virtually nonexistent among Europeans? It's all about clean water. As humans began to settle in cities and towns, they got their first taste of the sanitation and waste management problems that still plague cities today—but without even the possibility of modern plumbing. This made clean water a real challenge, and some theories suggest that different civilizations came up with different solutions. In Europe, they used fermentation — and the resulting alcohol killed microbes, even when, as was often the case, it was mixed with water. On the other side of the world, people purified their water by boiling it and making tea. As a result, there was evolutionary pressure in Europe to have the ability to drink, break down, and detoxify alcohol, while the pressure in Asia was a lot less.................... The book costs $17.13 at Amazon. (Source: bookofjoe)
Publ.Date : Wed, 21 Feb 2007 07:00:00 +0100
"eXasis", the drivable "glass" car: the third concept car developed by Rinspeed and Bayer MaterialScience AGZumikon / Leverkusen – "There's never been anything like it" were the words used in the online edition of an acclaimed international news magazine to describe its editor's reaction when the first sketches of the new Rinspeed concept car, "eXasis", appeared on the Internet, "and it looks like no other vehicle before it". In fact, the illustrations could only hint at what Swiss automotive visionary Frank M. Rinderknecht had thought up in collaboration with the experts from Bayer MaterialScience AG – one of the largest plastics producers in the world – to mark his company's 30th anniversary: a drivable "glass" car with a completely transparent body and floor made of Makrolon®. Once again, this Rinspeed creation has been built by the Swiss engineering specialists Esoro, and will be shown to the public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show (March 8-18, 2007), 40 years after Bayer presented the first "all-plastic car" at the K67 Plastics Fair in Germany in 1967."Everyone who sees the eXasis for the first time raves about the glass car, but they actually mean our transparent high-tech plastic," says Ian Paterson, the member of the Bayer MaterialScience Board of Management responsible for Innovation, describing the typical reaction to the prototype. "Many people only talk about innovation. We do it, in conjunction with our partners." In fact, nearly all the Bayer MaterialScience business units were involved in the development of the concept car, providing products such as surface coatings and polyurethanes (for molding tools). but it was the plastics experts from BMS with their Makrolon® polycarbonate who were responsible for the transparency of the eXasis. Frank M. Rinderknecht: "In this ethereal transparency, the true spirit of the eXasis becomes visible. An abstract idea becomes material, visions become a tangible car. Yet the eXasis still doesn't seem to have quite arrived in our material world." made in 1967: "K 67", the first "all-plastic car" of the world made by BayerSo is it just a clever 3D projection, a fata morgana or perhaps a four-wheel ‘objet d'art’? In any case, the third vehicle to emerge from the cooperation between the two companies differs fundamentally from the other two: the futuristic-looking "Senso" and the pure-blooded "zaZen" sports car. The eXasis is a completely new development, in other words it is not based on a production-line vehicle. The insect-like, shiny yellow body with the exposed wheels looks like a mix of the legendary Auto-Union racing cars from the first half of the last century and an off-road vehicle, offering room for two people, one behind the other. The reinterpretation of the frequently cited cigar form is crowned in the "sexy" rear section with an attractively integrated ventilator and a superb matching, highly polished Remus exhaust muffler. And the transparency also provides an unrestricted view of the compact 2-cylinder 750 ccm Weber engine, which, very unusually, sits above the transmission.The eXasis is a real eye-catcher with nothing to hide. The outer Makrolon® shell, molded by the Swiss firm Mecaplex and coated with a tinge of yellow by the German hard coatings specialist, KRD, reveals the vehicle's load-bearing aluminum chassis. The chassis looks as if it has been cut from a solid piece of material, and in fact the bulkheads are. Despite this, the entire construction exudes a sense of lightness like bamboo, underlined by a Lesonal chrome effect finish based on Bayer MaterialScience's Desmodur® and Desmophen®. To finish the surfaces of the knobs and levers, the Bayer experts came up with a special soft-feel coating based on waterborne binders – their sole aim being to pamper the eyes and hands of the driver. "eXasis", the drivable "glass" car: the third concept car developed by Rinspeed and Bayer MaterialScience AGThe two occupants sit in special seats designed in cooperation with Recaro. Each seat consists of twelve transparent Makrolon® ribs – the same number as a human being has. The head restraint and armrests are made of transparent Technogel®. The Hightex/Sellner Group, which is specialized in interior design, was responsible not only for the futuristic seat coverings and the design of the fabric-covered steering wheel, it has also added a number of other stylish highlights. One example is the innovative application of aluminized glass fiber material with a diamond-shape design on the wheel rims, trim, wishbones, fuel tank and headlamps. The two transparent indicator and function displays are an absolute delight, both technically and optically. They seem to hover on both sides in the driver's field of vision. By touching them, various functions can be displayed and controlled. Each of the touch-panels is made of a transparent CD/DVD Makrolon® blank that has been coated with electrically conductive Baytron® from H.C. Starck to trigger the switch functions. The displays were developed by the Swiss safety and closure system specialists, Kaba. The personalized access system to the car is also be integrated in the touch panels. The "eXasis" is powered by an extremely lightweight, 150 bhp Weber engine driven by CO2-emission-reducing bioethanol. In view of the fact that the car weighs only 750 kg because of its lightweight plastic construction, one horsepower has to shift only 5 kg – and that is about the same as a very nippy Porsche. Rinspeed was also able to persuade some state-owned companies and government departments to become involved in the eXasis project. The fuel is provided by Alcosuisse, the profit center of the Swiss Alcohol Board, while the Swiss Federal Office of Energy has chosen the eXasis to take part in a study on the subject of lightweight construction and ecology. More information on bioethanol and Germany's first fuel station brand for environmentally friendly fuels can be found on the Internet at www.biofuel24.de.To transfer all this power to the road, the KW chassis specialists have accommodated the tailor-made spring and shock absorber units vertically in the front in the partition wall and horizontally at the rear. The tires are Pirelli's 22-inch High-Performance P Zero, mounted on forged five-spoke wheels manufactured by the German wheel maker, AEZ. Here too, attention to detail is evident: the wheels are decorated with transparent "inlays" of Makrolon® that look like small windows. Despite the attractive sweeping contours that blend smoothly into the car's transparency, the eXasis is ‘edgy’ and definitely has a character of its own. But everybody who has the pleasure of driving it is agreed on one thing: glancing down through the transparent floor while the car is moving gives a very special kind of thrill Other companies involved in the “eXasis” project were:AEZ Leichtmetallräder GmbH - www.aez-wheels.comAlcosuisse - www.eav.admin.ch/alcosuisse/ Biofuel24Europe - www.biofuel24.deBundesamt für Energie - www.bfe.admin.chEsoro AG - www.esoro.chKaba AG - www.kaba.comKRD Coatings GmbH – www.krd-sicherheitstechnik.de/coatings KW automotive GmbH - www.kw-gmbh.deLesonal Gmbh - www.lesonal.deMecaplex AG - www.mecaplex.chProtoscar SA - www.protoscar.comRecaro GmbH - www.recaro.comRemus Innovation - www.remus.atRevoflex AG - www.revoflex.chSharp Electronics - www.sharp.chSträhle + Hess GmbH & Co. KG - www.straehle-hess.deOesterleSlr - www.oesterleslr.deSchwaller Movement Engineering AGSellner GmbH - www.sellner.deSC Schäfer - www.sc-schaefer.comSwissauto - Wenko AG - www.wenko.chWeber Automotive - www.weber-motor.deInformation for editors:Extensive information and illustrative material are available online on: www.rinspeed.com and www.presse.bayerbms.deMore languages:French - Italian - Spanish A detailed TV-feed is available from Medialink: Tel.: +44 2075542704 E-mail: mediarelations@europe.medialink.comForward-looking statementsThis news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in our public reports filed with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including our Form 20-F). The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments. (Source: Bayer Company News)
Publ.Date : Tue, 20 Feb 2007 08:33:02 +0100
[Evaluation of the hydro-alcoholic Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Aroeira) extract in the healing process of the alba linea in rats.] Acta Cir Bras. 2006 00;21:8-15 Authors: Nunes Jr JA, Ribas-Filho JM, Malafaia O, Czeczko NG, Inácio CM, Negrão AW, Lucena PL, Moreira H, Wagenfuhr Jr J, Cruz JD PURPOSE: To evaluate the healing process in the abdominal wall of rats after the intra-peritoneal injection of the hydro-alcoholic Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi extract. METHODS: Forty Wistar rats were used, distributed in two groups of 20 animals, divided into two subgroups, according to the death day, three or seven, after the intra-peritoneal injection of the extract. The experimental group was injected with only one dose of the hydro-alcoholic Aroeira extract (100mg per animal kilogram); the control group was injected with only one dose of isotonic saline solution at 0.9%. After the animal death, an inventory of the peritoneal cavity was carried out in a careful search for any adhesion, followed by the resection of the anterior abdominal wall encompassing the operating incision in order to examine it for evidence of infection. The adhesions were classified according to the Nair criteria. The tensiometric assessment was performed by means of the measurement of the maximum charge and maximum deformity tolerated, measured in a universal Tiratest type testing machine and, finally, the histological evaluation was performed by means of the hematoxylin-eosine staining in following parameters: severe inflammation, chronic inflammation, ischemic necrosis, gigantocellular reaction of the foreign body type, fibroblastic proliferation, fibrosis, re-epithelization and co-optation of the suture borders. RESULTS: The macroscopic evaluation didn't have any evidence of significant adherence between the alba linea and the intra-abdominal viscera in the study groups. The tensiometry showed significant effect for the Maximum Charge and Maximum Deformity (p=0.006 and p=0.000, respectively) between the 7-day control and experimental groups. The histological 3-day and 7-day control and experimental intergroup evaluation did not show significant alteration for the parameters vascular neoformation, necrosis, fibrosis, re-epithelization and co-aptation. A significant difference was perceived for fibroblastic proliferation (p=0.014) in the 3-day intergroup evaluation and for chronic inflammation (p=0.023) and gigantocellular reaction of the foreign body type (p=0.008) in the 7-day intergroup evaluation. The control intragroup analysis, had a significant difference for chronic inflammation in the 3-day group and, finally, in the experimental intragroup analysis, a significant difference was observed for acute inflammation and fibroblastic proliferation (p=0.001 and p=0.020) in the 3-day regarding the 7-day group. CONCLUSION: The intraperitoneal injection of the Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi hydro-alcoholic extract in median laparotomies in rats has not determined any significant alteration in the macroscopic analysis, but it induced an increase of maximum charge of rupture and maximum deformity of the alba linea in the tensiometric analysis. In the histological point of view, the Aroeira group had a positive healing effect on the 3-day. PMID: 17293932 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Acta Cirurgica Brasileira)
Publ.Date : Wed, 14 Feb 2007 11:25:02 +0100
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