Researchers Warn of Toxic Chemicals in Popular Vape Flavors

Toxic vaping

By RCSI 

New research has identified potentially harmful substances produced when e-liquids in vaping devices are heated for inhalation. Published in Scientific Reports, the study underscores the urgent need for public health policies addressing flavored vapes.

The research team at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, used artificial intelligence (AI) to simulate the effects of heating e-liquid flavor chemicals found in nicotine vapes. They included all 180 known e-liquid flavor chemicals, predicting the new compounds formed when these substances are heated within a vaping device immediately prior to inhalation.

The analysis revealed the formation of many hazardous chemicals including 127 which are classified as ‘Acute Toxic’, 153 as ‘Health Hazards’, and 225 as ‘Irritants’. Notably, these included a group of chemicals called volatile carbonyls (VCs) which are known to pose health risks. Sources for VCs were predicted to be the most popular fruit, candy, and dessert-flavored products.

Global life expectancy to increase by nearly 5 years by 2050 despite geopolitical, metabolic, and environmental threats

Hopefully, they'll be good years

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

The latest findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2021, published today in The Lancet, forecast that global life expectancy will increase by 4.9 years in males and 4.2 years in females between 2022 and 2050.

Increases are expected to be largest in countries where life expectancy is lower, contributing to a convergence of increased life expectancy across geographies. The trend is largely driven by public health measures that have prevented and improved survival rates from cardiovascular diseases, COVID-19, and a range of communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNs).

This study indicates that the ongoing shift in disease burden to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) -- like cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes -- and exposure to NCD-associated risk factors -- such as obesity, high blood pressure, non-optimal diet, and smoking -- will have the greatest impact on disease burden of the next generation.

GUILTY on all counts!

 

Trump unveils his new flag

June 8: Tomaquag Museum hosts Strawberry Thanksgiving

Learn Something New with DEM's Division of Fish and Wildlife

Summer Outdoor Fun

This summer, have some fun in the sun by attending an educational program with the Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW)! Connect with the outdoors and learn some new skills this summer; from fishing days to hunter education classes to guided walks, there’s something for everyone. Join DFW’s Aquatic Resource Education Program and Wildlife Outreach and Volunteer Program staff to learn, explore, and enjoy.

Most programs being offered this season are free of charge and open to families. A list of programs and registration information are listed below. For a complete list of up-to-date programs, click here.

Pets give companionship, cuddles and joy – and also unavoidable stresses

Companion animals command and deserve your care

Emily Hemendinger, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Frida and Joey. Photo by Will Collette

Owning a pet can be a roller coaster. There are the highs, like when your dog greets you with a full-body wiggle when you return home, or when your cat purrs loudly as you cuddle next to one another. 

Then there are the lows, like stressful trips to urgent care, waking up to that unpleasant vomiting noise, or making the difficult choice to say goodbye because of medical problems or even intractable behavioral issues.

For those pet-owners who are struggling, it’s beneficial to their mental health to acknowledge that pets can create stress and that some animals are more work than others.

Research has shown that both cats and dogs can have equally positive impacts on mental health.

Pets may be helpful at reducing stress, anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed, including in children. Pet ownership has also been shown to improve well-being by instilling people with a sense of purpose and responsibility.

As a licensed clinical social worker, animal lover and proud dog mom, I have both professionally and personally seen the mental health impacts of having animal companions.

Media stories commonly cover the positives of pet ownership. But the hardships and downsides of owning a pet are not discussed as often. For instance, while there are many positive aspects to pet ownership, some research is showing that pets may lead to exacerbated mental health concerns or even sleep issues.

Whether you’re adopting or shopping, pets can bring a full range of emotions into our lives. Research has even shown that pets may benefit non-pet owners around them as well.

Irresponsible Motorists Tear Up Dunes, Bird Nests for Fun

No justification

By Frank Carini / ecoRI News columnist

Driving on the beach, or in areas where dunes should be, is illegal in Rhode Island. This photo was taken May 8. (Frank Carini/ecoRI News)

Doughnuts, retied yellow rope, and sawed-off signposts mark where dunes and piping plover nests should rest, in peace. But thoughtless motorists, empowered by commercials that glamorize Jeeps pulverizing non-pavement space, treat the Quonochontaug Sand Trail, and the dunes and beach that run parallel with it, as their private racetrack.

The Sand Trail, 15 feet wide at best in some spots, runs along much of Quonochontaug Beach, one of the few remaining undeveloped barrier beaches in Rhode Island. This fragile stretch of sand runs nearly 2 miles between Spray Rock Road to the Breachway in Charlestown. 

It encompasses some 150 acres, which are largely privately owned — the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management owns some of the land at the tip that touches the Charlestown Breachway. It separates Quonochontaug Pond from the Atlantic Ocean, and is one of the Ocean State’s most beautiful coastal spots.

For those such as Westerly resident Michael Sands, “Quonnie Beach,” as the locals call it, is a tranquil coastal oasis whose ecological and social value easily exceeds its size.

This barrier beach is “a unique and special place for us all to enjoy,” according to the Nope’s Island Conservation Association (NICA). Sands is the nonprofit’s president. About 40% of the Quonochontaug coastal area is owned and protected by NICA. (Nope’s Island is a small island in Quonochontaug Pond that is home to a stand of trees.)

Motion denied

Oligarchs versus American workers

Building a better sarcasm detector

Oh really?

Acoustical Society of America

Image credit: This image was created with the assistance of DALL•E 3.

Oscar Wilde once said that sarcasm was the lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence. 

Perhaps that is due to how difficult it is to use and understand. Sarcasm is notoriously tricky to convey through text -- even in person, it can be easily misinterpreted. The subtle changes in tone that convey sarcasm often confuse computer algorithms as well, limiting virtual assistants and content analysis tools.

Xiyuan Gao, Shekhar Nayak, and Matt Coler of Speech Technology Lab at the University of Groningen, Campus Fryslân developed a multimodal algorithm for improved sarcasm detection that examines multiple aspects of audio recordings for increased accuracy.

Scientists want to know how the smells of nature benefit our health

What's that smell?

James Urton, UW News 

Spending time in nature is good for us. Studies have shown that contact with nature can lift our well-being by affecting  emotions, influencing  thoughts, reducing stress and improving physical health. 

Even brief exposure to nature can help. One well-known study found that hospital patients recovered faster if their room included a window view of a natural setting.

Knowing more about nature’s effects on our bodies could not only help our well-being, but could also improve how we care for land, preserve ecosystems and design cities, homes and parks. 

Yet studies on the benefits of contact with nature have typically focused primarily on how seeing nature affects us. There has been less focus on what the nose knows. That is something a group of researchers wants to change.

Magaziner Receives a Perfect Score on Alliance for Retired Americans’ Congressional Voting Scorecard

Seth’s record on seniors’ issues is perfect

During Older Americans Month, Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02) received a perfect score on the Alliance for Retired Americans’ Congressional Voting Record, which includes key votes on legislation to avoid government default, provide additional funding for the Social Security Administration and protect voting rights. 

“Older Americans have worked hard their entire lives, and they deserve to retire and age with dignity,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner. “I am proud to receive a perfect score from the Alliance for Retired Americans, and will continue to stand up for seniors and fight to protect the Social Security and Medicare benefits they have earned. Our country must ensure that those who have worked hard and contributed to our society are supported in their golden years.” 

View the full 2023 scorecard HERE. 

Sen. Whitehouse blasts corruption of the Court by oligarchs

Senator calls out history of ‘creepy billionaires meddling in the court’

By Walter Einenkel, Daily Kos Staff

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island spoke with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, giving a quick history lesson on how someone as corrupt as Samuel Alito could end up on the Supreme Court in the first place. 

"This goes way back. The person responsible for the appointment of Justice Alito was actually Leonard Leo, the operative of the Koch brothers and the creepy billionaires who have been meddling in the court,” Whitehouse explained. 

“You'll remember that [President George W.] Bush originally wanted to appoint his legal counsel, his friend, his fellow Texan, conservative, woman lawyer, to replace Sandra Day O'Connor—Harriet Miers,” he continued. “And he got attacked not by Democrats for that; he got attacked from these far-right billionaires. And he humiliatingly had to withdraw his own legal counsel’s nomination, and Leo produced the agreeable justice to the creepy billionaires: None other than Sam Alito.”

When Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced she was retiring in 2005, it was Leo and his Federalist Society who helped create a campaign to put Alito on the bench.

Arrrr!

Dave Coverly