text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|May 12, 1992
|Filing date
|Dec 31, 1990
|Priority date
|Jul 24, 1990
|Fee status
|Publication number
|Sanjeev Saksena
|Original Assignee
|Sanjeev Saksena
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (4), Non-Patent Citations (20), Referenced by (34), Classifications (9), Legal Events (3)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 559,501, filed Jul. 24, 1990, now abandoned, which in turn was a continuation of application Ser. No. 383,225, filed Jul. 19, 1989, now abandoned, which in turn was a continuation of parent application Ser. No. 55,685 filed May 29, 1987, now abandoned.
This invention relates to processes for the control of tachyarrhythmias by in vivo ablation of human heart tissue by means of discrete pulses of laser energy. It also relates to surgically incising a heart by such discrete pulses of laser energy. In a broader sense, this invention relates to reducing the risk of what laymen often refer to as heart attacks.
By way of background, ventricular fibrillation is one type of tachyarrhythmia. It is an irregular uncoordinated action of the fibers of the heart muscle, which results in a failure of the heart to pump blood. Ventricular tachycardia is another type of tachyarrhythmia and is also an irregularity of the heart muscle, generally characterized by an abnormally fast and altered contraction pattern, which may in some instances itself lead to death in a few minutes. Supraventricular tachycardia occurs in the tissues of the heart above the ventricles, especially in the sinus node, atrium, the atrioventricular (AV) bypass tract, or in the AV node. Such tachycardias, especially ventricular tachycardia, are subject to being accelerated into ventricular fibrillation by a number of known factors and stimuli, and hence their existence poses a latent or overt threat to continued life.
The importance of the foregoing is that ventricular tachycardia may, and ventricular fibrillation does, result in cessation of adequate pump function of the heart and sudden cardiac death. This is the leading cause of death of humans in the United States.
Various therapeutic means for controlling tachyarrhythmias have evolved. These include pharmaceutical compounds and compositions for suppressing tachyarrhythmias, implantable antitachycardia devices, and mechanical surgical procedures for the resection of heart tissue. Cardiac mapping techniques conducted during sinus rhythm and/or during induced tachycardia have made possible the identification of specific zones of heart tissue which are the foci of tachyarrhythmias. Such foci occur in many portions of the heart tissue, varying from person to person, and in normal tissue as well as in diseased tissue. Thus, cardiac mapping is an almost necessary diagnostic technique preceding the use of the inventions described herein but must be performed on each patient on a case-by-case basis.
Although cardiac mapping greatly improved the identification of the location of the foci of tachyarrhythmias, thus improving the success of mechanical resection surgery, most such foci occur where mechanical resection is difficult or impractical to perform. Alternative means for the ablation of tissue containing tachyarrhythmia foci have been attempted, e.g., cryothermia, and electrical energy delivered by means of electrode-bearing catheters. However, the therapeutic efficacy of employing electrical energy for ablation of ventricular tachycardia is still subject to debate among surgeons and physicians.
Thus, an objective of the invention described herein is to furnish a process for ablation of heart tissue which can be visually and electrically guided, and which also may be employed on heart tissue in diverse locations which are not as readily resectable by any other single procedure.
The new process is for the control of tachyarrhythmias in living humans by ablating heart tissue in vivo from at least one site by exposing the heart tissue at the site to a laser beam having sufficient energy and for a sufficient time to create a focal lesion at such site. The site in question is within an area on the inner or outer surface of heart tissue which has been previously located by cardiac mapping as causing an arrhythmia. For example, the site may be on the inside or the outside of a heart's ventricle or atrium, or in the atrioventricular groove. The laser energy is transmitted and precisely directed to the selected site by means of an elongated thin optical fiber, and the laser energy is emitted in a series of short discrete pulses.
The invention also includes the process of employing laser energy transmitted through an elongated optical fiber and delivered in a series of short discrete pulses for making incisions through all or only a portion of heart tissue, in lieu of mechanical surgery employing a scalpel. Thus, in performing a ventriculotomy, the laser energy may be employed to cut through a wall of a heart.
Any laser may be employed in practicing the processes, such as gas lasers, including argon ion or carbon dioxide, or the krypton fluoride excimer laser, or a solid laser such as neodymium-doped yttrium-aluminum-garnet. However, currently an argon laser is preferred. It has the advantage that the wave lengths of an argon laser (about 488 and 514 nanometers) is selectively absorbed by the hemoglobin of blood and the myoglobin of the heart muscle. It is hypothesized that it is advantageous to have the wave length of the laser energy selectively absorbed by constituents of the human tissue being treated, and thus the particular type of laser which will optimally serve the intended purpose depends in part upon the nature of such tissue.
The laser energy is transmitted through an elongated fiber, such as glass, quartz or plastic optical fibers, typically 100 to 600 microns in diameter. The diameter selected depends upon the specific purpose, with the larger diameters creating a lesion having a larger diameter. The distal end of the fiber may be plain or polished, or may bear a metal cap having a small-diameter aperture through which the laser beam passes. A plurality of optical fibers of differing diameters and/or design may be employed during any single operation. Typically the elongated optical fiber is disposed within the lumen (i.e., the bore) of a catheter, such as a catheter made of polyethylene terephthalate. In surgical use, the optical fiber is manipulated by a surgeon very much like a hand-held stylus with its distal tip held relatively close to the surface of the tissue to which the laser beam is directed, for example, one or two and up to about 15-20 millimeters from such tissue.
Alternatively, for ablation of tissue on the inside of the heart, a catheter bearing the optical fiber may be inserted into the heart through a blood vessel, usually a vein, and the distal tip of the fiber guided by remote control means to the site to be ablated.
Suitable laser-generating apparatus and optical fibers are already available commercially. However, it is anticipated that refinements in them will be made, and new types of lasers and optical fibers will become available, in the future.
The duration of the pulses and the amount of laser power and energy to be employed depends upon a number of factors, such as the type of laser being employed, the nature of the disease, the location and nature of the heart tissue being treated, whether the tissue is normal or diseased, and the nature of the adjoining tissue structure. With an argon laser, the pulse duration may vary over the range of from about 1/10 to about 5 seconds, the power employed may be in the range of from about 2 to about 50 watts, and the energy delivered per site may be in the range of from about 10 to about 1000 Joules. For example, for superficial vaporization of tissue in the atrium or the area of the AV conduction system, pulse durations in the range of from about 0.3 to about 0.5 seconds, laser power in the range of from about 3 to 5 watts, and energy in the range of from about 10 to about 200 Joules per site, may be employed. However, for incising a ventricle wall or creating focal lesions in ventricular tissue, pulse durations in the range of from about one to about two seconds, power in the range of from about 8 to about 12 watts, and energy in the range of from about 100 to about 1000 Joules per site, are suitable. Approximately similar ranges should be suitable for carbon dioxide or neodymium-doped yttrium-aluminum-garnet lasers. The pulse duration for a krypton fluoride excimer laser should be much shorter, by a factor of 100 or 1000, relative to the pulse duration for an argon laser. Commercially available laser generators often have timer apparatus which permits the setting, and facile changing of the setting, of the duration of the pulse, and of the intervals between the pulses. The intervals between the discrete pulses of laser energy is of lesser importance, and may be in the range of from about 0.01 to about 30 seconds, preferably in the range of from about 0.5 to about 5 seconds.
The laser energy literally vaporizes the heart tissue to which it is directed. The focal lesions which are created by the pulses of laser energy are shallow craters or cylindrical recesses in the tissue of the heart, rather like shallow miniature post holes. The lesions are preferably about two or three millimeters deep. Their diameters are a function partially of the diameter of the laser beam with which they are created, partially of the type of tissue, and partially of whether the tissue is normal or diseased. The desired diameter depends on the location in the heart where the lesions are being created. For instance, smaller lesion diameters are preferred near the AV node, whereas larger diameters are employed in ablating ventricle tissue.
The area of tissue in which focal lesions are to be created varies, depending upon the nature and extent of the tachyarrhythmia which is occurring. It is occasionally rather small, only a few square centimeters, but sometimes the area is much larger, such as 20 square centimeters. It is preferred to create the lesions in some form of a pattern, with the distance between the center lines of the lesions being in the range of from about 2 to about 50 millimeters.
It will be understood by those skilled in heart surgery and the treatment of tachyarrhythmias that the minimum effective, the maximum permissible, and the optimum, of the several process variables referred to herein (e.g., type and power of the laser, energy per site, diameter of the optical fiber, pulse duration, and the desired diameter, depth and spacing of the focal lesions) will vary from human to human, depending upon many factors, including illustratively the nature and severity of the tachyarrhythmia, its location, the nature of the tissue at and adjacent to a site of ablation, and the general physical condition of a specific patient. This lack of uniformity, which is typical in medical science, precludes precise quantitative statements of the ranges of physical parameters which will be uniformly applicable to all humans under all conditions.
The pulsed laser ablation processes described herein have a number of advantages. They are applicable for use on the tissues of any portion of the heart where the source of a tachyarrhythmia may be located, in contrast to other means of ablation of tissue. They appear to be efficacious in all such locations. They produce a virtually bloodless incision, which is of importance in heart surgery. Such processes create a focal lesion, or an incision, in which there is less carbonization of tissue and less coagulation, and in which the distance of tissue damage, measured radially outward by histological studies and by impairment of normal electrical activity of the heart tissue, is less than with a continuous or a sequential continuous laser beam or with electrical ablation processes. There is less risk of inadvertently perforating tissue than when employing a continuous laser system or a laser system requiring greater power. There is also less risk of damage to the distal tip of the optical fiber, which, should it occur decreases the uniformity of the effect on the tissue of the laser beam, and requires more frequent intraoperative changes of the apparatus comprising the optical fiber.
In experimental clinical use, the pulsed argon laser ablation process has been established as efficacious and safe, relative to the past history of new surgical processes generally, and relative to ablation processes employing a continuous laser beam specifically. To date, 20 patients have undergone in vivo pulsed argon laser ablation for the correction of various tachyarrhythmias. These operations were conducted pursuant to an experimental surgical protocol issued by the Food & Drug Administration to the applicant of this patent application. All 20 patients have survived. In 19 of such patients, their various tachyarrhythmias have been corrected and none of the 19 requires postoperative sustaining antiarrhythmic medication. One patient is still on a sustaining regimen of an antiarrhythmic pharmacological agent which is satisfactorily suppressing his arrhythmia. The same agent was unsuccessful in suppressing his arrhythmia prior to the pulsed laser ablation operation.
The apparatus usually employed comprised a 15-watt water-cooled argon ion gas laser manufactured by Laser Ionics, of Orlando, Fla. The laser beam was focused by an optical mirror and prism system into an optical coupler, furnished by Trimedyne Company, of Santa Ana, Calif. A quartz optical fiber was employed, usually having a 300 micron diameter.
The successful in vivo clinical practice of the processes described herein is the culmination of extensive preliminary studies directed to laser energy delivery techniques, the anatomical effects of laser ablation conducted on animal tissue in vitro and later in vivo, and in vitro on resectioned human tissue or on hearts obtained by autopsy, and analyses of the elctrophysiological and hemodynamic effects of laser ablation, concerning which a number of papers have been published. However, such preliminary studies are an essential predicate for a responsible professional to undertake experimental clinical practice in humans of the pulsed laser ablation and incision processes described herein. Surgical science progresses by small incremental steps, but in the pursuit of the goal of the amelioration of the lot of mankind, it is the first successful safe in vivo clinical practice in humans which satisfies that goal.
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|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 19960515


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Dear Member,
We are excited to announce CTTAM's 50th AGM and Anniversary Event scheduled for November 6 and 7, 2015. We will celebrate this milestone in the company of old and new acquaintances; exploring our past, present and future as we listen to the wisdom of our great keynote speakers.
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Predominant modifier of extreme liver cancer susceptibility in C57BR/cdJ female mice localized to 6 Mb on chromosome 17
ABSTRACT Sex hormones influence the susceptibility of inbred mice to liver cancer. C57BR/cdJ (BR) females are extremely susceptible to spontaneous and chemically induced liver tumors, in part due to a lack of protection against hepatocarcinogenesis normally offered by ovarian hormones. BR males are also moderately susceptible, and the susceptibility of both sexes of BR mice to liver tumors induced with N,N-diethylnitrosamine relative to the resistant C57BL/6J (B6) strain is caused by two loci designated Hcf1 and Hcf2 (hepatocarcinogenesis in females) located on chromosomes 17 and 1, respectively. The Hcf1 locus on chromosome 17 is the predominant modifier of liver cancer in BR mice. To validate the existence of this locus and investigate its potential interaction with Hcf2, congenic mice for each region were generated. Homozygosity for the B6.BR(D17Mit164-D17Mit2) region resulted in a 4-fold increase in liver tumor multiplicity in females and a 4.5-fold increase in males compared with B6 controls. A series of 16 recombinants covering the entire congenic region was developed to further narrow the area containing Hcf1. Susceptible heterozygous recombinants demonstrated a 3- to 7-fold effect in females and a 1.5- to 2-fold effect in males compared with B6 siblings. The effect in susceptible lines completely recapitulated the susceptibility of heterozygous full-length chromosome 17 congenics and furthermore narrowed the location of the Hcf1 locus to a single region of the chromosome from 30.05 to 35.83 Mb.
Full-textDOI: · Available from: Norman Drinkwater, Sep 28, 2015
- SourceAvailable from: Norman Drinkwater
- "predominant locus responsible for this difference to a 6 Mb region on Chromosome 17 (Peychal et al., 2009). This region corresponds to part of the chromosome 6p region amplified in the majority of late-stage HCC (Santos et al., 2007; Chochi et al., 2009). "
Chapter: The Hcs7 Mouse Liver Cancer Modifier Maps to a 3.3 Mb Region Carrying the Strong Candidate Ifi202bLiver Tumors, 02/2012; , ISBN: 978-953-51-0036-2
Article: The role for estrogen receptor-alpha and prolactin receptor in sex-dependent DEN-induced liver tumorigenesis[Show abstract] [Hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Mice treated neonatally with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) develop liver tumors in a male-dominant manner, reflecting the male bias in human hepatocellular carcinoma. Evidence suggests that estrogen, androgen, prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH) modify liver tumorigenesis. We determined the roles of estrogen receptor-α (ERα) and prolactin receptor (PRLR) using receptor null mice, ERαKO (C57Bl/6J) and PRLR-KO (129Ola-X-C57BL/6), in the neonatal-DEN model of liver tumorigenesis. In both mouse strains, females had reduced tumorigenesis compared with males (P < 0.01), regardless of ERα or PRLR status. Tumorigenesis was not affected by ovariectomy in C57Bl/6J mice but it was increased by ovariectomy in the mixed strain, 129Ola-X-C57BL/6, regardless of PRLR status. ERαKO males had 47% fewer tumors than ERα wild-type males (P < 0.01). On the other hand, estradiol treatment protected against tumorigenesis in males only in the presence of ERα. As evidenced by liver gene expression, lack of ERα did not alter the pattern of GH secretion in males but resulted in the male GH pattern in females. These observations indicate that ERα is not required for lower tumorigenesis in females, but it is required for the protective effects of exogenously delivered estradiol. Unexpectedly, the results indicate that ERα plays a role in promotion of liver tumors in males. In addition, it can be concluded that sex differences in liver tumorigenesis cannot be explained by the sexually dimorphic pattern of GH secretion. The results also rule out PRL as the mediator of the protective effect of the ovaries.Carcinogenesis 05/2011; 32(8):1162-6. DOI:10.1093/carcin/bgr094 · 5.33 Impact Factor
Article: Identification of the overexpressed genes in hepatocellular carcinoma using Expressed Sequence Tags[Show abstract] [Hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Hepatocellular carcinoma is a main form of liver cancer that is lethal. The identification of the candidate genes that contribute to the tumorigenesis of this cancer is thus significant. In this study, we use Expressed Sequence Tags to identify the over-expressed genes in hepatocellular carcinoma. Our study sheds light on the hepatocellular carcinoma-implicated genes and may assist in the therapeutic design for patients.


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A Day To RememberMarch 28 2011
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We are at odds with pop culture. Maybe there is something in the tattoo ink permeating our blood that makes us skeptical, but it seems clear to us that most summer blockbusters, Billboard artists, and mall fashion are created to… [ read more ]
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Chances are that during the high holy day of Saint Patrick you are going to run into a Plastic Paddy; he or she might be an O'Brien or a Fitzgerald and still think that the real Irish eat corned beef… [ read more ]
Q & A With Evan SeinfeldJanuary 31 2011
Evan Seinfeld is hard at work. Rock star, porn star, reality TV star, emcee—he's doing it all. Once married to porn megastar Tera Patrick, he is now dating Lupe Fuentes, the hottest new name in adult films. While the heavily… [ read more ]
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The Cold War Kids are growing up yet not growing old. The Long Beach–based soul-punk outfit began carefree and fun, but now the band—and their sound—is maturing. "I'm trying to come up with a better term for what this phase… [ read more ]


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Graham McPhee spells out some of the cold, hard facts about the dismal state of ME research and politics, and has some suggestions as to what we can do about it ...
Discuss the article on the Forums.
How do u survive the tough times?
Discussion in 'Lifestyle Management' started by laura, Mar 18, 2010.


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Regatta Black missy jacket
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6 bedroom flat for sale Plessey Road, Blyth**IDEAL INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY** A modern block of three apartments which are currently tenanted on an AST. We have been advised that the current combined rental income for all three flats is approximately £15,900 per annum. The property has recently been constructed to a high standard split ... More details ›
£154,950 Offers Over
Offers Over £154,950
7 bedroom flat for sale Waterloo Road, Blyth, NE24This is a portfolio of three flats and a Bedsit situated on Waterloo Road in Blyth town centre The flats are situated above commercial premises and have a seperate entrance to the rear via security entrance system. Having the benefit of double glazing and gas central heating where stated. Thre More details ›
2 bedroom apartment for sale Taku Court, Blyth** COASTAL VIEWS, FIRST FLOOR MODERN APARTMENT ON SOUGHT AFTER SOUTH SHORE** This first floor flat is located in the sought after Persimmon Development "South Shore" partially overlooking Blyth coast and located within close proximity to Ridley Park and bus routes into Blyth Town Centre and... More details ›
2 bedroom apartment for sale Ultor Court, Blyth*** MODERN APARTMENT - SOUTH SHORE - COASTAL LOCATION - ALLOCATED PARKING ***Offered for sale :This is our pleasure to welcome to the market this delightfully presented two bedroom ground floor apartment with an enviable coastal view. More details ›
2 bedroom apartment for sale Tarset Walk, Blyth**RECENTLY CONSTRUCTED FIRST FLOOR APARTMENT - DETACHED - TWO BEDROOMS - OPEN PLAN LIVING - ALARM SYSTEM - GARAGE - EPC : C** On Tarset Walk, in Blyth. Situated on this popular modern development on the outskirts of the town close to local schools, amenities & road/transport links. More details ›
2 bedroom apartment for sale Ultor Court, Blyth**MODERN GROUND FLOOR APARTMENT - COASTAL DEVELOPMENT - TWO BEDROOMS - OPEN PLAN CONTEMPORARY LIVING - EPC: C** on Ultor Court, South Shore in Blyth. Within walking distance of local beach, schools and transport links and briefly comprising: Communal entrance, entrance hall, open plan lounge... More details ›
2 bedroom apartment for sale Tarset Walk, Blyth*** TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT - CROFTON GRANGE ESTATE - GARAGE - DETACHED - IDEAL LOCATION ***We are pleased to offer for sale this two bedroom detached apartment with garage and off street parking located on the new Crofton Grange Estate in Blyth. More details ›
3 bedroom maisonette for sale Belgrave Crescent, BlythWE ARE DELIGHTED TO OFFER FOR SALE THIS THREE BEDROOM UPPER MAISONETTE SITUATED IN THE HIGHLY FAVOURED LOCATION OVERLOOKING RIDLEY PARK. THIS SPACIOUS PERIOD PROPERTY COMPRISES OF ENTRANCE VESTIBULE AND STAIRS TO FIRST FLOOR LANDING WITH LOUNGE, DINING ROOM, KITCHEN, BATHROOM AND BEDROOM THREE AN... More details ›
Added on 10/07/2013 by Rickard Chartered Surveyors & Estate Agents, Blyth. Call: 01670 630032 Local call rate
£99,950 Guide Price*
Guide Price* £99,950
5 bedroom apartment for sale Marlow Street, BlythSALE BY AUCTION - Terms and conditions apply see www.agentspropertyauction.com Venue Marriott Hotel, Gosforth Park, 29.5.14 Registration 6.30 for 7.00 pm start.**ATTENTION INVESTORS - RESIDENTIAL INVESTMENT & COMMERCIAL CONVERSION - TWO 1 BED FLATS - ONE3 BEDROOM FLAT - PLANNING PERMISSION IN TO More details ›
2 bedroom apartment for sale Oakfield House, Blyth**ATTENTION INVESTORS ! - FIRST FLOOR MODERN APARTMENT - SOUGHT AFTER DEVELOPMENT - TWO BEDROOMS - OPEN PLAN CONTEMPORARY LOUNGE/ KITCHEN ** in Oakfield House, Sandringham Meadows, Blyth. Briefly comprising: Communal entrance, staircase to first floor, entrance hall, open plan lounge through... More details ›
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Live chat recap: Should Toronto Police disarm most officers?
Star reporter Laura Kane chatted March 11 with lawyer and professor Peter Rosenthal and former Toronto police officer Steve Summerville about Rosenthal's Big Idea – that regular police officers should not carry guns
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Should Toronto Police disarm most officers? Our live chat was lively, as readers from both sides chimed in, including families affected by police shootings. Our poll was split down the middle, with 50 percent in favour of regular officers carrying guns, and 50 per cent in favour of cops being disarmed. Check out our Our live chat.
Our experts: Peter Rosenthal, a lawyer and Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Toronto, who has learned about police use of firearms primarily through his representation of a number of families of people who have been killed by Toronto police officers. He proposed this Big Idea.
Opposing Rosenthal is Steve Summerville, a former Toronto Police officer who is president of Stay Safe – Instructional Programs, a training and consultation firm, and a frequent expert witness in inquests. He completed his 24-year policing career as an Acting Staff Sergeant at the Ontario Police College where he served a secondment as a provincial trainer in the "use of force/defensive tactics" section.
We invite the experts every Tuesday at 1 p.m. EST to discuss a range of Big Ideas that are making our city buzz.
Speaking of experts, the Star will soon begin a series that will feature important ideas from Toronto's Hidden Experts. Help us track them down by filling out our form.
Do you have an idea on how to make the GTA a better place to live? Submit it here to participate in our year-long project.
Top News
- Josh Donaldson out for redemption, revenge in return to playoffs
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- 'Long pathway' ahead at inquest into deaths of aboriginal students
- The surprise GTA region where house prices are up 14%
- Brampton council gives itself a hefty pay hike


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From Designer to Drugstore: 12 Fall Lipsticks for Every Budget
Fall can mean everything from rain boots to blazers for your closet. But when it comes to your beauty routine, darker hues reign supreme for... Read Now
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News ArchivesRead News
Unraveling Parkinson's disease
Tuesday December 27, 2005
Marla Cone
December 25, 2005(Los Angeles Times) - A thousand acres stretched before him as Gary Rieke walked briskly behind a harvester, the parched, yellow stalks of rice sweeping against his knees. Stopping to adjust a bolt on the machine, Rieke struggled to maneuver a wrench with his trembling fingers.
Unbeknownst to Rieke, by the time he noticed the slightest tremor, some 400,000 of his brain cells had been wiped out. Like an estimated other 1 million Americans, most over 55, he had Parkinson's disease, and his thoughts could no longer control his movements. In time, he would struggle to walk and talk.
Rieke, who was exposed to weed killers and other toxic compounds all his life, has long suspected that they were somehow responsible for his disease.
Now many specialists are increasingly confident that Rieke's hunch is correct. Scientists have amassed a growing body of evidence that long-term exposure to toxic compounds, particularly pesticides, can destroy neurons and trigger Parkinson's in some people.
So far, they have implicated several pesticides that cause Parkinson's symptoms in animals. But hundreds of agricultural and industrial chemicals probably play a role, they believe.
Researchers don't use the word ''cause" when linking environmental exposures to a disease. Instead, epidemiologists look for clusters and patterns in people, and neurobiologists test theories in animals.
If their findings are repeatedly consistent, that is as close to proving cause and effect as they get.
Now, with Parkinson's, this medical detective work has edged closer to proving the case than with almost any other human ailment.
In most patients, scientists say, Parkinson's is a disease with environmental origins.
For almost two centuries, since English physician James Parkinson described a ''shaking palsy" in 1817, doctors have been baffled by the condition.
In most people, a blackened, bean-size sliver at the base of the brain -- called the substantia nigra -- is crammed with more than half a million neurons that produce dopamine, a messenger that controls the body's movements.
But in Parkinson's patients, more than two-thirds of those neurons have died.
After decades of work, researchers are still struggling with many unanswered questions, such as which chemicals may kill dopamine neurons, who is vulnerable, and how much exposure is risky.
Expressed in legal terms, pesticides are not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt -- but there is a substantial, and rapidly growing, body of evidence, many scientists say.
Scientists caught the trail of pesticides in 1982, when neurologist Dr. Bill Langston treated a man who had a virtually overnight onset of Parkinson's symptoms.Continued...
He and fellow doctors found the source to be a botched batch of synthetic heroin that contained MPTP, a compound that targeted the same neurons missing in Parkinson's patients.
Paraquat has been one of the world's most popular weed killers for decades.
Since that discovery, scientists have conducted hundreds of animal experiments, at least 40 studies of human patients, and three of human brain tissue.
They have found ''a relatively consistent relationship between pesticide exposure and Parkinson's," British researchers reported online in September in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
To pinpoint which environmental exposures are most important, scientists are trying to unravel how genes and toxic chemicals interact to destroy brain cells.
One leading theory is that pesticides cause over-expression of a gene that floods the brain with a neuron-killing protein.
Exposure to chemicals early in life, followed by toxic exposures in adulthood, may be especially important, triggering a slow death of neurons that debilitates people decades later.
Compounds with little in common, such as a fungicide and an insecticide, apparently can team up to decimate brain cells.
More than 1 billion pounds of herbicides, insecticides, and other pest-killing chemicals are used on US farms and gardens and in households. Nearly all adults and children tested have traces of multiple pesticides in their bodies.
So far, animal tests have implicated the pesticides paraquat, rotenone, dieldrin, and maneb -- alone or in combination -- as well as industrial compounds called PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls.
Still, the science of epidemiology has inherent weaknesses. Most of the human studies, for example, relied on patients' memories -- most of which cannot be validated -- to report their pesticide exposures.
''You need to be cautious in drawing conclusions when you know there are flaws in these studies," said Pamela Mink, an epidemiologist who evaluated the human studies in a peer-reviewed report partly funded by the pesticide industry.
Most patients probably were exposed decades before their diagnosis.
Because there is no national registry for Parkinson's, as there is for cancer, no one knows whether rates are high in places such as the San Joaquin Valley.
Among those trying to obtain more definitive answers, UCLA environmental epidemiologist Dr. Beate Ritz has contacted nearly 300 Parkinson's patients and 250 healthy people in California's Tulare, Fresno, and Kern counties.
She is pinpointing their pesticide exposures down to the day, the pound and the street corner by overlaying their addresses with California's extensive agricultural database, which details pesticide use on farms since the 1970s.
Also, 52,000 farmers and other pesticiding evidence yet on how everyday environmental factors can play a role in Parkinson's disease. Her theory was that testing one chemical at a time for its impact on the brain was misguided.
Paraquat and maneb are unlikely to be the only combination with such a devastating effect. Yet the US Environmental Protection Agency considers only single exposures when approving pesticides, an approach that ''doesn't mimic environmental reality," Cory-Slechta said.
For Rieke, it is impossible to determine which chemicals may have played a role in his disease. He owned two dry-cleaners -- handling industrial solvents for seven years -- and for 25 years he mixed and applied at least a dozen herbicides and insecticides on his Merced farm.
Recent NewsOct 2 - A New Attack on Parkinson's Disease
Oct 2 - Antipsychotics for Parkinson's Psychosis May Be Dangerous
Sep 27 - The beginning of the end? The race for a Parkinson's cure
Sep 23 - Scientists map Parkinson's spread in brain
Sep 22 - Understanding Parkinson's Disease: An Interview with Jon Palfreman
Sep 22 - Living with Lewy Body Dementia
Sep 21 - Adults with autism likely to develop Parkinson's disease, says study
Sep 16 - Everyday activity more beneficial than occasional strenuous exercise for Parkinson's disease
Sep 14 - UNC scientists create smarter immune cells to treat Parkinson's disease
Sep 9 - A newly discovered brain disease may point to something disturbing about Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
Sep 7 - Treatment for Parkinson's could replace surgery
Sep 4 - Asthma May Influence Risk of Parkinson's Disease
Sep 4 - Researchers Explore Memory Problems Related to Parkinson's
Sep 3 - Press Release: ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Submits New Drug Application for NUPLAZID™ for the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease Psychosis
Aug 28 - Brain cells 'burn out' in Parkinson's disease
Aug 24 - Study Details Process Involved in Parkinson's Disease
Aug 24 - Google Reveals Gigantic Ambitions To Fight Cancer, Diabetes, Parkinson's, Heart Problems
Aug 20 - Two proteins work together to help cells eliminate trash; Parkinson's may result
Aug 17 - Scientists visualize critical part of basal ganglia pathways
Aug 17 - VA benefits office seeks all vets exposed to Agent Orange


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Swimming in natural hot springs in Iceland
When water gets very hot, it boils and turns into steam. This happens at 212 degrees Fahrenheit or 100 degrees Celsius. The water turns into steam because you (or something else: in the picture it is the volcano nearby) is adding energy in the form of heat to the water.
As the water molecules get more energy from the heat, they move faster and faster. When they get enough energy, they jump right out of the water and into the air. Once they are in the air, still hot and moving fast, they bump against each other and other molecules in the air so much that they quickly move apart from each other. That's why steam takes up more room than water.
When steam forms underneath rocks, for instance inside a volcano, it can move so fast and so hard that it pushes the rocks apart.
Learn by doing - tea kettles and steam
Bibliography and further reading about steam:
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text: Ahhh Bees makes the best and freshest burgers on the west end. If you are searching for a flavorable and spicy burger, this is the place to go, the jerk burger is phenomenal. Great service, priced reasonable, and awesome brownies for dessert. Make sure you check this place out before you leave Negril.


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Microsoft's Skype launches video messaging app
Microsoft-owned Skype on Tuesday unveiled a new app enabling users to send short video messages to stay "connected between calls."
Microsoft-owned Skype on Tuesday unveiled a new app enabling users to send short video messages to stay "connected between calls."
(AP)—Popular South Korean messaging app Kakao Talk said Monday it will stop fully cooperating with authorities seeking to access private messages as part of a government crackdown on online criticism.
Two new studies have found that voice-activated smartphones and dashboard infotainment systems may be making the distracted-driving problem worse instead of better.
Facebook has completed its acquisition of the mobile messaging service WhatsApp for almost $22 billion, up from the original $19 billion when the cash-and-stock deal was struck early this year thanks in part to the rising ...
Two former Google employees are hoping an innovative new phone application will trigger a renaissance in an increasingly unfashionable method of human communication: talking.
Flush with cash from its investment in Alibaba, Yahoo is angling to buy into hot mobile messaging startup Snapchat, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
With the roll-out of 4G mobile internet not even yet complete, it might seem early to consider starting work on the design of the next, fifth generation (5G) mobile networks. The truth is that telecoms systems are so complex ...
The Japan-based operator of popular mobile messaging app Line said Monday it has decided not to go ahead with an initial public offering in Japan or overseas this year.
The scores of new features in Apple's software update for mobile devices can be boiled down to one word: unity.
Philippines authorities on Tuesday ordered people living close to a powerful volcano to evacuate, warning a dangerous eruption may occur within weeks.


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Popular Topic Tags
Data Center Pulse Blogs
The green PUE monster
My fellow Datacenter Pulse (DCP) colleague Mark Thiele wrote a good article on the use of PUE in the datacenter industry. He basically argues that you should look at the TCO of the datacenter and have a holistic view (like we promote with the DCP stack)
He opens with the 'my PUE is better than yours remark' we see going around in the industry. This is mentioned before by the Green Grid; the misuse of PUE. (I have written several articles about this issue on my Dutch datacenter blog)
Well guess what… we kinda created this monster ourselves;
Datacenters are going commodity. Differentiation is in efficiency; looking at all the signs in the datacenter industry: the datacenter is becoming a commodity. The general idea is that any successful product will end up a commodity. See Simon Wardley's excellent presentations on this subject.
Example signs are:
- Factory production of datacenter units. (See Mark's "The Manufactured Assembly Line Data Center" and "Your Next Data Center - Can You Say: Cookie Cutter".
- Facebook 'opensourcing' their datacenter design. eBay's Open RFP is kinda in the same area.
(got lots more, but for an other blog and beyond the point now…)
Most of this leads to technology being available to everyone. You still need a big budget to start building a datacenter but cost is coming down thanks to advances in IT technology (like: do we still need to build TIER4?) and facility technology. Great example is the option to build modular and from an assembly line. This reduces datacenter production cost and you can spread CAPEX across time.
For any commodity product the competitive advantage diminishes, prices go down and if you're in the market of selling the stuff: your differentiation is on price and efficiency.
So we push towards efficiency and lowering our operational cost, to be cheaper that the competition. It doesn't matter what type of datacenter owner you are (enterprise, cloud, co-lo, whole sale..) the competitive advantage is in the operational cost. Everyone already has a SAS70, ISO27001, ISO9001, PCI, etc.. certificate. Everyone can get and build the technology and at some point it doesn't pay off to worry about the small engineering details anymore; the cost are too high to get enough competitive advantage in return.
Marketing & Sales
If you're in the datacenter co-lo or whole-sales business then your marketing and sales guys are trying to look for the (next) USP.
With the datacenter efficiency on the rise, it's nice to have a single figure to tell your customer you are more efficient that the competition (and able to offer lower prices with it..).
PUE presented a great opportunity to get a nice USP for our sales guys. And I can't blame them: it's hard to sell a (going) commodity product and it's something our customers are asking for.
Sustainable & marketing
The whole 'green wash/hype' (before the economic crisis) added to the misuse of PUE from a sales and marketing perspective. Everyone was, and still is, building the next greenest datacenter on this planet. It would be nice to have a single figure to promote this 'green stuff' and tell the world about this new engineering marvel… and PUE is happily adopted for this.
On the enterprise/cloud datacenter owners side it's not very different.. it's just another angle. Especially the larger datacenter (cloud) owners are pushed from a marketing perspective thanks to organizations like Greenpeace. They demand full disclosure of datacenter energy use and sustainability on behalf of the world's population.
PUE is a nice tool to get some of the pressure off and tell the world you have the greenest datacenter operation, like Facebook, Google, Microsoft and others are now doing. The problem with those numbers is they don't say anything without the full context. And like Mark says in his article; it doesn't say anything about the full datacenter stack.
Sustainable & Government
The really interesting thing I have been dealing with recently is government and PUE.
Many state and local government organizations are looking at datacenters from an energy use perspective. This focus is thanks to reports from research and governmental institutes (for example EPA) and organizations like Greenpeace.
Government can either use the 'carrot (subsidies) or stick (penalties)' approach but it always requires some kind of regulation and some form of measurement. They happily adapted PUE for this.
The main problem with this is that PUE is not ready to be audited. Sure general guidelines for PUE calculation are available, but it still doesn't have all the full details and leaves opportunity to 'game the system'. It also doesn't address the full holistic datacenter approach and the fact that you cannot use PUE to compare different datacenters.
Datacenter customer
Some of the governmental organizations are also using PUE for their co-lo tenders. And they are not the only ones. More and more RFP's on the datacenter market state a specific PUE number or target with additional credits for the lowest number.
I can't blame the datacenter customer; the datacenter is a pretty complex facility box if you're not educated in that industry. It would be nice to just throw some numbers at it like TIER1-4 and PUE1-2 and select the best solution provider on the market…
I can't blame the datacenter owner for the answer with 'the best possible number he can think of'… they just want the business…
Datacenter vendor
As usual I'm part of the problem also. When I go shopping for the next big thing in datacenter technology, PUE is always part of the conversation.
Datacenter equipment vendors (especially cooling and power) are happy to throw some numbers my way to convince me that their solution is the most efficient.
The PUE numbers are on the equipment spec sheets, on the vendor website and in the sales meeting… but at the end I always have to conclude that our little number dance really doesn't tell me anything. Just like Mark mentions: I go back to TCO.
Our own monster
So… we created this monster as a datacenter industry. Owners and consumers. Government and industry groups. I can also assure you that this will continue and will also happen to some of the great other Green Grid initiatives like CUE, WUE and the Maturity Model. It's just a way of trying to put a number on what can be a very complex stack of functions called 'the datacenter'.
Only way to diminish the monster is to educate our industry colleagues and our customers. And stop throwing the numbers around…
For the record1: the use of PUE
Don't get me wrong, I love PUE and have used it successfully many times to benchmark my own data centers and prove to senior management that we progressed in efficiency. It's also the way the EU Datacenter Code of Conduct works: show progress every year by calculating the PUE for the same datacenter with the same calculation method. This way you will have apples - apples situation.
It's just that I don't like the way PUE is used in the above examples...
For the record2: On datacenter and green
Full disclosure: Datacenters are not green and will never be green. They consume large amounts of energy and will consume more energy in the future. All thanks to Jevons Paradox and the fact that we start to consume more CPU/Storage if prices go down…. And yes, someone has to build datacenters for all the CPU's and disk's…
See GreenMonk - Simon Wardley on 'Cloud & Green'
I do think that:
1. We should aim to build the most efficient datacenters on the planet. It should not only focus on energy consumption but on all resources used for build and operation.
2. We cannot keep up with the rising demand from an energy-grid perspective. We should start looking for alternative ways for datacenter builds and deployment.
Starting a blog avalanche
After some time of blogging on my Dutch website (www.janwiersma.com ), some of my English friends asked me if I could re-publish and extend some of them in English. This way the knowledge can be shared with a bigger audience.
While my English writing style definitely needs some work, I will give it a go at my DCP blog.
Get ready for an avalanche of blog's. ;-)
Server Power Consumption Cost Exceeds the Cost of the Server – SO WHAT!
Saying a modern server uses too much power is like saying a train uses more power than a horse drawn wagon. Of course it does, but it also does way more work. Let's not forget what's important to the question of cost and that is simply how much work is the server performing?
I've contributed to this noise in the past, but recently I've had a change of heart. After reading several recent articles that mention the cost of power exceeding the cost of the server, I've come to a new realization on this issue. The power use must be measured as it pertains to work potential.
Watts vs. Work Output
A single server today is twice as capable as a single server from two years ago. There are more CPUs and each CPU is more powerful. There's more memory and each dimm is faster and has more capacity than its predecessor. So, even though the amount of power being used by each server has gone up, the actual "watts per work output" has gone down.
We must always be looking to make the solutions we create more efficient in design, life cycle and use characteristics. However, we shouldn't overlook the fact that these systems are replacing work that would otherwise use much more power.
So, if you're really worried about how much power your servers are using, there are myriad opportunities you can pursue;
Greater virtualization
Use of cloud
Improved Management platforms for your infrastructure (Cloud & Virtual)
Applications (software) written with efficiency of operation as a consideration
Right sizing your environments
Using a well design and efficient data center
Etc., etc..
What you shouldn't do is fall into the trap of "not seeing the forest for the trees". Focus on the activities that generate business benefit and do those actions with sustainability and efficiency as part of your process. If you start trying to extend your servers life instead of implementing solutions that create business opportunity you'll be missing the forest. You might also find that many companies are actually improving their bottom line by replacing efficiently utilized servers more often, so they can reduce wasted energy and increase the work output per Watt.
No Man is an Island and neither is a Data Center
Is it safe to build a data center anywhere along the coast? Can you really protect the availability or accessibility of your systems in the face of hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters? Just because you've built a solid structure, doesn't mean you can guarantee accessibility and your data center is nothing without connections.
Keeping the Data Center alive
The general assumption by most is that keeping your data center running is akin to keeping it "available". The reality is that availability and running do go hand in hand. However, running doesn't guarantee availability.
The data center community spends billions of dollars every year on facilities that can withstand a variety of disasters. Money is spent on risk avoidance for fire, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, minor terrorist attacks or even the angry worker trying to drive a truck through the door. However, the primary limitation is still that these protections in most cases only help to guarantee that the data center keeps running.
My Data Center is Safe, what else matters?
So, you figured out how to protect your data center from the disaster du jour, congratulations. It's too bad that even though your data center was protected your customers can't use it or your employees can't access it. That's right, you've got power and HVAC, the servers and disk drives are humming, but your customers can't access anything, why is that?
The data center is no different than a man (person). As with any living being you need your ecosystem to support your existence.
Example disaster scenario: Human in an urban environment
You've built a strong house, with good security. You maintain a small supply of food and water, and maybe even have a generator. Then a major disaster occurs that eliminates your ability to be mobile and your access to many external services.
What happens when:
- you need a doctor?
- you run out of milk?
- you need a firefighter or police officer?
- you need to travel?
- you can't connect to NetFlix?
- your 15 year old can't update Facebook?
- Etc., etc.
As you can quickly gather from the above example the human in this case is likely to start having problems fairly quickly, even though they are "alive" post disaster. While alive is almost always better than the alternative, being alive for a few extra days is not the same as surviving to live on.
Example disaster scenario: Data Center
You've built an earthquake safe data center (A building that can withstand the proverbial "big one"). You've even installed base isolation under the server cabinets to avoid any serious vibration or shock to the IT equipment. Unfortunately, the water main two blocks away doesn't have the same earthquake protection, and neither did the nearby highway overpass that feeds the area your data center is in. Then, because of a road cracking and the overpass collapse all the fiber coming to your facility is gone. Good news though, the data center is still running on its own generators and temporary water supply.
What happens when;
- your customer(s) needs to access equipment remotely like they most often do?
- your staff can't gain access to the facility because of local conditions?
- your staff is unavailable because they are worried about their own family safety and health issues?
- you begin to run low on diesel, or water and the roads are impassable or you aren't the priority for limited supplies?
- Etc., etc.
The above situation can apply to any number of disasters from a hurricane to a tornado or even a major fire, snow storm or flood. In the above scenario your data center might actually be functioning as an island, but what good does that do you? Sure, your equipment is safe, and when services are restored you won't have to rebuild your infrastructure, but in the mean time you are down as far as your customers are concerned.
Modified thinking around data center design and location is required
Historically the concerns I've voiced above were more limited in risk and to some degree even to potential of disaster occurrence. However, there are several factors that are changing or should be changing our long held assumptions about what "safe" means for our data center facilities.
Factor 1: Climate Change
Believe in Climate Change or not the fact remains that on a regional and global scale we are seeing more natural disasters than ever and these disasters are getting bigger in scope. Fires, hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, and other weather phenomenon are increasingly getting nastier. If we hold the assumption that weather related disasters will occur more frequently, and will impact new regions, we see a significant magnification of the problem occurring (I.e., More storms that are stronger, in combination with a wider area of influence or impact). There's even a new study that suggests that rapid climate change can increase the number and severity of volcanic eruptions.
Factor 2: Density & Value
We are continuing to place more value (real & perceived) on our access to technology. Every day we move more of what we used to do with a car or our hands in to a technology solution. Through the increased availability of technology we are finding even more ways to take advantage of it, effectively accelerating the growth of technology use. This greater our emphasis on technology becomes, the more dependent on it we becomes. As this dependence grows, the importance of it being available to us goes up.
Factor 3: Infrastructure Demands Changing
There are many variables that affect how our IT infrastructure solutions are built and protected. In some cases the advent of cloud oriented solutions means you have greater protection from localized disasters (I.e., Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc). However, in other cases, legacy IT, enterprise IT, and Big Data there is likelihood that more protection in a given location will be necessary, not less.
Given the three factors above it would seem to point to the notion that how you build to protect your data center should get a higher priority, but even more importantly, where you build is critical.
Decision Process
As with any major IT or business decision a number of factors of opportunity and risk need to be weighed before you make a final choice. Each of the factors need to be considered; latency, sustainability, access to connectivity, power, water, and skilled staff, etc. So, if you find yourself looking at several options whose costs are similar, but one has a better more survivable location, you know what you should pick. Why accept the risk that a tornado might remove the data centers roof or a flood might inundate your equipment, if you don't need to?
Location, Location, Location...
I've written about site selection decisions before (Blog 1 & Blog 2), but never have I felt it so important to consider the disaster risk at the same level as I do now. With the recent hurricanes on the East Coast, and tornados hitting more often in more locations than ever, I don't see how you can avoid the question of "Is this the safest place for me to entrust my companies IT jewels?"
Whether Human or Data Center, your ecosystem of support is critical
Dig deep into your list of requirements for where you company's compute infrastructure should be placed, eliminate the requirements associated with latency, power, sustainability, political risk, etc. Then using the remaining options, pick the one that offers the best combination of price and protection, keeping in mind that protection is much more than a well-built facility. However, that doesn't mean that if you find a safe geographic location you can forget about things like roof penetrations, wood in the construction, poor operational habits, and other basic facility operations and design factors that are critical to service availability. With all the concern I've voiced about weather and geography, the two most likely issues are fire (keep wood out) and people (have excellent operations habits and tools).
Announcing eBay Inc.'s Renewable Energy RFQ
Back in March, I wrote about the 2012 Data Center Top 10, the current pulse of what is hot, interesting, challenging or emerging from the DCP community. "Renewable Power Options" came in at Number Five but for eBay, it's near the top of the list.
We fundamentally believe that the future of commerce can be better than it is today; not only more convenient and accessible to consumers, but greener, cleaner and more efficient. The technology infrastructure and energy behind eBay's commerce platforms are core to this vision. I've written here many times about the radical efficiency measures and innovative design approaches that my team, in tandem with our industry partners, has integrated into our data center portfolio. But as remarkable as those accomplishments have been, we are still using more carbon-intensive electricity than we would like. For the last three years, we've traversed the complicated regulatory environment and ever-expanding technology arena to source clean energy where we operate. Today, I'm excited to announce our next step in that journey.
On September 4th, eBay sent a Request For Qualifications (RFQ) to organizations that can supply or develop renewable energy for eBay data centers and office locations in Utah and other locations in the Western U.S. A natural next step following the clean energy legislation we helped develop and pass in Utah earlier this year, this work will also supplement other clean energy programs eBay is pursuing, including our recently-announced collaboration with Bloom Energy. As with our entire corporate energy portfolio, we are agnostic as to the renewable technology used, and are open to everything from wind to solar to geothermal to trash power – or anything else that makes economic and ecological sense for our business, and for the local community. To ensure that we have a complete picture of the options available to us, we are leveraging our public Request For Information (RFI) process, established in 2010, which yielded our award winning Data Center, Project Mercury in Arizona and our latest expansion, Project Quicksilver in Utah. My hope is that the renewable power community will step up with proposals on how we can expand our portfolio with innovative and cost effective clean energy solutions in our own backyard.
Vendors who meet the requirements of the RFQ will be invited to respond to a more detailed RFI under a mutual non-disclosure agreement (MDNA). RFI responses are due by October 31, 2012.
Email email@example.com if you wish to participate, or have any questions about the RFQ or this process. We want to hear from you. We can't wait to announce the results and take a big step closer to our vision of a commerce platform powered 100% by clean energy. Stay tuned for updates!
Upcoming Events - Cloud Asia Conference 2012 Singapore
Join Mark Thiele at the 2012 Cloud Asia Conference in Singapore on May 14th.
This is an outstanding regional conference, with a long list of very strong industry and end-user speakers.
It would be great to meet in person, so if you decide to join us, please look me up.
Upcoming Events - Data Centres Europe Nice France
Please join Data Center Pulse at the Data Centres Europe Conference May 23rd & 24th in Nice, France.
Jan Wiersma DCP Board member & Director for Europe is speaking
Mark Thiele President & Founder of DCP will be speaking
We will also be putting together a Data Center Pulse gathering on the 25th if we can get enough interest from members.
This looks to be a great conference, with excellent content and a long list of very good speakers, so please join us if you can.
Is building a data center more sustainable than building a soccer field?
I fully expect controversy will be created by this blog especially amongst some of my awesome friends in the Sustainability/Green space and I am not actually advocating putting away the cleats and buying a game console.
This blog will probably anger some of my friends who are parents. However, it's not meant to suggest a specific change as much as an effort to get us looking at the real issues, and not be taken in by loud mouthed commentators on both sides of the sustainability issue. The idea for this blog was generated while I was attending a Sustainable Silicon Valley event in Palo Alto with the Ambassador to Norway, the Honorable Barry White.
Could playing soccer really be worse than playing video games for the environment?
Much ado has been made about the amount of energy utilized by power hungry data centers and new technology in general. It's estimated that over 3% of the power used in the US goes directly to running all our data centers. That's an amazing figure especially when you compare how relatively few data centers there are versus cars or traditional office buildings. However, the question I've asked before and I am now asking again (only in a different way) is; are those data centers actually hurting us or are they benefiting us by consolidating IT gear and providing us efficiencies through the use of technology?
An obvious comment by the kill data centers at all cost groups might be that we need to find a way to reduce the creation of applications and technologies that require a data center. Interestingly enough, it seems data centers are trying to save our planet and kids playing soccer are killing the planet. Here's the scenario.
Save the Earth, Play a video game
Video Game (PS3 or Xbox360) vs. playing soccer on a club team (could be volleyball or basketball, doesn't matter)
Being Driven to Soccer
Video Game Console, Sound & TV combined
10 miles driving @ 20 MPG city
.5 gallons of gas @ 32.91 kWh per gallon
4 hours of play
Combined power used 1.8 kWh*
Extra clothes washed
Lights on
Grass cut & watered
Fridge opened 4 time
Equipment made/cleaned
Cloud based compute & network resources used
1 kWh (generous)
16.45 kWh
2.8 kWh
Why the question marks (?) in the above table? I felt that considering the overwhelming numbers put up just by driving the car, there was no need to make a point of any of the other resources utilized. Also, it could easily be argued that the other activities associated with Soccer are much more impactful than the activities associated with video game playing. Even if you only drove once for every 5 times you played four hours of video games, you would still have a greater negative impact on sustainability.
*Perspective: It's important to note that a cabinet filled with high performance servers uses approximately 25 kW of power per hour. Even the use of an all-electric vehicle doesn't make soccer more sustainable than playing video games (est. impact of electric vehicle in the above example would by 5.5 kWh used)
- That same 25 kWh cabinet filled with running servers can support thousands of gamers, Google searches, map requests, travel bookings, financial research, etc. all at the same time.
It isn't always obvious what being sustainable is:
Solar panels: The rumors abound regarding the negative impact of construction and waste of solar panels. One estimate I heard was that it takes 20 years to recover the carbon created during construction. However, upon further research I found just the opposite. Solar panels seem to be an excellent and almost immediate opportunity to reduce creation of carbon emissions with a lifetime benefit of as much as 89% reduction over 30 years. What is true is that there is still a good way and a bad way to use this technology.
Personal Note: I really wish we could develop better ways to store energy created by intermittent sources of energy (I.e., Sun & Wind). I would also love to see solar panels used to power a data center, but unfortunately, they don't make sense economically or space wise. As they could never fit in or around a typical data center and supply enough power to make a difference, and being intermittent it requires that they be redundant to an alternative source of energy.
Owning a hybrid: The Prius is another seemingly awesome concept for sustainability. However, I'm afraid the reality is somewhat different from our generally vain reasons for owning one. While a hybrid car can in fact save you significant dollars on fuel, the overall lifecycle impact of a Prius isn't that much different than any other combustion engine vehicle. It might make the driver feel better, but being sustainable shouldn't be about "feeling better" it should be about "doing better". I would argue that the appropriate use of a hybrid does improve the equation significantly, but if you're a < 1000 mile a month person who generally drives on the highway, don't buy a hybrid.
Important thoughts from the Sustainable Silicon Valley meeting
I think the single most important thought coming out of our little save the world dinner party was the idea that finding ways to reduce use in our everyday lives and our businesses is the most effective way to have a positive impact. One of my primary focuses in IT has always been on the efficient use of resources. I know it's weird, but efficient use means you're only using what you need when you need it, which by its very nature means your being more sustainable.
I know the above isn't a new thought, but many of us think that the hybrid or Solar panels are the best way for us to reduce our usage. In some cases the hybrid, Solar panels and other "Sustainable" or "Green" solutions can conserve when implemented and used properly. I believe it's incredibly important for us to consider where the world is today on the tipping scale of climate change risk. If the scientists are correct and we are nearing the point of no return as far as global warming is concerned, then it would stand to reason that our consumption at the moment is critical to affecting change. If we assume that we can continue to consume at current rates because buying a hybrid or putting up solar panels will save us, I'm afraid we might just be hastening our climate change in the name of saving it.
What's the point?
As I said earlier "being sustainable isn't about feeling better, it's about doing better. If you are really interested in lowering your personal carbon impact on the world, then make your changes in an educated fashion. Don't do it for the sake of vanity.
- Reduce use of resources through reduce use, not by masking the use
- Push for change in the areas that can really provide benefit, not on things like Ethanol
- Push for legislative change in where/how we provide tax payer funds to support the generation of energy
- We don't have to believe in human influenced climate change to want a cleaner planet and even if humans aren't the cause of global warming, why take the risk?
- Moving away from using fossil fuels isn't an if but rather a when, so let's help our politicians to accept that fact and focus on it now, not when it's too late.
We are all using more and more technology every day, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop that. The benefits in efficiency, defense, resource utilization, entertainment, travel and many other areas mean that no matter what any one person or government does, others will exploit it for the advantage. I'm obviously advocating that data centers aren't the evil some like to believe they are but that doesn't mean we are absolved from the need to make them efficient. Also whenever possible we need to power them from clean and or renewable energy sources. In a recent blog I even made the point that building data centers to support high density server environments was being more sustainable than low density designs. The high density design reduces the number of buildings required to support the same amount of work.
So, the next time you visit or drive by a data center think twice before you assume that data centers are the problem, but please don't get rid of the kid's cleats.
Previous blogs on this topic:
Cloud Computing and Data Centers are Killing our Planet
High vs. Low Density Data Centers, Cloud, Cost, PUE & Sustainability
Solar Panels:
Prius or hybrid:
DCP 2012 Top 10
Have you ever wondered what is on the mind of Data Center End Users? Why they make the decisions they make? What problems they are trying to solve? What keeps them up at night? Back in 2009, Data Center Pulse took a shot at capturing those thoughts through the 2009 Top 10. Over the last three years, this list has morphed as the interests, challenges and solutions emerged.
Today we are pleased to release the 2012 Top 10 that I was able to present at the Green Grid Technical Forum on March 7, 2012 in San Jose, CA. The 2012 Top 10 was vetted with the attendees of the DCP Summit held in conjunction with the Green Grid. DCP members discussed and debated the Top 10 along with the primary topics selected by attendees - The Green Grid Case Study on Project Mercury (video) and the Service Efficiency Metric Proposal. You can see the results from the Summit on my latest blog entry, DCP 2012 Summit Results.
2012 Top 10
- Facilities & IT Alignment
- Top Level Efficiency Metric
- Standardized Stack Framework
- Move from Availability to Resiliency
- Renewable Power Options
- "Containers" vs Brick & Mortar
- Hybrid Data Center Designs
- Liquid Cooled IT Equipment Options
- Free Cooling "Everywhere"
- Converged Infrastructure Intelligence.
The Top 10 is the current pulse of what is hot, interesting, challenging or emerging from the DCP community. We were able to record the Top 10 presentation I gave at the Green Grid Technical Forum closing session. The presentation showed how the Top 10 list has morphed over time as End User interests and challenges have changed, as well as provide context on each of the entries.
The DCP charter is to influence the industry through end users. We hope this latest Top 10 will give you insight into what is important right now - i.e. The Pulse.
DCP 2012 Summit Results
On March 5, 2012 DCP members from as far away as Japan and Taiwan converged on the Doubletree hotel in San Jose, CA for an all day collaboration session with end user peers - The DCP 2012 Summit was held in conjunction with the Green Grid Technical Forum. Almost 50 of my industry peers from companies like Yahoo!, Microsoft, LBNL, Stanford University, Salesforce, @ Tokyo, Delta, Equinix and others, focused on discussing what's hot - i.e. the current "pulse" in DCP. With over 2200 members in 66 countries, there is definitely a lively "pulse".
The summit registration process yielded three priority topics
- The Green Grid Case Study on eBay's Project Mercury
- The new Service Efficiency Metric proposal.
- The DCP Top 10 for 2012.
This year we changed the format. Instead of choosing 6 or 7 topics and breaking out into parallel groups, we selected a smaller number and held them in series so all members could be involved in the rich discussion and debate. The format worked out well. We had over 3 hours of discussion on Project Mercury, 2 1/2 hours on the Service Efficiency Metric and a wrap up hour on the Top 10 which I presented on behalf of DCP at the Green Grid Technical Forum closing session on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 (Watch for an upcoming blog and video on that next week). Below are three videos summarizing the event and the two primary topics.
As Mark and I discussed last January in Episode 33: Three Years Later, we are getting back to basics. These collaboration sessions are one of the key reasons that end users participate in Data Center Pulse. The networking, discussion, debate and innovation that comes from them is aligned with the Data Center Pulse charter to influence the Data Center industry through end users.


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Food many choices and very tasty. Excellent service. Reasonable prices. Smiling staff. What else can u except ?
Great place to watch NFL in Shanghai
Good for watching games and having a beer. Not so good for eating though.
Pretty good spot for watching football, happy hours and good atmospheare!
Hoegarden is fake be careful
Rip off place way overpriced
Irish carbombs!
Take a Stella! A big Stella!
great sports bar atmosphere, dont miss daily happy hour till 8pm
I like this place. Been coming here a long time, even becore I lived here. Good food, beer and people.
great place, daily happy hour with Carlsberg and tiger for 25rmb till 8.
Each UFC fights happen here.
Peroni waiting on ice... That's service!
The friendly next door bar
check out the small outside seating on the second floor.
Try the delicious 'Big Bamboo Burger'!
Wifi password is freebamboo88
Try the monday burger and pint of beer for 50 rmb :)
Beef tacos and chicken fajitas are superb. Italian sub, bang on. Avoid the 6 jalapeños (wrecks your stomach), burgers are among the best around. Beer? Fantastique!
Nice people, for the food go to 'The Spot'
Wifi sucks!
Sport bar for men. Very american like. Nice setting of the place. Got deals every day. Not my favorite anyway.
Tuesday beer and pizza for 50 special
Monday's 50rmb burger and beer!
Anyone have any idea what kinda foosball table they have here? Also anyone playing on a Wednesday night?
Foosball tournament each friday. level: good to pro
Great atmosphere, the type of place I would like to be a regular customer at.....except, it is too expensive!
Great "Pub Grub" and atmosphere (very international). Quiet Bar upstairs if you want to retreat along with snooker tables.
Far too much F1 signage & back slapping for a bar with a grumpy male patron that doesn't actually know the time of live events or put the audio up during live coverage.
Wifi password: freebamboo88
Nice place for watching sports games, but VERY expensive.
Amazing place, friendly service and wifi!!
wifi password: freebigbamboo88
NBA broadcast is very bad quality. Like an online stream...
Free wifi! Their poutine is not true Canadian though. Mozzarella not right!!
Service is soooooo bad!
Nice outdoor patio on the second floor
Monday night pool competition
Awful meuslix & yogurt. Better to eat wood scraps.
Dont order an Erdinger. It'll set you back about 8 Euros :-(
Get your Pure blond fix here!
Showing UFC 118, Toney vs Couture about to start.
Don't order the fish fingers!