Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/cBpHzNpoSQ8

The CPSC and the Kids2 company are again recalling all models of Kids2 Rocking Sleepers.  Infants have died in these sleepers after rolling from their back onto their stomachs or sides while unattended and unrestrained.  This product was initially recalled in April, 2019.  Eleven deaths occurred before the initial recall and 4 deaths have occurred since.  About 694,000 of these sleepers were sold nationwide at retail stores including Walmart, Target, Toys “R” Us and online.  If you bought one of these sleepers, received one as a gift, or picked one up at a street fair sale, immediately stop using it.  Contact Kids2 toll-free at 1-866-869-7954 or visit the website Rocking Sleeper recall  or www.kids2.com in order to obtain a refund.  It is illegal to sell or resell these dangerous sleepers.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2023/Kids2-Reannounces-Recall-of-694-000-Rocking-Sleepers-Four-Additional-Deaths-After-Recall

#kids2 #infant #sleeper #death #asphyxiation #recall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/dMtshy-Enpc

The CPSC and Fisher-Price are reannouncing their recall of all models of Rock ‘n Play Sleepers.  Infants have died in these sleepers after rolling from their backs onto their stomachs or sides while unattended and unrestrained.  This product was initially recalled in April, 2019 at which time the product had been implicated in 30 infant deaths.  Since then, an additional 70 deaths have occurred even though the product is no longer being sold.  About 4.7 million of these Rock ’n Play sleepers were sold nationwide at Walmart, Target, and online at Amazon.com.  If you bought one of these sleepers, received one as a gift, or picked one up at a street fair sale, immediately stop using it.  Contact Fisher-Price online at Rock 'n Play recall  or www.mattel.com or call the company at 1-866-812-6518 in order to obtain a refund.  It is illegal to sell or resell these dangerous sleepers.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2023/Fisher-Price-Reannounces-Recall-of-4-7-Million-Rock-n-Play-Sleepers-At-Least-Eight-Deaths-Occurred-After-Recall

#fisherprice #infant #sleeper #death #asphyxiation #recall

Vidcast:   https://youtu.be/5BSrVdRvSwM

A wireless earphone called Breeze that plays brain wave synchronized patterns of static and dynamic stereophonic beats has the ability to lull you into sleep or drive an already sleeping subject into ever deeper sleep.  LG Electronics manufacturers the earphone pair that it developed in collaboration with the SleepWave company.

The device has 80 built-in rhythms and modifies the frequency of presentation according to the user’s sleep level as determined by wearable EEG sensors.  The earphone output and all wearer data are controlled by a smartphone app that also uses data from a person’s daytime activities to drive their sleep once the sun goes down.

https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/asia/lg-electronics-unveils-wireless-earphone-get-people-deep-sleep

#sleep #breeze #lg #sleepwave #insomnia

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/nTOVVYNmKJM

Strands of hair can provide a linear record of a child’s exposures to a variety of environment chemicals.  LinusBio is a New York City Mt. Sinai Hospital spinoff that has developed a process to do just that using mass spectrometry techniques.  Company investigators in collaboration with hospital pediatricians and psychologists report the use of this technology and a derived algorithm for prospective studies of 486 children followed from age 1 to 4 years.  While the LinusBio system is only an adjunct to diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder, it did predict that diagnosis with an 81% accuracy 96% sensitivity and 75% specificity.  An excellent beginning.

https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/23/7154

#autism #asd #elementalmetabolism #hair #massspectroscopy #linusbio 

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/re9BTORSIPk

That’s the question being posed by Georgia Institute of Technology biomechanical neuroscientists as they use their studies of cat locomotion and balance to better understand how the human motor system operates in health and following paralyzing injury.  Collaborating with colleagues in Philadelphia and Canada, they have developed models of human cortical and spinal cord sensory and motor networks.  Understanding these systems may one day permit the construction of electronic nervous systems capable of replacing or enhancing damaged biological ones.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/01/230109191639.htm

#cats #spinalcord #locomotion #paralysis

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/zBJedxeQp5o

A pill that will someday literally jet propel insulin into the stomach lining is now announced by Chinese bioengineers.  The multilayered ingestible starts with a magnesium core that vigorously bubbles when exposed to stomach acid.  A layer of insulin is electrostatically coated on the core and is, in turn, covered with an outer covering of esterified starch the governs the controlled release of the insulin.  The pill micro fragments penetrate not only the stomach linings but travel further into the intestines permitting blood glucose control for at least 5 hours.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.2c07953

#insulin #pill #micromotor #extendedrelease

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/f3bX9VoCMoY

Infections about prosthetic hip and knee joints are particularly difficult to tame.  One promising approach to this problem is now announced by Chinese bioengineers.  By combining hyaluronic acid, ionic silver, and black phosphorous, they created an hydrogel that is easily injected around joint prostheses and inhibits bacterial growth and troublesome inflammation while promoting healing.  This gel’s antibacterial properties, activated by its exposure to near infrared light, are powerful enough to kill the nasty Staphylococcus aureus.

https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0121241

#hydrogel #silver #phosphorous #joint #prothesis #infection #staph

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/w54wfwoCNiQ

Those with a strong handgrip have a 26% lower risk of depression as years go by.  This the conclusion after a study of 115,600 older Europeans living in 24 different countries over a 7 year period.  

The investigators found a dose-response relationship between handgrip power and risk of depression for both men and women.  The association seemed somewhat stronger for women than for men. 

The association may be due to the fact that physical strength is an indicator of an overall level of health and well-being.  Then too, those who firmly grip the hands of those they meet is an indication of a positivity that cascades through through their social and work lives.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/doseresponse-association-of-handgrip-strength-and-risk-of-depression-a-longitudinal-study-of-115-601-older-adults-from-24-countries/5D9FF0D78CF22036C3F4FF2A593F8F64

#handgrip #strength #depression #positivity

VidCast:  https://youtu.be/3_eVP2N-rcU

Those regularly consuming almonds in advance of unexpected, sudden vigorous exercise report less fatigue and muscle soreness as well as better leg and back strength. North Carolina investigators report this association following their randomized study of 64 middle aged men and women.

The experimental group ate 57 grams of almonds daily for one month before the 90 minute exercise challenge while the controls ate fiber bars.  The almond-eater’s reduced pain and suffering was associated with 69% higher muscle levels of agents that stimulate faster metabolic recovery.  The investigators attribute this phenomenon to the polyphenols in almond skins.

So, do exercise consistently.  To minimize the pain associated with planned and unplanned physical exertion, empty those jars of almonds.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.1042719/full

#almonds #exercise #pain #soreness #polyphenols

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/3UWbVHPkBqU

The American Academy of Pediatrics is now out with its first advice in 15 years for parents of obese adolescents and the medical teams that care for them.  That advice is to attack obesity aggressively by offering medications to those 12 years and over and by considering bariatric, that is weight loss, surgery for those at least 13 years of age.

Kids exceeding the 95th percentile of those of the same age and gender for weight are considered obese, and some 20% of US adolescents meet that worrisome threshold.  This degree of overweight warrants more than lifestyle changes.

The good news is that we now have effective drugs such as semaglutide and a series of safe surgical procedures to effectively jumpstart weight reduction while clinician teams identify and initiate therapy for underlying medical and psychologic issues driving the weight issue.  The important element is a new aggressiveness in getting those pounds off.

https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/doi/10.1542/peds.2022-060640/190443/Clinical-Practice-Guideline-for-the-Evaluation-and?autologincheck=redirected

#pediatrics #obesity #semaglutide #bariatric #surgery #psychology