AIST Develops 'Intelligent' Electronic Wheelchair

JCNnetwork reports that National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), in collaboration with the National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, has developed an electronic wheelchair with a 360-degree camera that leaves no blind spots.

The 'intelligent' wheelchair prevents collision and bumps by gathering 3D information on the surrounding area in real time. It also detects irregular gestures and posture of the person on the wheelchair, stopping promptly and sending out an external emergency message when it senses something unusual.
After digging around for more info and photos, I found that PINK Tentacle, also has an article and through his article I landed on the AIST site. The site has more information together with some videos of the chair in operation. If you know Japanese, go to AIST site or if your Japanese is not that good! you can go to this google translated site.

AIST Develops 'Intelligent' Electronic Wheelchair

JCNnetwork reports that National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), in collaboration with the National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, has developed an electronic wheelchair with a 360-degree camera that leaves no blind spots.

The 'intelligent' wheelchair prevents collision and bumps by gathering 3D information on the surrounding area in real time. It also detects irregular gestures and posture of the person on the wheelchair, stopping promptly and sending out an external emergency message when it senses something unusual.
After digging around for more info and photos, I found that PINK Tentacle, also has an article and through his article I landed on the AIST site. The site has more information together with some videos of the chair in operation. If you know Japanese, go to AIST site or if your Japanese is not that good! you can go to this google translated site.

Air travel spreads Flu, research concludes.

Reduced airplane travel in the wake of 9/11 attacks has been found to have led to a delay in the 2001-2002 flu season, according to research conducted in the U.S. This confirms the oft-quoted theory that air travel will aid in the spread a bird flu pandemic.
John Brownstein of the Children's Hospital Informatics Program at the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program, who led the study said for the first time researchers have been able to show, using real data, that air travel spreads the flu, suggesting that reducing the number of air passengers could possibly thwart a flu pandemic.
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Hunger Craving bothering you? Get more protein, British researchers says!

Hunger craving

snippet by PAUL TAYLOR

Many people fail to stick with a weight-loss diet partly because they constantly feel hungry. But a new study suggests eating more protein can actually help dampen the desire to eat.

British researchers found that eating a high-protein meal boosts production of a gut hormone known as PYY that leads to feelings of satiation, according to the study published in Cell Metabolism.

In some respects, the study may partly explain why the Atkins diet helped some people lose weight. But the researchers are quick to point out that their proposed diet is very different from one advanced by Robert Atkins.

"The Atkins diet is primarily a low-carbohydrate diet. As a consequence of reducing carbs, it also tends to have increased protein and increased fat," including potentially harmful saturated fat, said lead researcher Rachel Batterham of University College London.

"The diet we are suggesting would be low-fat, increased protein and still have plenty of carbs," she said in an e-mail interview.

She noted the typical "Western" diet derives 49 per cent of its energy from carbs, 35 per cent from fat and 16 per cent from protein.

"We need to do trials to look at the optimum amount of protein needed, but this may be as little as 20 per cent."

She also pointed out that meat isn't the only source of beneficial protein. "Any type of protein" will trigger the release of the appetite-dampening hormone YYP, she said. "Protein from soy, whey, tofu, nuts is just as effective [as meat]."

But even with more protein, dieters can't escape a law of nutrition. "In order to lose weight, people need to reduce their calorie intake and [or] increase their exercise."

Read more of PAUL TAYLOR's articles here.

Cigarette's nicotine content raised over the years, on the sly!

This week, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health revealed that from 1998 through 2004, as public health campaigns were mounted to curb smoking, the manufacturers increased the amount of addictive nicotine delivered to the average smoker by 10 percent. Of 179 cigarette brands tested in 2004, an astonishing 166 brands fell into the state’s highest nicotine yield range, including 59 brands that the manufacturers had labeled “light” and 14 described as “ultra-light.” The three most popular brands chosen by young smokers — Marlboro, Newport and Camel — all delivered significantly more nicotine as the years passed. Virtually all brands were found to deliver a high enough nicotine dose to cause heavy dependence.
read more at Newyork Times.......

Fountains in San Jose, CA lost to cryptosporidium parasite.

San Jose Mercury New reports that, Health officials across the Bay Area acknowledged Friday that public fountains are not inspected for the dangerous microbes that sickened at least seven people who played in the water at San Jose's Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
A day after San Jose announced the closure of the popular downtown water feature because the city cannot assure its safety, it became clear that dozens of fountains in at least four counties are also falling through the regulatory cracks. And officials promised to move swiftly to close the gap -- although it is not clear what they need to do or how long it will take.
If you like bay area fountains or if you have kids who wants to play in those public fountains (who does not?) read the full article here.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologist Dr. Michael Beach compared the water in the fountain to communal bathing water. He said the fountains are just like swimming pools.
``We've got a number of Cryptosporidium outbreaks going on across the country,'' he said.
In Alameda County, supervising environmental-health specialist Cynthia Bartus Jepsen said the latest outbreak will cause her agency, which has no records of fountains, to be far more proactive.
``Sometimes these parks install fountains and because there's no requirement for them to have a permit, we don't know about it,'' she said.