Engineering, Management, Technology Consulting

  • Congratulations to the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers team. This weekend, the team broke its own world record for the Largest Functional Rube Goldberg Machine. The invention took only 300 steps to blow up and pop a balloon.

  • The article in the NYTimes, Aging of Eyes Is Blamed for Range of Health Woes, has caused us to think here at Walker Engineering about our own personal layouts as well as those of our clients.

    THE HYPOTHESIS

    Ellen Weinstein

    The aging eye filters out blue light, affecting circadian rhythm and health in older adults.

    THE INVESTIGATORS

    Dr. Martin Mainster and Dr. Patricia Turner, University of Kansas School of Medicine.

    For decades, scientists have looked for explanations as to why certain conditions occur with age, among them memory loss, slower reaction time, insomnia and even depression. They have scrupulously investigated such suspects as high cholesterol, obesity, heart disease and an inactive lifestyle.

    Now a fascinating body of research supports a largely unrecognized culprit: the aging of the eye.

    The gradual yellowing of the lens and the narrowing of the pupil that occur with age disturb the body’s circadian rhythm, contributing to a range of health problems, these studies suggest. As the eyes age, less and less sunlight gets through the lens to reach key cells in the retina that regulate the body’s circadian rhythm, its internal clock.

    “We believe the effect is huge and that it’s just beginning to be recognized as a problem,” said Dr. Patricia Turner, an ophthalmologist in Leawood, Kan., who with her husband, Dr. Martin Mainster, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Kansas Medical School, has written extensively about the effects of the aging eye on health.

    Circadian rhythms are the cyclical hormonal and physiological processes that rally the body in the morning to tackle the day’s demands and slow it down at night, allowing the body to rest and repair. This internal clock relies on light to function properly, and studies have found that people whose circadian rhythms are out of sync, like shift workers, are at greater risk for a number of ailments, including insomnia, heart disease and cancer.

    “Evolution has built this beautiful timekeeping mechanism, but the clock is not absolutely perfect and needs to be nudged every day,” said Dr. David Berson, whose lab at Brown University studies how the eye communicates with the brain.

    So-called photoreceptive cells in the retina absorb sunlight and transmit messages to a part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (S.C.N.), which governs the internal clock. The S.C.N. adjusts the body to the environment by initiating the release of the hormone melatonin in the evening and cortisol in the morning.

    Melatonin is thought to have many health-promoting functions, and studies have shown that people with low melatonin secretion, a marker for a dysfunctional S.C.N., have a higher incidence of many illnesses, including cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

    It was not until 2002 that the eye’s role in synchronizing the circadian rhythm became clear. It was always believed that the well-known rods and cones, which provide conscious vision, were the eye’s only photoreceptors. But Dr. Berson’s team discovered that cells in the inner retina, called retinal ganglion cells, also had photoreceptors and that these cells communicated more directly with the brain.

    These vital cells, it turns out, are especially responsive to the blue part of the light spectrum. Among other implications, that discovery has raised questions about our exposure to energy-efficient light bulbs and electronic gadgets, which largely emit blue light.

    But blue light also is the part of the spectrum filtered by the eye’s aging lens. In a study published in The British Journal of Ophthalmology, Dr. Mainster and Dr. Turner estimated that by age 45, the photoreceptors of the average adult receive just 50 percent of the light needed to fully stimulate the circadian system. By age 55, it dips to 37 percent, and by age 75, to a mere 17 percent.

    “Anything that affects the intensity of light or the wavelength can have important consequences for the synchronization of the circadian rhythm, and that can have effects on all types of physiological processes,” Dr. Berson said.

    Several studies, most in European countries, have shown that the effects are not just theoretical. One study, published in the journal Experimental Gerontology, compared how quickly exposure to bright light suppresses melatonin in women in their 20s versus in women in their 50s. The amount of blue light that significantly suppressed melatonin in the younger women had absolutely no effect on melatonin in the older women. “What that shows us is that the same amount of light that makes a young person sit up in the morning, feel awake, have better memory retention and be in a better mood has no effect on older people,” Dr. Turner said.

    Another study, published in The Journal of Biological Rhythms, found that after exposure to blue light, younger subjects had increased alertness, decreased sleepiness and improved mood, whereas older subjects felt none of these effects.

    Researchers in Sweden studied patients who had cataract surgery to remove their clouded lenses and implant clear intraocular lenses. They found that the incidence of insomnia and daytime sleepiness was significantly reduced. Another study found improved reaction time after cataract surgery.

    “We believe that it will eventually be shown that cataract surgery results in higher levels of melatonin, and those people will be less likely to have health problems like cancer and heart disease,” Dr. Turner said.

    That is why Dr. Mainster and Dr. Turner question a practice common in cataract surgery. About one-third of the intraocular lenses implanted worldwide are blue-blocking lenses, intended to reduce the risk of macular degeneration by limiting exposure to potentially damaging light.

    But there is no good evidence showing that people who have cataract surgery are at greater risk of macular degeneration. And evidence of the body’s need for blue light is increasing, some experts say.

    “You can always wear sunglasses if you’re in a brilliant environment that’s uncomfortable. You can remove those sunglasses for optimal circadian function, but you can’t take out the filters if they’re permanently implanted in your eyes,” Dr. Mainster said.

    Because of these light-filtering changes, Dr. Mainster and Dr. Turner believe that with age, people should make an effort to expose themselves to bright sunlight or bright indoor lighting when they cannot get outdoors. Older adults are at particular risk, because they spend more time indoors.

    “In modern society, most of the time we live in a controlled environment under artificial lights, which are 1,000 to 10,000 times dimmer than sunlight and the wrong part of the spectrum,” Dr. Turner said.

    In their own offices, Dr. Mainster and Dr. Turner have installed skylights and extra fluorescent lights to help offset the aging of their own eyes.

  • Courses are not the same routine classroom experiences you may associate with College.  The Wild Rockies Field Instituteis offering seven courses for college credit this year, including Cycle the Rockies: Energy and Climate Change in Montana course, which runs from May 17 – June 12.

    "Students on this course will explore Montana by bicycle while studying the ecological, social, and economic issues associated with energy production and use. We will traverse rolling plains and beautiful mountains, enjoying the changing landscapes and meeting with people deeply involved in energy and climate issues. Traveling by bicycle will give us a unique perspective and an appropriate pace for examining the past, present and future of energy and climate change in the West.
    Montana offers prime examples of current energy production facilities, from traditional fossil fuel energy sites to exciting alternative technologies for producing power. Our route begins in eastern Montana at oil refineries and a coal-fired power plant in the industrial core of Billings. Then we will pedal north and west through grasslands and island mountain ranges on the central plains, visiting energy-efficient buildings and production sites for biofuels, and wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric power along the way.
    After meetings with energy and climate policy experts at the state capitol in Helena, we will turn north along the impressive Rocky Mountain Front to Glacier National Park. We’ll cycle over the Continental Divide, spending time with climate scientists and park managers in Glacier before ending in Whitefish with a public presentation.
    Among the things we will do along the way:

    • Visit facilities using or producing biodiesel, wind energy, solar power, geothermal heating, and biofuels.
    • Examine fossil fuel technologies and impacts at coalfields, power plants, and oil refineries.
    • Tour a hydroelectric dam.
    • Visit ranchers, land managers, and farmers who are facing the impacts of climate change along with various opportunities for energy production.
    • Meet local and state officials working on state energy and climate policy.
    • Explore "green" energy-efficient buildings in Billings and Central Montana.
    • Talk with Glacier National Park scientists about the regional impacts of global warming.
    • Read and discuss a wide selection of current articles on energy issues and climate change.
    • Complete academic assignments designed to integrate our experiences and learning.
    • Present experiences and learning in open forums using electronic media and public presentations.
    • Become competent bicycle travelers.

    Our choices of energy sources and consumption are some of the most critical decisions we will make as a society over the coming decades. Montana has abundant quantities of coal, natural gas, and other hydrocarbon resources, which have the potential to accelerate global warming if developed. At the same time, Montana, with vast agricultural plains and abundant wind, sun, and geothermal resources, is well positioned to produce clean, renewable energy. At course end, students will be armed with the knowledge and experience needed to play a positive role in shaping our energy system and future climate for the state, and the Rocky Mountain region."

    According to Adventure Cycling:

    This is an amazing way to both expand your knowledge of energy options and learn or expand your knowledge of self-contained bicycle touring; the instructors and staff on this course are top-of-the-line. This is a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In the immortal words of Levar Burton, you don’t have to take our word for it — check out their great blog, written on the road by participants. Even if you don’t take their course, it makes for some wonderful reading! If you’re interested in finding out more information, it is all available on their website.

    Don’t wait! If you or someone you know is looking for a great educational adventure this summer, take advantage of this amazing opportunity which is limited to only 10 spaces. As an added bonus, all of the participants will receive a free one-year membership to Adventure Cycling!

  • Get off your butt and make some tea if you want to live

    By Simon Sharwood, Posted in Science, 27th March 2012 07:11 GMT

    I am writing this blog entry at a standing workstation which a lot of people still view as an oddity despite the data provided in each study that is being published.  I realize this is published on The Register and that makes it always worth investigating, the study is remarkably similar to those I have reviewed before.

    A study of more than 220,000 people aged 45 or more has come to a startling conclusion: sitting down all day is killing you.

    The 45 and Up study compared mortality rates among those who sit for many hours a day and those who spend less time perched on their posterior.

    The study used “… questionnaire data from 222 497 individuals 45 years or older from the 45 and Up Study to mortality data from the New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Australia) from February 1, 2006, through December 31, 2010.”

    The news is bad if you spend more than 11 hours a day sitting: your chance of leaving this plane of existence in the next three years is 40% higher than those who spend less time on their behinds. Even those who sit for just eight hours a day have a 15% “better” chance of death.

    The dangers of sitting are not only related to a sedentary lifestyle and obesity. The study also hints at more profound physiological issues created by sitting for many hours a day, as doing so means the body is deprived of many internal triggers that spark beneficial actions in the body. Even standing a few more times a day, the research says, can therefore improve health. Hence our plea for tea in the subheading.

    "Shorter sitting times and sufficient physical activity are independently protective against all-cause mortality not just for healthy individuals but also for those with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, overweight, or obesity," the study’s authors wrote in Archives of Internal Medicine, where the results of the study were published this week.

    If you’re sitting while reading this, what are you waiting for?