Is 27 really a dangerous age for famous musicians? Retrospective cohort study

BMJ. 2011 Dec 20;343:d7799
doi: 10.1136/bmj.d7799
(Published 20 December 2011)

Martin Wolkewitz, statistician [1], Arthur Allignol, statistician [1], Nicholas Graves, health economist [2], and Adrian G Barnett, statistician [2]

[1] Freiburg Center of Data Analysis and Modelling, University of Freiburg and Institute of Medical Biometry and Medical Informatics, University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany
[2] Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation and School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia

OBJECTIVE:

To test the "27 club" hypothesis that famous musicians are at an increased risk of death at age 27. Design Cohort study using survival analysis with age as a time dependent exposure. Comparison was primarily made within musicians, and secondarily relative to the general UK population.

SETTING:

The popular music scene from a UK perspective.

PARTICIPANTS:

Musicians (solo artists and band members) who had a number one album in the UK between 1956 and 2007 (n = 1046 musicians, with 71 deaths, 7%).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

Risk of death by age of musician, accounting for time dependent study entry and the number of musicians at risk. Risk was estimated using a flexible spline which would allow a bump at age 27 to appear.

RESULTS:

We identified three deaths at age 27 amongst 522 musicians at risk, giving a rate of 0.57 deaths per 100 musician years. Similar death rates were observed at ages 25 (rate = 0.56) and 32 (0.54). There was no peak in risk around age 27, but the risk of death for famous musicians throughout their 20s and 30s was two to three times higher than the general UK population.

CONCLUSIONS:

The 27 club is unlikely to be a real phenomenon. Fame may increase the risk of death among musicians, but this risk is not limited to age 27.

http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d7799?view=long&pmid=22187325

Leaning to the Left Makes the Eiffel Tower Seem Smaller - Posture-Modulated Estimation

Psychological Science
December 2011 vol. 22 no. 12 1511-151
Version of Record - Dec 8, 2011

Anita Eerland, Tulio M. Guadalupe and Rolf A. Zwaan

Psychology Institute, Faculty of Social Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract

In two experiments, we investigated whether body posture influences people’s estimation of quantities. According to the mental-number-line theory, people mentally represent numbers along a line with smaller numbers on the left and larger numbers on the right. We hypothesized that surreptitiously making people lean to the right or to the left would affect their quantitative estimates. Participants answered estimation questions while standing on a Wii Balance Board. Posture was manipulated within subjects so that participants answered some questions while they leaned slightly to the left, some questions while they leaned slightly to the right, and some questions while they stood upright. Crucially, participants were not aware of this manipulation. Estimates were significantly smaller when participants leaned to the left than when they leaned to the right.

http://pss.sagepub.com/content/22/12/1511

Devices, systems and methods using magnetic force systems affecting the tongue or hyoid muscles in the upper airway

United States Patent 8,020,560
Issue Dt: 09/20/2011

Inventors
Joe Paraschac, Ryan P. Boucher, Edward M. Gillis, Octavian Iancea, Andrew W. Kramer, Brian K. McCollum, Scott A. McGill, Lionel M. Nelson, Andres D. Tomas

Assignee   
Apneon, Inc.
20813 Stevens Creek Blvd.
Suite 100
Cupertino, California 95014

Original Assignee
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Groenewoudseweg 1
5621 BA Eindhoven
Netherlands

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for resisting posterior movement of the tongue during sleep, thereby keeping an airway open. The systems and methods employ a first structure that can be placed either in or on a tongue within an oral cavity and/or in a region of hyoid muscle. The first structure includes a ferromagnetic material. The systems and methods employ a second structure that can be placed either in or on external tissue outside the oral cavity and/or in or on external tissue outside the oral cavity in a desired relationship with the first structure. The second structure includes a magnetic material that magnetically interacts with the ferromagnetic material by attracting the ferromagnetic material, thereby resisting posterior movement of the tongue.

http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=US&NR=8020560B2&KC=B2&FT=D

http://assignments.uspto.gov/assignments/q?db=pat&pat=8020560

A Single Exposure to the American Flag Shifts Support Toward Republicanism up to 8 Months Later

Psychological Science
August 2011 vol. 22 no. 8 1011-1018
Version of Record - Aug 16, 2011
doi: 10.1177/0956797611414726

Travis J. Carter [1], Melissa J. Ferguson [2] and Ran R. Hassin [3]

[1] Center for Decision Research, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, C74 Harper Center, Chicago, IL 60637
[2] Department of Psychology, 230 Uris Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
[3] Department of Psychology and The Center for the Study of Rationality, Hebrew University

Abstract

There is scant evidence that incidental cues in the environment significantly alter people’s political judgments and behavior in a durable way. We report that a brief exposure to the American flag led to a shift toward Republican beliefs, attitudes, and voting behavior among both Republican and Democratic participants, despite their overwhelming belief that exposure to the flag would not influence their behavior. In Experiment 1, which was conducted online during the 2008 U.S. presidential election, a single exposure to an American flag resulted in a significant increase in participants’ Republican voting intentions, voting behavior, political beliefs, and implicit and explicit attitudes, with some effects lasting 8 months after the exposure to the prime. In Experiment 2, we replicated the findings more than a year into the current Democratic presidential term. These results constitute the first evidence that nonconscious priming effects from exposure to a national flag can bias the citizenry toward one political party and can have considerable durability.

http://pss.sagepub.com/content/22/8/1011

No evidence of contagious yawning in the red-footed tortoise Geochelone carbonaria

Current Zoology (formerly Acta Zoologica Sinica), 2011, 57(4): 477 - 484

Anna Wilkinson [1,2], Natalie Sebanz [3], Isabella Mandl [1], Ludwig Huber [1]

[1] Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, Vienna, 1090, Austria
[2] Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, LN2 2LG, UK
[3] Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognition, Radboud, University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Abstract:

Three hypotheses have attempted to explain the phenomenon of contagious yawning. It has been hypothesized that it is a fixed action pattern for which the releasing stimulus is the observation of another yawn, that it is the result of non-conscious mimicry emerging through close links between perception and action or that it is the result of empathy, involving the ability to engage in mental state attribution. This set of experiments sought to distinguish between these hypotheses by examining contagious yawning in a species that is unlikely to show nonconscious mimicry and empathy but does respond to social stimuli: the red-footed tortoise Geochelone carbonaria. A demonstrator tortoise was conditioned to yawn when presented with a red square-shaped stimulus. Observer tortoises were exposed to three conditions: observation of conditioned yawn, non demonstration control, and stimulus only control. We measured the number of yawns for each observer animal in each condition. There was no difference between conditions. Experiment 2 therefore increased the number of conditioned yawns presented. Again, there was no significant difference between conditions. It seemed plausible that the tortoises did not view the conditioned yawn as a real yawn and therefore a final experiment was run using video recorded stimuli. The observer tortoises were presented with three conditions: real yawn, conditioned yawns and empty background. Again there was no significant difference between conditions. We therefore conclude that the red-footed tortoise does not yawn in response to observing a conspecific yawn. This suggests that contagious yawning is not the result of a fixed action pattern but may involve more complex social processes.

Keywords:

Reptile, Contagious yawn, Empathy, Nonconscious mimicry, Fixed action pattern

http://www.currentzoology.org/paperdetail.asp?id=11922

Traumatic brain injuries in illustrated literature: experience from a series of over 700 head injuries in the Asterix comic books

Acta Neurochirurgica
June 2011, Volume 153, Issue 6, pp 1351-1355

Marcel A. Kamp, Philipp Slotty, Sevgi Sarikaya-Seiwert, Hans-Jakob Steiger, Daniel Hänggi

Department for Neurosurgery, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Moorenstraße 5, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany

Background

The goal of the present study was to analyze the epidemiology and specific risk factors of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the Asterix illustrated comic books. Among the illustrated literature, TBI is a predominating injury pattern.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of TBI in all 34 Asterix comic books was performed by examining the initial neurological status and signs of TBI. Clinical data were correlated to information regarding the trauma mechanism, the sociocultural background of victims and offenders, and the circumstances of the traumata, to identify specific risk factors.

Results

Seven hundred and four TBIs were identified. The majority of persons involved were adult and male. The major cause of trauma was assault (98.8%). Traumata were classified to be severe in over 50% (GCS 3–8). Different neurological deficits and signs of basal skull fractures were identified. Although over half of head-injury victims had a severe initial impairment of consciousness, no case of death or permanent neurological deficit was found. The largest group of head-injured characters was constituted by Romans (63.9%), while Gauls caused nearly 90% of the TBIs. A helmet had been worn by 70.5% of victims but had been lost in the vast majority of cases (87.7%). In 83% of cases, TBIs were caused under the influence of a doping agent called “the magic potion”.

Conclusions

Although over half of patients had an initially severe impairment of consciousness after TBI, no permanent deficit could be found. Roman nationality, hypoglossal paresis, lost helmet, and ingestion of the magic potion were significantly correlated with severe initial impairment of consciousness (p ≤ 0.05).

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00701-011-0993-6

Identification of student comprehension using forehead wrinkles

2011 International Conference on Computer, Communication and Electrical Technology (ICCCET)
Tamilnadu, 18-19 March 2011
Page(s): 66 - 70

Professor Dr. M.Mohamed Sathik, M.Sc., M.Phil., M.B.A., M.Tech., M.S., Ph.D. and Dr. G.Sofia M.C.A, M.Phil., (Ph.D)

Dept. of Comput. Sci.
Sadakathullah Appa Coll.
Tirunelveli
India

Facial Expression plays a vital role in the identification of Emotions and comprehension level of the students in the virtual classrooms. Expressions that signal emotions include muscle movements such as raising the eyebrows, wrinkling the brow (the forehead or eyebrow), rolling the eyes or curling the lip. Here, we propose an efficient method for identifying the expressions of the students to recognize their comprehension from the facial expressions in static images containing the frontal view of the human face. Our goal is to categorize the facial expressions of the students in the given image into two basic emotional expression states - comprehensible, incomprehensible. One of the key action units in the face to expose expression is forehead. In this paper, Facial expressions are identified from the wrinkles of the forehead. Our method consists of three steps, Forehead detection, Wrinkle extraction and Emotion recognition. The proposed method is tested on the images from YALE and JAFFE Face databases.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=5762440

Augmented gustation using electricity

AH '11 Proceedings of the 2nd Augmented Human International Conference
March 12th 2011DP-A5
Article No. 34
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1959826.1959860

Hiromi Nakamura
Meiji University, Higashi-mita, Tama-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa, Japan

Homei Miyashita
Meiji University/JST, CREST, Higashi-mita, Tama-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa, Japan

In this paper, we propose a method to augment gustation and increase the number of perceptible tastes. Electric taste is the sensation elicited upon stimulating the tongue with electric current. We used this phenomenon to convey information that humans cannot perceive with their tongue. Our method involves changing the taste of foods and drinks by using electric taste. First, we propose a system to drink beverages using straws that are connected to an electric circuit. Second, we propose a system to eat foods using a fork or chopsticks connected to an electric circuit. Finally, we discuss augmented gustation using various sensors.

http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=1959826.1959860

Odor and taste perception at normal and low atmospheric pressure in a simulated aircraft cabin

Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit
March 2011, Volume 6, Issue 1, pp 95-109
Cover Date 2011-03-01
DOI 10.1007/s00003-010-0630-y

Andrea Burdack-Freitag, Dino Bullinger, Florian Mayer, Klaus Breuer

Fraunhofer Institut für Bauphysik
Fraunhoferstraße 10
83626, Valley
Germany

Abstract

During flights, reduced odor and taste perception is reported. Passengers tend to prefer spicier meals than on the ground. The conditions on board were simulated at the Fraunhofer flight test facility in Holzkirchen, Germany, consisting of a front fuselage of an Airbus A310-200 in a huge metal tube in which all relevant parameters can be adjusted (humidity, temperature, pressure). Flight tests were carried out at low atmospheric pressure corresponding to cabin conditions on board at cruising altitude and were repeated at normal atmospheric pressure corresponding to ground conditions. All other parameters were kept constant. Under these conditions, test persons smelled and tasted food-safe flavorants to evaluate the mean odor and taste thresholds and tasted different flavored food. Even tomato juice and various wines were tasted for odor and taste qualities, intensities and individual preferences. At low pressure conditions, higher taste and odor thresholds of flavorants were generally observed with few exceptions. Salt, sugar, glutamate and most odorant thresholds increased clearly. Organic acids and some bitter tastants showed no change. Transferred to complete meals, more salt, sugar and herbs were necessary on board to serve meals that tasted similar to the way they did on the ground. Sour ingredients had to be reduced. The odor and taste spectrum of the beverages investigated changed in various ways. Light and fresh flavors decreased, whereas intensive flavors persisted.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00003-010-0630-y

The use of mercury against pediculosis in the Renaissance: the case of Ferdinand II of Aragon, King of Naples, 1467-96

Medical History
Volume 55 / Issue 01 / January 2011, pp 109-115
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0025727300006074

Gino Fornaciari*, Silvia Marinozzi, Valentina Gazzaniga, Valentina Giuffra, Malayka Samantha Picchi, Mario Giusiani and Massimo Masetti

Professor Gino Fornaciari and Dr Valentina Giuffra, Department of Oncology, Transplants and Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Division of Palaeopathology, History of Medicine and Bioethics, University of Pisa, Italy;
Dr Silvia Marinozzi and Professor Valentina Gazzaniga, Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of History of Medicine, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Italy;
Dr Malayka Samantha Picchi and Dr Massimo Masetti, Department of Biology, Laboratory of Entomology, University of Pisa;
Professor Mario Giusiani, Department of Neuroscience, Section of Forensic Medicine, University of Pisa.

*Primary address for correspondence: Professor Gino Fornaciari, Divisione di Paleopatologia, Storia della Medicina e Bioetica, Dipartimento di Oncologia, dei Trapianti e delle Nuove Tecnologie in Medicina, Università di Pisa, via Roma 57, 56126 Pisa, Italy.

Abstract

The hair samples of Ferdinand II of Aragon (1467–1496), King of Naples, whose mummy is preserved in the Basilica of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples, showed a high content of mercury, with a value of 827ppm. Furthermore, examination using a stereomicroscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) of head and pubic hairs of Ferdinand II, revealed a lice infestation. The reasons for the massive presence of the mercury in the king's hair are discussed and contemporary literature regarding the use of this metal in medical therapies and in cosmetic practices is analysed. As a result, the high value of mercury in the hair of Ferdinand II can be attributed to antipediculosis therapy, applied as a topic medicament. This case represents an important finding for the history of medicine, because demonstrates that in the Renaissance mercury was applied locally not only to treat syphilis, as well attested by direct and indirect sources, but also to prevent or eliminate lice infestation.

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8516973

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3037217/

http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3037217/