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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Scientists have uncovered the largest Neolithic settlement in the United Kingdom at the Durrington Walls and believe that the village was inhabited by the people who built the Stonehenge monument.

Scientists say that the village was built around 2,600 B.C., roughly when Stonehenge was believed to have been constructed, and housed over 100 people.

Inside the areas which would have been the interior of houses at the time, scientists also found outlines of what they think were beds and cupboards or dressers. Pieces of pottery and “filthy” rubbish around the site. Animal bones, arrowheads, stone tools and other relics were also discovered.

“We’ve never seen such quantities of pottery and animal bone and flint. In what were houses, we have excavated the outlines on the floors of box beds and wooden dressers or cupboards,” said Sheffield University archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson.

So far, the dig has revealed at least 8 houses roughly 14-16 feet square, but scientists say that they think there may have been at least 25 altogether.

The site was likely to have been occupied only seasonally rather than year-round and evidence suggests that a lot of “partying” went on at the location.

“The animal bones are being thrown away half-eaten. It’s what we call a feasting assemblage. This is where they went to party – you could say it was the first free festival. The rubbish isn’t your average domestic debris. There’s a lack of craft-working equipment for cleaning animal hides and no evidence for crop-processing,” added Pearson.

The Durrington Walls are approximately 2 miles from the Stonehenge site.

Saturday, April 23, 2005

Dermot Mannion has been named the new Chief Executive of Ireland’s national carrier, Aer Lingus. Mr. Mannion, 47, will take up the post in August 2005.

Aer Lingus almost went bankrupt in 2002, but a major cost-cutting effort by former CEO Willie Walshe lead to a dramatic turnaround in the airline’s fortunes, posting its largest ever profit in 2004. However, Willie Walshe left after a dispute with the government over privatization. He has since landed the top job at British Airways.

Mr. Mannion, an accountant, has extensive experience of aviation, having worked for the Dubai based airline Emirates since 1995. There he worked as Finance Director and later President of Group Support Services. He originally comes from County Sligo and is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin.

See the discussion page for instructions on adding schools to this list.Tuesday, September 13, 2005

NAICU has created a list of colleges and universities accepting and/or offering assistance to displace faculty members. [1]Wednesday, September 7, 2005

This list is taken from Colleges offering admission to displaced New Orleans students, and is intended to make searching easier for faculty, graduate, and professional students.

In addition to the list below, the Association of American Law Schools has compiled a list of law schools offering assistance to displaced students. [2] As conditions vary by college, interested parties should contact the Office of Admissions at the school in question for specific requirements and up-to-date details.

The Association of American Medical Colleges is coordinating alternatives for medical students and residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina. [3]

ResCross.net is acting as a central interactive hub for establishing research support in times of emergency. With so many scientists affected by Hurricane Katrina, ResCross is currently focused on providing information to identify sources of emergency support as quickly as possible. [4]

With so many scientists affected by Hurricane Katrina, ResCross is currently focused on providing information to identify sources of emergency support as quickly as possible.

Physics undergraduates, grad students, faculty and high school teachers can be matched up with housing and jobs at universities, schools and industry. [5] From the American Association of Physics Teachers, the Society of Physics Students, the American Institute of Physics and the American Physical Society.

If you are seeking or providing assistance, please use this site to find information on research support, available lab space/supplies, resources, guidelines and most importantly to communicate with fellow researchers.

The following is a partial list, sorted by location.

Alabama |Alaska |Arizona |Arkansas |California |Colorado |Connecticut |Delaware |District of Columbia |Florida |Georgia |Hawaii |Idaho |Illinois |Indiana |Iowa |Kansas |Kentucky |Louisiana |Maine |Maryland |Massachusetts |Michigan |Minnesota |Mississippi |Missouri |Montana |Nebraska |Nevada |New Hampshire |New Jersey |New Mexico |New York |North Carolina |North Dakota |Ohio |Oklahoma |Oregon |Pennsylvania |Rhode Island |South Carolina |South Dakota |Tennessee |Texas |Utah |Vermont |Virginia |Washington |West Virginia |Wisconsin |Wyoming |Canada

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

A report published today by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) finds that, in many cases, England’s home care system breaches the human rights of the elderly it is supposed to serve. The Close to home: older people and human rights in home care report is the result of a twelve-month investigation into care generally provided by local authorities.

Approximately half of those receiving home care, plus friends and family, providing evidence to the inquiry were satisfied with the quality of care provided. However, the report stresses that there are “systemic problems” arising from “a failure to apply a human rights approach to home care provision”. The report asserts that it is generally not the fault of individuals providing care, but serious problems exist as local authorities seem unaware of their obligations under the Human Rights Act and fail to commission, procure, and monitor care accordingly.

The report says articles two, three and eight of the European Convention on Human Rights are frequently being breached. These, respectively, cover an individual’s right to life, protection from inhumane and degrading treatment, and respect for dignity and personal independence. Criticisms include that care is not provided in a common-sense manner, and funding of care for the elderly is at lower levels than for younger people with similar problems and needs.

The EHRC’s investigation highlights a range of recurring complaints and attempts to identify the underlying causes; cost is repeatedly mentioned, with use of the private-sector leading to some local authorities offering a “one size fits all” service leaving many elderly feeling they are “a task to be undertaken” and have “little or no choice” as to help received, or when care workers visit. A failure to invest in care workers is noted, with significant responsibility and the wide range of skills required being rewarded with low pay and status; this, the report states, adversely impacts staff retention and, a high turnover of care workers can put the security of care recipients at-risk.

Within the wider investigation, a commissioned independent social report by The Arndale Centre conducted in-depth interviews with a cross-section of 40 elderly individuals receiving home care. As-stressed in the report, those selected were not on the basis of good, or bad, experiences with their – mainly local authority-provided – care. It highlights a widespread feeling amongst those interviewed that they are treated “like a number”, and that aspects of the care provided lead to, or fail to resolve, feelings of social isolation.

The Manchester-based Arndale Centre report concludes that, “[t]he general picture is of a wider home care system in which older people are noteffectively involved: which they do not understand, and which does not often make the extra effort required to involve them in ways tailored to their state of health and other needs”.

A recurring theme in the responses of those interviewed is the social isolation that their home care is not adequately addressing. One male interviewee in his seventies who previously used a scooter to get about said in his interview, “I haven’t been out of the house now for about four weeks. I daren’t. The last time I went out on the scooter I hit the kerb and it frightened the living daylights out of me.” Another, an 85-year-old woman who lives alone, expressed sadness at her inability to do normal things, “I would love to go to town to do some shopping. I haven’t been to town for about two years… Wander round the town and have a cup of tea… I’d love that.”

The social isolation many elderly experience was summed up neatly by another woman in her eighties in her interview: “When you go now, I will maybe not talk to anybody till tomorrow; maybe the whole of tomorrow nobody to talk [to]… face to face. Nobody will knock on that door, that is it, a life of isolation.”

The EHRC, having commissioned this report in the face of funding changes and reform of the care system, intends to press for legislative changes to ensure those receiving care at home are given the same protections under the Human Rights Act as those in residential care. In the conclusions of their report they offer to work with, and support, local authorities in understanding and delivering care that respects peoples’ rights and dignity; and, recommend better guidance as to the choices available to the elderly, and their families, be made available.

Monday, March 26, 2012

The Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis is about to challenge patent rejection in India before the Supreme Court of India. The court case is to begin on March 28.

Should the complaint be successful millions of people may no longer be able to purchase necessary medication.

The object of special attention is Imatinib, a medication used to treat certain cancers, which is marketed by Novartis as Gleevec (USA) or Glivec (Europe/Australia/Latin America).

The desired interpretation of patent law would give Novartis a renewal of another twenty years for its patent on the medication.

Over six years Novartis has been struggling over different interpretations of article 3(d) of Indian patent law, which rules the patenting of variants of already approved medicines. On March 28 Novartis will present another interpretation of article 3(d) restricting it to “discoveries”, while the patent application would constitute an “invention”.

Novartis’ head of corporate research in Basel, Paul Herrling, told the journal Nature: “[The case is] about the rewarding of innovation where markets exist, not about impeding access to medicines for poor patients. […] We think that Gleevec is a fundamental breakthrough in medicine. If 3(d) can be used to prevent the patenting of results of innovative biomedical research, it will certainly be a disincentive for both Indian research-based pharmaceutical companies and for foreign companies wanting to be active in India. This would be to the disadvantage of Indian patients.”

Brook Baker from the Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts, a professor in the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE), explained the situation as follows: “Novartis would like the Supreme Court to adopt a low-threshold standard whereby slight improvements will count as significantly enhanced efficacy. […] If this low-hurdle standard is adopted, companies will be able to evergreen their patents in India much as they do in the United States. […] India is a major exporter of generic medicines to developing countries, including 80% of the medicine now used to treat over 6.6 million people living with HIV/AIDS. India’s status as the pharmacy of the poor and of the developing world is actually under attack.”

Médecins Sans Frontières has set up the protest web page “Novartis, Drop the Case!”, with information about the court case.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Protestors in Greece, rallying against austerity measures, have clashed with police in the capital of Athens.

Some people participating in the rally — attended by thousands of teachers and students — threw stones at riot police, who responded by employing pepper spray, although the BBC described the protests as being generally peaceful. Demonstrators say that a recent austerity proposal, which is to include pension cuts and an increase in taxes, will adversely affect the education sector.

Teachers, along with hospital workers and public servants, have started a two-day strike over the measures. Also present were 150 members of the armed forces, who protested having their bonuses lowered.

Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday, approximately a hundred demonstrators with the Communist Party broke through locks at the Acropolis and hung up banners saying: “Peoples of Europe — Rise Up”.

Communist Member of Parliament Nikos Papaconstantinou commented: “We want to send a message to the farthest reaches of Greece and Europe. Similar measures that eliminate social security are taken across Europe. But popular anger will rattle imperialist organisations.”

The austerity plan comes shortly after the Greek government said it would introduce spending cuts to obtain a loan package by the EU and International Monetary Fund, aimed at helping Greece recover from a financial crisis.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

In a study that appeared on Monday in Biological Psychiatry, scientists from the Universities of California and North Carolina, with several other universities in the United States and Canada, report a strong correlation between abnormal distribution of cerebrospinal fluid in infants and later development of autistic symptoms.

“The more extra-axial CSF present at six months, the more severe the autism symptoms when the kids were diagnosed at 24 months of age,” said first author Dr. Mark Shen, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina.

The study covered 343 children examined aged six months, twelve months, and twenty-four months, 221 of whom had older siblings with autism. Children with higher than usual volumes of cerebrospinal fluid in the subarachnoid space — the area just around the brain — were more likely to be diagnosed with autism later in life, with a strong correlation in the high-risk group. Ultimately, cerebrospinal volume was able to provide an early diagnosis of probably ASD in high-risk children with 70% accuracy. The six-month-old babies who later went on to a diagnosis of autism had an average of 18% more CSF by volume than those who were not so diagnosed. This built on the findings of a 2013 study that covered only 55 children.

Researchers said it is not clear whether a large amount of cerebrospinal fluid actually causes autism or not. While studies have shown that cerebrospinal fluid, once thought to act solely as a cushioner and shock absorber for the brain, can influence the way neurons grow, Shen speculated that the large amount of fluid may itself be a symptom: “We believe that extra-axial CSF is an early sign that CSF is not filtering and draining when it should. The result is that there could be a buildup of neuro-inflammation that isn’t being washed [a]way.”

Currently, coauthor David Amaral said, children are not diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders until they are old enough for their behavior to change, usually at two or three years old. Researchers said these findings could be used to develop an early diagnostic system usable when the patient is as young as six months old.