Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Early-life traffic-related air pollution exposure linked to hyperactivity

Early-life traffic-related air pollution exposure linked to hyperactivity [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 21-May-2013
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Contact: Keith Herrell
Keith.Herrell@uc.edu
513-558-4559
University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center

CINCINNATIEarly-life exposure to traffic-related air pollution was significantly associated with higher hyperactivity scores at age 7, according to new research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

The research is detailed in a study being published Tuesday, May 21, in Environmental Health Perspectives, a peer-reviewed open access journal published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, an institute within the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The research was conducted by faculty members from the UC College of Medicine's Department of Environmental Health in collaboration with Cincinnati Children's. Nicholas Newman, DO, director of the Pediatric Environmental Health and Lead Clinic at Cincinnati Children's, was the study's first author.

"There is increasing concern about the potential effects of traffic-related air pollution on the developing brain," Newman says. "This impact is not fully understood due to limited epidemiological studies.

"To our knowledge, this is the largest prospective cohort with the longest follow-up investigating early life exposure to traffic-related air pollution and neurobehavioral outcomes at school age." Scientists believe that early life exposures to a variety of toxic substances are important in the development of problems later in life.

Newman and his colleagues collected data on traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) from the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study (CCAAPS), a long-term epidemiological study examining the effects of traffic particulates on childhood respiratory health and allergy development. Funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, CCAAPS is led by Grace LeMasters, PhD, of the environmental health department. Study participantsnewborns in the Cincinnati metropolitan area from 2001 through 2003were chosen based on family history and their residence being either near or far from a major highway or bus route.

Children were followed from infancy to age 7, when parents completed the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, 2nd Edition (BASC-2), assessing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and related symptoms including attention problems, aggression, conduct problems and atypical behavior. Of the 762 children initially enrolled in the study, 576 were included in the final analysis at 7 years of age.

Results showed that children who were exposed to the highest third amount of TRAP during the first year of life were more likely to have hyperactivity scores in the "at risk" range when they were 7 years old. The "at risk" range for hyperactivity in children means that they need to be monitored carefully because they are at risk for developing clinically important symptoms.

"Several biological mechanisms could explain the association between hyperactive behaviors and traffic-related air pollution," Newman says, including narrowed blood vessels in the body and toxicity in the brain's frontal cortex.

Newman notes that the higher air pollution exposure was associated with a significant increase in hyperactivity only among those children whose mothers had greater than a high school education. Mothers with higher education may expect higher achievement, he says, affecting the parental report of behavioral concerns.

"The observed association between traffic-related air pollution and hyperactivity may have far-reaching implications for public health," Newman says, noting that studies have shown that approximately 11 percent of the U.S. population lives within 100 meters of a four-lane highway and that 40 percent of children attend school within 400 meters of a major highway.

"Traffic-related air pollution is one of many factors associated with changes in neurodevelopment, but it is one that is potentially preventable."

###

LeMasters, Patrick Ryan, PhD, Linda Levin, PhD, David Bernstein, MD, Gurjit Khurana Hershey, MD, PhD, James Lockey, PhD, Manuel Villareal, MD, Tiina Reponen, PhD, Sergey Grinshpun, PhD, Heidi Sucharew, PhD, and Kim Dietrich, PhD, were co-authors of the study.

Funding was provided by NIEHS and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).


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Early-life traffic-related air pollution exposure linked to hyperactivity [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 21-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Keith Herrell
Keith.Herrell@uc.edu
513-558-4559
University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center

CINCINNATIEarly-life exposure to traffic-related air pollution was significantly associated with higher hyperactivity scores at age 7, according to new research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

The research is detailed in a study being published Tuesday, May 21, in Environmental Health Perspectives, a peer-reviewed open access journal published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, an institute within the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The research was conducted by faculty members from the UC College of Medicine's Department of Environmental Health in collaboration with Cincinnati Children's. Nicholas Newman, DO, director of the Pediatric Environmental Health and Lead Clinic at Cincinnati Children's, was the study's first author.

"There is increasing concern about the potential effects of traffic-related air pollution on the developing brain," Newman says. "This impact is not fully understood due to limited epidemiological studies.

"To our knowledge, this is the largest prospective cohort with the longest follow-up investigating early life exposure to traffic-related air pollution and neurobehavioral outcomes at school age." Scientists believe that early life exposures to a variety of toxic substances are important in the development of problems later in life.

Newman and his colleagues collected data on traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) from the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study (CCAAPS), a long-term epidemiological study examining the effects of traffic particulates on childhood respiratory health and allergy development. Funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, CCAAPS is led by Grace LeMasters, PhD, of the environmental health department. Study participantsnewborns in the Cincinnati metropolitan area from 2001 through 2003were chosen based on family history and their residence being either near or far from a major highway or bus route.

Children were followed from infancy to age 7, when parents completed the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, 2nd Edition (BASC-2), assessing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and related symptoms including attention problems, aggression, conduct problems and atypical behavior. Of the 762 children initially enrolled in the study, 576 were included in the final analysis at 7 years of age.

Results showed that children who were exposed to the highest third amount of TRAP during the first year of life were more likely to have hyperactivity scores in the "at risk" range when they were 7 years old. The "at risk" range for hyperactivity in children means that they need to be monitored carefully because they are at risk for developing clinically important symptoms.

"Several biological mechanisms could explain the association between hyperactive behaviors and traffic-related air pollution," Newman says, including narrowed blood vessels in the body and toxicity in the brain's frontal cortex.

Newman notes that the higher air pollution exposure was associated with a significant increase in hyperactivity only among those children whose mothers had greater than a high school education. Mothers with higher education may expect higher achievement, he says, affecting the parental report of behavioral concerns.

"The observed association between traffic-related air pollution and hyperactivity may have far-reaching implications for public health," Newman says, noting that studies have shown that approximately 11 percent of the U.S. population lives within 100 meters of a four-lane highway and that 40 percent of children attend school within 400 meters of a major highway.

"Traffic-related air pollution is one of many factors associated with changes in neurodevelopment, but it is one that is potentially preventable."

###

LeMasters, Patrick Ryan, PhD, Linda Levin, PhD, David Bernstein, MD, Gurjit Khurana Hershey, MD, PhD, James Lockey, PhD, Manuel Villareal, MD, Tiina Reponen, PhD, Sergey Grinshpun, PhD, Heidi Sucharew, PhD, and Kim Dietrich, PhD, were co-authors of the study.

Funding was provided by NIEHS and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/uoca-eta051713.php

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91% Frances Ha

All Critics (44) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (4)

Occasionally inspired, frequently charming and always watchable.

Has the earnest, wonky charm of a homemade valentine.

It's a skimpy, overextended riff, but some of the seemingly tossed-off moments are lovely.

Frances Ha is sharply focused on a genuine life issue that doesn't get much play in movies: the challenges of platonic love and of the complicated passions of friendship.

While Gerwig's gentleness gives Baumbach's work a new warmth, his touch gives her a new maturity.

An American independent film (shot in luminous black and white by Sam Levy) that feels off the cuff but is in fact exactly made by a filmmaker in total control of his resources.

Greta Gerwig is delightful as an awkward non-dancer in this off-beat comedy

...like an early Andrew Bujalski movie with more articulate characters or Lena Dunham's 'Girls' without the ick factor.

Frances Ha is not the worst film of the year. That would be Snitch. However, it is the most obnoxious film so far.

This is a truly wonderful movie, recalling Woody Allen at his best.

Frances Ha is the work of an artist in love, and in Baumbach's case, it's not clear that love is his most constructive muse.

A great film that gets the spirit of New York exactly right:

No quotes approved yet for Frances Ha. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/frances_ha_2013/

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The New Xbox One Live Features Add Advanced Social Gaming Features That Could Lead To True MMORPG Experiences

23While we don't have all of the details on the new Xbox Live features announced at today's Xbox One launch, it's clear that Microsoft is going all-in when it comes to social and multiplayer gaming. First, they are upping the number of dedicated servers for online play from 15,000 to 300,000 and nearly all of your content and game data will be store in the cloud.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/z5xbdtAZYoE/

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Oklahoma twister tracked path of 1999 tornado

This combination of Associated Press photos shows left, a neighborhood in Moore, Okla., in ruins on Tuesday, May 4, 1999, after a tornado flattened many houses and buildings in central Oklahoma, and right, flattened houses in Moore on Monday, May 20, 2013. Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999. (AP Photo)

This combination of Associated Press photos shows left, a neighborhood in Moore, Okla., in ruins on Tuesday, May 4, 1999, after a tornado flattened many houses and buildings in central Oklahoma, and right, flattened houses in Moore on Monday, May 20, 2013. Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999. (AP Photo)

Map locates Moore, Oklahoma, that was hit by tornadoes

(AP) ? Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999.

The National Weather Service estimated that the storm that struck Moore, Okla., on Monday had wind speeds of up to 200 mph, and was at least a half-mile wide. The 1999 storm had winds clocked at 300 mph, according to the weather service website, and it destroyed or damaged more than 8,000 homes, killing at least two people.

Kelsey Angle, a weather service meteorologist in Kansas City, Mo., said it's unusual for two such powerful tornadoes to track roughly the same path. The 1999 twister was part of a two-day outbreak sweeping mostly across central Oklahoma ? similar to the past two days.

The weather service has tentatively classified the Moore twister's wind speeds as an EF4 on a 5-point scale. Angle said less than 1 percent of all tornadoes reach EF4 or EF5.

The thunderstorm developed in an area where warm moist air rose into cooler air. Winds in the area caused the storm to rotate, and that rotation promoted the development of a tornado. The most destructive and deadly tornadoes develop from rotating thunderstorms.

The biggest known tornado was nearly 2 1/2 miles wide at its peak width, which the weather service describes as near the maximum size for a tornado. It struck Hallam, Neb., in May 2004.

The deadliest tornado, which struck March 18, 1925, killed 695 people in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

Deaths from twisters have been declining in recent years because of improved forecasts and increased awareness by people living in tornado-prone areas, especially in smaller and rural communities.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-05-20-US-SCI-Severe-Weather-Tornado-Science/id-bd5f7175e77c491cb8d48616342ea088

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Iran hangs spies it says worked for US, Israel

Iran hangs spies: Two Iranian men were executed Sunday, convicted of working for the CIA and Israel's Mossad spy agency.

By Yeganeh Torbati,?Reuters / May 20, 2013

Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 78, waves to media in early May as he registered his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election in Tehran, Iran. On Sunday, Iran hung two convicted spies, ahead of the June 14 presidential election. (

AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

Enlarge

Iranian authorities executed two men on Sunday convicted of working for Israeli and U.S. spy agencies, Iran's Fars news agency reported.

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Mohammad Heidari, accused of passing security-related information and secrets to Israeli Mossad agents in exchange for money, and Kourosh Ahmadi, accused of gathering information for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, were hanged at dawn, it said.

The sentence for their execution was handed down by Tehran's Revolutionary Court and confirmed by the country's Supreme Court. The report did not say when the pair were arrested nor when their trial took place.

Iran has in the past said it had successfully detected and dismantled spy networks operating inside the country. It has blamed the assassinations of scientists associated with its disputed nuclear programme on Western spy agencies, especially Mossad.

The United States has denied any role in the killings. Israel has not commented.

The executions were held as Iran prepares for a June 14 presidential election.

Iran's electoral watchdog said on Monday it would bar physically feeble candidates from running for president, in an apparent hint that it could disqualify 78-year-old former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani from the race.

Rafsanjani, if he is allowed to run, would be a significant challenge to conservative hardliners who are ultra-loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and who otherwise dominate the field for the presidential election.

The wily, pragmatic cleric, who has often been close to the heart of power since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, shook up the election contest earlier this month when he joined the race.

But the Guardian Council, a conservative body of clerics and jurists that vets all candidates, may disqualify him, along with Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, a close ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who also registered to run at the last moment.

"If an individual who wants to take up a high post can only perform a few hours of work each day, naturally that person cannot be confirmed," Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodai said on Monday, according to the ISNA news agency.

Kadkhodai did not name Rafsanjani. The council is due to present a final list of approved candidates on Tuesday to the Interior Ministry, which then has two days to announce it.

Hardline legislators demanded last week that Rafsanjani and Mashaie be banned from running.

Rafsanjani earned hardliners' ire for criticising the crackdown on opposition protests after Ahmadinejad was re-elected in 2009 in a vote that reformists said was rigged.

Conservatives are suspicious of Mashaie, saying he holds an unorthodox view of Islam and seeks to sideline clerical rule.

Lawmaker Ali Motahari, who is close to Rafsanjani, told reporters on Monday that a rejection of Rafsanjani's candidacy would put the very principles of the state under question, "because Hashemi (Rafsanjani) had the biggest role in the Islamic revolution", according to the ILNA news agency.

He derided the idea that Rafsanjani was too old, saying: "How do they know whether Hashemi can run the country or not?"
Motahari also suggested that Khamenei could step in to push the Guardian Council to approve Rafsanjani's candidacy if it is initially rejected. The body re-qualified two reformist presidential candidates in 2005 after Khamenei intervened.

Parliament proposed age restrictions for presidential candidates last year, but dropped the measure after opposition from the Guardian Council.

Many Iranians would view Rafsanjani's disqualification on the basis of age as a political pretext - and it might look awkward for Khamenei, who reinstated Rafsanjani as head of the Expediency Council, an advisory body, in 2012.

"It is hard to fathom a justification for Rafsanjani's disqualification," said Farideh Farhi, an Iran analyst at the University of Hawaii. "His disqualification on the basis of not being sufficiently committed to the Leader will also challenge the Leader's judgment." (Additional reporting by Marcus George; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Us7YjVofSRY/Iran-hangs-spies-it-says-worked-for-US-Israel

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Friday, May 3, 2013

This Arctic Spray Freezes Cockroaches For Easy Disposal

If the thought of smooshing, crushing, smashing, squishing, or even touching a cockroach grosses you out, a Japanese company called Fumakilla has come up with a better way to dispose of them. Taking inspiration from Vader's Lando's carbonite chamber, this aerosol can literally freezes them in their tracks.

As durable as they are, unlike Han Solo the roaches probably aren't going to survive getting hit with a blast of gas that's somewhere around minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The freeze ray in a can is apparently odorless, doesn't leave stains, and is less flammable/safer for humans to inhale than a bug spray?with the emphasis being on the safer since it's not necessarily completely safe, particularly if you accidentally blast bare skin. So using this as an emergency air conditioner or an easy way to chill your coffee is probably a terrible, terrible idea. [Fumakilla via RocketNews 24]

Image by Eric Isselee/Shutterstock

Source: http://gizmodo.com/this-arctic-spray-freezes-cockroaches-for-easy-disposal-486245314

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