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Thursday, June 23, 2011

NASA’s Cassini–Huygens spacecraft has discovered evidence for a large-scale saltwater reservoir beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The data came from the spacecraft’s direct analysis of salt-rich ice grains close to the jets ejected from the moon. The study has been published in this week’s edition of the journal Nature.

Data from Cassini’s cosmic dust analyzer show the grains expelled from fissures, known as tiger stripes, are relatively small and usually low in salt far away from the moon. Closer to the moon’s surface, Cassini found that relatively large grains rich with sodium and potassium dominate the plumes. The salt-rich particles have an “ocean-like” composition and indicate that most, if not all, of the expelled ice and water vapor comes from the evaporation of liquid salt-water. When water freezes, the salt is squeezed out, leaving pure water ice behind.

Cassini’s ultraviolet imaging spectrograph also recently obtained complementary results that support the presence of a subsurface ocean. A team of Cassini researchers led by Candice Hansen of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, measured gas shooting out of distinct jets originating in the moon’s south polar region at five to eight times the speed of sound, several times faster than previously measured. These observations of distinct jets, from a 2010 flyby, are consistent with results showing a difference in composition of ice grains close to the moon’s surface and those that made it out to the E ring, the outermost ring that gets its material primarily from Enceladean jets. If the plumes emanated from ice, they should have very little salt in them.

“There currently is no plausible way to produce a steady outflow of salt-rich grains from solid ice across all the tiger stripes other than salt water under Enceladus’s icy surface,” said Frank Postberg, a Cassini team scientist at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

The data suggests a layer of water between the moon’s rocky core and its icy mantle, possibly as deep as about 50 miles (80 kilometers) beneath the surface. As this water washes against the rocks, it dissolves salt compounds and rises through fractures in the overlying ice to form reserves nearer the surface. If the outermost layer cracks open, the decrease in pressure from these reserves to space causes a plume to shoot out. Roughly 400 pounds (200 kilograms) of water vapor is lost every second in the plumes, with smaller amounts being lost as ice grains. The team calculates the water reserves must have large evaporating surfaces, or they would freeze easily and stop the plumes.

“We imagine that between the ice and the ice core there is an ocean of depth and this is somehow connected to the surface reservoir,” added Postberg.

The Cassini mission discovered Enceladus’ water-vapor and ice jets in 2005. In 2009, scientists working with the cosmic dust analyzer examined some sodium salts found in ice grains of Saturn’s E ring but the link to subsurface salt water was not definitive. The new paper analyzes three Enceladus flybys in 2008 and 2009 with the same instrument, focusing on the composition of freshly ejected plume grains. In 2008, Cassini discovered a high “density of volatile gases, water vapor, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as organic materials, some 20 times denser than expected” in geysers erupting from the moon. The icy particles hit the detector target at speeds between 15,000 and 39,000 MPH (23,000 and 63,000 KPH), vaporizing instantly. Electrical fields inside the cosmic dust analyzer separated the various constituents of the impact cloud.

“Enceladus has got warmth, water and organic chemicals, some of the essential building blocks needed for life,” said Dennis Matson in 2008, Cassini project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

“This finding is a crucial new piece of evidence showing that environmental conditions favorable to the emergence of life can be sustained on icy bodies orbiting gas giant planets,” said Nicolas Altobelli, the European Space Agency’s project scientist for Cassini.

“If there is water in such an unexpected place, it leaves possibility for the rest of the universe,” said Postberg.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Researchers with the University of Calgary in Canada have found that prolactin, a hormone produced during pregnancy, may reverse the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a paper published this week in The Journal of Neuroscience.

The study, led by Drs. Samuel Weiss and V. Wee Yong of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, compared virgin and pregnant mice with MS-like lesions introduced by lysolecithin, a chemical which destroys the myelin sheaths around neurons. They found the pregnant mice developed smaller lesions and fewer damaged neurons, and showed signs of repaired neurons. They also found the pregnant mice had higher levels of cells called oligodendrocytes, which create myelin and are able to repair some damaged neurons through remyelination. Because prolactin regulates the levels of precursors of oligodendrocytes, the scientists hypothesized that prolactin levels were responsible for the differences in damage. They also tested virgin mice given additional prolactin, and found results similar to pregnant mice.File:Monthly multiple sclerosis MRI.gif

Previous studies have shown that other hormones could reduce myelin damage, but this is the first study to show a mechanism to reverse myelin damage, and establish an empirical connection between that mechanism and pregnancy. Dr. Weiss says, “It is thought that during pregnancy, women’s immune systems no longer destroyed the myelin. However, no previous study has tested whether pregnancy actually results in the production of new myelin, which may lead to improvement of symptoms. “We’re excited about this result because it suggests to us that prolactin has the potential to be used to enhance the production of new myelin.”

Dr. William McIlroy, national medical advisor for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, explains the significance of this study: “The results of this study should be well received by people living with MS today. It represents a new insight of how we might be able to reverse some of the effects of the disease and improve the quality of life for those who live under its influence.”File:Prolactin.png

Dr. Luanne Metz, director of the Calgary MS Clinic in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary and Calgary Health Region, adds, “This discovery has the potential to take MS therapy a step further than current treatments that stabilize the disease in its early stages. By promoting repair, which is the goal of prolactin therapy, we have hope of actually improving symptoms in people with MS.”

Further animal studies need to be done to examine the possibility of side effects, such as lactation in men and non-pregnant women, as well as increased inflammation which could worsen the MS. Researchers believe human trials may begin within a few years.

Funding and support were provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research and the Stem Cell Network.

MS is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system where the body attacks the fatty myelin which helps nerves carry electrical signals, causing muscle weakness and spasming which may lead to disability. MS affects approximately one of every 1000 people in North America, northern Europe and Australasia.

Monday, May 6, 2019

The second International Student Olympiad in Neurosurgery for the prize of the Governor of Tyumen Oblast, Russia took place in the first week of April at the Federal Center for Neurosurgery in Tyumen. The competition was attended by 46 people from cities within Russia as well as from Aktobe, Kazakhstan. Wikinews attended the event, and talked to some of those involved.

This was the second consecutive student Olympiad in neurosurgery. Six of the country’s eight federal district capitals were reportedly scheduled to send contestants. The winners are awarded free tuition at the academic department of Neurosurgery at First Moscow State Medical University (First MSMU), also called Sechenov University.

Madina Bizheva, in her fourth year at Kabardino-Balkarian State University, won this second Olympiad. The other two places at Sechenov University were awarded to Oleg Titov, fifth year at the First MSMU, and Irina Borovikova, fifth year at Ural State Medical University. Bizheva said: “I give my victory to my mother, who inspired me to study at a neurosurgeon. After she had a stroke, the dream of becoming a doctor began to turn into reality. I was seriously preparing for the Olympiad. One hand rocked the child, the other held a book on neurosurgery. If a person strives for and desires something, then everything will work out.” ^{((ru))Russian: ????? ?????? ? ???? ????, ??????? ?????????? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????????????. ????? ????, ??? ? ??? ???????? ???????, ????? ????? ?????? ????? ???????????? ? ??????????. ? ???????? ?????????? ? ?????????. ????? ????? ?????????? ???????, ?????? ??????? ????? ?? ?????????????. ???? ??????? ? ???? ?????????? ? ????-?? ????? ??????, — ??? ?????????.}

• Contestants came from many parts of Russia and from Kazakhstan. Image: ??????? ???????.

• Participants waiting for the start of the test. Image: ??????? ???????.

• Olympiad participants complete a theory test. Image: ??????? ???????.

The chairman of the organizing committee of the Olympiad and the head physician of the center, Albert Sufianov, is also the head of the academic department of neurosurgery in the First MSMU. The three best performers in this contest are awarded the opportunity to study for free in his department in the residency of the Sechenov University.

The event was supported financially by Tyumen Oblast. The new governor of the region, Alexander Moor, during his message to the regional parliamentarians read out on November 22, just offered to diversify the economy, reducing the focus on oil and gas from the third Baku and cultivating medical tourism: “Now the annual volume of our exports — non-row materials and non-energy — has come close to a billion dollars. In the next year, this must be given priority. And here, too, non-standard approaches will be required, in which trends of various origins will organically merge across the traditional industry nomenclature. For example, it is time to perceive Tyumen medicine as a full-fledged export-oriented industry, while closely associated with the tourism business. Medical tourism is growing rapidly all over the world, and in terms of price and quality, Tyumen is more than competitive — if not on a global scale, then on a scale of the whole continent Eurasia exactly. Here the themes of several national projects intersect at once!” ^{((ru))Russian: ??????? ??????? ????? ?????? ???????? – ??????????? ? ????????????????? – ???????? ??????????? ? ????????? ????????. ? ????????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????. ? ??? ???? ??????????? ????????????? ???????, ? ??????? ?????? ???????????? ?????????? ???????????? ????????? ?????????? ?????? ?????????? ?????????????. ??????, ????????? ???????? ??? ???? ???????????? ??? ??????????? ?????????-??????????????? ???????, ??? ???? ????? ????????? ? ????????????? ????????. ??????????? ?????? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????, ? ?? ?????????? ???? ? ???????? ?????? ????? ??? ?????????????????? – ???? ?? ? ?????????? ????????, ?? ? ???????? ????? ???????????? ?????????? ?????. ????? ???????????? ???????? ????? ?????????? ???????????? ????????!}

According to Professor Sergey Dydykin, who is both co-chairman of the organizing committee and head of the academic department of operative surgery and topographic anatomy of the First MSMU, in the United States and Europe it is not customary to teach manual skills, such as manual surgical techniques, to undergraduates; conducting surgical competitions for students is a Russian practice.

During the Olympiad, students had to perform simulated practical tasks. For example, in the final part of the competition, the contestants had to mill away the shell of a raw egg without damaging the membranes beneath. This exercise simulates endoscopic drilling.

According to Sufianov, the Olympiad shows young people the “social elevators” available to them. He suggesnted student Ibrahim Salamov as an illustration of his words. A year ago, this native of the Dagestan village took first prize, and he is now one of the organizers of the Olympiad.

Regarding which part of the competition was most difficult for aspiring neurosurgeons, Sufianov said it was English language. From his view, this is a nationwide problem in Russia — there are many skilled surgeons in the country, but their knowledge of foreign languages is not very strong. In his opinion, a specialist has almost no chance to become a very high level professional without knowledge of English.

Alexander Gagay of Yekaterinburg, who took third place last year, is currently a fourth year student at Ural State Medical University. This year, he said, he came to support his fellow Yekaterinburgers. In his opinion, the most difficult part was the theoretical tasks, and not English. In his view, the federal neurosurgery centers like Tyumen created within the framework of the national health project are on the same level with their foreign counterparts. In his view, there are strong opportunities to become a very good specialist without leaving Russia.

Several people returned to the Olympiad after attending last year. One is Denis Kovalchuk, a sixth year student at Buryat State University. He said he was interested in neurosurgery from the first year, but in his home region there are no suitably equipped facilities as there are in Tyumen. Kovalchuk also said that, after the first Olympiad, a community of young neurosurgeons emerged on social networks, numbering about 400 people. Students exchange professional literature in it and give each other tips for use in practical situations.

• Ibrahim Salamov, last year’s winner. Image: ??????? ???????.

• Alexander Gagay, who took third place in 2018. Image: ??????? ???????.

• Denis Kovalchuk, a 2-year participant. Image: ??????? ???????.

This year, the jury decided two participants in addition to the official winners performed at such a high level and Albert Sufianov provided them with his personal grant for residency training at First MSMU. These were Ivan Shelyagin and Valentina Sidorenko from Tyumen State Medical University.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

As many as eight people have been injured after two cable cars collided at the Nevis Range near Fort William in Scotland.

Two RAF helicopters, an air ambulance, four ambulance crews, police, fire brigade and a mountain rescue team are among those present. Police have confirmed that three people have been injured, including one child. Injuries include broken legs, head and chest injuries. The Scottish Ambulance Service have reported that up to seven people had been thrown on to the hillside. A reporter at the scene said one car near the top of the mountain had slid down a cable, hitting another and then one of the cars fell to the ground.

Northern Constabulary have stated “It’s understood that two gondolas would appeared to have collided and a number of casualties have been reported. The local mountain rescue team, Inverness helimed and other air support are in attendance to remove casualties”.

The Doppelmayr gondola system is made up of eighty six-seat closed cabins running on a continuous 4.6km steel cable.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

The Australian House of Representatives heard the traditional right-of-reply to the Budget released May 9, from the Australian Labor Party, led by Kim Beazley (Labor, Brand), plus Budget replies from minor parties in the Australian Senate.

While the Budget is politically popular, having as one of its main features significant tax reform, Beazley focused on the omissions in the Budget, such as the failure to address a skills shortage.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained leader of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar marked her 62nd birthday today, still under house arrest, where she has spent most of the past 17 years.

About 250 supporters met at the National League for Democracy (NLD) headquarters in Yangon, not far from Suu Kyi’s home, and held a rally calling for her release. Doves and balloons were released into the air, under the watchful eyes and video cameras of around 50 plainclothes police officers, who were stationed across the street.

The police force was augmented by a dozen truckloads of members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association, the political arm of the State Peace and Development, the junta that rules Myanmar.

“The doves symbolise peace. We also released colourful balloons, which rise like her prestige when they fill the sky,” NLD women’s wing leader Lai Lai was quoted as saying by Agence France Presse.

With the party marking marking Suu Kyi’s birthday as “Myanmar Women’s Day,” Lei Lei read out a statement at the ceremony, calling Suu Kyi “irreplaceable” and praising her “honesty, bravery and perseverance.”

Security was beefed up around Suu Kyi’s lakeside home on University Avenue, which is usually open to traffic during daytime, but is closed on significant anniversaries such as Suu Kyi’s birthday or the May 30 anniversary of her detention.

NLD supporters said police were also watching their homes.

“Plainclothes police circled around my house on their motorcycles last night until dawn,” Su Su Nway, 34, was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse. She was arrested on May 15 with 60 others during a prayer rally for Suu Kyi in Yangon, and was released for health reasons on June 7. She said around 52 NLD supporters were still in custody.

Suu Kyi is generally barred from receiving visitors, so she spent the day alone. Except for her maid, a personal physician, a dentist and an eye specialist, the only other person to visit with Suu Kyi in the past year was United Nations Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari, whom she met for one hour last November at a government guest house.

Winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 11 of the past 17 years, continuously since 2003. Her National League for Democracy won a landslide election in 1990, but the military, which has ruled Myanmar since 1962, refused to honor the results. The country is also known as Burma, but the military government renamed it Myanmar in 1989.

Calls for Suu Kyi’s release have been issued by the NLD, various world bodies and other countries, but the pleadings have been met by no response from the generals.

“In our view, until their constitution is ratified, she will not be released,” Sann Aung, a Bangkok-based leader of the Burmese government-in-exile was quoted as saying by Reuters.

“They are worried that she will be a threat to the National Convention and the referendum,” he told Reuters, referring to the planned national referendum on a new constitution that is being written by the generals.

The Nation newspaper in Bangkok marked Suu Kyi’s birthday with an editorial, saying that sanctions against the Myanmar regime have been ineffective.

“The junta has earned huge amounts of foreign revenue from oil and gas exports, with prices jacked up many times over. With rich mineral resources, energy hungry countries have been attracted to Burma despite the repressive nature of the junta,” the editorial said, also making note of a recent deal that Russia has made to build nuclear reactor in Myanmar.

The paper also said Myanmar bodes ill for the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional grouping.

“As long as Aung San Suu Kyi remains incarcerated, ASEAN’s reputation and the group’s international standing will be tarnished. Asean leaders have repeatedly appealed to the Burmese junta to free her, but to no avail … today, Burma is the black sheep of ASEAN. Without any current provisions for sanctions, Burma will remain as intransigent in the future as it is today.”

Saturday, April 30, 2005

The British Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced a recall of foods containing banned dyes which increase the risk of cancer. The food products were sold at the Tesco, Waitrose, and Somerfield supermarkets.

A Bristol company called “Barts Spices” found the illegal Para Red substance in their Barts Ground Paprika, which was sold in 48g and 46g jars with a “Co-op” label. The batch codes on the affected products are 5032 and 5089 (expiration Dec 2007), and 5075 (expiration February 2007).

Tesco also found that their 130g package of BBQ rice cakes (expiration November and December 2005) contained both Para Red and Sudan I.

“It would be very prudent to assume that it could be a genotoxic carcinogen,” FSA scientific advisers told reporters.

“As a company committed to supplying only the very finest quality food ingredients, we took the immediate decision to withdraw our ground paprika spice from all outlets selling the product and advertised a product recall in the national press,” a Barts Spices spokesman said in a statement.

Sudan I is only authorized for industrial use to colorize petroleum products, such as shoe polish. Para Red and Sudan I are banned under the British Colours in Food Regulations of 1995.

Britain last went through a major food recall in February, when Worcester Sauce was found to contain chili powder dyed with Sudan 1.