San Francisco city supervisors have approved in unanimity a measure to ban the sale of vaping flavored liquid that is used in electronic cigarettes. While also banning flavored tobacco products. The reason behind their decision is because they say that nicotine masked in cotton candy, banana cream, mint and other flavors entices children into a life-long addiction.

San Francisco Authorities Ban Vaping Flavored Liquid

In a recent event of limiting the access to vaping flavored liquid and flavored tobacco, San Francisco goes a step further by banning them completely.

On the one part, Supervisor Malia Cohen, who sponsored the bill, said that:

“We’re focusing on flavored products because they are widely considered to be a starter product for future smokers”.

On the other part, Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, a nonprofit organization advocating for vaping products, said that the bill adopted by the San Francisco officials is “complete nonsense”. He further adds that the bill ignores the positive sides of flavored nicotine-laced liquid in e-cigarettes.

A further point in his argument is a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in which it was found that the number of high school and middle school students that use e-cigarettes fell down from 3m last year to 2.2m this year.

However, it would seem, according to Conley, San Francisco supervisors disregard the report from the CDC. Nonetheless, in order to completely pass, the bill needs a supplementary vote by the city board next week. Voices say that it will pass. Once it does, the law would go into effect starting in April 2018.

The dispute is not new, though. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown had approved stricter tobacco regulations. These are part of a special legislative session regarding healthcare. On the table was also the raising of the legal age from 18 to 21 in order to buy tobacco.

Local sellers and small business owners say that the banning of vaping flavored liquid in e-cigarettes, as well as flavored cigarettes and other types of tobacco, will decrease sales, forcing some of the businesses into bankruptcy because they cannot compete with bigger competitors or online shops, which are not restricted by law to prohibit the sale of certain products.

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Recent research from the University of Hawaii predicted that lethal heat waves will affect most of the globe within the next century, putting human and animal life at extreme risks in the concerned areas. The study also showed that, even if we reduce carbon emissions extensively, the heat and its effects could still be devastating.

Lethal Heat Waves and “Running Out of Choices”

As more carbon is pumped into the atmosphere and more heat becomes trapped in the air and our oceans, these heat events will exacerbate, especially in the tropical and desert regions of the planet.

“Many people around the world are already paying the ultimate price of heat waves,” said Professor Camilo Mora, lead author of the study, “and while models suggest that this is likely to continue, it could be much worse if emissions are not considerably reduced.”

The researchers examined over 1,900 cases where high temperatures killed humans in locales since 1980. Areas where such dangerous heat occurs on more than 20 days out of the year, are most at risk and likely to be affected. Right now, around 30 percent of the world’s population lives in such zones.

That number threatens to rise dramatically over the next few decades, even with action taken on carbon emissions. The model designed by Mora and his team says that perhaps as much as 72 percent of Earth’s population will be exposed to these lethal heat waves by 2100 or most of the globe.

Some of the cities affected are less tropical than you might think. New York, Toronto, Tokyo, London, and Beijing are all on the potential danger list. They could see anywhere from 30 to 50 days of heat waves per year. Houston and Orlando will be in the danger zone all summer long.

Study findings are available in a paper in the journal Nature Climate Change. 

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A new study determined that the Ethiopian coffee industry will most likely be facing difficulties and be affected as a consequence of climate change. A combination of less rainfall and higher temperatures could bring serious damages to the coffee crops and production process.

The Ethiopian Coffee Industry or the Largest African Arabica Producer

Ethiopia is well known for introducing the Coffea arabica to the world, and for being the largest Arabica coffee producer in Africa. Coffee crops are a backbone of the country’s economy, and around 15 million residents rely on it to make a living.

Now, a recent study points out that, this same crop could be severely affected by the changing climate. Research found that Ethiopia could lose between 39 to 59 percent of its coffee-growing regions due to such changes by the end of this century.

According to climate data, rainfall levels in the country have fallen by almost 40 inches since the 50s. Droughts have also become increasingly more common these past few years. Mixed, these both have an effect on coffee growing regions.

Still, there is still hope, according to the study paper. Researchers determined that the Ethiopian coffee industry could get a reprieve and adapt to the new climate conditions by moving its plantations. Over the coming decades, these could start being relocated to new or more suitable locations.

Most of the coffee crops of the country are grown in its highlands, as lower-altitude regions could become increasingly inhospitable for the Arabica. Presently, plantations are situated at altitudes of around 1,200 to 2,200 meters, but research suggests they could go even higher.

Coffee farmers could also potentially expand their lots through such a method. Or even adopt other mitigation strategies, such as mulching or irrigating. However, the research team admits that these are all quite complicated measures.

“It looks easy in the paper, just move everything upslope, to higher ground. But in reality, it’s going to take a lot of coordination, a lot of effort and a lot of resources to do that,” states Aaron Davis.

He is the one of the new study’s authors and a scientist part of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London.

Study results are available in a paper in the journal Nature Plants.

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Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave its mark of approval for a new emergency allergy medicine, called Symjepi. This should start being available later this year and is being presented as a cheaper alternative than the existing products.

Symjepi, A Reportedly Easier to Use Epinephrine-Syringe

Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corporation is the producer of this new variant. On June 15, Adamis announced that the FDA gave its mark of approval for its newest product, the EPINEPHRINE INJECTION, USP, 1:1000 and also to its proposed trade name.

Just like the currently available variants, Symjepi comes as a syringe containing the hormone epinephrine. This is used in emergency cases to help stop allergic reactions and their potentially deadly effects.

Epinephrine (adrenaline) is the “drug of choice”, as Adamis points out, in cases of acute anaphylactic reactions. These can be triggered by insect bites or stings, a variety of allergens, and foods, or others as well.

Adamis is presenting its new version of the allergy medicine injector as being easier to use when compared to others, namely the EpiPen. The new product is also smaller than the currently available variants. This could make it, according to reports, easier to carry in a pocket or a purse.

However, just as with the EpiPen, Symjepi will be sold in pairs. Adamis declared that it has yet to set an exact price for its newest product. However, a company spokesperson stated that Adamis is looking to commercialize it as a low-cost alternative to the Mylan autoinjector. It will reportedly make it available for the less than the price of the generic EpiPen.

“With an anticipated lower cost, small size and user-friendly design, we believe Symjepi could be an attractive option […], “ stated Dennis Carlo, Adamis’ CEO.

He said that the new autoinjector could attract the attention and use of both the retail or patient sector as well as the professional or non-retail market.

Adamis is also looking to apply and receive approval for Symjepi’s junior version, which will contain a smaller amount of epinephrine.

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According to a team of scientists, one of the chemical compounds commonly found in broccoli could potential become an alternative treatment method for people with type 2 diabetes.

Research on the matter was led by Annika Axelsson, part of the Diabetes Centre of the Lund University in Malmö, Sweden. Together with her team, she created the “disease signature” of type 2 diabetes, which was based on 50 genes. Then, this was compared to various “drug signatures”. These are used to map the interactions between chemicals and their genetic targets.

Together with her team, Axelsson tested over 3,850 such compounds, with sulforaphane showing the most promising results. This is a compound generally found in many cruciferous vegetables, for example, cabbage or brussels sprouts, and especially broccoli.

Broccoli Compound Active in Dealing With Type 2 Diabetes

The research team then tested the effects of sulforaphane on cultured human liver cells. It also studied its benefits for diabetes-suffering mice and their altered liver gene expression.

Experiment results showed that sulforaphane had different responses, per the targeted use. For example, in the culture liver cells, it helped reduce the glucose production. In the case of the diabetes affected mice, the broccoli compound was noted to shift the liver’s gene expression away from the disease.

These tests and results were then followed by a small clinical trial involving 97 patient suffering from type 2 diabetes and obesity. Trial participants were given either a concentrated broccoli compound extract or a placebo. These were both administered on a daily basis, over 12 weeks time.

Clinical trial results showed that participants who were given the compound presented significantly reduced glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting blood glucose levels.

Based on the study result tests, the team concluded that this broccoli compound could potentially reverse the type 2 diabetes signature. In doing so, it may also possibly act as a new way of controlling blood glucose level.

However, “At this point, we cannot recommend that anyone take the currently available extracts on the market to treat type 2 diabetes,” stated Dr. Anders Rosengren.

He is the senior researcher of this new study. Dr. Rosengren added that increasing the daily consumption of broccoli could be useful. But even a plateful of broccoli could not account for the levels of sulforaphane used during the study.

More research on the matter is still needed. Current research results are available in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

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Over the past week, news sources have been highlighting the possibility of suffering from the so-called “dry drowning” or “secondary drowning” after a 4-year old boy lost his life because of it. Now, a family reports that the recent stir and influx of information helped save their own son’s life.

Dry Drowning Brought to Attention By New Cases

Dry and secondary drowning were catapulted to the public’s attention after the unfortunate passing away of Frankie Delgado III. The four-year-old was reportedly the victim this rare medical condition, which took his life several days after he and his family had gone swimming.

Although dry drowning is still quite a cause of debates, his family decided to bring to attention this issue and hopefully prevent it from happening again. Now, a family from Colorado states that this news helped save their 2-year-old son’s life.

A few hours after swimming, he started exhibiting similar symptoms to those of Frankie, so his parents rushed him to the hospital. There, tests revealed that the boy had quite a significant amount of fluid in his lungs, but the precautionary measure helped save his life.

Dry drowning and secondary drowning are used for describing very rare medical cases of atypical drownings. In such situations, the drowning happens hours or even days after going out of the water.

“Dry drowning” is used for describing cases in which an individual’s airways spasm or even close off. This is a severe reaction to water reaching the larynx. As the airways are blocked, blood starts absorbing the air which causes the air sacks to start shrinking. Following this reaction, the lungs start filling with fluids, blood, and mucus.

Symptoms of such a problem include chest pain, coughing, and difficulty breathing. They can also manifest through a change in the color of the fingertips or lips and feeling tired or a drop in energy.

Dry drowning cases are very rare, especially those resulting deaths, and such situations have no fixed treatment. One therapy method may, for example, require that the patient be placed on oxygen until their lungs start functioning normally again.

Neither “dry” nor “secondary” drowning aren’t medical terms, but they can be useful in drawing attention to the potential dangers for children both during and after swimming.

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According to a new study, babies sleep longer when resting in their own bed and room, at least if they are over four months old. The research shows that parents are seemingly more likely to create sleep disturbances or distractions if the toddler is sleeping in the same room with them.

Now, a recent study led by Ian Paul decided to analyze the best sleeping conditions for babies aged four months to nine months old.

“One of the reasons we wanted to explore this is that the evidence is really weak for 6 to 12 months,” states Paul.

Together with his colleagues, he analyzed data gathered from a two years long randomized and controlled trial. This included 230 families, which were offered one of two sets of recommendations.

One half was encouraged to take into consideration moving their babies after they turned 3 months old to their own room. The remaining half received strong recommendations and advice for lowering the SIDS risks by sharing a room.

Babies Sleep Longer in Their Own Bed, But is it Better?

Still, the team points out that these recommendations did not lead to a significant difference between the two groups. In both cases, over half of the babies were already sleeping in their own rooms as they turned four months old.

More than a quarter of all the infants were sleeping on their own while in between 4 to 9 months old.

Research observations showed that babies resting in their own rooms after turning four months old sleep longer. Kids nine-months old sharing a room with their parents were noted to sleep a median 9.75 hours per night. Those sleeping on their own rested, on average, 10.5 hours a night. Babies who began sleeping in their own room somewhere in between 4 to 9 months old also slept longer, for a median of 10 hours.

As they turned 2.5 years old, all the kids were getting the same amount of sleep per night. Still, babies who shared a room for longer periods of time up to this point also got 45 minutes less of sleep per night.

The study team did note that its research had limitations and that parents should best discuss and receive advice from their pediatricians about the best sleep arrangements for their newborns. These should help reduce the risks of SIDS but also ensure a good night’s sleep.

This study’s results are available in the journal Pediatrics. 

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Climate change could literally be causing sleepless nights, according to new research. Recent studies show that a temperature increase of approximately two degrees Fahrenheit could be linked to three poor nights of sleep per month. These could be affecting every 100 individuals in the overall population.

All Those Sleepless Nights Caused by Higher Nighttime Temperatures?

This latest research is the most comprehensive investigation of the overall link between human sleep and climate change. Its results are available in a paper in the journal Science Advances. The study analyzed the ways in which ambient temperature mediates the human sleep. It also looks at how this relationship may be affected by climate change and rising global temperatures.

The research employs data from over a half-million U.S. respondents. Based on this, it shows that rising temperatures are related to sleepless nights in civilian populations. The largest correlations between poor sleep and rising temperatures were found among low-income individuals and older Americans.

To arrive at these results, the researchers triangulated population data with local weather station records. They also included the global creep towards higher temperatures. Data revealed that seemingly minor increases in global temperatures resulted in rather significant sleep disturbances. This connection is very important, for a few very good reasons.

“What our study shows is not only that ambient temperature can play a role in disrupting sleep but also that climate change might make the situation worse by driving up rates of sleep loss,” says Nick Obradovich, the study lead.

Poor sleep has already been linked to a variety of immune system disturbances. It was also recently associated with an increased brain-cleaning process. Poor or lack of sleep is also linked to health conditions like obesity, memory, overall cognitive function, and heart disease, among others.

Although sleep is but one factor that affects the human health and overall well-being, the fact that global temperature changes are adversely affecting sleep is disturbing news indeed. More research on the matter is still needed.

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A recently released study found a new, potential effect for periods of extended sleep loss. Apparently, the brain can still carry out the cleaning process usually performed while sleeping even when awake. But this also takes place at an accelerated rate, and on the long term, can seemingly cause more problems than help.

Research was based on studies and observations of four mice groups and their brains while sleeping or trying to. Study results became available in a paper in the Journal of Neuroscience. These found that astrocytes and microglial cells go into overdrive when the mice are sleep and severely sleep deprived. On the long term, this also affected their processes, as their increased activity started damaging the brain.

Extended Sleep Loss Makes the Cleaning Process Turn Against the Brain

Research was carried out by Marche Polytechnic University in Italy scientists, led by Michele Bellesi. Together with his colleagues, he analyzed the brains of well rested or recently awoken mice. They also took a look at the brain structures of sleep deprived and severely sleep-deprived mice. In an unexpected turn, these were also noted to present the usual brain-cleaning process usually carried out during sleep.

As the body rests, the brain cleans itself up by renewing its cells and getting rid of the day’s unnecessary neural activity. It does so with help from astrocytes, which refresh and renew synapses, and microglial cells. The process actually named “to devour”, phagocytosis, sees the removal of old or worn out cells.

These processes were detected even in severely sleep deprived mice. But in such cases, it was also noted to be far more active, and potentially dangerous as by going into overdrive, it causes severe cleaning. From old and worn cells, microglial cells can seemingly pass to healthy ones. Astrocytes are also far more active in sleepless brains.

“Like many other stressors, extended sleep disruption may lead to a state of sustained microglia activation, perhaps increasing the brain’s susceptibility to other forms of damage,” stated the researchers.

The study team will now try to determine if the same process is also replicated in humans. Also, it will try to establish if getting enough sleep can help recover the connections lost during the excessive cleaning.

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A team of researchers set out on a first of its kind project, called the “Hospital Microbiome Project”, which followed microbes and the way these spread in a newly opened hospital.

Initial study results became available earlier this week in the journal Science Translational Medicine. This year-long survey of the hospital provides a never before access into the microbial communities found in a hospital. It may also lead the way into better understanding and dealing with hospital-acquired infections, according to the study team.

The Hospital Microbiome Project, First of Its Kind, Significant Results.

The researchers constructed their unique microbiome map by observing the Center for Care and Discovery at the University of Chicago Medicine. Conducted over a period of 12 months, the researchers started studying the newly constructed hospital two months before it opened and the ten months after it started operating.

“We are mapping a new world in the hospital so that we can understand the trade routes, if you will, of microbes moving in that space,” stated Jack Gilbert.

He is the study’s senior author and the director of the University of Chicago Microbiome Center. He states that the Hospital Microbiome Project offers a “multidimensional, mathematical hypervolume of interactive space”.

To put it simply, it is not the standard two-dimensional map. As it indicates the location of specific microbes, it also suggests their potential movement patterns and future positions. This, in turn, can help predict future interactions between bacteria and their future pathways.

The study team collected over 6,500 microbial samples from the hospital, its staff members, and patients willing to participate. Initially, the location only contained bacterial organisms commonly found in water and soil.

But as patients started flowing in, these were replaced by microbes from the human skin. These were also noted to survive despite the regular cleaning and bleaching. The team also stated that it noted some interesting trends. For example, the way microbes travel from one location to the other. Or the differences in organism types, as they develop differently according to the surface.

Most of the microbes detected by the team were reportedly benign and unlikely to cause problems. As it is, the Hospital Microbiome Project could lay the base for future studies targeting hospital acquired infections or microbial ecosystems.

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