�NHS Health Scotland, the national health improvement agency, has base a 17 per cent fall in admissions for heart attacks just one year afterward the smoke ban1 came into force play.
Undertaken by the University of Glasgow, this study is 1 of the most rich of its kind, and was commissioned as role of a national rating of the impact of Scotland's smokefree legislation. Published this calendar week in the New England Journal of Medicine, the results from a study of ball club Scottish hospitals2 demonstrate the positive impingement going smokefree can have on the health of the population.
The evaluation of Scotland's smokefree law found that after the legislation came into force there was:
� a 17 per penny reduction in heart tone-beginning admissions to nine Scottish hospitals. This compares with an annual reduction in Scottish admissions for ticker attack of 3 per cent per year in the ten before the ban
� an 86 per cent simplification in second hand smoke in bars
� a 39 per cent reduction in second hand smoke exposure in 11-year-olds and in adult non-smokers
� an increase in the proportion of homes with smoking restrictions
� no evidence of smoking shifting from public places into the home
� considerable public support for the legislation even among smokers, whose support increased in one case the legislation was in place
Professor Jill Pell, University of Glasgow world Health Organization conducted the study said: "Previous analyses of bit hospital admission data from the US and Italy have reported reductions in heart attacks following the introduction of smoking bans. However, our Scottish study, is the first to examine the impact of the legislation on smokers and non-smokers separately. We have been able to demonstrate that two-thirds of the ascertained reduction in heart blast has occurred in non-smokers and the results of the blood tests confirmed a reduction in exposure to second hand smoke among non-smokers. We believe that most of the step-down can be attributed to the innovation of the Scottish smoke ban."
Sally Haw, Principal Public Health Adviser at NHS Health Scotland, unified the research programme: "This evaluation of impact of smokefree legislation is the most comprehensive yet conducted and the findings have exceeded our greatest expectations. As well as the dramatic 17 per cent reduction in heart attacks, we plant clear grounds of: improvements in the respiratory health of prevention workers; reductions in second hand exposure in bar workers, and adults and children the general population; and changing sociocultural norms around smoking and the acceptability of exposing others to SHS.
"The findings from the Scottish study of heart attacks are of worldwide importance and the combined results from the evaluation provide a compelling case for other countries to follow through a comprehensive ban on smoking in public places as shortly as possible, thereby reduction the impairment caused by second-hand smoke. However, it is essential that smokefree legislation is set within the context of use of wider tobacco control activity as outlined in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control - an external treaty designed to reduce both the demand for and the supply of tobacco products. 3"
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Peter Donnelly aforesaid: "This raft of research demonstrates the significant populace health benefits that the smoking ban is already having in Scotland. It provides evidence that the legislation is improving the health of everyone in Scotland - including smokers, non-smokers, children and barworkers. One of the most important findings is the reduction in heart attacks. We believe that the smoking forbiddance was a large tributary factor to this drop and I am convinced that we will persist in to get a line the incontrovertible effects of the forbiddance in long time to come."
The publication of this study comes together with other good news internationally; Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates announced in New York last week a further $375 gazillion investment ($250 million from the Bloomberg Family Foundation and $125 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) in tobacco plant control activity in development countries4; patch China has made the forthcoming Olympics a smokefree event when it takes the world stage in August.
1. The Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act came into force in Scotland on 26th March 2006 and prohibits smoking in virtually all enclosed public places including parallel bars restaurants and cafes.
2. The heart attempt admissions to the club study hospitals account for 63 per cent of all Scottish admissions for heart onset.
3. Link to WHO FCTC
4. Link to Bloomberg/Gates story
NHS Scotland
http://www.scot.nhs.uk
More information
Thursday 14 August 2008
Wednesday 6 August 2008
Rectal Gel Could Limit HIV Transmission
�
When applied as portion of a rectal gel, the drug tenofovir may prevent
HIV transmission, according to an subject field performed in macaque monkeys.
These results were released on August 4, 2008 in the open access
journal PLoS
Medicine.
In both heterosexuals and homosexuals, rectal social intercourse carries a
very danger of HIV transmission. Prophylactic measures so far get
focused on condoms and other physical barriers, so there is limited
information about the potential use of topical products for this type
of transmitting.
To investigate this potentiality new birth control device measure, Martin Cranage
of St. George'ss University of London and colleagues performed a study
in macaque monkeys. After diligence of the experimental gel, a
placebo, or no medication, human rectal exposure to HIV was faux
in the monkeys by exposure to Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), a
conformation of the disease that is specific to monkeys.
The researchers institute that the macaques pre-treated with rectal
tenofovir gel up to two hours before viral exposure were partly or
totally protexted from SIV infection. Untreated animals, along with
those treated with the placebo were infected with the virus. Notably,
some of the macaques given protection likewise developed T-cell immune
responses to the virus.
These findings indicate that bar of rectal HIV transmittance
might be achieved through and through topical treatment with antiretroviral drugs,
a powerful fresh tool for HIV prophylaxis. However, investigation this
will provide further challenges for scientists, because true efficaciousness
cannot be concluded in animals alone. Further, late human trials have
had some setbacks -- this is shown in a study of women victimisation
microbicide vaginally who actually showed increased rates of HIV
infection. Also, because of HIV's mechanism of attempt via activated
T-cells from the immune system, it is important to establish that the
noted immune reception does not increase subsequent infection with the
virus.
The authors conclude, optimistic despite these limitations, that there
is potential for topical applications of antiretroviral drugs. "There
may be potential difference for synergism between topical ARV/microbicide utilization and
vaccination as a two-pronged strategy for preventing infection with
HIV," they suppose.
Florian Hladik and Charlene Dezzutti, contributed an accompanying
Perspective noting the implications of this study on farther studies of
a alike nature, including continued purification of the animal models,
significant further pre-clinical inquiry, and molecular level
probe.
About PLoS Medicine
PLoS Medicine is an open access, freely useable
international medical journal. It publishes original research that
enhances our understanding of human wellness and disease, together with
commentary and analysis of important global health issues. For more than
information, visit http://www.plosmedicine.org/
About the Public Library of Science
The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a nonprofit organization of
scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific
and medical literature a freely available public resource. For more
information, http://www.plos.org/
Prevention of SIV rectal transmission and priming of T cell
responses in macaques afterwards local preexposure application of tenofovir
colloidal gel.
Cranage M, Sharpe S, Herrera C, Cope A, Dennis M, et al.
PLoS Med 5(8): e157.
doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050157
Click
Here For Full Length Article
Can a topical microbicide prevent rectal HIV transmission?
Hladik F, Dezzutti CS
PLoS Med 5(8): e167.
doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050167
Click
Here For Full Length Perspective
Written by Anna Sophia McKenney
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
More information
When applied as portion of a rectal gel, the drug tenofovir may prevent
HIV transmission, according to an subject field performed in macaque monkeys.
These results were released on August 4, 2008 in the open access
journal PLoS
Medicine.
In both heterosexuals and homosexuals, rectal social intercourse carries a
very danger of HIV transmission. Prophylactic measures so far get
focused on condoms and other physical barriers, so there is limited
information about the potential use of topical products for this type
of transmitting.
To investigate this potentiality new birth control device measure, Martin Cranage
of St. George'ss University of London and colleagues performed a study
in macaque monkeys. After diligence of the experimental gel, a
placebo, or no medication, human rectal exposure to HIV was faux
in the monkeys by exposure to Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), a
conformation of the disease that is specific to monkeys.
The researchers institute that the macaques pre-treated with rectal
tenofovir gel up to two hours before viral exposure were partly or
totally protexted from SIV infection. Untreated animals, along with
those treated with the placebo were infected with the virus. Notably,
some of the macaques given protection likewise developed T-cell immune
responses to the virus.
These findings indicate that bar of rectal HIV transmittance
might be achieved through and through topical treatment with antiretroviral drugs,
a powerful fresh tool for HIV prophylaxis. However, investigation this
will provide further challenges for scientists, because true efficaciousness
cannot be concluded in animals alone. Further, late human trials have
had some setbacks -- this is shown in a study of women victimisation
microbicide vaginally who actually showed increased rates of HIV
infection. Also, because of HIV's mechanism of attempt via activated
T-cells from the immune system, it is important to establish that the
noted immune reception does not increase subsequent infection with the
virus.
The authors conclude, optimistic despite these limitations, that there
is potential for topical applications of antiretroviral drugs. "There
may be potential difference for synergism between topical ARV/microbicide utilization and
vaccination as a two-pronged strategy for preventing infection with
HIV," they suppose.
Florian Hladik and Charlene Dezzutti, contributed an accompanying
Perspective noting the implications of this study on farther studies of
a alike nature, including continued purification of the animal models,
significant further pre-clinical inquiry, and molecular level
probe.
About PLoS Medicine
PLoS Medicine is an open access, freely useable
international medical journal. It publishes original research that
enhances our understanding of human wellness and disease, together with
commentary and analysis of important global health issues. For more than
information, visit http://www.plosmedicine.org/
About the Public Library of Science
The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a nonprofit organization of
scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific
and medical literature a freely available public resource. For more
information, http://www.plos.org/
Prevention of SIV rectal transmission and priming of T cell
responses in macaques afterwards local preexposure application of tenofovir
colloidal gel.
Cranage M, Sharpe S, Herrera C, Cope A, Dennis M, et al.
PLoS Med 5(8): e157.
doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050157
Click
Here For Full Length Article
Can a topical microbicide prevent rectal HIV transmission?
Hladik F, Dezzutti CS
PLoS Med 5(8): e167.
doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050167
Click
Here For Full Length Perspective
Written by Anna Sophia McKenney
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
More information
Friday 27 June 2008
My Blueberry Nights - 7/1/2008
It's always a tightrope when foreign filmmakers, particularly those from the Hong Kong market, come to American shores to ply their trade. Though it doesn't appear that Wong Kar Wai is going to be setting up shop permanently in Hollywood (nobody's going to be after him to direct the next Die Hard installment), My Blueberry Nights marks his first English-language film, with an entirely American and British cast. It shows that the director is not just a foreign-language specialty, his gifts are quite apparent even when the veil of mystery is lifted for English-speaking audiences once the subtitles are gone. However, My Blueberry Nights also shows that for all Wong's rightly vaunted abilities and passionate sense of cinema, there are some glaringly obvious rough patches in his approach, brought into sharp relief by transplanting the action from the teeming streets of Hong Kong to the wide open spaces of America, where his instincts for actors seem less sure.
An odd road movie of sorts that spends most of its time hanging around in diners, bars, and casinos (and precious little of it on the road), My Blueberry Nights will be noted in many quarters for it being the feature film-acting debut of jazz chanteuse Norah Jones. To put it briefly: No actress is she. Playing a lovelorn young woman named Elizabeth, she first shows up in a Brooklyn diner run by Jeremy, a charming Manchester immigrant played with the expected lighthearted dash by Jude Law. In the middle of a breakup, Elizabeth moons about the caf� eating the excellent pie (best in the city!) and chatting with Jeremy, winning his heart even as hers is breaking over somebody else. Then Elizabeth ups and skips out, landing next in Memphis, where she waitresses at a caf� and a bar, telling everyone she's working two jobs to save up for a car.
Although the first segment is supposed to be this episodic tale's romantic backbone, it stands in weak relief against the Memphis-set scenes. There, Elizabeth meets a sad drunk named Arnie, played with masterful ease by David Strathairn, who seems able to wring more pathos out of a glance than Law can in three pages worth of dialogue. The stormy cause of Arnie's trauma, his ex-wife, comes whipping into the bar in the form of Rachel Weisz, performing here on utter screaming overdrive and ratcheting what had been a moody jazz number up into a raucous electric blues howler. Later, Elizabeth washes up in the Nevada desert at a down-at-the-heels casino where she falls in with a bleach-blonde cardsharp played by Natalie Portman with all the jagged edges of a young Sharon Stone. Meanwhile, Elizabeth sends cryptic postcards back to Jeremy, pining handsomely behind his diner counter.
The whole affair can appear terribly artificial, of course, what with all those iconic bar and diner scenes, the wind-whipped desert of Nevada sequence, and the soundtrack of Ry Cooder, Motown, and jazz standards by Jones herself. Wong keeps himself from falling down the same trap of freeze-dried Americana that some foreign directors like Wim Wenders always seem to do, and he's able to do that by hewing to the same kind of potent heartbreak that nailed down overstylized romances like In the Mood for Love and 2046. True, the look of My Blueberry Nights suffers somewhat from not having Wong's usual cinematographer Christopher Doyle on deck, but Darius Khondji does admirable work nonetheless (those close-ups of ice-cream melting in rivulets into pie). Wong's decision to film on location across the country pays off also; although he could have easily reconstructed most of the film's sets on a Toronto backlot, there is a certain grit of authenticity visible behind these admittedly melodramatic stories (scripted with a pulp writer's punch and occasional laziness by mystery author Lawrence Block).
What doesn't work in any way, really, is Jones herself. Given the dialogue's sometimes over-obvious nature, Jones's blank expression and dull line readings bring little to the party; she is only occasionally juiced into more expressive performance when the actor playing opposite (particularly Strathairn and Portman) is working in overdrive. It's a nearly soulless bit of acting, and frustrating because of how it hampers the film from ever really taking flight. As a first English-language film, My Blueberry Nights is mostly a success, though set apart from Wong's previous work in that it won't have people coming back over and over again. The film does, however, whet ones appetite for what might come next.
It's the rhubarb days that get you down.
See Also
Thursday 19 June 2008
You don't need a tent for Summer Camp II - maybe just an umbrella
The weather may not cooperate, but not even wind and rain should dampen the spirit at 107.7FM/The End's "Summer Camp II," Saturday at Marymoor Park. The six bands on the bill are all high-energy enough to light a fire under their mostly young fans.
Despite the name, there won't be any camping at the all-day festival, as inviting as the woodsy site may be. The concert area isn't permanent — the stage goes up each spring and is taken down in the fall — but it's state-of-the-art. Gently sloping, grass-covered berms surrounding the stage provide good sight lines, and separate the performing space from the big food-vendor area.
Parking is close and easy. Because the show is on a Saturday, the Marymoor Mess — the slow-down that develops on the freeway offramp to the park, when concertgoers meet the last of the evening commute on weekdays — shouldn't be too much of a problem.
The bands on the bill aren't household names, but are well-known to fans of the modern rock station The End.
Flogging Molly takes Irish folk-music traditions to new levels of intensity and energy. The vocals have a bit of Irish accent, and the band's attack is based on acoustic guitars, fiddle and banjo, but the music is delivered with hard-rock energy.
Pennywise, named after the monster in Stephen King's novel "It," is a speed-punk band that's celebrating its 20th anniversary with one of its biggest hits ever, "The Western World." This band will really wind up the crowd, creating mosh pits in the grass.
Nada Surf may bring down the noise and intensity levels a bit with its big, dramatic, pop-oriented sound, which is impressive coming from just three guys. Their love songs may provide the inspiration for some slow dancing in the grass.
MGMT is the newest band on the bill, noted by Rolling Stone and others as one of the standouts at the SXSW festival in Austin in March. The hard-driving New York band's first hit single, "Time to Pretend," has been featured on The End for months now.
Armor for Sleep is a head-banging, guitar-screeching, harmonizing pop/rock band with a tight, commercial sound. Not challenging, but fun.
The Flobots is a minimalist rock/hip hop band from Denver.
Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com
See Also
Thursday 12 June 2008
Spears undergoing psychiatric evaluation
Britney Spears is on a psychiatric hold in a Los Angeles hospital as she undergoes evaluation.
The 26-year-old was taken from her home to hospital yesterday by ambulance.
Speaking to People magazine, Spears' representative, Sam Lutfi, said that Spears was undergoing evaluation on the orders of her psychiatrist.
"She went willingly," Lufti told the magazine. "It was like something in her heart was telling her she should go. She knew something was wrong."
UCLA Medical Center declined to confirm if Spears was a patient, citing confidentiality.
Spears' parents and Lufti were pictured leaving the hospital on Thursday. When asked if her daughter was "OK" by reporters, the singer's mother Lynne said: "Yes."
Friends and family have said they believe that the 26-year-old is suffering from bipolar disorder or other psychiatric problems.
An unnamed source told Us Weekly that Spears had not slept since Saturday.
The source said that the "intervention" by Spears' family and psychiatrist had been planned for a number of days.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness in the US has pleaded for Spears' privacy during her treatment.
The 26-year-old was taken from her home to hospital yesterday by ambulance.
Speaking to People magazine, Spears' representative, Sam Lutfi, said that Spears was undergoing evaluation on the orders of her psychiatrist.
"She went willingly," Lufti told the magazine. "It was like something in her heart was telling her she should go. She knew something was wrong."
UCLA Medical Center declined to confirm if Spears was a patient, citing confidentiality.
Spears' parents and Lufti were pictured leaving the hospital on Thursday. When asked if her daughter was "OK" by reporters, the singer's mother Lynne said: "Yes."
Friends and family have said they believe that the 26-year-old is suffering from bipolar disorder or other psychiatric problems.
An unnamed source told Us Weekly that Spears had not slept since Saturday.
The source said that the "intervention" by Spears' family and psychiatrist had been planned for a number of days.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness in the US has pleaded for Spears' privacy during her treatment.
Friday 6 June 2008
The Walkmen announce new album, tour dates
The Walkmen have announced details of their fourth album, slated to be released this fall.
�??You And Me�?? was written over two years in a warehouse in Philadelphia and old nightclub in Chelsea, New York and recorded in two installments - the first at Sweet Tea studios in Oxford, Mississippi with engineer John Agnello, who�??s previously worked with Dinosaur Jr., The Hold Steady and Sonic Youth), and in a couple of sessions in New York's Gigantic Studios with engineer Chris Zane.
The track listing is:
�??Dónde está la Playa�??
�??Flamingos (for Colbert)�??
�??On the Water�??
�??In the New Year�??
�??Seven Years of Holidays (for Stretch)�??
�??Postcards from Tiny Islands�??
�??Red Moon�??
�??Canadian Girl�??
�??Four Provinces�??
�??Long Time Ahead of Us�??
�??The Blue Route�??
�??New Country�??
�??I Lost You�??
�??If Only It Were True�??
Meanwhile, the band have scheduled the following dates for August:
New York, NY Bowery Ballroom (18, 19)
Los Angeles, CA Troubadour (21, 22)
Portland, OR Doug Fir (27)
Vancouver, BC Richards on Richard (28)
Victoria Rifflandia Festival (29)
Seattle, WA Bumbershoot Festival (30)
--By our New York staff.
Find out more about NME.
�??You And Me�?? was written over two years in a warehouse in Philadelphia and old nightclub in Chelsea, New York and recorded in two installments - the first at Sweet Tea studios in Oxford, Mississippi with engineer John Agnello, who�??s previously worked with Dinosaur Jr., The Hold Steady and Sonic Youth), and in a couple of sessions in New York's Gigantic Studios with engineer Chris Zane.
The track listing is:
�??Dónde está la Playa�??
�??Flamingos (for Colbert)�??
�??On the Water�??
�??In the New Year�??
�??Seven Years of Holidays (for Stretch)�??
�??Postcards from Tiny Islands�??
�??Red Moon�??
�??Canadian Girl�??
�??Four Provinces�??
�??Long Time Ahead of Us�??
�??The Blue Route�??
�??New Country�??
�??I Lost You�??
�??If Only It Were True�??
Meanwhile, the band have scheduled the following dates for August:
New York, NY Bowery Ballroom (18, 19)
Los Angeles, CA Troubadour (21, 22)
Portland, OR Doug Fir (27)
Vancouver, BC Richards on Richard (28)
Victoria Rifflandia Festival (29)
Seattle, WA Bumbershoot Festival (30)
--By our New York staff.
Find out more about NME.
Thursday 29 May 2008
Selftorture
Artist: Selftorture
Genre(s):
Metal
Discography:
Person-A
Year: 2004
Tracks: 13
Alanis Morissette - The Things They Say 8402
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