Head and neck injury risks in heavy metal: head bangers stuck between rock and a hard bass

BMJ. 2008; 337: a2825
Published online Dec 17, 2008
doi:  10.1136/bmj.a2825

Declan Patton, research assistant
Andrew McIntosh, associate professor

School of Risk and Safety Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia 2052

Objective To investigate the risks of mild traumatic brain injury and neck injury associated with head banging, a popular dance form accompanying heavy metal music.

Design

Observational studies, focus group, and biomechanical analysis.

Participants

Head bangers.

Main outcome measures

Head Injury Criterion and Neck Injury Criterion were derived for head banging styles and both popular heavy metal songs and easy listening music controls.

Results

An average head banging song has a tempo of about 146 beats per minute, which is predicted to cause mild head injury when the range of motion is greater than 75°. At higher tempos and greater ranges of motion there is a risk of neck injury.

Conclusion

To minimise the risk of head and neck injury, head bangers should decrease their range of head and neck motion, head bang to slower tempo songs by replacing heavy metal with adult oriented rock, only head bang to every second beat, or use personal protective equipment.

http://www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a2825?view=long&pmid=19091761

Why Do Dolphins Carry Sponges?

PLoS ONE 3(12): e3868
Published: December 10, 2008
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003868

Janet Mann [1,2], Brooke L. Sargeant [1,3], Jana J. Watson-Capps [1,4], Quincy A. Gibson [1], Michael R. Heithaus [5], Richard C. Connor [6], Eric Patterson [1]

[1] Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington D. C., United States of America
[2] Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington D. C., United States of America
[3] Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, United States of America
[4] Department of Biology, Metropolitan State College of Denver, Denver, Colorado, United States of America
[5] Department of Biological Sciences, Marine Sciences Program, Florida International University, North Miami, Florida, United States of America
[6] Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States of America

Abstract

Tool use is rare in wild animals, but of widespread interest because of its relationship to animal cognition, social learning and culture. Despite such attention, quantifying the costs and benefits of tool use has been difficult, largely because if tool use occurs, all population members typically exhibit the behavior. In Shark Bay, Australia, only a subset of the bottlenose dolphin population uses marine sponges as tools, providing an opportunity to assess both proximate and ultimate costs and benefits and document patterns of transmission. We compared sponge-carrying (sponger) females to non-sponge-carrying (non-sponger) females and show that spongers were more solitary, spent more time in deep water channel habitats, dived for longer durations, and devoted more time to foraging than non-spongers; and, even with these potential proximate costs, calving success of sponger females was not significantly different from non-spongers. We also show a clear female-bias in the ontogeny of sponging. With a solitary lifestyle, specialization, and high foraging demands, spongers used tools more than any non-human animal. We suggest that the ecological, social, and developmental mechanisms involved likely (1) help explain the high intrapopulation variation in female behaviour, (2) indicate tradeoffs (e.g., time allocation) between ecological and social factors and, (3) constrain the spread of this innovation to primarily vertical transmission.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003868

Infants of mothers with persistent nipple pain exert strong sucking vacuums

Acta Paediatrica
Volume 97, Issue 9, pages 1205–1209, September 2008

Holly L McClellan [1], DT Geddes [1], JC Kent [1], CP Garbin [1], LR Mitoulas [2] and PE Hartmann [1]

[1]  School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences, M310, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia, 6009
[2] Medela AG, Medical Technology, Lättichstrasse 4b, Baar, Switzerland

Abstract

Aim: The objective of this study was to determine whether infants of mothers experiencing persistent nipple pain exerted very strong intraoral vacuums during a breastfeed.

Methods: Thirty mothers experiencing persistent pain during breastfeeding (Pain group; infants aged 49.4 ± 35.5 days) were compared to 30 successfully breastfeeding mothers (Control group; infants aged 55.0 ± 22.7 days). Infant intraoral vacuums were measured via a small milk-filled tube taped alongside the nipple and connected to a pressure transducer. Milk intake was measured using the test weigh method.

Results: Infants in the Pain group applied significantly stronger baseline (−90.8 ± 54.5 vs. −56.4 ± 31.4 mmHg, p = 0.004), peak (−214.3 ± 60.5 vs. 163.2 ± 62.4 mmHg, p = 0.002) and pause vacuums (−104.8 ± 67.9 vs. −45.8 ± 30.3 mmHg, p < 0.001). Despite similar active sucking times (377.5 ± 175.2 vs. 349.4 ± 184.0 sec, p = 0.554) the mean milk intake was significantly lower for infants of mothers with nipple pain (41.6 ± 31.3 vs. 70.7 ± 30.7 g, p = 0.001).

Conclusion: Infants of breastfeeding mothers experiencing persistent nipple pain applied significantly higher vacuum to the breast during breastfeeding despite assistance with positioning and attachment from a lactation consultant. Further investigation into the cause of the abnormally high vacuums is essential to develop successful interventions for these mother–infant dyads.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2008.00882.x/abstract

A woman's history of vaginal orgasm is discernible from her walk

The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Volume 5, Issue 9, pages 2119–2124, September 2008
DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.00942.x

Aurelie Nicholas MA [1], Stuart Brody PhD [2], Pascal De Sutter PhD [1] and François De Carufel PhD [3]

[1] Université Catholique de Louvain, Institut d'études de la famille et de la sexualité, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium;
[2] Division of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley PA1 2BE, UK;
[3] Unité de sexologie fonctionnelle, Hôpital Braine l'Alleud-Waterloo, Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium

The goddess was discovered by her gait.
(Virgil)

Introduction

Research has demonstrated the association between vaginal orgasm and better mental health. Some theories of psychotherapy assert a link between muscle blocks and disturbances of both character and sexual function. In Functional–Sexological therapy, one focus of treatment is amelioration of voluntary movement. The present study examines the association of general everyday body movement with history of vaginal orgasm.

Aim

The objective was to determine if appropriately trained sexologists could infer women's history of vaginal orgasm from observing only their gait.

Methods

Women with known histories of either vaginal orgasm or vaginal anorgasmia were videotaped walking on the street, and their orgasmic status was judged by sexologists blind to their history.

Main Outcome Measure

The concordance between having had orgasms triggered by penile–vaginal intercourse (not orgasm from direct clitoral stimulation) and raters' inferences of vaginal orgasm history based on observation of the woman's walk was the main outcome measure.

Results

In the sample of healthy young Belgian women (half of whom were vaginally orgasmic), history of vaginal orgasm (triggered solely by penile–vaginal intercourse) was diagnosable at far better than chance level (81.25% correct, Fisher's Exact Test P < 0.05) by appropriately trained sexologists. Clitoral orgasm history was unrelated to both ratings and to vaginal orgasm history. Exploratory analyses suggest that greater pelvic and vertebral rotation and stride length might be characteristic of the gait of women who have experienced vaginal orgasm (r = 0.51, P < 0.05).

Conclusions

The discerning observer may infer women's experience of vaginal orgasm from a gait that comprises fluidity, energy, sensuality, freedom, and absence of both flaccid and locked muscles. Results are discussed with regard to previous research on gait, the effect of the musculature on sexual function, the special nature of vaginal orgasm, and implications for sexual therapy.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.00942.x/full

Faces and Behinds: Chimpanzee Sex Perception

Advanced Science Letters
Volume 1, Number 1, June 2008 , pp. 99-103(5)

de Waal, Frans B. M.; Pokorny, Jennifer J

Abstract:

Six adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) trained on computerized matching-to-sample were shown a sample behind (anogenital region) of a chimpanzee and rewarded for selecting a corresponding facial image. If the two faces were of the same sex, and one belonged to the same individual as the behind, subjects made the correct association for familiar individuals but not unfamiliar ones, suggesting whole-body knowledge of group mates. If the two faces were of opposite sex, subjects selected the same-sex face as the behind at first only for familiar individuals when face and behind belonged to the same individual. During subsequent exposures, however, they learned to associate the same-sex face with the behind even if the behind was "generic" male or female (i.e., unmatched to any known individual) provided the depicted individuals were familiar. This suggests that sex perception is aided by a "gender construct" derived from firsthand experience with group mates, and which construct is unavailable for unfamiliar individuals.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asp/asl/2008/00000001/00000001/art00007

Novel Production Method for Plant Polyphenol from Livestock Excrement Using Subcritical Water Reaction [sic]

International Journal of Chemical Engineering
Volume 2008 (2008), Article ID 603957, 5 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2008/603957

Mayu Yamamoto, Yasuhiro Futamura, Kouki Fujioka, and Kenji Yamamoto

Department of Medical Ecology and Informatics, Research Institute, International Medical Center of Japan, Toyama 1-21-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8655, Japan

Received 8 February 2008; Accepted 14 May 2008

Academic Editor: Ram B. Gupta

Copyright © 2008 Mayu Yamamoto et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Plant polyphenol, including vanillin, is often used as the intermediate materials [sic] of the [sic] medicines and vanilla flavoring. In agriculture generally vanillin is produced from vanilla plant and in industry from lignin of disposed wood pulp. We have recently developed a method for the production of plant polyphenol with the excrement as a natural resource of lignin [sick], of the herbivorous animals, by using the [sic] subcritical water. The method for using the [sic] subcritical water is superior to that of the [sic] supercritical water because in the latter complete decomposition occurs. We have successfully produced the vanillin, protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid, and syringic acid in products [sic]. Our method is simpler and more efficient not only because it requires the shorter treatment time but also because it releases less amount [sic] of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Livestock excrement in Japan alone has been attained up to 40 000 tons per year, which recently has been one of the national major excrement management problems [sic]. Almost all farms are located close to residential areas in Japan, which enhances the hazard of water and soil pollution by the bad smell and by the onset of the potential infectious diseases. Therefore, we have to develop the method of disposing the excrement efficiently and safely.

[...]

The excrement of herbivorous animals, including cattle, goats, and horses (University of Miyazaki) and a carnivorous animal, tigers [sic] (Ueno Zoological Gardens, Tokyo, Japan), was used in our study. One-gram excrement and 4 mL were taken into the reactor, a stainless tube (SUS316) with the capacity of 5 mL. Then the reactor was heated up to the temperatures (and pressures) of 100°C, 150°C (0.6 MPa), 200°C (1.5 MPa), 250°C (3.9 MPa), and 300°C (8.3 MPa) each in the batch system. After treated for 60 minutes, the reactor was cooled down.

[...]

We have shown here in Figure 1(b) an HPLC profile of the products in the solution, which smells like coffee and cocoa powder, obtained from the cattle excrement at 200°C reaction.

[...]

Furthermore, the suitability, as food, of the excrement products obtained in our method is now being tested on animals [SICK! SICK! SICK!].

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijce/2008/603957/

Commercial Features of Placebo and Therapeutic Efficacy

JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association
March 5, 2008; 299(9): 1016-1017
doi:10.1001/jama.299.9.1016

Rebecca L. Waber, BS
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Baba Shiv, PhD
Stanford University
Stanford, California

Ziv Carmon, PhD
INSEAD
Singapore

Dan Ariely, PhD
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

To the Editor:
It is possible that the therapeutic efficacy of medications is affected by commercial features such as lower prices. Because such features influence patients’ expectations, they may play an unrecognized therapeutic role by influencing the efficacy of medical therapies, especially in conditions associated with strong placebo responses. To investigate this possibility, we studied the effect of price on analgesic response to placebo pills.

Author Contributions:
Dr Ariely had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.
Study concept and design: Waber, Shiv, Carmon, Ariely.
Acquisition of data: Waber.
Analysis and interpretation of data: Waber, Ariely.
Drafting of the manuscript: Waber, Shiv, Ariely.
Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Waber, Shiv, Carmon, Ariely.
Statistical analysis: Waber, Ariely.
Obtained funding: Ariely.
Administrative, technical, or material support: Waber.
Study supervision: Ariely.

Financial Disclosures:
None reported.

Additional Contributions:
Taya Leary, MS, Tom Pernikoff, BS, and John Keefe, BS, all with the Massachusetts Instituteof Technology at the time of this study, provided assistance in data collection. Mr Keefe received compensation for this role. Andrew Lippman, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, provided logistical support and Mark Vangel, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital, provided statistical assistance. Neither received compensation for these roles.

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=181562

Cardiovascular Events during World Cup Soccer

N Engl J Med
January 31, 2008; 358:475-483
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa0707427

Ute Wilbert-Lampen, M.D., David Leistner, M.D., Sonja Greven, M.S., Tilmann Pohl, M.D., Sebastian Sper, Christoph Völker, Denise Güthlin, Andrea Plasse, Andreas Knez, M.D., Helmut Küchenhoff, Ph.D., and Gerhard Steinbeck, M.D.

Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I, Campus Grosshadern, Germany

BACKGROUND:

Events that induce environmental stress in a large number of people in defined areas — such as earthquakes, war, and sporting events — may increase the risk of cardiovascular events. Reports of the association between soccer matches and rates of illness or death from cardiac causes have been controversial.

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup, held in Germany from June 9 to July 9, 2006, provided an opportunity to examine the relation between emotional stress and the incidence of cardiovascular events.

METHODS:

Cardiovascular events occurring in patients in the greater Munich area were prospectively assessed by emergency physicians during the World Cup. We compared those events with events that occurred during the control period: May 1 to June 8 and July 10 to July 31, 2006, and May 1 to July 31 in 2003 and 2005.

RESULTS:

Acute cardiovascular events were assessed in 4279 patients. On days of matches involving the German team, the incidence of cardiac emergencies was 2.66 times that during the control period (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.33 to 3.04; P<0.001); for men, the incidence was 3.26 times that during the control period (95% CI, 2.78 to 3.84; P<0.001), and for women, it was 1.82 times that during the control period (95% CI, 1.44 to 2.31; P<0.001). Among patients with coronary events on days when the German team played, the proportion with known coronary heart disease was 47.0%, as compared with 29.1% of patients with events during the control period. On those days, the highest average incidence of events was observed during the first 2 hours after the beginning of each match. A subanalysis of serious events during that period, as compared with the control period, showed an increase in the incidence of myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation by a factor of 2.49 (95% CI, 1.47 to 4.23), of myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation or unstable angina by a factor of 2.61 (95% CI, 2.22 to 3.08), and of cardiac arrhythmia causing major symptoms by a factor of 3.07 (95% CI, 2.32 to 4.06) (P<0.001 for all comparisons).

CONCLUSIONS:

Viewing a stressful soccer match more than doubles the risk of an acute cardiovascular event. In view of this excess risk, particularly in men with known coronary heart disease, preventive measures are urgently needed.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0707427

What Kind of Erotic Film Clips Should We Use in Female Sex Research? An Exploratory Study

The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Volume 5, Issue 1, pages 146–154, January 2008
DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2007.00641.x

Terri L. Woodard MD [1], Karen Collins MS, MA [1], Mindy Perez BA [1], Richard Balon MD [2], Manuel E. Tancer MD [2], Michael Kruger MS [1], Scott Moffat PhD [3] and Michael P. Diamond MD [1]

[1] Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3750 Woodward avenue Suite 200D Detroit, MI, USA 48201
[2] Department of Psychiatry, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
[3] The Gerontology Institute, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA

Introduction

Erotic film clips are used in sex research, including studies of female sexual dysfunction and arousal. However, little is known about which clips optimize female sexual response. Furthermore, their use is not well standardized.

Aims

To identify the types of film clips that are most mentally appealing and physically arousing to women for use in future sexual function and dysfunction studies; to explore the relationship between mental appeal and reported physical arousal; to characterize the content of the films that were found to be the most and least appealing and arousing.

Methods

Twenty-one women viewed 90 segments of erotic film clips. They rated how (i) mentally appealing and (ii) how physically aroused they were by each clip. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. The means of the mental and self-reported physical responses were calculated to determine the most and least appealing/arousing film clips. Pearson correlations were calculated to assess the relationship between mental appeal and reported physical arousal.

Main Outcome Measures

Self-reported mental and physical arousal.

Results

Of 90 film clips, 18 were identified as the most mentally appealing and physically arousing while nine were identified as the least mentally appealing and physically arousing. The level of mental appeal positively correlated with the level of perceived physical arousal in both categories (r = 0.61, P < 0.05 and r = 0.62, P < 0.05). The most appealing and physically arousing films tended to exhibit heterosexual behavior with vaginal intercourse. The least appealing and least physically arousing films tended to depict male homosexual behavior, fellatio, and anal intercourse.

Conclusions

Erotic film clips reliably produced a state of self-reported arousal in women. The most appealing and arousing films tended to depict heterosexual vaginal intercourse. Film clips with these attributes should be used in future research of sexual function and response of women.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2007.00641.x/