The protest movement in Serbia has grown stronger following fraud during the recent parliamentary elections on December 17th. On Friday protesters declared their intention to block the streets of the capital.
On Friday hundreds of opposition activists students announced a plan to block the streets of Belgrade for 24 hours. Their actions are in response to the victory of the right wing party in Serbias parliamentary elections. The protesters are strongly condemning any activities that may have tainted the election process.
So what happened?
The main opposition coalition, Serbia Against Violence claims that Bosnian voters living nearby were illegally allowed to vote in Belgrade on December 17th. International observers from organizations such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have also reported “irregularities” during the voting process including instances of “vote buying” and “ballot box stuffing.”
Official results indicate that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucics wing nationalist party (SNS) secured 46% of the vote while the opposition coalition obtained 23.5%. Since then various protests have taken place with demonstrators blocking roads in the capital city demanding nullification of this election and calling for elections.
During Sunday evenings events demonstrators attempted to gain entry, into Belgrades city hall by smashing its windows. Were ultimately repelled by police forces. Furthermore the court in Belgrade has declared that the four individuals who were detained will be held in custody for a period of thirty days due to their involvement in ” conduct during public gatherings.”
Additionally it has been reported that six other individuals are currently under house arrest on charges with one of them having been released. The seven protesters who were arrested have admitted their guilt. Have each been given a suspended sentence of six months along with a fine amounting, to 20,000 Serbian dinars (€171).
The holiday season in Europe is a time of joy, celebration, and, of course, delicious food! From decadent desserts to savoury delights, the continent is a treasure trove of mouthwatering delicacies that will leave you craving for more. So, put on your festive hat and get ready to embark on a culinary adventure through Europe’s top 5 Yuletide treats!
Indulge in Yuletide Delicacies: Discover the Top 3 European Treats!
1. Stollen – Germany’s Christmas Bread
Stollen, Germany’s iconic Christmas bread, is a true holiday masterpiece. This rich, buttery cake-like bread is studded with candied fruits, raisins, and nuts, and dusted with powdered sugar. Traditionally enjoyed during Advent, Stollen has a long history dating back to the 15th century. Every bite of this delectable treat reveals a harmonious blend of flavours and textures, making it the perfect accompaniment to a warm cup of mulled wine. Don’t miss the opportunity to savour this beloved German delight during your European festive feast!
2. Panettone – Italy’s Sweet Bread
Italy’s most famous Christmas treat, Panettone, is a sweet bread that has become a beloved centrepiece on holiday tables across the globe. With its light, fluffy texture and rich taste, Panettone is a true indulgence for the senses. Filled with candied fruits, raisins, and sometimes chocolate, this tall, dome-shaped bread is traditionally enjoyed with a glass of sparkling wine or a cup of hot cocoa. Whether you choose to savour it plain or toasted with a spread of butter, Panettone is a must-try delicacy that embodies the festive spirit of Italy.
3. Bûche de Noël – France’s Yule Log Cake
In France, the holiday season is incomplete without the iconic Bûche de Noël or Yule Log Cake. This whimsical dessert is a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. Traditionally made with a sponge cake rolled and filled with flavoured buttercream, Bûche de Noël is shaped to resemble a log, complete with a bark-like texture and decorative marzipan mushrooms. The cake is often flavoured with chocolate, coffee, or chestnut, adding a touch of elegance to any Christmas celebration. Indulging in a slice of this delectable French treat will transport you to a world of festive enchantment.
Therefore…
Embarking on a culinary journey through Europe’s top 3 Yuletide delicacies is a delightful way to celebrate the holiday season. From Germany’s Stollen to Italy’s Panettone and France’s Bûche de Noël, each country offers its own unique and mouthwatering treats. So, this festive season, gather your loved ones, savour these delectable delights, and create lasting memories around the table. After all, what better way to celebrate and spread holiday cheer than through the joy of food?
Christian movements and communities have something to say about the future of Europe, and more broadly about peace in the world. In Timisoara, Romania, at the annual meeting of the “Together for Europe” network (from 16 to 19 November), we saw many examples of commitments driven by the “courage of hope”.
But it is difficult to speak of hope today when there is so much war and violence. To date, 114 million people have been displaced, and wars are the main cause.
“All this can fuel despair. But we are here today because we believe that Jesus Christ has conquered everything”, says Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement.
Dialogue, the face of hope
In this context, “dialogue” seems an impossible word to pronounce, but it is the most effective face of hope. It says that I want to get closer, to be enriched by diversity, to go beyond fear. God is calling us to put brotherhood at the heart. We need united communities that bear witness to the Gospel.
In 2007, Chiara Lubich said that every movement is a response from the Holy Spirit to the collective night that Europe is going through. They build fraternal networks. M. Karram is convinced that the Spirit’s creativity will open new paths for us.
“God is calling us to give visible signs of communion that have their roots in heaven, but must be manifested here on earth. To do this, we need to practise dialogue, highlighting the positive aspects and charisms that animate the various communities. The dream of coexistence that integrates diversity cannot be delegated to institutions alone”, she says.
She concludes with a call to keep listening and to get down to work. The whole world, not just Europe, needs this hope.
Unity, a way of the cross
Ciprian Vasile Olinici, Romania’s Secretary of State for Culture and Religious Affairs, set aside his speech to improvise after M. Karram’s address. He is convinced that the movements united in “Together for Europe” are making an important contribution.
Their communion is essential, because it is a response to Christ’s prayer “That all may be one”! This prayer was given on the way to the cross. So unity is not a simple path. It is also what Europe has experienced.
“When God created human beings, he created a context, a garden. A context where there are relationships. So unity is not primarily a system of values, but a relationship between people,” he says.
Two values are fundamental for him: faith in Jesus Christ, as proposed in Scripture and defined by the Councils, and the answer to the question “who is my brother”? If Europe seeks the fuel of unity outside Christ, our role is to remind it of its history, which is also its future.
The courage to bear witness
A former prime minister of Slovakia, member of a charismatic community and of the “European Communities Network”, Eduard Heger is convinced of the impact of communities on society. They bring hope and are committed to reconciliation. In Slovakia, for example, they were the first to help refugees from Ukraine.
At a time when the number of Christians is falling and the Churches are lacking impact, E. Heger encouraged the assembly not to give up: “We have heard here that everything is possible for those who believe. Jesus has sent us to share the Gospel. May he give us the courage not only to live it by loving one another, but also to proclaim it, in order to bring about reconciliation”.
He concludes with an impassioned plea to bear witness to politicians: “Please get in touch with politicians, even if they don’t have faith – I myself was an atheist. Knock on their door 77 times 7 times until it opens”!
Unity in diversity
Hungarian Ilona Toth learned about harmony in diversity by playing in an orchestra. She had no idea that God was going to use this experience to live out unity in diversity as part of Together for Europe. She asks: “What can we do to make unity more open and dynamic, to heal our historical wounds? We’re only at the beginning in Eastern Europe. The communion between movements in “Together for Europe” is teaching me the art of living together”.
At the end of these rich days, two thoughts animate Gerhard Pross, the moderator of Together for Europe:
“Standing in the midst of our brokenness: In our brokenness, we look to Jesus crucified, who reconciled the world by entering into it. Reconciliation opens us up to life and to the future. But it is not easy and it costs us, because it implies repentance and forgiveness to be given or asked for.
“Connecting the fires of renewal in Europe”: What will the energy of the future be? The energy of houses with interconnected solar panels. We need the big energy producers, but we also need the small ones. The same goes for communities linking up with each other. Together for Europe is working to develop this network of spiritual energy.
Mustard seed!
With a heart full of joy, Josef-Csaba Pál, Catholic bishop of Timisoara, is confident that God has worked among us and in us during these days.
For him, the communities bear witness to the fact that relationships are the foundation of unity. But unity is not achieved in a day; we have to start working on it again every day. “We have been given the strength to move forward. With God all things are possible: let us ask him unceasingly to give us the courage to work for unity”.
Following in the footsteps of the apostle Paul, he reminds us that if we sow or plant, it is God who makes it grow. We have to do our part, but we don’t have to worry about the growth. That depends on God.
“When we see something beautiful developing in another community, we should celebrate it, encourage the good, especially the young. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed… That’s my hope. May the Holy Spirit help it to grow!”
Schematic of neural response for linear magnetic-to-electric conversion (top two conversions) versus nonlinear (bottom third). Image credit: Josh Chen/Rice University
Magnetoelectric material is the first of its kind able to directly stimulate neural tissue.
Researchers have long recognized the therapeutic potential of using magnetoelectrics ⎯ materials that can turn magnetic fields into electric fields ⎯ to stimulate neural tissue minimally invasively and help treat neurological disorders or nerve damage.
The problem, however, is that neurons have difficulty responding to the shape and frequency of the electric signal resulting from this conversion.
Rice University neuroengineer Jacob Robinson and his team designed the first magnetoelectric material that solves this issue and performs magnetic-to-electric conversion 120 times faster than similar materials.
According to a study published in Nature Materials, the researchers showed the material can be used to precisely stimulate neurons remotely and to bridge the gap in a broken sciatic nerve in a rat model.
Robinson said that the material’s qualities and performance could profoundly impact neurostimulation treatments, making for significantly less invasive procedures. Instead of implanting a neurostimulation device, tiny amounts of the material could simply be injected at the desired site.
Moreover, given magnetoelectrics’ range of application in computing, sensing, electronics and other fields, the research provides a framework for advanced materials design that could drive innovation more broadly.
“We asked, ‘Can we create a material that can be like dust or is so small that by placing just a sprinkle of it inside the body you’d be able to stimulate the brain or nervous system?’” said Joshua Chen, a Rice doctoral alumnus who is a lead author on the study.
“With that question in mind, we thought that magnetoelectric materials were ideal candidates for use in neurostimulation. They respond to magnetic fields, which easily penetrate into the body, and convert them into electric fields ⎯ a language our nervous system already uses to relay information.”
The researchers started with a magnetoelectric material made up of a piezoelectric layer of lead zirconium titanate sandwiched between two magnetorestrictive layers of metallic glass alloys, or Metglas, which can be rapidly magnetized and demagnetized.
Gauri Bhave, a former research scientist in the Robinson lab, is a lead co-author on a study published in Nature Materials. Photo courtesy of Gauri Bhave / Rice University
Gauri Bhave, a former researcher in the Robinson lab who now works in technology transfer for Baylor College of Medicine, explained that the magnetorestrictive element vibrates with the application of a magnetic field.
“This vibration means it basically changes its shape,” Bhave said. “The piezoelectric material is something that, when it changes its shape, creates electricity. So when those two are combined, the conversion that you’re getting is that the magnetic field you’re applying from the outside of the body turns into an electric field.”
However, magnetoelectrics’ electric signals are too fast and uniform for neurons to detect. The challenge was to engineer a new material that could generate an electric signal that would actually get cells to respond.
“For all other magnetoelectric materials, the relationship between the electric field and the magnetic field is linear, and what we needed was a material where that relationship was nonlinear,” Robinson said. “We had to think about the kinds of materials we could deposit on this film that would create that nonlinear response.”
Jacob Robinson is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering at Rice University. Photo courtesy of the Robinson lab/Rice University
The researchers layered platinum, hafnium oxide and zinc oxide and added the stacked materials on top of the original magnetoelectric film. One of the challenges they faced was finding fabrication techniques compatible with the materials.
“A lot of work went into making this very thin layer of less than 200 nanometers that gives us the really special properties,” Robinson said.
Magnetoelectric nonlinear metamaterials are 120 times faster at stimulating neural activity than previously used magnetic materials. Image credit: Robinson lab/Rice University
“This reduced the size of the entire device so that in the future, it could be injectable,” Bhave added.
As proof of concept, the researchers used the material to stimulate peripheral nerves in rats and demonstrated the material’s potential for use in neuroprosthetics by showing it could restore function in a severed nerve.
“We can use this metamaterial to bridge the gap in a broken nerve and restore fast electric signal speeds,” Chen said.
“Overall, we were able to rationally design a new metamaterial that overcomes many challenges in neurotechnology. And more importantly, this framework for advanced material design can be applied toward other applications like sensing and memory in electronics.”
Robinson, who drew on his doctoral work in photonics for inspiration in engineering the new material, said he finds it “really exciting that we can now design devices or systems using materials that have never existed before rather than being confined to ones in nature.”
“Once you discover a new material or class of materials, I think it’s really hard to anticipate all the potential uses for them,” said Robinson, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering. “We’ve focused on bioelectronics, but I expect there may be many applications beyond this field.”
Gustavo Guillerme, President of the World Congress of Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue recognized L Ron Hubbard for the work he inspired worldwide
BRUSSELS, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, December 28, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — In a world that often experiences division due to differences, the power of dialogue and mutual respect among various spiritual paths paves the way for a more harmonious global community. The recent visit of Mr. Gustavo Guillerme, President of the World Congress of Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue, to the headquarters of the Church of Scientology in Brussels serves as a symbol of hope and an example of what can be achieved when faiths unite for peace.
On December 19th, 2023, a significant event unfolded that represented the potential for spiritual unity. Mr. Gustavo Guillerme, an influential advocate for intercultural understanding, entered the premises of the Church of Scientology—a place that prioritizes spiritual freedom. There, he had a meeting with Ivan Arjona, an enthusiastic representative representing Scientology at European Institutions and the United Nations.
This encounter went beyond mere pleasantries; it represented a deep appreciation for the impactful work inspired by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. His teachings have resonated worldwide with their message of promoting peace, both in a spiritual and environmental sense.
Acknowledging L Ron Hubbard, a 20th Century Visionary
The highlight of this significant meeting involved paying tribute to L. Ron Hubbard’s contributions. It wasn’t just a symbolic gesture but a clear statement that the pursuit of peace and understanding surpasses any particular belief system.
Mr. Guillerme’s act of honouring Hubbard’s legacy serves as an invitation for all faiths to transcend their differences and recognize the common thread of peace that unites humanity.
The Essence of Collaborating Across Faiths
Collaborating across different faiths doesn’t mean diluting one’s own beliefs; instead, it expands our capacity for empathy and understanding. It involves acknowledging that each tradition holds a spark of divinity and carries narratives that can contribute to building peace collectively.
“Working with Gustavo Guillerme and his World Congress, which marks now 10 years, perfectly embodies the essence of interfaith dialogue. It is an exchange of ideas, sharing values and a joint commitment to making our world better” said Ivan Arjona.
A Call to Action
The recognition of L. Ron Hubbard’s work by the World Congress of Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue serves as a strong message for all faith communities to come together in the pursuit of peace.
“It is an invitation to support and stand by one another, working collaboratively towards a world where everyone can achieve environmental sustainability as well as spiritual and physical well-being,” continued Arjona.
“Faith communities hold a special place within society’s fabric. They often serve as crucial support networks, offering comfort and guidance to their followers” said Guillerme.
“By harnessing this influence for the cause of peace, religious leaders and their followers can become influential catalysts for change. The work inspired by L. Ron Hubbard highlights how faith can foster environmental stewardship and promote physical and spiritual well-being as core elements of a harmonious society” stated Gustavo Guillerme just before his trip to the Vatican for the launching of the book on Mama Antula, who will be sanctified by Pope Francis next February 11th.
Embracing Diversity with a Unified Purpose
“The journey towards peace is enriched by embracing diversity in all its forms. Each faith brings its unique perspective, rituals and wisdom, contributing to the collective human experience. By embracing this diversity, exemplified through Guillerme’s work, we can form a united front against division and conflict” explained Arjona in a heartfelt acceptance speech.
“It allows us to unite, not despite our differences, but because of them, as we strive for a shared goal: Peace” concluded Arjona.
Recognizing and appreciating the contributions made by diverse faiths to the global peace movement is essential. It breaks down barriers and fosters understanding. The acknowledgement given to the work of L. Ron Hubbard, especially the work done to help Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Christians, Muslims and more, serves as a compelling example of how mutual respect can elevate conversations and yield concrete results in achieving peace.
The future holds great promise for interfaith dialogue when leaders like Mr Gustavo Guillerme take courageous steps to honour the peaceful contributions made by other faiths. This sets a precedent for open communication and collaborative efforts. As more religious leaders follow suit, the potential for creating a peaceful world becomes increasingly tangible.
“Let us draw inspiration from this momentous occasion to foster an environment where different faiths can collaborate towards a greater good, standing united in our noble pursuit of peace. Together, we have the power to build a world where achieving spiritual, physical and environmental harmony is not just a dream but an actuality,” said Ivan Arjona in a speech to his community.
On 7 December, the Argentinian newspaper “LA NACION” titled an article about the Buenos Aires Yoga School (BAYS) accused of criminal activities “The case is back to zero and the defendants are close to acquittal.” This was the conclusion of Gabriel di Nicola, the author of the article, after a court of appeal declared the nullity of the elevation to trial of the case.
The decision was taken by Chamber II of the Court of Appeals in the Federal Criminal and Correctional Court of Buenos Aires, composed of judges Martin Irurzun, Roberto Boico and Eduardo Farah.
Argentina, a yoga school falsely described as a “horror cult” close to acquittal from any crime 3
In the BAYS case, seventeen people had been prosecuted for crimes of illegal association, human trafficking for sexual exploitation and money laundering. In the last few years, hundreds of media outlets in Argentina and abroad had presented the yoga group headed by Juan Percowicz, 85, as a “horror cult.”
Last September, following a request made by federal prosecutor Carlos Stornelli and his colleague from the Office of the Attorney General for Trafficking and Exploitation of Persons (PROTEX), Alejandra Mangano, federal judge Ariel Lijo had closed the investigation of the case and brought it to trial with 17 defendants, including Juan Percowicz, the 85-year-old leader of the yoga school, who was identified by the prosecutors as the head of the alleged criminal organisation.
9 women declared victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation against their will
Nine women who had attended the classes of the Buenos Aires Yoga School (BAYS), accused of alleged trafficking in human beings for prostitution, were declared victims of BAYS by two prosecutors of PROTEX despite their repeated and strong denials of ever having been prostituted.
About some aspects of the implementation of this law, HRWF asked some clarification from Ms Marisa Tarantino, Assistant Prosecutor of the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office Nr 34 and former legal Prosecutor of the Attorney General’s Office. She is also a specialist in Justice Administration (Universidad de Buenos Aires/ Buenos Aires University) and holds a Master’s Degree in Criminal Law (Universidad de Palermo/ Palermo University).
Here are some of her legal comments:
First of all, I do not give my opinion on particular cases when I do not know the file but I can give you some technical explanations. What can be understood by “prostitution” is a matter of interpretation, but it is generally understood to be the exchange of sex for money or other benefits of economic value.
This law reformed the Penal Code in various articles that provide several criminal classifications for cases of trafficking in persons and exploitation of persons (Art. 125 bis, 126, 127, 140).
According to this law, when the prostitution of others or any other form of offering sexual services of others is promoted, facilitated or commercialized, it is a criminal activity.
In the amendments to the criminal definitions relating to sexual exploitation, there is an express mention of the lack of legal relevance of the consent of the passive subject. At the same time, the reform also transferred the so-called “means of commission” that in the previous law were included in the basic definitions and now form part of an aggravated crime.
Both decisions result in a radical change in the treatment of prostitution in the criminal sphere.
The key to the reform is that the “means of commission,” which were previously defining elements of the crime as they were provided for in the basic definition, are no longer so. Any exercise of coercion, physical violence or even the abuse of a state of vulnerability is captured by aggravated criminal offenses. Thus, the basic definition provides for perfectly autonomous exchanges free from the exercise of violence or coercion.
In short, if in a particular case the prosecution agencies detect an activity that they classify as a form of ‘prostitution’, even if it is exercised by adult and autonomous persons, these will be objectively considered victims and those who make the activity possible or benefit from it in any way, even if it is occasional, will be liable to prosecution.”
In their report in which they had also requested the arrest of Percowicz, BAYS founder and leader, and the other suspects, prosecutors Stornelli, Mangano and Marcelo Colombo, the latter also a member of PROTEX, had argued that BAYS collected 500,000 dollars per month and that most of the income came from the sexual exploitation of the ‘students.’
After the lawyers of some of the accused, Claudio Caffarello and Fernando Sicilia, were informed of the court decision, they declared to LA NACION:
“This is a very courageous ruling. It was proven, with an expert report by the Forensic Medical Corps of the Supreme Court of Justice, that the people identified as victims did not go through situations of vulnerability, that they were not subdued and that they always acted with a free self-control of their behavior. We have always been convinced that there was no crime in this case.”
Lawyer Alfredo Olivan, who together with his colleague Martín Calvet Salas represents eight of the accused, considers that their clients should be declared non-guilty of illegal association, human trafficking for sexual exploitation and money laundering. And he announced that he would present a request for the acquittal of all his clients.
About the vulnerability of non-victims falling in the hands of PROTEX
The question asked by HRWF to Ms Marisa Tarantino was: “What are the legal domestic remedies for an alleged victim of prostitution NOT to be recognized as a victim and NOT to be involved in a criminal case against a third party?”
Tarantino’s answer was:
Current procedural law expressly recognizes the right of victims to be heard and to have their opinion taken into account. They must be notified of the progress of the proceedings and have the right to request review of those decisions that put an end to the process.
They also have the right to become plaintiffs in order to bring charges against those who are accused. However, victims are not entitled to determine the public criminal action. Sexual exploitation crimes are offenses of public action. Therefore, the decision of a victim not to advance in the criminal process, although she can and should be heard, is not sufficient to close a case. The law considers that in crimes of public action there is a state interest at stake and prosecution must continue even if the victim does not agree. Therefore, prosecutors are obliged to do so unless they rule out the existence of the crime due to lack of evidence or lack of adequacy of the case to the legal requirements of the criminal type.
Damning conclusions
During the whole operation against the yoga school, the methods used by PROTEX were very controversial.
PROTEX fabricated a criminal case on the basis of a botched preparatory investigation and the unreliable testimony of a single person, resulting in the public fabrication of adult women into victims of sexual exploitation, despite their strong and repeated denial.
PROTEX staged a spectacular police operation and a large-scale show of force which the media were informed about with the obvious purpose to benefit from great publicity while it could and should have been organized with discretion and announced afterwards by a press release in measured terms or a press conference.
PROTEX chose to use violence during the flat searches, smashing the front doors when residents offered to open them with their keys.
PROTEX staged a highly visual display of the discovery of cash that was allegedly the proceeds of human trafficking for the purpose of prostitution.
PROTEX filmed the crackdown, but not in a neutral way, to show its alleged professionalism and efficiency, and made the videos public.
Since the beginning, there have not been any victims in the BAYS’ case, just as the nine women have always loudly claimed and now the expert report by the Forensic Medical Corps of the Supreme Court of Justice confirms.
As a result of PROTEX’s action
– 19 people, including the nearly 85-year-old founder of BAYS, were arrested for alleged criminal activities and spent between 18 and 84 days in prison
– the names of several women described as sex workers, despite their denial, were wrongly made public
– several victims of this police operation have lost their husbands or partners, their jobs or their clients in their economic activities.
Some of the damage is irreparable. The “horror cult,” as BAYS has been described in hundreds of press articles and television programs, never existed. Fake news but real damage.
Valery Maletskov with his wife and Marina Chaplykina before their conviction, Novosibirsk, December 2023 (Credit: https://jw-russia.org)
On 18 December 2023, the judge of the Novosibirsk District Court, Oleg Karpets, sentenced Marina Chaplykina to 4 years in prison, and Valeriy Maletskov to 6 years in prison for organizing religious meetings in private homes. They were taken into custody in the courtroom. They do not admit their guilt and can appeal the verdict.
In April 2019, FSB investigator Selyunin opened a criminal case against them, accusing them of extremism. On the same day, searches were carried out at a total of 12 addresses. In one case, the planting of banned literature was seen. Valeriy Maletskov, who lives with his wife and a young child, was invaded by the armed security forces, breaking down the front door. He was accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization, and Marina Chaplykina was accused of participating in it and financing it. The man was placed under house arrest, and the woman was placed under recognizance agreement.
After three years of investigation, the case was submitted to the Novosibirsk District Court. The accusation was based on recordings of conversations with believers made by a secret witness “Ivan”, who attended services of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The couple was among 8 Jehovah’s Witnesses persecuted for their faith in the Novosibirsk region. Aleksandr Seredkin, whose case was divided into separate proceedings from the case of Maletskov and Chaplykina, is serving 6 years in a penal colony. People belonging to other faiths are also serving long prison terms for the practice of their faith: 6 Protestants – 6 Muslims (Said Nursi followers) – 5 Muslims (Faizrakhman) – 2 Greek Catholic – Orthodox (2) – Shaman (1)
It’s cold, Paris at this time of year is melting away in humidity, 83 percent, and in temperature, just three degrees. Luckily, my usual coffee with milk and a piece of toast with butter and jam allow me to put the computer on the table to get closer to a story that once again takes us into the devastating world of death and the medical class.
In a newspaper, on September 22, 2001, many years ago, I found a small piece, you know, those short news items that appear in column form and that are used by newspaper editors to fill the page, which said the next:
«A study published in the latest edition of the British Medical Journal indicates that the latest generation antidepressant drugs that inhibit the reabsorption of serotonin in the brain increase the risk of suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding in elderly people. Research carried out in several Canadian hospitals has specifically detected that the possibility of suffering from this disorder increases by 10 percent.«.
Although the research was carried out in a Canadian hospital, the reality is that in these, just over twenty years, the intake of antidepressants in the world population has been and is being truly alarming. The large pharmaceutical industries, aided by family doctors, the media and psychiatrists, have implanted the idea that any emotional state that upsets us can be declared a “mental illness” and medicated with some joy with new generation antidepressants.
In 2010 I myself was at the doctor and the doctor who treated me, when I told him about my state of mind, a certain apathy, because I had just gone through a deep grieving process in which I was still immersed, without considering any other type of treatment, He prescribed me antidepressants, which of course I didn’t take. However, every time I visit my doctor to have any document done, related to some test, I see with astonishment how in my clinical history I am listed as a person who suffers from depression. If I had decided to take medication at that time, today I would be a chronic patient stuffed with pills for my “depressive” treatment.
In November 2022, a report was published on a geriatric portal whose headline was devastating: Stroke cases will increase by 34% in the next decade in Europe. The Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN) pointed out that 12.2 million people in the world will suffer a stroke in 2022 and 6.5 million will die. It also provided the information that more than 110 million people who had suffered a stroke were in a situation of disability.
Among the possible causes of suffering a stroke are established, according to this association and others consulted, high blood pressure, smoking, physical inactivity, an unhealthy diet, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, atrial fibrillation, high blood lipid levels, diabetes mellitus, genetics, stress, etc. Apparently living, in general, causes a stroke. Once again, medicine puts a huge deck on the table so that, with any card that comes your way, you have no choice but to take medication. And especially for stress or tension, anxiolytics and antidepressants.
In my modest research on the relationship between old age and stroke, I came across some truly terrifying articles that put all the blame, as justice would say, for the ordeal on the elderly person (I myself am already an elderly person). In an article published on November 28 of this same year (2023) and titled: Depression, a public health problem among the elderly population. Among the terrifying symptoms that can diagnose this chronic disease you can read the following:
«The Depression has become a public health problem which deserves special attention for its effects on cognitive decline of older people. Its symptoms can vary and affect both the physical and emotional well-being of those who suffer from it.
Some of the common symptoms They are loss of energy or constant fatigue, boredom, sadness or apathy, low self-esteem, nervousness, restlessness, delusions, unjustified fear, feeling of uselessness, mild cognitive alterations, presence of unexplained pain or chronic pain and some behavioral disorders.«.
Social factors that in no case should be treated with antidepressants. Qualifying these problems as a case of public health is a shame that is being imposed to permanently medicate people who should only be helped to feel useful again. To affirm that these people are “a burden” is to deprive them of their fundamental rights, especially when they end up in nursing homes not focused on their social and emotional reintegration, but only as “livestock” to be fed and filled with medications until they die and stop working. give the fuss.
Overmedication is a risk factor, especially in people who already have gray hair. Studies on what causes a certain disease, carried out in any university in the world or “accredited” organization, do not necessarily, never, analyze who causes it. That is why whenever we are prescribed anything, we should not get tired of asking at all times, even to internet search engines so that they can show us and clarify every last molecule of doubt we have. And if not, I recommend spending a few dollars (euros) to buy the odd book critical of the medical system. I always tend to recommend, considering its author and his training as a doctor, one of these two books: How to survive in an overmedicated world either Drugs that kill and organized crime.
The global health system wants us loaded with medications. The medicine should only be used very occasionally. If we need to be constantly at the doctor it means something is not working, let’s read the pills we consume, the side effects they cause and perhaps it turns out that we are falling into a self-destructive spiral guided by one-eyed people leading the blind.
But as I always say, while I finished my cold coffee, my articles, my observations, have nothing to do with the honest medical class that tries to bring together positions so that our health is increasingly better and more stable. And likewise it is also convenient for us to realize the life we lead. It is healthy? If it is not, let’s change.
When he isn’t investigating human motor control, the graduate student gives back by volunteering with programs that helped him grow as a researcher in the field of human-robot interactions in healthcare.
An accomplished MIT student researcher in health care robotics with many scholarship and fellowship awards, A. Michael West is nonchalant about how he chose his path.
Efficient and safe human-robot interaction is particularly important in clinical settings. Image credit: Olga Guryanova via Unsplash, free license
“I kind of fell into it,” the mechanical engineering PhD candidate says, adding that growing up in suburban California, he was social, athletic — and good at math. “I had the classic choice: You can be a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer.”
Having witnessed his mother’s grueling residency when she was training to be a doctor and feeling like he didn’t enjoy reading and writing enough to be a lawyer, “That left engineer,” he says.
Luckily, he enjoyed physics in high school because, he says, “it gave meaning to the numbers we were learning in mathematics,” and later on, his major in mechanical engineering at Yale University agreed with him.
“I definitely stuck with it,” West says. “I liked what I was learning.”
Digital transformation in medicine – artistic impression. Image credit: geralt via Pixabay, free license
As a rising senior at Yale, West was selected to participate in the MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP). The program identifies talented undergraduates to spend a summer on MIT’s campus, conducting research with the mentorship of MIT faculty, postdocs, and graduate students to prepare program participants for graduate study.
For West, MSRP was an education in what “exactly grad school was, especially what it would be like at MIT.”
It was also, and most importantly, a source of validation that West could succeed in the higher levels of academia.
“It gave me the confidence to apply to top grad schools, to know that I could actually contribute here and be successful,” West says. “It very much gave me the confidence to walk into a room and approach people who obviously know way more than I do about certain topics.”
Engineers work with medical robotic equipment – illustrative photo. Image credit: ThisisEngineering RAEng via Unsplash, free license
With MSRP, West also found a community and made enduring friendships, he says. “It’s nice to be in spaces where you get to see a lot of minorities in science, which MSRP was,” he says.
Having benefited from the MSRP experience, West gave back once he enrolled at MIT by working as an MRSP group leader for two summers. “You can create this same experience for people after you,” he says.
His involvement as a leader and mentor in MSRP is just one way West has sought to give back. As an undergraduate, for example, he served as president of his school’s National Society of Black Engineers chapter, and at MIT, he has served as treasurer for the Black Graduate Student Association and the Academy of Courageous Minority Engineers.
“Maybe it’s just a familial thing,” West says, “but being a Black American, my parents raised me in a way that you always remember where you come from, you remember what your ancestors went through.”
West’s current research — with Neville Hogan, the Sun Jae Professor in Mechanical Engineering, in the Eric P. and Evelyn E. Newton Laboratory for Biomechanics and Human Rehabilitation — is also aimed at helping others, especially those who have suffered orthopedic or neurological injury.
“I’m trying to understand how humans control and manage their movement from a mathematical standpoint,” he says. “If you have a way of quantifying the movement, then you can measure it better and implement that to robotics, to make better devices to help in rehabilitation.”
In 2022, West was chosen to be an MIT-Takeda fellow. The MIT-Takeda Program, a collaboration between MIT’s School of Engineering and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company, primarily promotes the application of artificial intelligence to benefit human health. As a Takeda Fellow, West has studied the ability of the human hand to manipulate objects and tools.
West says the Takeda Fellowship gave him time to focus on his research, the funding allowing him to forgo working as a teaching assistant. Although he loves teaching and hopes to secure a tenure-track position as a professor after earning his PhD, he says the time commitment associated with being a teaching assistant is significant. In the third year of his PhD, West devoted about 20 hours a week to a teaching position.
“Having a lot of time to do research is great,” he says. “Learning what you need to learn about and doing the research gets you to the next step.”
In fact, the type of research that West conducts is especially time-intensive. This is at least partly because human motor control involves much automatic, subconscious activity that is predictably difficult to understand.
“How do people control these complex, subconscious systems? Understanding that is a slow-going process. A lot of the findings build on each other. You have to have a solid understanding of what is known, what is a working hypothesis, what is testable, what is not testable, and how to bring the non-testable to testable,” West says, adding, “We won’t understand how humans control movement in my lifetime.”
To make progress, West says he has to carefully proceed one step at a time.
“What are the small questions I can ask? What are the questions that have already been asked, and how can we build upon those? That’s when the task becomes less daunting,” he says.
“What they’re looking for is someone whose research is translational, that can have impacts in industry,” West says. “It’s promising that they’re interested in the basic, fundamental research I’m doing. I haven’t worked on the translational side yet. It’s something I’d like to get into after graduation.”
While earning prestigious fellowships and advancing human-robot interactions in health care, West is still very much the laid-back guy who “fell into” engineering. He finds time to meet with friends on the weekends, took up rugby as a graduate student, and has a long-distance relationship with his fiancée, with a wedding date set for next summer.
Asked how he will counsel his future students when they approach complicated work, he has a predictably relaxed response.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There’s always going to be someone who’s better at something than you are, and that’s a good thing. If there weren’t, life would be a little boring.”
Opening new possibilities for quantum sensors, atomic clocks and tests of fundamental physics, JILA researchers have developed new ways of “entangling” or interlinking the properties of large numbers of particles. In the process, they have devised ways to measure large groups of atoms more accurately even in disruptive, noisy environments.
Higher accuracy atomic clocks, such as the “tweezer clock” depicted here, could result from linking or “entangling” atoms in a new way through a method known as “spin squeezing,” in which one property of an atom is measured more precisely than is usually allowed in quantum mechanics by decreasing the precision in which a complementary property is measured. Image credit: S. Burrows/JILA
The new techniques are described in a pair of papers published in Nature. JILA is a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder.
“Entanglement is the holy grail of measurement science,” said Ana Maria Rey, a theoretical physicist and a JILA and NIST Fellow.
“Atoms are the best sensors ever. They’re universal. The problem is that they’re quantum objects, so they’re intrinsically noisy. When you measure them, sometimes they’re in one energy state, sometimes they’re in another state. When you entangle them, you can manage to cancel the noise.”
When atoms are entangled, what happens to one atom affects all the atoms entangled to it. Having dozens — better yet, hundreds — of entangled atoms working together reduces the noise, and the signal from the measurement becomes clearer, more certain. Entangled atoms also reduce the number of times scientists need to run their measurements, getting results in less time.
Spintronics – artistic concept. Image credit: Creativity103 via Flickr, CC BY 2.0
One means of entanglement is with a process called spin squeezing. Like all objects that obey the rules of quantum physics, atoms can exist in multiple energy states at once, an ability known as superposition. Spin squeezing reduces all those possible superposition states in an atom to just a few possibilities. It’s like squeezing a balloon.
When you squeeze the balloon, the middle shrinks and the opposite ends become bigger. When atoms are spin squeezed, the range of possible states they can be in narrows in some directions and expands in others.
But it’s harder to entangle atoms that are farther away from each other. Atoms have stronger interactions with atoms that are closest to them; the farther away the atoms, the weaker their interactions.
Quantum physics, sea of excitons – artistic interpretation. Image credit: Sigmund via Unsplash, free license
Think of it like people talking at a crowded party. People closest to each other can have a conversation, but those across the room can barely hear them, and the information gets lost down the line. Scientists want the whole party of atoms to talk to each other at the same time. Physicists around the world are all looking at different ways to achieve that entanglement.
“A major goal in the community is to produce entangled states to get higher-precision measurements in a shorter amount of time,” said Adam Kaufman, a physicist and JILA Fellow.
In this experiment, the team lined up 51 calcium ions in a trap and used lasers to induce interactions between them. This is because the laser excites phonons, vibrations sort of like sound waves between the atoms.
Those phonons spread down the line of atoms, linking them together. In prior experiments, these links were engineered to be static, so an ion could only talk to a specific set of ions when illuminated by the lasers.
Quantum states, quantum physics – artistic interpretation. Image credit: Ben Wicks via Unsplash, free license
By adding external magnetic fields, it was possible to make the links dynamic, growing and changing over time. That meant an ion that could talk to only one group of ions at first could talk to a different group, and eventually, it was able to talk to all other ions in the array.
This overcomes that distance problem, Rey says, and the interactions were strong all the way down the line of atoms. Now all the atoms were working together, and they could all talk to each other without losing the message along the way.
Within a short amount of time, the ions became entangled, forming a spin-squeezed state, but with a little more time, they transformed into what’s called a cat state. This state is named for Erwin Schrodinger’s famous thought experiment about superposition, in which he proposed that a cat trapped in a box is both alive and dead until the box is opened and its state can be observed.
For atoms, a cat state is a special kind of superposition in which the atoms are in two diametrically opposed states, like up and down, at the same time. Cat states are highly entangled, Rey points out, making them especially great for measurement science.
The next step will be to try this technique with a two-dimensional array of atoms, upping the number of atoms to improve how long they can stay in these entangled states. Additionally, it could potentially let scientists make measurements more precisely and much quicker.
Spin-squeezing entanglement could also benefit optical atomic clocks, which are an important measurement science tool. Kaufman and his group at JILA, along with collaborators in NIST/JILA colleague Jun Ye’s group, tested a different method in another study in this issue of Nature.
The researchers loaded 140 strontium atoms into an optical lattice, a single plane of light to hold the atoms. They used finely controlled beams of light, called optical tweezers, to place the atoms into little subgroups of 16 to 70 atoms each.
With a high-power ultraviolet laser, they excited the atoms into a superposition of their usual “clock” state and a higher-energy Rydberg state. This technique is called Rydberg dressing.
The clock state atoms are like the quiet people at the crowded party; they don’t strongly interact with others. But for atoms in the Rydberg state, the outermost electron is so far from the center of the atom that the atom is effectively very large in size, enabling it to interact more strongly with the other atoms.
Now the whole party is talking. With this spin-squeezing technique, they can create entanglement across the entire array of 70 atoms.
The researchers compared frequency measurements between 70-atom groups and found that this entanglement improved precision below the limit for unentangled particles, known as the standard quantum limit.
Quicker, more precise measurements will allow these clocks to be better sensors to search for dark matter and produce better time and frequency measurements.
Papers:
Johannes Franke, Sean R. Muleady, Raphael Kaubruegger, Florian Kranzl, Rainer Blatt, Ana Maria Rey, Manoj K. Joshi and Christian F. Roos. Quantum-enhanced sensing on optical transitions through finite-range interactions. Nature. Aug. 30, 2023. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06472-z
William J. Eckner, Nelson Darkwah Oppong, Alec Cao, Aaron W. Young, William R. Milner, John M. Robinson, Jun Ye and Adam M. Kaufman. Realizing spin squeezing with Rydberg interactions in an optical clock. Nature. Aug. 30, 2023. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06360-6
