Could marijuana help in weight loss? A new study has found that obesity rates are lowered by one third in those who smoke marijuana three times weekly.
In a stunning look at the medicinal properties of marijuana use, a study published in the?American Journal of Epidemiology?has found that obesity rates are lowered by roughly one third in those who smoke three times weekly. The research included 52,000 participants, with findings concluding that 22% of those who did not smoke marijuana were obese, compared with just 14% of the regular marijuana smokers. Read more
Apr. 24, 2013 ? The higher the percentage of people in a city, town or neighborhood with Facebook interests suggesting a healthy, active lifestyle, the lower that area's obesity rate. At the same time, areas with a large percentage of Facebook users with television-related interests tend to have higher rates of obesity. Such are the conclusions of a study by Boston Children's Hospital researchers comparing geotagged Facebook user data with data from national and New York City-focused health surveys.
Together, the conclusions suggest that knowledge of people's online interests within geographic areas may help public health researchers predict, track and map obesity rates down to the neighborhood level, while offering an opportunity to design geotargeted online interventions aimed at reducing obesity rates.
The study team, led by Rumi Chunara, PhD, and John Brownstein, PhD, of Boston Children's Hospital's Informatics Program (CHIP), published their findings on April 24 in PLOS ONE.
The amount of data available from social networks like Facebook makes it possible to efficiently carry out research in cohorts of a size that has until now been impractical. It also allows for deeper research into the impact of the societal environment on conditions like obesity, research that can be challenging because of cost, difficulties in gathering sufficient sample sizes and the slow pace of data analysis and reporting using traditional reporting and surveillance systems.
"Online social networks like Facebook represent a new high-value, low-cost data stream for looking at health at a population level," according to Brownstein, who runs the Computational Epidemiology Group within CHIP. "The tight correlation between Facebook users' interests and obesity data suggest that this kind of social network analysis could help generate real-time estimates of obesity levels in an area, help target public health campaigns that would promote healthy behavior change, and assess the success of those campaigns."
To connect the dots between Facebook interests and obesity, Chunara, Brownstein and their colleagues obtained aggregated Facebook user interest data -- what users post to their timeline, "like" and share with others on Facebook -- from users nationally and just within New York City. They then compared the percentages of users interested in healthy activities or television with data from two telephone-based health surveys: the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System-Selected Metropolitan/Micropolitan Area Risk Trends (BRFSS-SMART), and New York City's EpiQuery Community Health Survey (CHS). Both surveys record geotagged data on body mass index, a reliable measure of obesity.
The comparison revealed close geographic relationships between Facebook interests and obesity rates. For instance, the BRFSS-SMART obesity rates were 12 percent lower in the location in the United States where the highest percentage of Facebook users expressing activity-related interests (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) compared that in the location with the lowest percentage (Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.). Similarly, the obesity rate in the location with the highest percentage of users with television-related interests nationally (Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) was 3.9 percent higher than the location with the lowest percentage (Eugene-Springfield, Ore.).
The same correlation was reflected in the New York City neighborhood data as well, showing that the approach can scale from national- to local-level data. The CHS-reported obesity rate on Coney Island, which had the highest percentage of activity-related interests in the city, was 7.2 percent lower than Southwest Queens, the neighborhood with the lowest percentage. At the same time, the obesity rate in Northeast Bronx, the neighborhood with the highest percentage of television-related interests, was 27.5 percent higher than that in the neighborhood with the lowest percentage (Greenpoint).
"The data show that in places where Facebook users have more activity-related interests, there is a lower prevalence of obesity and overweight," said Chunara, an instructor in Brownstein's group. "They reveal how social media data can augment public health surveillance by giving public health researchers access to population-level information that they can't otherwise get."
The study also bolsters the case for using social media as a means of delivering targeted interventions aimed at reducing rates of obesity and other chronic diseases, as applicable.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Boston Children's Hospital.
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Journal Reference:
Rumi Chunara, Lindsay Bouton, John W. Ayers, John S. Brownstein. Assessing the Online Social Environment for Surveillance of Obesity Prevalence. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (4): e61373 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061373
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
(Reuters) - Taxpayer-backed funds kept flowing to electric carmaker Fisker Automotive months after the company failed to meet key production benchmarks, lawmakers said at a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
Republican lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee cited Department of Energy documents as showing Fisker got $32 million in payments, even after it failed to launch its Karma vehicle in February of 2011.
They spent hours quizzing current and former Fisker executives and an Energy Department official over what the lawmakers termed the government's "bad bet" on the fledgling luxury car-maker, and questioned whether the company received special treatment that put taxpayer dollars at risk.
The committee hearing focused on the DOE's decision in 2009 to grant the company a $529 million loan only to see it veer toward bankruptcy - a chain of events with echoes of Solyndra, the government-backed solar manufacturer that went out of business in 2011.
"The government is a very poor venture capitalist," said Patrick McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina.
Fisker's troubles are the latest in a string of green automotive technology flops, including last year's bankruptcy of its lithium-ion battery supplier, A123 Systems. Forecasts in 2009 for sales of hybrid and electric vehicles far outstripped subsequent demand.
Henrik Fisker, founder and former CEO, said the company, which has not built a vehicle since July, can still bounce back and repay nearly $200 million in government loans if is able to find the right "financial and strategic resources."
Testifying about his eponymous company, the Danish-born Fisker, who was forced to resign as chairman in March, blamed problems with its parts suppliers, delays in regulatory approval and recalls of its flagship Karma plug-in hybrid sports car for the company's struggles.
The automaker verges on collapse. Among the questions still outstanding is whether Fisker's prospects were ever strong enough to warrant the DOE's backing, which helped trigger a flood of private financing for Fisker.
"After resolving initial launch challenges, the cars perform well and customers love them," Fisker asserted.
Fisker's failure to make a payment on the DOE loan on Monday was the latest of its troubles. In recent weeks, Fisker has fired 75 percent of its workforce and hired bankruptcy advisers.
"The Obama Administration owes the American taxpayer an explanation as to why this bad loan was made in the first place, and what they are going to do to minimize the loss that taxpayers face," said Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, chairman of the subcommittee holding Wednesday's hearing.
DOE BACKING BOOSTED FISKER
The DOE's early backing helped put Fisker, and its $100,000-plus Karma plug-in hybrid sports car, on the map. With government backing in hand, Fisker has gone on to raise $1.2 billion in private funds to date, according to SEC filings.
The 2009 loan signaled that the DOE had done a rigorous review of the project, said Salo Zelermyer, a senior counsel at the DOE under the Bush administration, who also helped create the auto loan program. The loan program was funded in late 2008.
"It's fair to say the projects the DOE chose to proceed with were clearly given an added credibility with folks on the outside," said Zelermyer, now a senior counsel at Bracewell and Giuliani in Washington.
Fisker tapped $192 million of its $529 million before the DOE quietly decided to freeze Fisker's credit line in June 2011.
Neither the DOE nor Fisker publicly disclosed that decision until early 2012. Lawyers and a DOE official said the department was not obligated to divulge the decision.
In the confidential "information statement" sent to shareholders in December 2011 and obtained by Reuters, Fisker said it "will not meet certain financial covenants and project milestones" required in the DOE agreement, including earnings, net worth and certain financial ratio targets.
Lawmakers raised questions about the relationship between the DOE and Fisker, which has been strained in recent months, people familiar with the matter have said.
Republicans said Fisker received loans despite its junk bond rating and unproven track record.
The terms of Fisker's pact with the DOE were enough to put off potential suitors, including Chinese automaker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. The conditions included an obligation to restore capacity and jobs at the company's Delaware plant according to a schedule imposed by the U.S. government.
Energy Department officials defended the auto loan program, saying it helped to bring the industry from the brink of collapse during a severe economic downturn. Mainstream carmakers like GM and Chrysler were key beneficiaries, and their revival has been widely acclaimed.
Nicholas Whitcombe, former head of the auto loan program, said the DOE remains open to providing additional aid to the auto industry.
Since the high profile failure of Solyndra, a topic brought up regularly by Republicans during President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, the Obama administration has become far more risk averse when doling out loan payments.
Solyndra, the first loan recipient and first major failure for the department's portfolio, received more than $527 million of its $535 million loan before filing for bankruptcy.
(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman and Paul Lienert in Detroit, Ayesha Rascoe in Washington and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Editing by Ros Krasny, Matthew Lewis, Leslie Gevirtz and Tim Dobbyn)
Microscopic dust particles found in underground railways may pose health riskPublic release date: 24-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Becky Attwood r.attwood@soton.ac.uk 44-023-805-95457 University of Southampton
New research from the University of Southampton has found that working or travelling on an underground railway for a sustained period of time could have health implications.
Previously published work suggests that working in environments such as steel mills or welding plants, which are rich in airborne metals, like iron, copper and nickel, can have damaging effects on health. However, little research has been done on the effects of working in an underground railway environment a similarly metal-rich environment and results of studies that have been conducted are often inconclusive.
New research published in Environmental Science and Technology shows that the small dust particles in the air in an underground railway is quite different to the dust that you breathe in every day and that could have health implications.
Matt Loxham, PhD student at the University of Southampton, explains: "We studied the ultrafine dust (or particulate matter) found in an underground station in Europe. Typically, ultrafine dust is composed of inert matter that does not pose much of a risk in terms of its chemical composition. However, in the underground station we studied, the ultrafine dust was at least as rich in metals as the larger dust particles and therefore, taken together with their increased surface area to volume ratio, it is of potential significance in understanding the risks of working and travelling in the underground. These tiny dust particles have the potential to penetrate the lungs and the body more easily, posing a risk to someone's health."
While coarse dust is generally deposited in the conducting airways of the body, for example nasal passages and bronchi; and the fine dust generally can reach the bronchioles (smaller airways), it is almost exclusively the ultrafine dust which is able to reach the deepest areas of the lungs, into the alveoli, where oxygen enters the blood and waste gases leave, to be exhaled. There is evidence that this ultrafine dust may be able to evade the protective barrier lining the airways (the epithelium), and enter underlying tissue and the circulation, meaning that the toxicity of ultrafine particles may not be limited to the airways but may involve the cardiovascular system, liver, brain, and kidneys.
Mr Loxham adds: "Underground rail travel is used by great numbers of people in large cities all over the world, for example, almost 1.2 billion journeys are made per year on the London Underground. The high level of mechanical activity in underground railways, along with very high temperatures is key in the generation of this metal-rich dust, and the number of people likely to be exposed means that more studies into the effects of particulate matter in the underground railway environment are needed, as well as examining how the levels of dust and duration of exposure might translate to effects on health."
The Southampton team, which included the Geochemistry Group at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton and the Inhalation Toxicology Group at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in Bilthoven, initially collected airborne dust from a mainline underground station underneath an airport in Europe. The metal content of the dust was analysed and a detailed elemental profile was established for each dust sample. These profiles were then compared to profiles from other dusts analysed at the same time, for example dust from wood-burning stoves and a heavily-trafficked road tunnel, showing that underground particles were very rich in metals, especially iron and copper. The shapes of individual particles were examined and gave clues as to how the particles were generated. The team then showed that the dust was capable of generating reactive molecules which are fundamental to their toxic effects, and that this was dependent on the metal content of the particles and, importantly, occurred to a greater extent as the size of the individual particles decreased. Further work is now being performed to examine the effects of underground dust on airway cells in more detail and the potential mechanisms by which cells may be able to protect themselves.
###
The study was funded through the Integrative Toxicology Training Partnership studentship provided by the Medical Research Council UK.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Microscopic dust particles found in underground railways may pose health riskPublic release date: 24-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Becky Attwood r.attwood@soton.ac.uk 44-023-805-95457 University of Southampton
New research from the University of Southampton has found that working or travelling on an underground railway for a sustained period of time could have health implications.
Previously published work suggests that working in environments such as steel mills or welding plants, which are rich in airborne metals, like iron, copper and nickel, can have damaging effects on health. However, little research has been done on the effects of working in an underground railway environment a similarly metal-rich environment and results of studies that have been conducted are often inconclusive.
New research published in Environmental Science and Technology shows that the small dust particles in the air in an underground railway is quite different to the dust that you breathe in every day and that could have health implications.
Matt Loxham, PhD student at the University of Southampton, explains: "We studied the ultrafine dust (or particulate matter) found in an underground station in Europe. Typically, ultrafine dust is composed of inert matter that does not pose much of a risk in terms of its chemical composition. However, in the underground station we studied, the ultrafine dust was at least as rich in metals as the larger dust particles and therefore, taken together with their increased surface area to volume ratio, it is of potential significance in understanding the risks of working and travelling in the underground. These tiny dust particles have the potential to penetrate the lungs and the body more easily, posing a risk to someone's health."
While coarse dust is generally deposited in the conducting airways of the body, for example nasal passages and bronchi; and the fine dust generally can reach the bronchioles (smaller airways), it is almost exclusively the ultrafine dust which is able to reach the deepest areas of the lungs, into the alveoli, where oxygen enters the blood and waste gases leave, to be exhaled. There is evidence that this ultrafine dust may be able to evade the protective barrier lining the airways (the epithelium), and enter underlying tissue and the circulation, meaning that the toxicity of ultrafine particles may not be limited to the airways but may involve the cardiovascular system, liver, brain, and kidneys.
Mr Loxham adds: "Underground rail travel is used by great numbers of people in large cities all over the world, for example, almost 1.2 billion journeys are made per year on the London Underground. The high level of mechanical activity in underground railways, along with very high temperatures is key in the generation of this metal-rich dust, and the number of people likely to be exposed means that more studies into the effects of particulate matter in the underground railway environment are needed, as well as examining how the levels of dust and duration of exposure might translate to effects on health."
The Southampton team, which included the Geochemistry Group at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton and the Inhalation Toxicology Group at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in Bilthoven, initially collected airborne dust from a mainline underground station underneath an airport in Europe. The metal content of the dust was analysed and a detailed elemental profile was established for each dust sample. These profiles were then compared to profiles from other dusts analysed at the same time, for example dust from wood-burning stoves and a heavily-trafficked road tunnel, showing that underground particles were very rich in metals, especially iron and copper. The shapes of individual particles were examined and gave clues as to how the particles were generated. The team then showed that the dust was capable of generating reactive molecules which are fundamental to their toxic effects, and that this was dependent on the metal content of the particles and, importantly, occurred to a greater extent as the size of the individual particles decreased. Further work is now being performed to examine the effects of underground dust on airway cells in more detail and the potential mechanisms by which cells may be able to protect themselves.
###
The study was funded through the Integrative Toxicology Training Partnership studentship provided by the Medical Research Council UK.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Facebook hasn't made Home official just yet, but we can tell you one thing for certain -- it'll be arriving on April 12th. It won't be available on all Android devices that day, broader availability should be coming in the future. On day one it will show up as a download for select devices, which will likely include the rumored HTC First that we anticipate will make its grand debut shortly. As expected there will be no "Facebook Phone" or even a Facebook OS. Home is an app that will "transform your Android phone into a great social phone" according to the company. The roll out is starting with "just a few phones," but those lucky device owners will be able to enjoy Facebook's mobile vision starting next week.
Zuck and the gang mentioned that a version of Home for tablets will launch along with the smartphone app, but won't arrive at launch. The only word on a slate app date so far is that it'll come "later this year."
Lance Armstrong has been branching out since the doping controversy that got him expelled from competitive cycling, but his tarnished legacy may drown his competitive swimming ambitions.
By Jim Vertuno,?Associated Press / April 4, 2013
Kicked out of the pool? Lance Armstrong, seen here swimming in a half triathalon last October, just withdrew from the Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championships at the University of Texas, where he was scheduled to swim three distance events this weekend.
Steve Ruark / AP / File
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Lance Armstrong's doping past got him kicked out of the pool.
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Armstrong was forced to withdraw Thursday from the Masters South Central Zone Championships this weekend after swimming's international federation raised objections to his participation.
Armstrong has been banned for life from sanctioned Olympic sport competition by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency because of his performance-enhancing drug use during his professional cycling career. He had entered three distance events for the meet at the University of Texas and had been cleared by U.S. Masters Swimming officials to compete.
FINA stepped in with a letter to U.S. Masters Swimming officials, saying that because the organization falls under the FINA umbrella as a sanctioning body, it must recognize the World Anti-Doping Code and bar Armstrong from competition.
Armstrong spokesman Mark Higgins said Armstrong contacted U.S Masters Swimming weeks ago about racing. Armstrong, who is 41, was among the top qualifiers in the 40-44 age group in the 500, 1,000 and 1,650-yard freestyle events.
"As of (Wednesday) evening, we were told he was welcome," Higgins said in an email to The Associated Press. "That position changed and we were told he could not compete, so Lance will not be swimming."
U.S. Masters Swimming does not drug test. Before FINA stepped in, masters swimming executive director Rob Butcher had said Armstrong could compete because the organization was trying to promote its mission of encouraging adults to swim.
"His interest was around fitness and training. In light of FINA and the other political stuff, he will not be swimming," Butcher said Thursday.
FINA sent its letter after media reports surfaced Wednesday that Armstrong would compete.
"We're expecting them to apply the rules," FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu told the AP. A USADA spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment.
Armstrong won the Tour de France from 1999-2005 and denied doping for years until USADA issued a massive report in 2012 detailing drug use by Armstrong and his U.S. Postal Service teams.
In January, Armstrong said during an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he used steroids, blood boosters and other banned performance-enhancing drugs and methods during his career. Armstrong also was removed from the board of the Livestrong cancer foundation he formed in 1997 after being diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain.
Armstrong had been pursuing a post-cycling career in triathlons before he was banned by USADA.
AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf contributed to this report from Rome.
Dan Pfeiffer, David Stockman, Paul Krugman, Arianna Huffington
As battles brew at home and overseas, George Stephanopoulos speaks to Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer, Sunday on "This Week."
As North Korea ratchets up its military maneuvers, threatening to test new missiles and re-start its nuclear program, how serious is the threat, and how will the U.S. respond? Does a disappointing new jobs report, with only 88,000 jobs added last month, signal that the American economy has hit another spring slowdown? And will President Obama's new budget proposal out next week, which includes cuts to Medicare and Social Security, re-set the deficit debate in Washington?
Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer answers those questions and more, Sunday on "This Week."
Then, the "This Week" foreign policy roundtable examines the latest threats from North Korea, with ABC News' chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz, just returned from reporting at the North Korea border; New York Times chief Washington correspondent and author of "Confront and Conceal" David Sanger; Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren; and ABC News' George Will.
And the "This Week" powerhouse political roundtable tackle all the week's politics, including the battle over the budget and economy, gun control, and immigration, with president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group Arianna Huffington; Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman; former Reagan budget director David Stockman, author of "The Great Deformation: the Corruption of Capitalism in America"; Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren; and ABC News' George Will.
See the whole political picture, Sunday on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."
Go here to find out when #ThisWeek is on in your area. abcnews.go.com/thisweek#map
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Public release date: 24-Apr-2013
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