Medical Student Debt Tops ВЈ20,000, UK

The amount owed by the average final year medical student has topped ВЈ20,000 for the first time, the BMA revealed on Monday, 19 December, 2005.


Figures from the BMA's annual medical student finance survey show that students in the fifth year of medical school have an average debt of ВЈ20,172, and those in the final year of a six year course owe ВЈ22,365 - 17% more than last year.


The findings are based on questionnaires completed by 1,877 UK medical students between May and September 2005. Nearly all (92%) had a student loan, and around six in ten (59%) had an overdraft. One in five (19%) had a bank loan, the average size of which was ВЈ8,580 - up 12% on last year. Over two thirds (67%) had at least one credit card.


One respondent owed ВЈ55,000, over a hundred owed more than ВЈ30,000, and one in ten had debts in excess of ВЈ25,000.


The high debt levels are explained by the fact that medical students study for two or three years longer than those on other courses, have fewer opportunities to work part-time, and face additional expenses for books, travel to hospitals, and equipment such as stethoscopes.


The BMA is campaigning for the NHS bursaries currently available to some students at the end of their courses to be extended to all years. It has raised concerns that from next year students taking medicine as a second degree will have to pay top-up fees upfront.


Commenting on the survey results, Kirsty Lloyd, chair of the BMA's Medical Students Committee, said: "Making the grade as a doctor should be about talent, compassion and commitment, not on how much money you're prepared to borrow. On top of studying hard for five or six years, medical students are expected to take on these massive debts, and from next year those who have a first degree are also going to have to pay upfront top-up fees. The case for greater financial help for medical students is very clear."


The BMA believes that the high cost of studying medicine is one reason for the social imbalance among medical students - only one in eight (13%) of those surveyed came from a family where the main source of income was a blue collar job.


Andrew Pearson, deputy chair of the BMA's Medical Students Committee, said: "The average sixth year medical student now owes more than the basic annual salary of a newly qualified doctor. This is particularly worrying when you consider that junior doctors' take-home pay is falling and that medical unemployment is increasingly common. There's a lot of anxiety among medical students at the moment, and with top-up fees on the horizon, their financial pressures are going to get worse."


Click here to see the full survey.


THE BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

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Obesity Is No. 1 Health Concern For Kids In 2008

As children's waistlines continue to grow, so have concerns about childhood obesity.


According to a report released by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, childhood obesity is now the No. 1 health concern for kids in 2008, topping smoking and drug abuse. In 2007, childhood obesity ranked third among parents' top 10 overall health concerns for kids.


"The National Poll on Children's Health report clearly shows that adults in America are very concerned about the problem of childhood obesity and its causes," says Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the National Poll on Children's Health. "While recent studies have suggested that the childhood obesity epidemic may be leveling off, the results of this poll reveal that adults in the U.S. are still very much concerned about this issue."


The National Poll on Children's Health, which asked adults to rate 20 different health problems for children living in their communities, reveals that bullying also now ranks among the public's top concerns for children's health, ahead of teen pregnancy and alcohol abuse. Other new topics added to this year's list are Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and environmental toxins.


Also making the public's overall list of top 10 health concerns for kids in 2008: Internet safety, abuse and neglect, sexually transmitted infections, and lack of opportunities for physical activity for kids. The top 10 health concerns for 2007 that did not make this year's list: Motor vehicle accidents and school violence.


Top 10 overall health concerns for U.S. children in 2008


1. Childhood obesity. Thirty-five percent of adults ranked childhood obesity as their top overall health concern for children. In 2007, it was ranked No. 3. Although other research has shown that Hispanic youth are at greater risk for obesity, this problem was rated lower by Hispanic adults than white adults and black adults.


2. Drug abuse. Drug abuse is viewed as a bigger health concern among Hispanic adults (50 percent) than white adults (29 percent) and black (35 percent) adults. It also was more likely to be listed as a top health concern among adults with lower incomes.


3. Smoking. Ranked No. 1 in 2007, smoking now holds the No. 3 position in 2008, with 32 percent of U.S. adults rating it as a major overall health concern. Among Hispanic adults, however, smoking is still rated as the No. 1 health concern for kids (52 percent).


4. Bullying. New to this year's list, bullying was rated highly by both adults with and without children in their homes. Adults from middle-income households were more likely than adults with lower-income or higher-income households to rate bullying as big problem.


5. Internet safety. Adults with household incomes of $100,000 or more per year were more likely to view Internet safety as a big problem for children in their community. Overall, 27 percent of adults polled rated Internet safety as big health concern for kids.















6. Child abuse and neglect. This issue, which was ranked No. 10 in 2007, was rated as a top health concern for kids among 25 percent of adults polled.


7. Teen pregnancy. Black adults continue to rate teen pregnancy as the top health concern for youth in their community, with 35 percent reporting it's a major health concern compared with only 21 percent of white adults and 33 percent of Hispanic adults.


8. Alcohol abuse. For the 2008 poll, 23 percent of adults listed alcohol abuse as a health concern for kids. In 2007, alcohol abuse was ranked fourth overall.


9 (tie). Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. AD/HD, also new to this year's list, was a much greater concern among adults with low-income households than adults with middle-income and high-income households. Overall, 21 percent of adults polled rated it as a health concern for kids.
Sexually transmitted infection. Sexually transmitted infections among youths continue to be considered a big problem affecting children's health, with 21 percent of adults rating it as a top health concern. This issue also was ranked ninth in 2007.


10 (tie). Chemicals in the environment. The issue of environmental toxins was added to this year's list, largely due to concerns among Hispanic adults and adults with low-income households. More than 30 percent of Hispanic adults and 25 percent of adults in the lowest income group felt environmental toxins in their communities pose a threat to children's health.


Not enough opportunities for physical activity. "Having this issue among the 2008 top 10 health concerns underscores the importance placed on childhood obesity as a major problem in adults' minds," notes Davis. Nineteen percent of adults rated this issue as a top health concern.


Issues that did not rank among the top 10 overall health concerns, but were included in the National Poll on Children's Health include: driving accidents, depression, asthma, eating disorders, neighborhood safety, school violence, autism and suicide.


The National Poll on Children's Health also found that adults who did not have children in their households were more likely than parents to list drug abuse, smoking and tobacco use, Internet safety, and sexually transmitted infections as top health concerns. Additionally, adults from low-income households (less than $30,000 per year) viewed drug abuse, smoking and tobacco use, and teen pregnancy as the biggest health concerns for kids. Adults, however, with higher household incomes (more than $100,000 per year) were more likely to rate obesity, Internet safety and drug abuse as major issues.


"We found multiple difference in the priority of health problems for kids in the minds of adults by race, ethnicity, income or some other characteristic. What this tells us is that there is no 'one-size-fits-all' public health approach to these issues," says Davis, associate professor of general pediatrics and internal medicine at the U-M Medical School, and associate professor of public policy at the U-M Gerald R. Ford School of Public Health. "So as doctors, nurses and public health officials work to find ways to help their community deal with health issues, it's important that they remember to tailor their approach to the priorities of the community."


For its report, the National Poll on Children's Health used data from a national online survey conducted in April 2008 in collaboration with Knowledge Networks Inc. The survey was administered to a random sample of 2,064 adults, ages 18 and older, who are a part of Knowledge Network's online KnowledgePanelSM. The sample was subsequently weighted to reflect U.S. population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. About three-fourths of the sample were households with children.


For the complete report and podcast about poll results, visit the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health online at med.umich.edu/mott/npch.


The C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health funded by the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases and part of the CHEAR Unit at the U-M Health System is designed to measure major health care issues and trends for U.S. children.


To learn more about Knowledge Networks, visit knowledgenetworks.


University of Michigan Health System

2901 Hubbard St., Ste. 2400

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2435

United States

med.umich.edu

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Joimax(R) Goes HD, HD Technology For Superior Safety In Endoscopic Spinal Surgery

The 5th German Spine Congress (5. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Wirbelsaulengesellschaft (DWG)) will take place from 16 to 18 December 2010 at the Congress Centre in Bremen. joimax(R) is proud to present the innovative HD 5-in-1 complete system at their booth no.20: The C-Camsource(R)HD Twister offers state-of-the-art HD technology and works with both the joimax(R) HD endoscopes and HD flat screens producing an extremely precise and sharp picture and video imaging for endoscopic spinal surgery.


This is convincing technology for spinal surgery experts like Dr. Michael Schubert, Apex-Spine Center, Munich, Germany, or Dr. Ralf Wagner, Frankfurt, Germany: "High resolution like this allows very precise working and provides the necessary safety required when operating especially in the field of endoscopic spinal surgery." With this integrated combination of HD camera technique, HD endoscopes and HD flat screen monitors joimax(R) is the first manufacturer to offer a completely tuned and expandable HD system of highest imaging quality and picture resolution.


Both surgeons value the C-Camsource(R) HD Twister as a 5-in-1 system with its integrated xenon light source and picture rotation function: "There is optimal lighting at all times and with the Twister, image details can be zoomed in and rotated, and thanks to the imaging function and the diaphragm and mask function, optimal orientation in the operation area is possible."


The HD 5-in-1 complete system has also a text generator in order to document each step of the surgery and it offers direct and simple data storage on a USB data carrier. "It was important for us to offer the surgeon a perfectly coordinated as well as a safe complete system," says Wolfgang Ries, CEO and founder of joimax(R), "for the best possible treatment of patients without any compromises."


Advantages of the C-Camsource(R) HD-Twister complete system and the joimax(R) HD endoscopes



-- Best possible resolution due to High-Definition-Technology



-- First-class brightness, brilliance of the pictures due to optimal co-ordination of the endoscope, camera and screen as tuned system



-- Unique image rotation, zoom and picture movement function



-- As much system integration as sensible, possible and necessary



-- Functions for intuitive orientation, marking and documentation



Advantages of the HD flat screen monitors by joimax(R)



-- HD flat screen monitors in either 24" or 42" with an angle of 178 degrees for an exceptionally good view and safe operating



-- Brilliant images in high resolution: 1.920 x 1.080 pixels



-- Picture in picture function; size and position adjustable



-- Touch Control Panel, multi-language menu navigation


Source: joimax GmbH

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New Data On Fructose-Sweetened Beverages And Hepatic Metabolism

According to figures published by the World Health Organitzation (WHO), in the year 2015 some 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will suffer from obesity, a pathology which is increasingly being seen in children. In addition, for some time now the high incidence of obesity in developed countries has coincided with an increase in the consumption of beverages sweetened with fructose, a powerful sweetener. A team from the University of Barcelona (UB) has recently published a study in the journal Hepatology which provides clues to the molecular mechanism through which the fructose in beverages may alter lipid energy metabolism and cause fatty liver and metabolic syndrome.


The study was led by Dr Juan Carlos Laguna of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic Chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy, who is also the director of the research group "Nuclear receptors regulating energy metabolism as pharmacological targets", with the participation of NГєria Roglans, Laia VilГ , Mireia FarrГ©, Marta Alegret, Rosa M. SГЎnchez and Manuel VГЎzquez-Carrera.


This preclinical study published in Hepatology was carried out with laboratory rats receiving fructose- or glucose-sweetened liquid intake. No solid food was given. "The fructose in fruit has nothing to do with this study," stresses Professor Laguna. "Fruit is healthy and its consumption is strongly recommended. Our study focuses on liquid fructose intake as an addition to the ordinary diet."


Fructose is mainly metabolized in the liver, the target organ of the metabolic alterations caused by the consumption of this sugar. In this study, rats receiving fructose-containing beverages presented a pathology similar to metabolic syndrome, which in the short term causes lipid accumulation (hypertriglyceridemia) and fatty liver, and at later stages hypertension, resistance to insulin, diabetes and obesity.


The fructose used to sweeten beverages alters the lipid metabolism in the liver and, according to the authors, represents a calorie overload to which the body's metabolism is unable to adapt. Specifically, fructose increases fat synthesis in the liver and reduces its degradation through action on a specific nuclear receptor (PPARa), which controls fatty acid B-oxidation. "The most novel finding," says Laguna, "is that this molecular mechanism is related to an impairment in the leptin signal. Leptin is a hormone that plays a key role in the body's energy control; among its peripheral actions, it accelerates fat oxidation in the liver and reduces its synthesis."


The study shows that rats receiving beverages with fructose have an excess of leptin in blood. Curiously, though, the liver does not show the effects that one would expect in the presence of high levels of this hormone. It seems that the deficit in the degradation of the fatty acids in the liver may be related to the leptin resistance, which affects a transcription factor (Stat-3) involved in the signalling pathway of leptin in the liver and the hypothalamus. Nor were significant weight differences found between the rats drinking liquids with glucose or fructose, "possibly because this was a short-term experiment and there was no time to detect such changes," notes Professor Laguna.


Poorly balanced diets and the lack of physical exercise are key factors in the increase of obesity and other metabolic diseases in modern societies. In epidemiological studies in humans, the effect of the intake of fructose-sweetened beverages seems to be more intense in women. Professor Laguna's team intends to continue research on a variety of fronts: the study of the difference in response between sexes; the study of the molecular mechanisms of leptin resistance in the liver in rat models; experimental studies with hepatocyte cell cultures, and, further into the future, pilot studies of a fructose-rich diet in humans to find possible markers of metabolic alterations in blood cells.


UNIVERSIDAD DE BARCELONA

Gran Via Corts Catalanes, 585

08007 Barcelona

ub.edu/

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Palestinian And Israeli Scientists Unite To Help The Region

Israelis and Americans have been longtime friends and partners in scientific research. It's pretty much a given, that a newly awarded young doctorate will head to America to cut his or her teeth in a research fellowship, before launching a career in medicine, biology, or biotech.


Hoping to broaden the scientific horizons for Palestinian scientists too, despite the current war with Gaza, is a new science workshop that connects Israelis to their Palestinian neighbors, with a bigger purpose. It's a humanitarian effort, proposed by the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), the organization which last year awarded $15 million in research grants to joint projects in science between Israelis and Americans.


"These are not supposed to be conventional workshops where people talk about advances in science in their specialty," says Yair Rotstein, the executive director of the BSF. "We designed them around a topic of regional importance."


Water under the bridge


And what could be more important than water in a region where water is a limited resource? The first BSF-funded workshop took place recently in Haifa, where about 20 researchers, Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, Israeli Jews, and Americans -- tackled the problem of water scarcity and discussed new science that could address the growing lack of water in Israel, and the Middle East in general.


For four days in Haifa, the scientists met and discussed ways they could apply chemistry and their know-how to create a new solution for a joint research grant. Travel permits for the Palestinians were arranged by the BSF-appointed organizer, Uri Zoller, professor of chemistry, from the University of Haifa.


Since meeting, the scientists have drafted a proposal for funding from an international aid agency, Rotstein, who was at the workshop, is happy to report. The crisis with Gaza has not affected progress. "These are the first ever workshops of this kind," he says. "It's part of the general tendency to get people closer together to work in science."


Since Palestinian scientists are not eligible for grant money through the BSF, he says, the organization is giving them the know-how and Israeli partners instead, so that together they can co-apply for research grants to other agencies, such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).


"It's not just for science in general. We are aiming that the people will sit together and start to talk and prepare proposals for jointly submitted proposals on one of these [workshop] topics," Rotstein tells ISRAEL21c.


Tackling medical problems in Palestinian populations, together


Next up is a workshop in April, to deal with genetic diseases in the Palestinian communities, a problem given the high rate of intermarriage among Arabs in the region.


So far two additional proposals for workshops between the Palestinian and Israeli researchers are in the works, but there is no word yet if they will be funded, or what the topics will be. The estimated cost is about $50,000 per workshop.


Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of their scientific excellence, as well as on their broader significance. These workshops will focus on areas such as the environment, ecology, water, alternative sustainable energy, genetic diseases and infectious diseases.


What did he think of the last workshop? "It was very interesting, because the science is interesting for me," says Rotstein. And of course, the chance to get to meet Palestinians scientists, people with whom he rarely networks, was also significant.



US-Israel Binational Science Foundation



Source

israel21c

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Making Snack Food Choices: Are "Bad Intentions" Stronger Than "Good Intentions?"

People who are asked whether they would choose between a "good" snack and a "bad" snack might not follow their intentions when the snacks arrive. In an article in the September/October 2008 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Dutch researchers found that there is a substantial inconsistency between healthful snack choice intentions and actual behavior.


Participants were asked about their intentions in choosing among four snacks: an apple, a banana, a candy bar and a molasses waffle. About half of the participants indicated they would choose the apple or banana a "healthy" snack. But when presented, one week later, with the actual snacks, 27% switched to the candy bar or waffle. Over 90% of the unhealthy-choice participants stuck with their intentions and chose the unhealthy snack. The study included 585 participants who were office employees recruited in their worksite cafeterias.


Although intentions are often tightly linked to what people really do, it doesn't always work that way. One explanation is that intentions are usually under cognitive control while actual choices are often made impulsively, even unconsciously.


At times, the link between intentions and behavior is stronger. In healthy eating behavior, a strong positive attitude toward healthy eating, a high level of dietary restraint and regular consumption of healthy foods could increase the healthy intention-behavior consistency.


Investigator Pascalle Weijzen, Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, The Netherlands, comments that "a substantial gap between healthy snack choice intentions and actual behavior was demonstrated. Despite that gap, the results suggest that individuals who plan to make a healthful choice are more likely to do so than those who plan to make unhealthful choices. Because more than 50% of the population seems to have no intention at all of making a healthful choice, identifying tools by which this group can be motivated to choose a healthful snack is strongly needed."


The article is "Discrepancy Between Snack Choice Intentions and Behavior" by Pascalle L.G. Weijzen, MSc; Cees de Graaf, PhD; and Garmt B. Dijksterhuis, PhD. It appears in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Volume 40, Issue 5 (September/October 2008).


ELSEVIER

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elsevier

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Perth researchers receive national suicide prevention awards, Australia

Suicide prevention researcher Kate Miller has been recognised for her innovative work in developing safe, effective online resources for young people.


24 year old Kate is a project coordinator with the Ministerial Council for Suicide Prevention at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.


Kate has developed a unique Internet resource targeted at young people who access suicide prevention information or support through the Internet.


"The resource shows young people ways that they can safely access support and information on the Internet and how to respond and support email friends who are at-risk or have indicated their intent to harm themselves."


"It also examines the advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet for suicide prevention information and lists websites that provide credible sources of information such as Reachout," Ms Miller said.


Kate also is responsible for the website for the Ministerial Council for Suicide Prevention and developed the ASPiRE (Australian Suicide Prevention Information Resource Exchange) website, supported by Woodside Energy.


Professor Sven Silburn, who Chairs for the Ministerial Council for Suicide Prevention at the Institute, also received an Outstanding Contribution Award to acknowledge his major role in suicide prevention research in Australia.


The LiFe Awards are presented annually by Suicide Prevention Australia, a non-Government not-for-profit organisation committed to supporting the important initiatives undertaken by all those working in suicide prevention. (suicidepreventionaust)


Elizabeth Chester

61-409-988-530

Research Australia

researchaustralia.au

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