Reducing Obesity: Policy Strategies From the Tobacco War

Outlines the impact of obesity on health, healthcare costs, and productivity. Reviews successful policy interventions to reduce tobacco use and considers whether excise or sales tax, labeling requirements, and advertising bans could lower obesity rates

Dynamic MRI to Diagnose Spinal Canal Stenosis not Visualized on Standard Static MRI in patients with Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

Background: Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy (CSM) is a common disease of the cervical spine that affects people during and after middle age. To date, imaging preformed preoperatively consists of MRI of the cervical spine in neutral position. Dynamic factors contribute to canal stenosis and spinal cord compression, and it has been suggested that dynamic MRI may help to identify cervical canal stenosis and cord compression that are not revealed with standard MRI imaging of the neck in neutral position. Observational studies using flexion and extension MRI in addition to neutral position MRI in CSM patients will be reviewed to determine the importance of the addition of dynamic MRI to preoperative evaluation of CSM. Methods: An exhaustive medical literature search was performed using MEDLINE-Ovid, MEDLINE-PubMed, Web of Science, and Clinical Key. All searches were conducted using the following search items: dynamic MRI and spinal cord compression. Relevant articles for inclusion were assessed for quality using GRADE. Results: The search resulted in 62 articles of which only two studies met inclusion criteria. The results from both the Zeituon et al and Harada et al studies demonstrate that dynamic MRI in the preoperative evaluation of Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy visualizes more levels of spinal cord compression than neutral position MRI alone. The Zeituon et al showed that stages of canal stenosis were found to be higher in extension than when compared to flexion or neutral position, and also that hyperintense intramedullary lesions (HILs) are better identified in flexion MRI when compared to neutral or extension position. The Harada et al study showed that with the neck extended for MRI, the number of cord compressions in the cervical spine increased for each intervertebral level of the cervical spine. Conclusion: Based on the study results, MRI should be done preoperatively in both neutral and extension positions in order to effectively evaluate spinal cord compression in patients with cervical myelopathy undergoing laminoplasty for spinal cord decompression

Historical Arctic Logbooks Provide Insights into Past Diets and Climatic Responses of Cod

Gadus morhua (Atlantic cod) stocks in the Barents Sea are currently at levels not seen since the 1950s. Causes for the population increase last century, and understanding of whether such large numbers will be maintained in the future, are unclear. To explore this, we digitised and interrogated historical cod catch and diet datasets from the Barents Sea. Seventeen years of catch data and 12 years of prey data spanning 1930–1959 cover unexplored spatial and temporal ranges, and importantly capture the end of a previous warm period, when temperatures were similar to those currently being experienced. This study aimed to evaluate cod catch per unit effort and prey frequency in relation to spatial, temporal and environmental variables. There was substantial spatio-temporal heterogeneity in catches through the time series. The highest catches were generally in the 1930s and 1940s, although at some localities more cod were recorded late in the 1950s. Generalized Additive Models showed that environmental, spatial and temporal variables are all valuable descriptors of cod catches, with the highest occurring from 15–45°E longitude and 73–77°N latitude, at bottom temperatures between 2 and 4°C and at depths between 150 and 250 m. Cod diets were highly variable during the study period, with frequent changes in the relative frequencies of different prey species, particularly Mallotus villosus (capelin). Environmental variables were particularly good at describing the importance of capelin and Clupea harengus (herring) in the diet. These new analyses support existing knowledge about how the ecology of the region is controlled by climatic variability. When viewed in combination with more recent data, these historical relationships will be valuable in forecasting the future of Barents Sea fisheries, and in understanding how environments and ecosystems may respond

The damping of seismic waves and its determination from reflection seismograms

The damping in theoretical waveforms is described phenomenologically and a classification is proposed. A method for studying the Earth's crust was developed which includes this damping as derived from reflection seismograms. Seismic wave propagation by absorption, attenuation of seismic waves by scattering, and dispersion relations are considered. Absorption of seismic waves within the Earth as well as reflection and transmission of elastic waves seen through boundary layer absorption are also discussed

Ein Beitrag zur Erkundung der Struktur des Nördlinger Rieses auf Grund geoelektrischer Schlumberger-Sondierungen

Insgesamt stehen rund 200 Schlumberger-Sondierungen, bevorzugt angeordnet auf das Ries diagonal durchquerenden Profilen, mit Auslagen von L/2 bis zu 900m zur Verfügung. Im zentralen Krater läßt sich die Basis der pelitischen Sedimente markant erkennen, so daß ein Tiefenlinienplan derselben erstellt werden konnte. Die Meßergebnisse in der Nähe der Forschungsbohrung Nördlingen 1973 zeigen außerordentlich gute Übereinstimung mit den im Bohrloch gemessenen Verhältnissen. Der innere Wall des zentralen Kraters zeigt eine sehr inhomogene Struktur; es wird angenommen, daß er von größeren und kleineren Trümmerschollen gebildet wird. Im östlichen Bereich des Vorrieses wurden geoelektrische Sondierungen durchgeführt, um der Frage nach weiteren, außerhalb des Rieses gelegenen Ringwallstrukturen nachzugehen. Eine eindeutige Aussage konnte hier nicht aus den Messungen abgeleitet werden.There are about 200 geoelectric Schlumberger soundings, most of them arranged on profiles, which cross the Ries crater diagonally and having halfelectrode spacings up to L/2 = 900m. Within the central crater the basement of the pelitic sediments was recognized very distinct. Therefore it was possible to draw the lines of depth of this interface for the whole central crater. The soundings near to the research boring Nördlingen 1973 show excellent agreement with the borehole measurements. The inner rim of the central crater was found to be very inhomogeneous and is thought to consist of fragments of different origin. In the eastern region, outside of the Ries crater, geoelectric soundings were performed to look for possibly additional rims, but we could not find a doubtless evidence for them

Positive future thinking without task-relevance increases anxiety and frontal stress regulation

Negative anticipatory biases can affect the way we interpret and subjectively experience events. Through its role in emotion regulation, positive future thinking may provide an accessible way to attenuate these biases. However, it is unclear whether positive future thinking works ubiquitously, independent of contextual relevance. Here, we used a positive future thinking intervention (task-relevant; task-irrelevant and control condition) prior to a social stress task to adapt the way this task was experienced. We assessed subjective and objective stress measures and also recorded resting state electroencephalography (EEG) to assess intervention related differences in the level of frontal delta-beta coupling, which is considered a neurobiological substrate of stress regulation. Results show that the intervention reduced subjective stress and anxiety, and increased social fixation behavior and task performance, but only if future thinking was task-relevant. Paradoxically, task-irrelevant positive future thoughts enhanced negative perceptual biases and stress reactivity. This increase in stress reactivity was corroborated by elevated levels of frontal delta-beta coupling during event anticipation, which suggests an increased demand for stress regulation. Together, these findings show that positive future thinking can mitigate the negative emotional, behavioral and neurobiological consequences of a stressful event, but that it should not be applied indiscriminately

Structured analysis of broader GMO impacts inspired by technology assessment to inform policy decisions.

If genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are approved in the EU for experimental release or marketing authorization (placing on the market), a risk assessment (RA) is carried out beforehand to determine whether this may be associated with negative effects on human health, nature or the environment. Applications are reviewed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the national Competent Authorities of the Member States. However, the potential ramifications of the GMOs that are systematically addressed in the current RA context are limited. Broader consideration can include environmental and health aspects beyond the scope of the statutory RA, as well as societal, ethical and cultural impacts. These other levels of impact may be considered during the comitology process of authorisation, but how this is done is typically not made explicit in a systematic way. However, with the dynamic developments of new kinds of GMOs, these considerations as well as transparency regarding the role of broader considerations in political decision-making become more and more relevant. Against this backdrop, we identified the requirements and suggest the main elements for such a broader assessment. We use insights from the field of Technology Assessment (TA) to explore the requirements for operationalising a rapid but still systematic, transparent and broad case-by-case GMO assessment compatible with the existing legislative framework.publishedVersio