Promising Results

June 9, 2009

Studies Demonstrate Supplements Can Help Treat Autism

Is it correct that supplements can rightly make well autism? Can supplements in fact cause total recovery for people suffering from autism? These are just some of the more popular claims today regarding the development in autism research. The statistics are still currently unclear, and the researches and studies are not yet conclusive, but all signs point to supplements being beneficial, at the very least. These researches and studies are as a rule conducted by the Autism Research Institute, although a number of organizations have as well conducted researches regarding the property of supplements to children suffering from autism. These other researches focused more on the individualized effects of particular supplements on autism symptoms instead than supplements as a general cure. Though, in conclusion, all the studies do say that the employ of supplements resulted to marked improvements in the status of patients who used supplements.

Lone research that shows that the use of a particular supplement can advance the general well-being of a person with autism spectrum disorder is the research conducted by the Nordic Naturals Industries. Their study involved the use of essential fatty acids to improve the learning and communication skills of autistic behavior children. With 18 children used a subjects, the subject yielded promising results–the use of essential fatty acids for 90 days produced marked improvements in terms of their ability to learn and communicate. This makes logic, since essential fatty acids act on the brain development of individuals. Essential fatty acids also help heal the swellings that can be originate in an autistic child’s brain.

Another study, as a statement published in The Scotsman paper states, cites that probiotics can help out better the behavior and the concentration of autistic children. The research collapsed, since a amount of parents refused to acknowledge the placebos after taking probiotics for a particular period of time. The autistic children–20 of them, out of the 40–were asked to take probiotics, and subsequently should have been asked to talk placebos after. However, after seeing discernible improvements in these particular areas, they found it hard to take the placebos, which would have made the observations done during the duration of the study more valid. Still, the improvements noted during the study can still be considered as an achievement, to say the slightest.

The Enzyme Research Group, on the other hand, cited links relating autism and the digestive problems autistic children face. According to their study, there are particular nerves in the nervous system that are connected to the digestive system. Therefore, the problem could be traced in both areas.

But what does this say about the use of supplements as a cure for autism? Can supplements in actuality cure autism? The Autism Research Institute claims that supplements are among the more important treatments to heal autism. The term used was treat–not manage, as most mainstream medications do. Again, there are no actual researches about these claims, so this theory cannot be discounted as of yet. Still, with these encouraging reports, it only illustrates that the exercise of supplements can indeed advance the well-being of autistic children.

We always say that you should talk to your doctor before you try anything new, even if it is over the counter, just to make sure it is safe to use.

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September 5, 2008

Asphalt Roads – a Promising Source of Solar Electricity?

Asphalt may not seem the most obvious material to be an important source of solar power, but anybody who has touched the surface of a road with their bare feet during summer knows only too well that it has exceptional heat retention. Researchers in both the UK and US have been looking at the potential – with promising results.

The idea of asphalt for solar power isn’t particularly new – the concept was first conceived a decade ago, although its only been fully realized in the last couple of years. In 2007, a Dutch engineering company began siphoning the heat from asphalt to heat several homes and offices, as well as an aircraft hanger. The system used a network of plastic pipes through which the asphalt heated the cold water and fed it into underground storage containers where it was kept hot until required.

More recently, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have conducted tests using actual pieces of asphalt as well as computer models. The scientists found that hot water created by an asphalt energy system could be used to produce electricity by being passed through a thermoelectric generator. Heated asphalt can also heat buildings by the method of passing the water through pipes under the asphalt – just as the Dutch team had discovered.

The team also found that the highest temperatures were found just a few inches below the road surface. Ideally, a heat exchanger would be located there so that the maximum amount of energy could be produced. And other measures such as applying a reflection reducing paint to the asphalt; or adding aggregates known for their conductive properties would also enhance efficiency.

Asphalt has several advantages as a source of solar power. It’s a huge infrastructure that is already in place – in the United States for example, there are an estimated four million miles of asphalt road surface. In general, asphalt is removed and the roads are resurfaced every decade or so; this would provide the chance to put in the essential equipment with minimal expense.

Asphalt also stores its heat after the sun has gone down – giving it an advantage over solar panels. Removing the heat from asphalt can actually lower the temperature of the road surface too – making towns and cities cooler during hot weather. And unlike solar panels, which are all too visible, virtually all the asphalt collection equipment would be hidden under the groundunderground.

Intriguing though these results are, don’t expect to see the widespread use of asphalt solar power any time soon. It may be many years before a network of pipes under the roads is able to provide energy – but at least it’s a step in the right direction.

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