Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have created a new layered superconducting material with a conducting layer made of bismuth, silver, tin, sulfur and selenium. The conducting layer features four distinct sublayers; by introducing more elements, they were able to achieve unparalleled customizability and a higher “critical temperature” below which superconductivity is observed, a key objective of superconductor research. Their design strategy may be applied to engineer new and improved superconducting materials.

The ability of cataract surgery to restore sight is well known. People say they’re stunned by the vibrancy of color after surgery and the improvement in night vision. Some can even reduce their reliance on glasses. But can you quantify that improved quality of vision? To find out, researchers in Australia used a driving simulator to test patients’ vision before and after cataract surgery. They found that near misses and crashes decreased by 48 percent after surgery. The researchers present their study today at AAO 2019, the 123rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

A drug widely prescribed for a bladder condition for decades, now appears to be toxic to the retina, the light sensing tissue at the back of the eye that allows us to see. After an initial report last year that Elmiron (pentosan polysulfate sodium) may be associated with retinal damage, three ophthalmologists conducted a review of patients at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. They found that about one-quarter of patients with significant exposure to Elmiron showed definite signs of eye damage, and that this medication toxicity could masquerade as other known retinal conditions, such as age-related macular degeneration or pattern dystrophy. The research will be presented today at AAO 2019, the 123nd?Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

A 22-year-old man recently presented to an emergency room in Saudi Arabia for a highly unusual reason: He admitted to having inserted tweezers into his urethra four long years ago.

According to a May 2019 report in Urology Case Reports that's now gone viral, attending physicians were surprised not only by the placement of the three-inch tweezers, but also that the man had no visible symptoms. He told doctors that he didn’t have any pain, chills, fever, or problems with urination—unusual in cases like this with a foreign object inside the body. The man also didn't say how or why the tweezers wound up in his urethra. 

Still, an X-ray revealed that, sure enough, there was a pair of metal tweezers lodged near the front of the man’s urethra (aka, the tube that lets urine—and in men, semen—pass through the body). Surprisingly, the man's bladder wasn’t distended and the opening of his urethra appeared normal.

RELATED: What Is Penile Ossification, the Condition Causing One Man's Penis to Turn to Bone?

The removal of the tweezers was no easy feat. With the patient under general anesthesia in the operating room, doctors attempted to remove them without causing any internal damage. But there was one major problem: the open end of the tweezers, which could have torn the urethral opening.

To address this issue, a surgeon assistant held the tweezers closed throughout the procedure in what researchers called an “external pressure technique.” Meanwhile, a surgeon removed them endoscopically with a pair of foreign body forceps. The patient fared well after the ordeal—and urinated successfully without a urinary catheter—and went home.

RELATED: This Man Tried to Enlarge His Penis by Injecting It With Petroleum Jelly—and It Went Dangerously Wrong

The removal of foreign bodies from the urethra is an uncommon, but not unheard of, procedure. An 11-year-old boy in China underwent a two-hour operation to have 70 magnetic beads removed from his urethra earlier in 2019, according to an article in the South China Morning Post. Some cases are the result of accidents or injuries. Other patients may insert foreign objects into the urethra because of curiosity, mental illness, intoxication, or autoeroticism, according to a series of case studies in the International Neurourology Journal.

Many patients in these cases hesitate to seek medical care because of shame or embarrassment. One case report in Emergency Medicine suggested that patients who had self-inserted objects into the urethra be referred to a psychiatrist to deal with any possible guilt, anxiety, or symptoms of mental illness.

The patient in this case was referred to a psychiatrist, but he refused the referral and has also refused to access outpatient care.

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Introducing Health's new column, Why Would Someone Do That? Here, psych experts decipher the reasons behind the most puzzling human behavior mysteries.

It’s your worst office nightmare: You’ve stumbled through the first few hours of work thanks to three cups from the Keurig, checked to make sure that no one’s stolen your lunch, and finally wandered into the restroom to relieve yourself and take a tiny, unsanctioned break from your coworkers.

But what you’ve walked into isn’t a bathroom; it’s an active crime scene. And when you open a stall, you know that no jury would convict you if you found the person who’s defecated all over the place and disposed of them, Liam Neeson–style.

Right now, you’re probably thinking about the last time you walked in on such a bananarama of human indecency in your workplace. And you’ve got feelings. Everyone does.

RELATED: Is Your Poop Healthy? The Bristol Stool Chart Shows What It Should Look Like

Every office has this poop problem, apparently

One person I spoke to—on condition of anonymity—told me that the women in their office wanted to launch a full-on hunt for the person who’d gone number two in a plastic bag and then dumped it in the bathroom trash can. They’d size up one another at the water cooler, asking leading questions about gut health and what everyone had for lunch. In that time span, the poop bandit got away with the same thing two more times.

In another office, a man fed up with unflushed anonymous poo took it upon himself to snap pictures of his workmates’ feet as they used the stalls. (Illegal!) If a mess were to be made, he reasoned, he’d just match the stall to the culprit’s footwear and inform the authorities—though it wasn’t clear whether that would be the police, HR, or a vigilante group he’d found on the internet.

Other people I asked said they preferred to block out whatever mess they came across. One friend, a person who would otherwise agree we are close, balked at my question about the bathroom habits of officemates. “Why,” he said, ‘what have you heard?” and then: “Yeah, we’ve had a few problems, but now most of us just use bathrooms on other floors.”

Why other floors didn’t have the same issues, he couldn’t tell me. But he did say that the notes that HR put up didn’t seem to help. If anything, conditions may have gotten worse, though he couldn’t be quite sure why.

RELATED: The 20 Best Foods to Help With Constipation So You Can Finally Poop Again

Searching for the psychology behind a poo and run

What goes through the mind of someone who walks into a serviceably clean bathroom at their workplace and proceeds to go on a rampage with no regard for the people they see five days a week?

Here’s one interpretation: People just aren’t aware of what they’re doing. They’re so worried about not catching anything from the seats, they can’t imagine they might be contributing to the bathroom problem the entire staff complains about.

One person told me that her last office had a chronic hoverer who let her commitment to personal hygiene be known by the dew drops of urine she left behind. “I sometimes wondered aloud at the logic,” the innocent bystander told me, “because toilet seats aren’t all that germy—unless you piss all over them because you refuse to plant your cheeks.”

A man who works in an office in San Francisco told me that I might be chasing a culprit that doesn’t exist. In a twist as shocking as any of the (first three) Saw movies, he suggested that the messes in the bathroom weren’t the work of one angry person but a group effort from anxious office workers who had to do their business and couldn’t help but ignore or add to the horror.

RELATED: What It Means to Be a High-Functioning Sociopath—and How to Tell if You Know One

“You walk into the bathroom,” he said, “and you see a mess. But it isn’t your job to clean it up and you don’t want to tell someone because they think it might be you. So you just slowly back out and hope that no one blames you. What am I supposed to do? I don’t know how to fix a toilet.”

Of course, it’s a little bit different if there’s an emergency element, and you don't have a second to spare to back away and use another stall. “If it’s a photo finish situation, then, yeah, I might have to do something I wouldn’t necessarily tell other people about,” the man added.

So that’s another twist: Even people who’ve never considered themselves bathroom vandals may contribute to the eldritch terrors that greet you when you’ve entered the restroom during your afternoon slump. None of us are innocent.

But these theories may be a touch too kind. A janitor I spoke to said he’s definitely seen people engage in deliberate bad behavior in the office bathrooms he takes care of.

“When my job is done right, people don’t know I’m around. They only remember when I screw up and some people are sort of mean. It’s like, you forgot to take out my trash, so here’s a little surprise,” he says. “When I make people mad at work, they know that if they make a little mess in the bathroom, I have to deal with it.”

Office workers have left feces, he says, in places where it would have been very hard for it to find itself otherwise. But these heavy hitters are few and far between. Most people, I’m told, just splash water everywhere or miss the garbage can “on accident.” Sometimes it feels like they’re doing it to remind him that they’re better than him—or to remind themselves that even when their bosses come after them, there’s always someone safe to take their aggression out on…someone who will always have to clean up their mess.

RELATED: Sociopath vs. Narcissist: Experts Explain the Difference

A professional sheds some light 

In the course of writing this story, I launched a desperate campaign to speak to someone who’s deliberately trashed their office toilet or, at the very least, just made some yellow and let it mellow.

I asked friends, acquaintances, people I’d just met. I posted my question on Twitter—giving my email address so any interested parties could contact me anonymously—and I enlisted the aid of “Help a Reporter Out,” a site whose thousands of users rush to answer questions posed by bloggers and journalists.

But my pleas to speak to a bathroom annihilator went loudly unanswered. Even though, once again, I’d promised to take their secrets to the grave. And even beyond.

Shuli Sandler, PsyD, a New Jersey–based clinical psychologist with more than a decade of experience, wasn’t surprised. “Even when you say something’s anonymous, I don’t think that’s true,” Sandler, the only person to allow the use of her name in this story, told me.

RELATED: How Often Should You Poop? A Doctor Weighs In

“Anonymity is protection over our true impulses. So if someone owns up to it, they either don't believe they're truly anonymous or they're no longer anonymous to themselves. They have to acknowledge their own actions in a meaningful way,” she says.

By asking people to unmask themselves (even to themselves), Sandler believes I’d be forcing them to attach feelings to their actions. Shame, guilt, and self-criticism, where before there was just excitement and aggression and impulsivity.

Some people just want to crap on their boss, literally

If you look at behavior from a psychoanalytic perspective, and especially from the perspective of Freud’s psychosexual stages, you’ll quickly learn that mastering one’s bowels (the anal stage) is a symbol for learning self-control in general. Your parents aren’t just toiling at the toilet so they’ll save on diapers, they’re also teaching you to follow social rules—the biggest of which is to keep your shit in the proper places, where others don’t have to deal with it.

The problem is that some of us have a lot of pent-up aggression. And if we don’t have an outlet for all that bottled up rage (therapy, for instance), it’ll come out in unexpected ways. When a bathroom defiler’s had a hard day at work, Sandler theorizes, there’s a push-and-pull between the part of them that says “you can’t make messes,” and the part that says “No, I’m an adult, I do whatever I want.”

RELATED: These Are the Best Diets for Your Poop, According to a Nutritionist

The well-meaning signs that remind us to be kind to others when tinkling and sprinkling become invitations for a regressive rebellion. There are no cameras in bathrooms, so what’s the cost of engaging? By the time the mess is discovered, the perpetrator is long gone, back at their desk or buying a Coke from the vending machine in the break room.

The messes that these people leave behind, Sandler suggests, are indicative of the internal messes that they’re struggling with. “People have a tendency to act out their feelings in a way that can often be destructive as a way to sort of push away the need to personally reflect, to be thoughtful, to open up their minds.” she says.

Being aware of these feelings is what separates someone who says “I want to shit on my boss” and remind themselves that we don’t do that in polite society from someone who says “I want to shit on my boss” and then goes off on the bathroom and quickly distances themselves from the action.

So the prescription for the poop bandits in your office? Maybe it’s just therapy for the guilt and insecurity they feel in their lives. But don’t post a sign about it in the bathroom.

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As gluten-gate continues to dominate dinner-table conversations, it turns out another gang may have been the third force behind those stomach woes all along. Say hi to the FODMAP family.

On the roller-coaster trajectory of rising-and-falling trends, “gluten-free” is currently surfing a happy plateau somewhere alongside “athleisure”. As part of a growing free-from industry, it’s survived the wonky path of early adoption followed by mainstream fervour followed by inevitable backlash. Now we seem to be in a steady state of resigned acceptance: no, it’s not a bad idea. Yes, we know it really doesn’t suit some people. But there’s still an outside chance some people are going to judge you for it.

“Have you seen that cartoon?” laughs gastroenterologist and world authority on gut health Dr Peter Gibson, referencing a sketch first published in The New Yorker last year. “It’s a woman opposite her bored-looking dining companion and the caption reads, ‘I’ve only been gluten-free for a week, but I’m already really annoying’.” Yep, even the man who’s dedicated his career to researching coeliac disease (the bona fide gluten allergy) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is in on the joke.

The main reason people get so irked by intolerance claimants is that, aside from being nightmare dinner guests, they also tend to be blundering self-diagnosers. “Our research actually indicates that most people who have self-reported gluten sensitivity do not [actually have an intolerance] — only a minority do,” Gibson says. “The situation isn’t yes or no — but it’s not as common as many believe.”

Nobody is arguing that gluten has a particular effect on the gut, but, the problem is, one woman’s carb bloat is another’s intolerance. Indeed, terms like IBS, sensitivity and intolerance are broad concepts — ones that are easy to misuse and abuse. Or in Jennifer Lawrence’s words, they become the “new cool eating disorder”: an in-vogue way to kilojoule swerve or at least a cult claim to sit nicely alongside your green juice and smoothie bowl.

But recently, we’ve noticed the breadbasket refusers and ingredient checkers aren’t citing gluten. Instead, the word being mouthed to waitresses, suggested to GPs and written across wellness blogs is the slightly less catchy F-word, ‘FODMAP’.

READ MORE: 9 IBS Treatments That Will Free You From The Toilet Seat

What the ‘F’ is FODMAP?

The acronym stands for — and heads-up, it’s a mouthful — fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols, which are present in everything from classic gut offenders, like dairy and bread, to healthy favourites, like avo, cashews and coconut water. Over the past couple of years, these carbohydrates have slowly poked their way into the wellness lexicon following research published mainly by Gibson and his team at Monash University in Australia. There, they found that a diet low in FODMAPs helped relieve IBS symptoms in 70 percent of sufferers. The Bulletproof Diet author Dave Asprey is a low-FODMAP advocate and FODMAPs have had their 15 minutes on The Dr Oz Show.

So why do they matter? Well, these prebiotic compounds are poorly absorbed in the small intestine and, so, pass undigested into the colon to be rapidly fermented by colonic bacteria. This is a totally natural process, but if you’re prone to those IBS-type symptoms, the gas produced by these little bacterial critters can cause a world of tummy trouble, simply because, scientists believe, you’ve got a bowel that’s physiologically more sensitive to being stretched. “Additionally, colonic bacteria in people diagnosed with IBS may react more acutely to certain types of food, increasing the amount of gas produced and water content in the colon,” says Dr Majella O’Keeffe, a dietician who’s investigating the effects of FODMAPs. Stress can make matters worse too.

And here’s the interesting bit: rather than simply being the latest intolerance to lay claim to, FODMAPs may have been at the root of those self-diagnosed conditions all along. Foods like pasta, cereals and biscuits made from wheat, that have been seen as big gluten culprits, also contain FODMAP compounds.

“When we began testing IBS sufferers, many of whom had diagnosed themselves as gluten-intolerant, we found that they didn’t react to carbohydrate-depleted wheat, even though it still contained gluten,” Gibson explains.

And so the FODMAP-free movement has begun. Gibson and his colleagues have created an app, and the offshoot cookery book The Low Fodmap Diet Cookbook: 150 Simple, Flavorful, Gut-Friendly Recipes to Ease the Symptoms of IBS, Celiac Disease, Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and Other Digestive Disorders (written by dietician Dr Sue Shepherd). In the US and Australia, you’ll find FODMAP-free products, including soups, sauces, ready-made meals and protein bars.

“Demand has been steadily growing as word spreads about the diet and we just launched worldwide shipping in July to accommodate requests we’ve had from the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, among other countries,” says US dietician Kate Watson, who developed her FODMAP-friendly Nicer Foods range in December last year after finding relief from 20 years of IBS symptoms on a low-FODMAP diet.

READ MORE: 18 Ways To Stop Feeling So Damn Bloated All The Time

Trying a low-FODMAP diet is no easy task

So will we see restaurants offering FODMAP-free alternatives? Because if the statistics tell us anything, it’s that there’s a public appetite for restrictive diets. “The problem with a lot of these diets is people use them with the misbelief that it’s going to solve all their problems,” Gibson says. “Whether it’s gluten or FODMAPs, we don’t want people to stop consuming a particular food group because they think it’s going to make them healthier. It’s not always the case.

“There are a lot of things that can be made low-FODMAP, which are nutritionally bad, but if brands write ‘low FODMAP’ on them, it gives them a sort of credibility as a healthy food. We’ve learnt a lot from the gluten-free explosion and we’re trying to avoid too much exploitation of consumers for commercial gain.”

Gibson is not selling the low-FODMAP diet as a lifestyle choice (in fact, he’s also researching the benefits of a diet high in prebiotics) and is quick to point out it’s simply unnecessary for anyone who doesn’t suffer from IBS. But then, once upon a time, the same was said for gluten. Yet, it’s transcended the IBS community, becoming a wellness mantra, shortcut to a flatter belly and catalyst to health utopia.

Similarly to non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, there is no definitive process for diagnosing a FODMAP-intolerance. “At the moment, there’s no clinical test for FODMAP sensitivity,” O’Keeffe explains. Instead, candidates, under guidance from their doctor, go through a four to six-week elimination diet and then gradually reintroduce various high-FODMAP foods to identify individual triggers and work out tolerance thresholds.

Here’s a breakdown of the most common high FODMAP foods:

• Vegetables: Asparagus, artichokes, onions, leeks, garlic, beans, lentils, chickpeas, sugar snap peas, beets, cabbage, celery, corn, avocado, cauliflower, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, fennel, okra, peas, shallot, radicchio
• Fruits: Apples, pears, mango, watermelon, nectarines, peaches, plums, cherries,
• Dairy: Cow’s milk, yogurt, soft cheese, cream, ice cream
• Grains: Rye, wheat, semolina, couscous, bulgur
• Nuts: Cashews, pistachios
• Condiments: Honey, agave, relish, jam, tahini, tzatziki dip, hummus
• Food additives: Inulin, artificial sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup

“Remember, though — this isn’t as simple as just cutting out one thing,” Gibson says. “You’re cutting out a huge variety of foods, many of which — apples, garlic and broccoli — are low-kilojoule and very healthy.” His point: this isn’t exactly going to appeal to the carb-dodgers the way gluten does. In fact, the list of what to restrict runs across all food groups, from fruit and vegetables to healthy alternatives like agave syrup to hidden ingredients like the soy flour used in many chips, sausages and protein bars. It’s enough to make a person nostalgic for the comparatively simple task of cutting out gluten.

Also, FODMAPs are growing in notoriety at a time when gut health – and the associated benefits of prebiotic foods — have become a major area of scientific research. Prebiotics feed the bacteria in the gut, creating a diverse ecosystem of microflora. Sounds a bit gross, but it’s a good thing. An increasing breadth of research shows that gut diversity is linked to everything from a strong immune system and fast metabolism to clear skin and mental health.

“Prebiotics are mostly FODMAPs, so the theoretical risk is that by eliminating them or cutting down on them significantly, you’re going to create an environment in your bowel where you won’t have as many health-promoting microbiota,” Gibson warns.
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So, if someone mentions they’re thinking of going FODMAP-free, do them a favour and encourage them to see a GP, who can first rule out a condition like coeliac disease and point them in the direction of a dietician to supervise the tricky elimination stage.

Also, do yourself a fave: cross them off the guestlist for DIY pizza night.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}

Women’s Health

Every principal scheme member has the right to register dependants, some of them at reduced rates. So who can and can’t you register?

If you are the principal (main) member of your medical scheme, you may register dependants, who will also be beneficiaries on your scheme. On some options and schemes, beneficiaries pay a reduced rate. Adult dependants usually pay more than child dependants.

Who qualifies for this?

Children. Your children under the age of 21. This includes biological children and adopted children and stepchildren up to the age of 21 while they are still dependant on you. Not necessarily foster children, though, unless your scheme makes provision for it.

A child of 20, who has started working for a salary, cannot register as a child dependant on your scheme. Child dependants typically pay a much lower contribution than adult dependants. Children with physical or mental impairments, who are dependent on you, can be kept as dependants on your scheme after the age of 21.

However, some schemes may insist they pay the adult dependant rate. The same goes for your children who are full-time students and wholly supported by you. Generally grandchildren can only be added if they have been legally adopted by the grandparents, or a court has granted guardianship to the grandparents.

If a single parent dies, the eldest child will become the principal member of the medical scheme, if they wish to continue their membership. 

A spouse or life partner

If you are not married to this person, an affidavit confirming your relationship must be handed in to the medical scheme. An ex-spouse can be kept as a beneficiary on your medical scheme – this is often determined in divorce cases.

If the principal member dies, the remaining spouse or life partner can become the principal member – even on a closed scheme. These are often linked to a place of work. But the new principal member will not be able to add new dependants.

Your parents

You can only register your parents as adult dependants on your medical scheme if you can prove that they are factually dependent on you. Parents who are financially self-sufficient may not be registered as dependants on your scheme. If you support any of the following people fully, you may apply to register them as an adult dependant on your scheme: parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, step-parents. Once again, individual scheme rules apply.

Other family members

Siblings, half-siblings, nephews and nieces may also be considered for membership (as child or adult dependants, depending on their age) only if you can prove that they are fully financially dependent on you. This depends on the rules of the scheme as well as the individual option you have chosen.

Some schemes restrict dependants to immediate family members (your spouse and children if you are married, and your parents if you are not) and others are more accommodating. It must be remembered that a scheme will be sceptical if you claim to fully support a large number of adults on a single salary.

In many cases, an adult dependant pays the same contribution as a principal member, so if the scheme is an open one, they may as well join in their own capacity. Only some schemes and some options have reduced rates for an adult dependant. 

^Sources:

^{1. The Council for Medical Schemes}

^{2. GEMS Medical Scheme}

^{3. Genesis Medical Scheme}

^{4. Discovery Medical Scheme}

^{5. Medicalaidcomparisons.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock}

Susan Erasmus

Sore from a workout? You don’t have to reach for pain relief medicine when ice or heat will help. But when should you go cold and when should you go warm?

Ice is the go-to therapy when an injury first happens. It can stop the swelling of a sprained ankle, for instance, and numb the pain. The traditional approach is 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off at first. You might step this down to 20 minutes every two or three hours on the second and third days. If you have a long-term injury, icing the area for 10 to 20 minutes after a workout can be soothing.

Watch the settings

Ice options include a plastic bag of crushed ice, a reusable ice pack or even a bag of peas that can be refrozen for use again – label it so no one eats them. Whatever you use, always place a thin towel between the ice and your skin to prevent skin damage.

Once the swelling of an injury is gone, you can switch to heat. Heat eases discomfort and promotes healing. With a chronic condition like arthritis, it can soothe achy joints and lessen your pain. You can follow the same type of schedule you would when icing.

Just as you don’t want to freeze your skin with ice, you don’t want to burn it with heat. So watch the settings on a heating pad. You want warmth, but you don’t want it to feel hot. Another choice is a reusable heat pack that you warm in the microwave.

You can find versions that come shaped for the body part needing treatment. Even just a warm shower or bath can help. The water should be around 32 to 38 degrees Celsius.

Although these are considered safe at-home remedies, talk to your doctor first if your injury could be serious – for instance, you notice a lot of swelling and pain – or if you have any chronic health conditions, including any that prevent you from feeling hot and cold, like neuropathy, often from diabetes.

^{Image credit: iStock}

HealthDay

Mila is having far fewer – and briefer – seizures after a drug was designed just for her.

Gait speed in mid-life indicates how fast the brain and body are ageing, researchers found.