- How to avoid, identify and treat concussions
- Is exercise or medication better for depression? Experts weigh in
- Health care ‘game-changer’? Feds boost care for homeless Americans
- Malawi: Free internet in public facilities
- Anti-ageing molecule boosts fertility in ageing mice
- Milkshake neuroscience: how the brain nudges us toward fatty foods
How to avoid, identify and treat concussions
如何預防、辨別和治療腦震盪
Health
Doctors, researchers and laypeople have come a long way in the understanding of concussions. Once comic fodder depicted as cartoon characters seeing stars, the condition is finally getting the attention it deserves, with strict concussion protocols in place in amateur and professional organized sports. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a concussion happens after a “bump, blow, or jolt to the head” or “a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth.” Any of these sudden movements can cause “the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull,” “chemical changes in the brain” and/or the “stretching and damaging” of brain cells, the CDC says. The changes can lead to symptoms, such as feeling dizzy or disoriented in the moment, or longer-lasting issues with sleep, memory, learning and even personality changes.
--from CNN
醫生、研究人員和外行人對於腦震蕩的理解已經有很大的進展。曾經被描繪成卡通角色看到星星頭昏眼花的滑稽素材，如今，這一種疾病終於得到了它應有的關注，在業餘和職業體育組織中已經實施了嚴格的 預防腦震盪策略。 根據美國疾病控制與預防中心（CDC）的說法，腦震盪是指頭部遭受“撞擊、打擊或震動”，或者是“身體受到打擊，導致頭部和大腦迅速前後搖晃”。這些突然的運動可能導致“大腦在顱骨內跳動或扭曲”，引發“大腦內部的化學變化”以及對大腦細胞的“拉伸和損害”，CDC如此解釋。 這些變化可能導致一些症狀，如在當下感到頭暈或迷失方向，或者是伴隨著睡眠、記憶、學習乃至個性改變等更持久的問題。"
-- 摘錄翻譯自 CNN
Is exercise or medication better for depression? Experts weigh in
運動或藥物治療憂鬱症哪個比較好？ 專家現身說法
Health
When treating depression or anxiety, running may be just as effective as antidepressants, according to new research. But experts say the solution may not be so straightforward for every person. Because of the prevalence of depression and anxiety and the consequences on health, researchers from Amsterdam looked at the best way to mitigate these effects, and whether antidepressants or lifestyle intervention would have different effects on mental health as well as certain aspects of physical health. The research is the first “to compare effects of antidepressants with running exercises for anxiety, depression and overall health,” according to a news release for a study presented October 6 at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology’s annual conference. The study published earlier this year in the Journal of Affective Disorders. “Antidepressants are generally safe and effective. They work for most people,” said study coauthor Brenda Penninx, a professor of psychiatric epidemiology at Vrije University in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in a news release. “We know that not treating depression at all leads to worse outcomes, so antidepressants are generally a good choice. Nevertheless, we need to extend our treatment arsenal as not all patients respond to antidepressants or are willing to take them.”
-- from CNN
最新研究表明，在治療憂鬱或焦慮時，跑步可能與抗憂鬱藥物一樣有效。 但專家表示，解決方案對每個人來說可能沒那麼簡單。 由於憂鬱症和焦慮症的普遍存在及其對健康的影響，阿姆斯特丹的研究人員研究了減輕這些影響的最佳方法，以及抗憂鬱藥物或生活方式干預是否會對心理健康以及身體健康的某些方面產生不同的影響。 根據 10 月 6 日在歐洲神經精神藥理學學院年會上發表的一項研究的新聞稿，這項研究是第一個「比較抗憂鬱藥物與跑步運動對焦慮、憂鬱和整體健康的影響」。 這項研究於今年稍早發表在《情緒障礙期刊》上。 「抗憂鬱藥通常是安全有效的。 它們對大多數人都有效。」研究合著者、荷蘭阿姆斯特丹自由大學精神病流行病學教授布倫達·彭寧克斯 (Brenda Penninx) 在一份新聞稿中說道。 「我們知道，根本不治療憂鬱症會導致更糟糕的結果，因此抗憂鬱藥物通常是一個不錯的選擇。 儘管如此，我們需要擴大我們的治療手段，因為並非所有患者都對抗憂鬱藥物有反應或願意服用它們。”
--摘錄翻譯自CNN
Health care ‘game-changer’? Feds boost care for homeless Americans
醫療保健「遊戲規則改變」？ Feds加強對無家可歸的美國人的照顧
Culture
The Biden administration is making it easier for doctors and nurses to treat homeless people wherever they find them, from creekside encampments to freeway underpasses, marking a fundamental shift in how — and where — health care is delivered. Starting Oct. 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services began allowing public and private insurers to pay “street medicine” providers for medical services they deliver any place homeless people might be staying. Previously, these providers weren’t getting paid by most Medicaid programs, which serve low-income people, because the services weren’t delivered in traditional medical facilities, such as hospitals and clinics. The change comes in response to the swelling number of homeless people across the country, and the skyrocketing number of people who need intensive addiction and mental health treatment — in addition to medical care for wounds, pregnancy, and chronic diseases like diabetes.
--from CNN
拜登政府正在讓醫生和護士更容易治療無家可歸者，無論他們在哪裡找到他們，從溪邊營地到高速公路地下通道，這標誌著醫療保健提供方式和地點的根本性轉變。 從10 月1 日開始，醫療保險和醫療補助服務中心開始允許公共和私人保險公司向「街頭醫療」提供者支付醫療服務費用，這些醫療提供者在無家可歸者可能居住的任何地方提供醫療服務。 此前，大多數為低收入者服務的醫療補助計劃都沒有向這些提供者支付費用，因為這些服務不是在醫院和診所等傳統醫療設施中提供的。 這項改變是為了應對全國無家可歸者數量不斷增加，以及需要嚴重成癮和心理健康治療的人數激增——此外還需要針對傷口、懷孕和糖尿病等慢性疾病的醫療照護。
--摘錄翻譯自CNN
Malawi: Free internet in public facilities
Malawi：公共設施免費上網
Culture
In Blantyre City, southern Malawi, the lack of universal internet access created long-standing issues that could be felt everywhere, including in schools: Accessing teaching and learning materials was a major struggle for learners at public schools. But that is changing, as Malawian authorities decided to launch a free internet project three months ago, whereby public facilities like schools can now connect online for free, facilitating learning for students at no cost to them. Online access is no longer a luxury. "In the past, it was hard because most of the time it was difficult to [access the] internet at this school," a student at the Chichiri secondary school told DW. "But right now, we can get information through [the] internet." Another student said that having free internet has improved their understanding of lessons: "There are times [when] a teacher ... might not be able to explain something clear enough, and then we go on the internet and we search those things and get wider and clearer information on that topic."
--from Deutsche Welle
在Malawi南部的Blantyre City，缺乏普遍的網路存取造成了到處都可以感受到的長期問題，包括在學校：取得教學學習材料是公立學校學習者面臨的主要困難。 但這種情況正在發生變化，Malawi當局在三個月前決定啟動一個免費互聯網項目，學校等公共設施現在可以免費連接網絡，為學生學習提供便利方式。 線上存取不再是一種奢侈。 Chichiri中學的一名學生告訴Deutsche Welle：“過去，這很困難，因為大多數時候這所學校很難接入互聯網。” “但現在，我們可以通過互聯網獲取信息。” 另一位學生表示，擁有免費的互聯網提高了他們對課程的理解：「有時，老師……可能無法足夠清楚地解釋一些事情，然後我們上網搜索這些內容並得到結果關於該主題的更廣泛、更清晰的訊息。
--摘錄翻譯自Deutsche Welle
Anti-ageing molecule boosts fertility in ageing mice
抗衰老分子可提高老化小鼠的生育能力
Sciences
Declining fertility in older mice has been reversed by giving the animals a compound already found in most living cells. The process also causes them to produce larger litters. The findings, published today in Nature Aging, offer clues that could aid the development of treatments for humans with fertility issues. The chances of falling pregnant — naturally or with assistive technology such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) — become slimmer with age. This can be traced to reproductive cells in the ovaries called oocytes, which deteriorate and decrease in number throughout life. A molecule called spermidine — first isolated from sperm but now known to have functions in many types of cell — has been shown to lengthen lifespan in yeast, flies, worms and human immune cells. Increased dietary intake of spermidine has also been linked with reduction of age-related problems in laboratory animals, including cardiovascular disease in mice and cognitive decline in fruit flies. But its effects on ageing oocytes were unclear. The latest study uncovers the molecule’s potential to address major hurdles in reproductive medicine, says Alex Polyakov, a fertility specialist at the University of Melbourne in Australia. “This research is undeniably groundbreaking.”
--from Nature
透過提供一種在大多數活細胞中都存在的化合物，可以逆轉老年小鼠生育能力下降的情況。 這個過程也會導致它們產下更多的幼鼠。 今天發表在《Nature Aging》期刊上的研究結果提供了線索，可以協助開發針對具有生育問題人類的治療方法。 隨著年齡的增長，自然懷孕或透過體外受精 (IVF) 等輔助技術懷孕的機會越來越小。 這問題可以追溯到卵巢中稱為卵母細胞的生殖細胞，他們在一生會隨著時間會老化並減少數量。 一種名為亞精胺(spermidine)的分子最初是從精子中分離出來的，但現在已知它在多種類型的細胞中具有功能，已被證明可以延長酵母、果蠅、蠕蟲和人類免疫細胞的壽命。 增加亞精胺的飲食攝取量也與實驗動物老化相關問題的減少有關，包括小鼠的心血管疾病和果蠅的認知能力下降。 但它對老化卵母細胞的影響尚不清楚。 澳洲墨爾本大學的生育專家亞歷克斯·波利亞科夫（Alex Polyakov）表示，最新的研究揭示了該分子解決生殖醫學主要障礙的潛力。 “這項研究無疑是開創性的。”
--摘錄翻譯自Nature
Milkshake neuroscience: how the brain nudges us toward fatty foods
奶昔神經科學：大腦如何促使我們吃高脂肪食物
Sciences
Rich, high-fat foods such as ice cream are loved not only for their taste, but also for the physical sensations they produce in the mouth — their ‘mouthfeel’. Now scientists have identified a brain area that both responds to the smooth texture of fatty foods and uses that information to rate the morsel’s allure, guiding eating behaviour. These findings, published on 16 October in The Journal of Neuroscience, “add a new dimension” of the eating experience to scientists’ understanding of what motivates people to choose certain foods, says Ivan de Araujo, a neuroscientist at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, who was not involved in the study. To explore how food textures influence eating habits, Fabian Grabenhorst, a neuroscientist at the University of Oxford, UK, and his colleagues set out to quantify the mouthfeel of fatty foods. The authors prepared several milkshakes with varying fat and sugar contents and placed a sample of each between two pig tongues procured from a local butcher. The researchers then slid the tongues across each other and measured the amount of friction between the two surfaces, providing a numerical index of each shake’s smoothness. The researchers then gave 22 participants milkshakes with the same compositions as those tested on the pig tongues. After tasting each milkshake, participants placed bids on how much they would spend to drink a full glass of it after the experiment. Accompanying brain scans showed that activity patterns in an area called the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which is involved in reward processing, reflected the shakes’ texture. The scans also identified OFC activity patterns that reflected participants’ bids, suggesting that this brain region links mouthfeel to the value placed on that food.
--from Nature
冰淇淋等富含脂肪的食物深受人們喜愛，不僅因為它們的味道，還因為它們在嘴裡產生的身體感覺——它們的「口感」。 現在，科學家發現了一個大腦區域，它既能對富含脂肪食物的光滑質地做出反應，又能利用這些資訊來評估食物的吸引力，從而指導飲食行為。 這些研究結果發表在10月16日出版的《The Journal of Neuroscience》上，位於德國Tübingen的 the Max Planck Institute生物控制研究所的神經科學家Ivan de Araujo說，這些發現為科學家對人們選擇特定食物的動機有了一個新的維度，他並沒有參與這項研究 為了探索食物質地如何影響飲食習慣，英國牛津大學的神經科學家 Fabian Grabenhorst 和他的同事開始量化脂肪食物的味道。 作者準備了幾種脂肪和糖含量不同的奶昔，並將每種奶昔的樣本放在從當地屠夫購買的兩個豬舌頭之間。 然後，研究人員將舌頭相互滑動，測量兩個表面之間的摩擦力，從而提供每次奶昔平滑度的數字指數。 然後，研究人員給了 22 名參與者與豬舌頭測試成分相同的奶昔。 品嚐完每種奶昔後，參與者對實驗結束後願意花多少錢喝一整杯奶昔進行出價。 隨附的腦部掃描顯示，參與獎勵處理的眶額皮質（OFC）區域的活動模式反映了奶昔的質地。 掃描還識別出反映參與者出價的 OFC 活動模式，表明該大腦區域將口感與食物的價值聯繫起來。
--摘錄翻譯自Nature