Thursday 27 January 2011

China battles pork meat laced with a poisonous drug

China battles pork meat laced with a poisonous drug 27 Jan 2011

There have been reports of consumers in China becoming ill and ending up hospitalised with stomach pains and heart palpitations after consuming pork laced with Clenbuterol.

Clenbuterol, in China is also known as "lean meat powder," and is banned in the country. However, animal feed is sometimes mixed with this dangerous drug because some farmers want to profit on the market – as it is used in animal feed because it can decrease a pig's body fat to a thin layer, which makes the meat appear leaner and while it also makes skin pinker – making the meat look fresher for a longer period.

Clenbuterol-treated pork requested from pig farmers

Because of the effects on pork meat, it has made some Chinese meat suppliers request Clenbuterol-treated pork from pig farmers. With using Clenbuterol fat burning and muscle growth happens rapidly, which is why some see it as an ideal a feed additive. Though there have been reports in China of the drug entering the food supply, exactly how much food tainted with this drug is not known currently – the Chinese government will not state how many cases of contaminated meat or related illness occur annually.

Pork meat mostly affected
It seems that tainted pork is a major concern in the country as Clenbuterol-tainted pork is considered to be one of China's largest food threats as reports have mostly involved this meat.

"It's really a big problem in China," said Pan Chenjun, a senior industry analyst with Rabobank. "It's not reported frequently so people sometimes think it's not a big issue but actually it's quite widespread."

Despite strict Chinese laws against "Clenbuterol" which carry a prison term for offenders who produce or sell tainted food products, there are often cases where a fine or a bribe can get the offender out of a tight spot.

Clenbuterol – quick info:

Clenbuterol is approved for use in some countries via presciption as a bronchodilator for asthma patients.
In instances is has also been used as a performance-enhancing drug in sports – with cases where athletes have been suspended from respective sports.
In some parts of the world Clenbuterol is used for the treatment of allergic respiratory disease in horses.
In September 2006 more than 330 people in Shanghai were reported to have been poisoned by eating pork contaminated by Clenbuterol that had been fed to the animals to keep their meat lean – as it increases the rate at which body fat is metabolised

the elderly, including his mother Freda Rose who died at 96, were often treated as "unworthy of our time and consideration"

Parkinson seeks dignity for elderly in care

Sir Michael was concerned about the way his mother was treated

Stereotypes of older people must be broken down to ensure those in care receive the dignity they deserve, Sir Michael Parkinson has concluded.

The former chat show host has spent the last year as ambassador for the government's Dignity in Care campaign.

Sir Michael said the elderly, including his mother Freda Rose who died at 96, were often treated as "unworthy of our time and consideration" while in care.

He said breaking down stereotypes was a key part in restoring dignity in care.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Sir Michael said his mother's care was "nothing awful or evil" but "just sheer carelessness".

Dignity must be at the heart of care

Andy Burnham, Health Secretary

He said there was a danger that carers did not see a "person who had lived a life, a worthwhile person, but a piece of decrepit and useless flesh".

In his report, My year as national dignity ambassador, Sir Michael described the bad aspects of his mother's care.

He said she was patted on the head and called "ducky" or "dear" and, on one occasion, her face had been "painted garishly", "like a clown, a figure of fun, and far from the woman who brought me up".

"We need to banish outdated attitudes and assumptions that can be a barrier to good quality care," Sir Michael said.

"Becoming national dignity ambassador has strengthened my belief that dignity in care needs to be everybody's business.

"It's not just about the government, or nurses or carers - we can all make a difference. "

Positive aspects

Sir Michael was also keen to stress the positive aspects of care.

He recounted how Gill Hicks, a survivor of the 7 July London bombings, had told him about the nurse who had jumped into the shower - fully clothed - to assist her when she was having difficulties.

"That story really sticks with me not only because it demonstrates the true meaning of care and compassion but also because I can imagine how, in a less enlightened organisation, that nurse could quite easily have found herself being disciplined," Sir Michael said.

"It is nice to hear of staff who have the confidence to use their own judgment on how best to meet the needs of their patients, without fear of reprisal."

The Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, said: "Sir Michael's report is an invaluable insight into the experiences of people who rely on support and those who dedicate their lives to helping others.

"Dignity must be at the heart of care - to achieve this we are transforming the care and support system to make it fairer, simpler and more affordable for everyone."

Sir Michael was appointed in May 2008 to promote dignity in care, as part of the Department of Health's Dignity Campaign

The home support given to people with dementia and their carers is an "absolute travesty"

Alzheimer's Society ambassador Kevin Whately: "The more family and friends can take care of a patient the better"

The home support given to people with dementia and their carers is an "absolute travesty", a charity says.

The Alzheimer's Society study - based on feedback from carers, health workers and patients - said the problem was causing unnecessary admissions to hospital and care homes.
The authors called for better training for staff and access to services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The government said the charity was right to highlight the issue.
About 750,000 people in the UK have dementia, two-thirds of whom are living at home with support from loved ones and sometimes social services.
But the report said too many were ending up in hospital or being admitted to care homes too early because of the lack of support being provided to ensure people could remain in their own homes.
Breaks
Respite care, which allows carers to have breaks, was found to be lacking, while there was said to be too little joined up working between the NHS and social care.
In particular, the report criticised the ever-tightening criteria councils were using to see who should be eligible to social care support. It said much of the £2bn extra being promised by government for social services by 2014 would be needed to rectify this.
The study also pointed out that it was essential that dementia patients received proper assessments and had personalised care plans drawn up to ensure they were getting the right medication and support.

“Start Quote

Many people are having their health put at risk and being forced into hospital or care homes against their will”

End Quote Kevin Whately Actor

Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, said: "It is an absolute travesty that so many people with dementia are being forced to struggle without the care and support they need. The consequences of this represent an unacceptable human and financial cost."

Actor Kevin Whately, who is one of the Alzheimer's Society's celebrity supporters and whose mother had dementia, added: "Many people are having their health put at risk and being forced into hospital or care homes against their will.
"It also represents a huge financial burden which society cannot afford to take on, especially in these economic times."
Care services minister Paul Burstow said: "The Alzheimer's Society is right to turn the spotlight on home care for people with dementia. While there are some outstanding services, as this report demonstrates too many people with dementia and their carers feel let down."
But he added: "What needs to be done to put things right is not rocket science, it requires compassion, common sense and a determination to treat people as people, not boxes to tick."

Friday 21 January 2011

antibiotics can increase risk of irritable bowel syndrome

Giving children antibiotics can increase risk of irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's disease later in life, the Daily Mail has reported. The newspaper article says that “scientists believe the drugs may encourage harmful bacteria and other organisms to grow in the gut, which trigger the conditions”.

This study looked at the medical records of over 500,000 children in Denmark, and found that children who had been prescribed antibiotics were more likely to develop inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) than those who had not received such prescriptions. IBD is a group of diseases which includes Crohn’s disease, but not (as suggested by the Mail) irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

While this study has found a relationship between antibiotic use and IBD, it is not possible to say for certain why such a relationship exists. It might be that antibiotics do raise the risk of IBD, or that the infections being treated with them cause or trigger IBD, or that in some cases antibiotics were being used to treat symptoms of undiagnosed IBD that was later identified. These findings are worth further investigation.

It is important to remember that the risk of IBD in children is very low. In this study of more than half a million children, only 117 were diagnosed with the disease, despite almost 85% of the subjects taking at least one course of antibiotics.

Where did the story come from?

The study was carried out by researchers from the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark and funded by Danish Medical Research Council and the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation. The study was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Gut.

This study was reported by the Daily Mail, which has confused inflammatory bowel disease (investigated by this study) with irritable bowel syndrome, which is not an inflammatory bowel disease (and was not investigated in this study).

What kind of research was this?

This was a nationwide Danish cohort study looking at whether there was a link between the use of antibiotics and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in childhood. The balance of microorganisms in the intestine has been suggested to be important in the development of IBD. As antibiotics can alter this balance, one suggestion is that their use could potentially affect the risk of IBD.

The main limitation of this type of study design is that the groups being compared (in this case, children exposed and unexposed to antibiotics) may differ in ways other than their use of antibiotics. Any such differences might potentially affect the results and therefore obscure the true relationship. Researchers can try to reduce the likelihood of this by taking such factors into account in their analyses.

Limitations of this nature could potentially be avoided by looking at the risk of IBD in children who had participated in randomised controlled trials of antibiotics, although the practical constraints of such studies mean they would not be likely to include the very large number of children that this study had.

What did the research involve?

The researchers looked at the healthcare records of all Danish children born between 1995 and 2003 who were not part of multiple births (e.g. twins or triplets). They obtained information on collections of antibiotic prescriptions, diagnoses of IBD and other factors that could affect results. They then looked at whether children who had received antibiotics were any more or less likely to subsequently develop IBD compared with children who had not received antibiotics.

The researchers drew data from various national registries to locate eligible children, their filled prescriptions and medical history. The researchers identified:

all prescriptions for systemic antibiotics antibiotics for internal rather than external (topical) use, given between 1995 and 2004
the type of antibiotic given, and how many different courses of antibiotics were given in the study period
all recorded diagnoses of IBD, which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. These diagnoses were identified using records of hospitalisations, emergency department visits and outpatient hospital visits.

The researchers also obtained a range of information on factors which could affect results, including gender, birth order (whether the child was born first, second or third), level of urbanisation of the place of birth, birth weight, length of gestation, mother’s age at the child’s birth, educational level of mother in the year preceding the year of birth, and socioeconomic category of father in the year preceding the year of birth.

However, none of these factors were found to be independently associated with the risk of IBD, so they were not taken into account in the main analyses. These only took into account the child’s age and year of the diagnosis.

What were the basic results?

Overall, the researchers collected data on 577,627 children, with an average follow-up time of about 5.5 years. This provided over 3 million years of data in total. Most of the children (84.8%) had received at least one course of antibiotics.

Across both study groups 117 children developed IBD – 50 of these children had Crohn’s disease and 67 had ulcerative colitis. On average, diagnosis of these conditions was first recorded between the ages of three and four years old.

The researchers reported their outcomes using a measure called the "incidence rate ratio" [iRR], which is the relative proportion of people given a new diagnosis in two different groups within a specified period of time. They found that children who had collected an antibiotic prescription were 84% more likely to develop IBD during follow-up than those who did not [iRR 1.84, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08 to 3.15].

When looking at the different types of IBD separately, antibiotics were only associated with an increased risk of Crohn’s disease [iRR 3.41] but not ulcerative colitis. The risk of being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease was greater in the first three months after the prescription collection [iRR 4.43], and greater in children who received seven or more courses of antibiotics [iRR 7.32].

How did the researchers interpret the results?

The researchers concluded that their study is the “first prospective study to show a strong association between antibiotic use and [Crohn’s disease] in childhood”. This suggests that antibiotics or the conditions for which they are prescribed (infections) could potentially increase the risk of IBD or trigger the disease in people who are susceptible.

However, they note that as with all studies of this type, it cannot prove that antibiotics or the illnesses they were prescribed to treat cause IBD. They say that a possible explanation might be that the children had been prescribed antibiotics to treat intestinal symptoms caused by undiagnosed Crohn’s disease that would later be identified.

Conclusion

Overall, this large study has suggested a link between antibiotic use and IBD, although it should not be assumed that antibiotic use is necessarily the cause of the condition. There are a number of alternative explanations for the association, such as the possibility that antibiotics had been given to the children to deal with symptoms of Crohn’s disease that had not yet been diagnosed. Further research will be needed to clarify the situation.

The strengths and limitations of this research must also be considered when interpreting its results:

The large size of this study, its ability to include most of the children of the relevant age group in the entire country and the level of data available on antibiotic prescriptions are all strengths.
As exposures and outcomes were based on medical records, the reliability of the findings may depend on the accuracy of the records.
Standard diagnostic assessments of each child were not carried out, therefore some cases of IBD may have been missed and some children may have been misdiagnosed. However, the authors report that the hospital registers used have previously been found to have a high level of validity and completeness in identifying individuals with IBD.
Although the prescriptions were filled out, not all of the antibiotics may have been taken by the children. However, this would tend to reduce any link between antibiotics and IBD, rather than make it stronger.
In this type of study, the groups being compared – children exposed and unexposed to antibiotics – may differ in ways other than their use of antibiotics, and these differences may be affecting the results. Although the researchers took into account factors that they thought could affect results (as the causes of IBD are not well understood), it is difficult to know whether all the important factors have been accounted for.

As the authors acknowledge, it is not possible to say whether the link found is due to the antibiotics, the infection that prompted the need for antibiotics or treatment of existing but undiagnosed IBD.

Monday 17 January 2011

the wreck of the barque Libelle

Wreck of the Libelle

Wake Island first received international attention with the wreck of the barque Libelle. On the night of March 4, 1866, the 650 ton Libelle, of Bremen, Germany, struck the eastern reef of Wake Island during a gale. Commanded by Captain Tobias, the ship was en route from San Francisco to Hong Kong. Among its passengers were opera singer Anna Bishop (ex wife of the celebrated French harpist Nicolas Bochsa), her husband Martin Schultz (a New York diamond merchant), and three other members of an English opera troupe.

After 21 days on Wake, the 30 stranded passengers and crewmen sailed in a longboat and the gig for the then Spanish island of Guam. The longboat, containing the opera troupe, Mr. Schultz and other passengers, reached Guam April on 8. Unfortunately, the gig, commanded by the captain, was lost at sea. Captain Tobias had buried valuable cargo on Wake, including 1,000 flasks (34,500 kg) of mercury, as well as coins and precious stones worth about US$150,000. At least five ships conducted salvage operations for its recovery. The plight of the Libelle's passengers and the buried cargo was reported by newspapers around the world.

European discovery and exploration

Wake Island as depicted by the United States Exploring Expedition, drawn by Alfred Thomas Agate

On October 20, 1568, Álvaro de Mendaña de Neyra, a Spanish explorer with two ships, Los Reyes and Todos Santos, discovered "a low barren island, judged to be eight leagues in circumference", to which he gave the name of "San Francisco". The island was eventually named for Captain William Wake, master of the British trading schooner, Prince William Henry, who visited in 1796.^[14]

Jeremiah N. Reynolds' 1828 report to the US House of Representatives describes Capt. Edward Gardner's discovery of a 25-mile (40 km) long island situated at 19°15' N, 166°32' E, with a reef at the eastern edge when he was captain of the Bellona in 1823. The island was "covered with wood, having a very green and rural appearance" and, Reynolds concluded, was probably Wake Island. It was placed on charts by John Arrowsmith.^[15]

On December 20, 1840, the United States Exploring Expedition, commanded by Commodore Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Navy, landed on Wake and surveyed the island. Wilkes described the atoll as "a low coral one, of triangular form and eight feet above the surface. It has a large lagoon in the centre, which was well filled with fish of a variety of species among these were some fine mullet." He also noted that Wake had no fresh water but was covered with shrubs, "the most abundant of which was the tournefortia." The expedition's naturalist, Titian Peale, collected many new specimens, including an egg from a short-tailed albatross and various marine life specimens

The 1595-1596 Voyage

A much larger and costlier expedition had been planned by the early 1590s, after Mendaña had spent years courting favour in Madrid and Lima. Four ships and 378 men, women and children were to establish a colony in the Solomon Islands. Again, the leaders of this voyage had “widely divergent personalities.” ^[11] Mendaña was again in command, accompanied by his wife Doña Isabel Barreto, her three brothers and a sister. Chief Pilot was to be a young Portuguese navigator in Spanish service, Pedro Fernández de Quirós. An argumentative old soldier, Pedro Merino Manrique was chosen as camp master. Manrique caused disputes before the fleet had even departed.

The four ships, San Geronimo (the Capitana), the Santa Isabel (the Almiranta), the smaller frigate Santa Catalina and the galiot San Felipe left Callao on 9 April 1595. Spirits were high in the first month, fifteen marriages being celebrated.^[12] Mendaña had Quirós prepare charts for his Captains that only showed Peru and the Solomon Islands.^[13]

On 21 July 1595 the ships reached the Marquesas Islands, (named for the wife of the then viceroy of Peru, García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete) to be met by four hundred people in canoes. Although the Spaniards admired their “graceful shape” and “almost white” complexion, the relationship again descended into violence. When the expedition left two weeks later, Quirós estimated 200 Marquesans had been killed ^[14]

Despite Mendaña’s confidence that the Solomon Islands were nearby, it was not until 8 September that they sighted land again, this time the island of Nendo, which they named "Santa Cruz".^[15] The Santa Isabel had disappeared, however, and despite searches by the two smaller vessels, it could not be found.^[16] Arriving at what is now Graciosa Bay, a settlement was commenced. Relations with local islanders and their chief Malope started well, with food provided and assistance in constructing buildings. However, morale amongst the Spanish was low and sickness (almost certainly malaria) was rife. Manrique was murdered at the orders of, and in front of Mendaña, and shortly afterwards, the generous Malope was killed by soldiers. Relations with the Islanders soon descended again into the all too familiar cycle of violence.

Wracked by internal divisions and an increasing death toll, internal bickering increased and the settlement began to fall apart. Mendaña himself died on 18 October 1595, leaving his wife as heir and Governor, her brother Lorenzo, Captain-General. On 30 October, the decision was made to abandon the settlement. When the three ships departed on 18 November 1595, forty-seven people had died in the space of one month ^[17]

Pedro Fernández de Quirós is generally credited with bringing the San Geronimo safely into the Philippines without the aid of charts, arriving in Manila Bay on 11 February 1596. Over fifty people died on the twelve week voyage from Santa Cruz, in part due to Dona Isabel’s refusal to share out her private store of food and water.^[18] The frigate (carrying Mendaña's body) disappeared during the voyage, while the galiot San Felipe limped in to the southern end of Mindanao several days later.

Blackbeard captured a French slaver known as La Concorde in 1717 and renamed it Queen Anne's Revenge. He captained the ship until it ran aground, perhaps intentionally, at Beaufort Inlet in June 1718. (For more on Blackbeard, see sidebar.)

Some accounts at the time suggested that Blackbeard wanted to break up his crew of some 300 to 400 men—and keep the choicest booty for himself.

The ship is still officially classified as "believed to be" the QAR. But mounting evidence suggests to many that the wreck is that of Blackbeard's ship.

"It's not like CSI," said Cheryl Ward, a Florida State University maritime archaeologist not involved in the project. "In the real world nobody solves anything in a 24-hour period. We may never get a definitive answer, but I think that they've got a very good case for this being the Queen Anne's Revenge. I certainly know of nothing they've found to suggest that it can't be."

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS: Blackbeard Pirate Relics, Gold Found?

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Blackbeard: Pirate Terror at Sea
"Blackbeard's Ship" Wreck to Get Protection From Currents, Hurricanes
"Blackbeard's Ship" Yields New Clues to Pirate Mystery
A copper-alloy sword guard was recently found in a shipwreck thought to be Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge, archaeologists said in March 2009.

The guard would have sat between the sword's steel blade and its wooden handle. An x-ray of the sword guard (bottom) shows a small hole where a decorative chain might have been attached.

Infamous pirate Blackbeard grounded his ship while trying to enter the harbor of Beaufort, North Carolina in 1718.

the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, have been probed by scientists.

The climate secrets of the deepest part of the ocean, the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, have been probed by scientists.

The international team used a submersible, designed to withstand immense pressures, to study the bottom of the 10.9km-deep underwater canyon.

Their early results reveal that ocean trenches are acting as carbon sinks.

This suggests that they play a larger role in regulating the Earth's chemistry and climate than was thought.

Although two explorers, Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, reached the deepest part of the Marianas Trench - a point called the Challenger Deep - in 1960, no humans have been back since.

And the handful of scientific missions, including this recent visit to this deepest spot, have been carried out using unmanned underwater vehicles.

Lead researcher Professor Ronnie Glud, from the University of Southern Denmark and the Scottish Association for Marine Science (Sams), said that working at more than 1,000 atmospheres of pressure was challenging, but advances in technology had made it possible.

He told BBC News: "This is the first time we have been able to set down sophisticated instruments at these depths to measure how much carbon is buried there."

Under pressure

Professor Glud, working with scientists from the Japan Agency for Marine Earth Science and Technology (Jamstec) and from the UK and Germany, used a lander equipped with special sensors packed in a titanium cylinder that was able to resist the remarkable pressures.

Don Walsh (left) and Jacques Piccard (right) in the bathyscaphe Trieste (Noaa Ship Collection)

Don Walsh (l) and Jacques Piccard's (r) deep-sea record still stands

The lander was launched from a ship and took three hours to free-fall to the sea bottom, where it carried out pre-programmed experiments before releasing its ballast and returning to the surface.

The tests helped the scientists to assess the abundance of carbon at those murky depths.

Professor Glud said: "Basically, we are interested in understanding how much organic material - that is all the material produced by algae or fish in the water above - settles at the sea bed, and is either eaten by bacteria and degraded or is buried.

"The ratio that is either degraded or buried is the ultimate process determining what are the oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations of the oceans and the atmosphere, and this gives us an overall picture of how efficiently the sea can capture and sequester carbon in the global carbon cycle."

While this has been studied in other parts of the ocean, such as the abyssal plain - the large flat area of the ocean that lies between 4.6km and 5.5km of depth - the role deep sea trenches play in the carbon cycle has until now remained largely unknown.

“Start Quote

To see an experiment such as this carried out at these extreme depths is a great leap forward in deep-sea science”

End Quote Dr Alan Jamieson Oceanlab

Professor Glud said: "Although these trenches cover just 2% of the ocean, we thought they might be disproportionately important, because it was likely that they would accumulate much more carbon because they would act as a trap, with more organic matter drifting to the bottom of them than in other parts of the ocean."

He explained that preliminary data from his experiments suggested that this was the case.

He said: "Our results very strongly suggest that the trenches do act as sediment traps. And they also had high activity, meaning that more carbon is turned over by bacteria in the trenches than is turned over at 6,000m of depth in the abyssal plain.

"What it means is that we have carbon storage going on in these trenches that is higher than we thought before, and this really means that we have a carbon dioxide sink in the deep ocean that wasn't recognised before."

The next stage for the team is to quantify their results and work out exactly how much more carbon is stored in deep sea trenches compared with other parts of the sea, and how much carbon turnover by bacteria is being carried out.

This, the researchers said, should help them to better establish the role of the ocean trenches in regulating climate.

Surprising finds

This is not the first time deep sea trenches have surprised scientists.

These fish were filmed at a depth of 7.7km

Beyond the abyss

Recent studies by University of Aberdeen's Oceanlab team have revealed that marine life is much more abundant in this hostile habitat than was previously thought.

In 2008, they filmed the deepest living fish ever to be caught on camera - a 17-strong shoal found at depths of 7.7km in the Japan Trench, and the revealed other animals such as amphipods were present in large numbers even deeper.

Dr Alan Jamieson, from Oceanlab, said the new study was helping researchers to build up a better idea of what happens in the deepest of the deep.

He said: "The trenches continue to amaze us.

"And to see an experiment such as this carried out at these extreme depths is a great leap forward in deep-sea science.

"These studies will greatly enhance our understanding of how the deep trenches contribute to carbon cycling in the world's oceans."

Sunday 16 January 2011

The Department of Health said the reforms would improve the NHS.

16 January 2011 Last updated at 03:43

NHS Confederation says health reform 'could shut hospitals'

The Department of Health said modernisation was 'a necessity, not an option'.

Hospitals may have to close under reforms to the NHS in England, a report from the NHS Confederation suggests.

The findings, reported in the Observer, criticise ministers for not explaining the need for the reforms, describing some of the process as "extraordinarily risky."

The confederation represents bodies such as foundation hospitals, primary care trusts and doctors' groups.

The Department of Health said the reforms would improve the NHS.

Under the changes, contained in a bill to be published this week, GPs will be given more responsibility for spending much of the budget, hospitals are to be set free from central control and an independent board will oversee services.

'Demotivating' attacks

While the NHS Confederation accepts that reform of health service structures in England is necessary, it appears to be unhappy with the way ministers are going about it, the Observer reports.

The confederation said the government was indulging in "unpleasant" and "demotivating" attacks on managers whom it was purging, while still asking them to drive the reforms through.

It also said that allowing GPs to commission services from what is called "any willing provider", could mean the closure of some hospitals and facilities in order to make way for new private providers.

The Department of Health said that modernisation was "a necessity, not an option", and the Health and Social Care Bill would "increase autonomy and accountability at every level in the NHS."

'Demolition job'

Shadow health secretary John Healey described the report as a "comprehensive demolition job," amounting to a big red light ahead of the legislation.

A Department of Health spokesperson said while the NHS budget had been protected by the government, "it must still simplify its structure and cut bureaucracy, which will release further savings to invest in care for patients".

According to The Observer, the NHS Confederation report will also raise concerns over the new system under which consortia of GPs will be able to send patients to whichever provider they judge will offer the best treatment, warning that this will force the NHS to shrink in order to make space for new healthcare providers.

The policy of "price competition", allowing hospitals to undercut one another to attract patients, poses a risk to standards of care, the report is expected to warn.

Thursday 13 January 2011

Pesticide ban call for around India's Kaziranga park

12 January 2011 Last updated at 12:11

Pesticide ban call for around India's Kaziranga park

By Subir Bhaumik Kaziranga national park

Dead elephant in Kaziranga national park

Campaigners say pesticides have killed elephants and other animals in Kaziranga (Photo: Subhamoy Bhattacharjee)

Forestry officials in the north-east Indian state of Assam have demanded the creation of a no-pesticide zone around the famous Kaziranga game sanctuary.

The call follows the deaths of two pregnant elephants and other animals in tea estates around Kaziranga.

The national park is renowned for its varied wildlife, especially the tiger and the one-horned Indian rhino.

Officials say that mammals and birds were killed after eating grass that was contaminated by pesticides.

The two elephants ventured out of the park in search of food and ate grass which had been sprayed to kill red ants, officials say.

"The death of these elephants has brought the pesticide issue to the limelight, because the chemicals sprayed in tea estates are playing havoc with wildlife in our forests which are surrounded by hundreds of tea estates," said Anurag Singh, a senior forestry official in northern Assam where Kaziranga is located.

The area has the highest concentration of tea estates in India.

"The managements of these estates must turn to organic farming and stop spraying chemicals," Mr Singh said.

'Endangering our wildlife'

He added that hundreds of birds have died in the same area as has livestock which has eaten pesticide-laced grass in recent weeks.

“Start Quote

Unless we all go organic, our teas will be under a scanner and we will lose lucrative markets ”

End Quote Gossainbarie tea estate owner Binod Saharia

"The cows died in their dozens and the vultures who fed on them also died in large numbers. So you can imagine the effect on human health when consumers drink these teas," Mr Singh said.

He said the forestry department was contemplating the prosecution of some tea estates if animals - especially those that are endangered - are killed by the pesticides.

Local community groups also support a pesticide ban.

"The tea estates should go organic and stop spraying random pesticides. They are not only endangering our wildlife and aquatic life but also our people," said Moni Manik Gogoi, who heads a "people's committee" near Kaziranga.

Some tea estate owners have also supported the call, especially those who run estates which are fully organic.

"Unless we all go organic, our teas will be under a scanner and we will lose lucrative markets where consumers are very health conscious," said Binod Saharia, owner of the Gossainbarie tea estate near Kaziranga.

But some planters are wary of losing out if they make the transition.

"The tea industry is so used to chemicals because they represent the easy option when combating plant diseases like halepeltis," said HS Siddhu, a veteran tea planter in Northern Assam.

He said the planters should be persuaded rather than being forced to convert to organic farming.

the Zoological Society of London have launched a new drive to save some of the world's most endangered corals.

Conservationists led by scientists from the Zoological Society of London have launched a new drive to save some of the world's most endangered corals.

The new EDGE Coral Reefs programme lists the most endangered corals and has enlisted scientists around the world to educate local communities on their importance.
The most dire predictions suggest that tropical coral reefs will be all but extinct within the next half a century, with rising sea temperatures posing the greatest threat.
Coral bleaching
Coral reefs are not just beautiful explosions of colour and sea life - they protect coastal communities from storms and the fish and shrimp they sustain feed people the world over.
But the reefs are in immediate danger from a host of sources.
Top of the list is the threat from rising sea temperatures, which results in "coral bleaching". This involves the loss of algae cells called zooxanthellae, which renders the coral unable to photosynthesise.
While the coral can survive temporary spikes in ocean temperature and the resulting bleaching, longer-term temperature rises kill the marine organisms.
Other threats include ocean acidification, as the seas absorb increased levels of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Rising sea temperatures result in "bleached" coral which prevents the organism from photosynthesising

"Corals are hugely threatened by climate change, by things like rising sea temperature which leads to coral bleaching, ocean acidification, increased storm intensity and frequency and then there's also the local pressures which affect the reef," says Catherine Head, who is co-ordinating the EDGE Coral Reefs project from London.
"Things like overfishing, pollution, sedimentation, coastal development. All those things exacerbate the effects of climate change."
Addressing such local pressures, she says, can buy the reefs some time until governments move to address rising atmospheric and air temperatures.
Local interests

MOST ENDANGERED

Elegance coral or Catalaphyllia jardinae has large tubular tentacles which are green with pink tips and a 'zebra' striped oral disk
Crisp pillow coral or Anomastraea irregularis has an overall blue-grey or cream colour and its individual polyps are small, numerous and a shade of brown
Horastrea coral or Horastrea indica is a hemispherical, colonial species and is pale-brown in colour with blue-grey oral discs
Pillar coral or Dendrogyra cylindrus grows in tall cylindrical columns of heights up to 2m giving it a distinctive pillar-like appearance
Elliptical star coral or Dichocoenia stokesii is spherical in shape with irregularly shaped corallites
Mushroom coral or Heliofungia actiniformis has a flat shape with large, lobed teeth
Elkhorn coral or Acropora palmata forms branching 'antler' type colonies which are yellowy-tan in colour with white tips to the branches
Parasimplastrea coral or Parasimplastrea sheppardi is a small, encrusting coral which is colourful in appearance
Pearl bubble coral or Physogyra lichtensteini is a colonial species that can form 'massive' colonies with a bubble-like appearance
Ctenella coral or Ctenella chagius is a brain coral that is endemic to the Chagos Archipelago

Source: ZSL

As part of the new project, a list of the most endangered corals has been compiled, including a "top 10" of threatened coral species.

Unlike the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the EDGE list, say its creators, ranks species in both in terms of the threat they face of extinction and in terms of their evolutionary uniqueness.
Such species, they argue, could play a key role in the adaptation of coral populations to climate change.
The project has also enlisted scientists around the globe to research threatened species and to educate local communities on their importance.
According to Rachel Jones, Senior Aquarium Keeper at the Zoological Society of London (London Zoo), the challenge is to convince those who live close to reefs that protecting them is in their interests.
"Tropical reefs are found in places where often population pressures are really really high and where people are poor they rely on the reef for their food.
"So we need to create an environment where it's worth more to the people who live on reefs to keep the reef alive than it is to dynamite fish it or to trawl it for shrimp or whatever."

Saturday 8 January 2011

westof: NHS left with 34m stockpile of swine flu jabs

EU organic food push hailed by African farmers

Having access to European markets has helped many communities in Ghana to develop

The European Union (EU) is co-funding a $2.8m (£1.8m) publicity campaign to convince UK residents that organic food is good.

According to the industry body, the Organic Trade Board (OTB), the aim is to democratise organic foods and make people aware of their benefits.

In other words, the OTB wants people to buy more organic produce.
The board will be running advertising campaigns for nine months of the year over the next three years, entitled: Why I Love Organic.
They want to put across the message that there is nothing elitist about organic foods and to highlight what they consider to be the advantages, both to a person's health and to the environment.
This is good news for organic farmers, whose trade has been diminishing as shoppers continue to tighten their belts and look upon organics as a luxury they can no longer afford.
"I won't buy it because it is more expensive. I think it's a good idea but it's the price which puts me off," says one shopper at a market stall in North London.
Another decrees that she will buy it at a comparable price, but not otherwise, while a woman who recently had a baby says: "I am trying to save a bit of money on food shopping each week, so I would only treat organic food like a luxury product."
Impact on communities
For organic producers in developing countries, the drop-off in trade in recent years has been a bitter blow.

In a number of European countries, there are public procurement policies in place that specify certain proportions of organic foods”

End Quote Huw Bowles Organic Trade Board

Anthony Pile of Blue Skies, which imports pre-packaged fruit into Europe, has had to close down his Brazilian operation and lay off 150 workers in South Africa and a further 200 in Ghana.

He says that it is his farmers in Ghana who have been the hardest hit.
"We have had quite a difficult time with organics, because when the business started some 12 or 13 years ago, we worked closely with farmers in a rather poor area in the central region of Ghana and they had virtually nothing else," he says.
"They were delighted when we were able to market their sugarloaf pineapple in Europe."
There was a gradual rise in output over the dozen years up to 2009, but it then started to drop very sharply from about 23 tonnes a week to a couple of tonnes at the end of 2010.
"These are smallholders who have hitherto depended upon their folk selling pineapples beside the road," Mr Pile explains.
"Now of course, they have got used to the idea of building proper homes and putting in sanitation," he says.
"One of two of the villages have got electricity and they have started to improve schooling for their children. We were the sole income and that has come now to a grinding halt," he laments.
He views the new initiative by the EU as a positive step towards helping the market grow once more and thus alleviating the hard times that his farmers are currently experiencing.
Left in the cold
In the UK, organic sales dropped 13% per cent in 2009 and have been making only a slow recovery since then.
The OTB is unhappy that the organic sector is not getting more help from the UK government.
"In most other countries, their funding was supplied by central governments or levy bodies, whereas we didn't get that support in the UK and we have had to rely on voluntary contributions from those within the trade," says Huw Bowles of the OTB.
"We find that in a number of European countries, there are public procurement policies in place that specify certain proportions of organic foods, which is not the case in the UK."
He believes that is why organic sales in the UK have fallen, whereas most European countries and many countries across the world are seeing continued growth.
"In America, for example, which has far worse economic conditions than us, it could be argued, there has been continuing growth over the last couple of years."
Cynical ploy
Not everybody thinks that such EU funding is money well spent.

“Start Quote

A cynical attempt to give the EU a veneer of being green-friendly”

End Quote Marc Glendening Democracy Movement

"It is somewhat ironical that the EU is blowing million of pounds of taxpayers' money on this campaign, given that Brussels is in the process of forcing through the Food Supplements Directive that will severely restrict the availability of hundreds of essential minerals and herbal remedies," says Marc Glendening of the UK-based Democracy Movement.

Mr Glendening objects to the EU's decision to allow the cultivation of genetically modified crops. In March 2010, it approved the growing of the Amflora potato, produced by BASF of Germany.
He accuses the EU of encouraging the extensive use of pesticides through the Common Agricultural Policy. He also points out that until 2008, it enforced marketing standards that prevented oddly-sized or misshapen fruit and vegetables being sold in Europe.
"The funding of this patronising 'eat organic' campaign is probably a cynical attempt to give the EU a veneer of being green-friendly," Mr Glendening asserts, "when in reality everybody knows big pharmaceutical companies and agri-business determine policy-making behind closed doors in Brussels."
Unanswered questions
Why should anyone spend their hard-earned cash on organic foods?

WHY BUY ORGANIC FOOD?

Natural/unprocessed - 40%
Restricted use of pesticides - 34%
Better taste - 30%
Better for health - 28%
Better for the planet - 25%
Kind to animals - 22%
GM free - 18%
Encourages wildlife - 16%
Helping climate change - 12%

Source: Soil Association

There is no hard scientific evidence that it is any better for our health than ordinary fruit and veg or meat and milk.

It is not an argument that sways Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University.
"There is no question that people who have habitually consumed organic foods have lower levels of pesticides in their blood," she says.
"If those pesticides are harmful, then they are going to have a lower risk of whatever harm those pesticides might cause," she maintains.
One problem is that there has never been any incontrovertible data on the effects of pesticides, mainly because such studies are so difficult to conduct.
"There is no reason to think that pesticides are good for people's health, but there may be plenty of reasons to think that they are not so good - so in that sense, having lower levels of pesticides seems like a really good idea," she says.
Fighting for market share
Surveys suggest that organics are losing ground to "fair trade" products, as ethical shoppers make difficult choices on how best to spend their money.
"With all our suppliers, we agree a price which is fair and exceeds the sustainable cost of production and a time scale with which everyone is happy to be paid within," says Anthony Pile of Blue Skies.
The agreements are reviewed with the supplier on an annual basis or as inflation dictates.
"While we aim to ensure that all our products are traded fairly, we also support established schemes like 'Fairtrade' and 'Ethical Trade Organic', which help to give producers in the developing world a better deal," he asserts.
The EU's intervention has been welcomed in many quarters, but many consumers these days feel that charity begins at home, since there is rather less of their own money to go round.
Paying a premium for organic produce might not be an option they can all afford.

mengele plus

Thursday 27 January 2011