Ireland, the happily-unhappy island.

"Masses of foreign investment, bubbling tax revenues, high growth rates: one might think that the Irish must be a very happy people. But they also have reason to complain.

 

A huge new Intel chip factory recently opened in Ireland. 17 billion euros went into the construction in Leixlip near Dublin, and the American semiconductor manufacturer is creating thousands of jobs. And the chip factory in Leixlip was built without billions of dollars in government subsidies - unlike what Germany promises for the Intel factory in Magdeburg.

 

Foreign direct investment is enormously important for Ireland's economy, emphasized Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at the opening of the factory.

 

For forty years, the republic has been attracting a large stream of multinational corporations with its very low corporate tax of just 12.5 percent. Giants such as Amazon, Apple, Google and Meta have set up headquarters in Dublin. Pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer also have a strong presence on the island.

 

Companies are attracted not only by the low taxes, but also by the qualified workforce, high technical standards and business-friendly regulations.

 

Even in the year of the global Corona recession in 2020, Ireland recorded gross domestic product growth of 6 percent, and in 2021 it was even 15 percent - inflated by the profits of digital companies. Last year, economic output increased by 9 percent despite the energy price shock; this year it is expected to be at least 2 percent.

 

The debt crisis has largely been forgotten

 

With such rapid growth, Ireland is the great exception among the industrialized countries. Within eight years, corporate tax revenue has tripled to almost 23 billion euros.

 

Although the new OECD minimum tax rate of 15 percent and other changes from next year will somewhat weaken the attractiveness of the location and income, the impact will be limited.

 

The debt crisis that necessitated a rescue operation by the IMF and EU ten years ago after the real estate and banking bubble burst is largely forgotten. The austerity measures under “Troika” supervision were very painful. Many scars have now largely healed and debt levels have steadily fallen. The bubbling profit taxes are giving Ireland generous budget surpluses, this year 10 billion euros (1.8 percent of GDP).

 

Now the government announced in October that it was setting up two sovereign wealth funds that would collect surpluses, as only the rich oil country Norway does in Europe. It wants to set aside 0.8 percent of GDP per year. The “Ireland Future Fund” is intended to collect around 100 billion euros by 2035 as reserves for worse times and for health and pension expenses. There is also a second, smaller fund for infrastructure expansion, energy and climate policy.

 

Lots of reasons to complain

 

One would think that the Irish must be a very happy people. On paper they have one of the highest GDP per capita levels, but these numbers are statistically inflated by the included profits of the corporate multinationals. Adjusted gross national income is lower but still significant. However, there are also many reasons to complain in Ireland.

 

The housing shortage is particularly depressing. Rents are exorbitantly high, especially in Dublin and the surrounding area, and demand exceeds supply. There hasn't been enough construction for years. Strong immigration from abroad - within two decades the population has grown by almost a third to 5.3 million people - has further exacerbated the shortage of living space. Most recently, almost 100,000 Ukrainians and other asylum seekers arrived.

 

Two thirds of young Irish people under 30 cannot afford to rent and live with their parents. 

 

Owning a home is no longer affordable for many families. 

 

Not everyone in Ireland has benefited from the long-term boom. And parts of the country's infrastructure - be it the narrow highways, overcrowded hospitals or crumbling schools - are stuck in the past.

 

The dissatisfaction of many Irish people is reflected in the fact that the left-wing, Irish nationalist Sinn Féin has risen sharply to a third in polls.  

 

Sinn Féin lures voters with social policy promises. 

 

 Sinn Féin's questionable past as an IRA mouthpiece is scaring fewer and fewer young people. Prime Minister Varadkar's bourgeois coalition is weakening in popularity with voters, and the Greens in government have particularly fallen. From the point of view of many Irish people, high GDP figures, budget surpluses and a future fund are apparently not enough. Above all, there is a lack of concepts as to how the country can get the housing shortage under control through more new construction." [1]

 

Importantly, most people in Ireland speak English fluently. After the United Kingdom left the European Union, Ireland was left as the only English-speaking country in our vast and rich market. It attracts companies and talents from all over the world, including Lithuania.

 

1. Irland, die glücklich-unglückliche Insel. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (online) Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH. Nov 8, 2023. Von Philip Plickert, London

Kinijos onkologijos laboratorija, susijusi su gydytojų vėžiu

  „HONKONGAS – neįprastas vėžio atvejų sankaupas tarp Kinijos mokslininkų, susijusių su viena geriausių šalies onkologijos laboratorijų, sulaukė didžiulio visuomenės dėmesio, todėl kilo naujų klausimų apie laboratorijų saugą.

 

     Pietinio Guangdžou miesto Sun Yat-Sen memorialinės ligoninės dviem chirurgams birželį ir spalį buvo diagnozuotas vėžys, trečiadienį pranešė ligoninė. Abu anksčiau dirbo labai vertinamoje ligoninės krūties vėžio tyrimų laboratorijoje.

 

     Iki 2022 m. balandžio mėnesio laboratorijoje dirbusiam kviestiniam mokslininkui šiemet taip pat buvo diagnozuotas vėžys, pranešė ligoninė.

 

     Šią savaitę Kinijos socialinėje žiniasklaidoje pradėjo plisti pranešimai apie laboratorijos mokslininkų diagnozuotas vėžines ligas. Ligoninės dalinis šių pranešimų patvirtinimas sukėlė visuomenės susidomėjimo bangą – daugelis internautų suabejojo, ar atvejai atsirado dėl laboratorijoje tiriamų kancerogeninių medžiagų ir ar neatsiras kitų su šia įstaiga susijusių vėžio diagnozių.

 

     Laboratorija dirba griežtai laikantis standartų, visi jos darbuotojai yra apmokyti saugos, pranešė ligoninė.

 

     „Reaguojant į nuogąstavimus, kad vėžio diagnozės siejamos su laboratorija ar kontaktu su tiriamaisiais reagentais, vėžio priežastys yra itin komplikuotos“, – teigia ligoninė. „Nuoširdžiai sveikiname atitinkamas agentūras, kurios organizuoja trečiųjų šalių organizacijas peržiūrai ir tyrimui."

 

     Du chirurgai, pavarde Huangas ir Liu, dirbo ligoninės krūties vėžio laboratorijoje medicinos studentais, pranešė ligoninė. Huangui buvo diagnozuotas kasos vėžys, o Liu – sinovinė sarkoma – reta vėžio forma, atsirandanti minkštuosiuose audiniuose.

 

     Abu asmenys buvo operuoti, vieno jų būklė stabili, o kitas sveiksta, pranešė ligoninė. Teigiama, kad atvykusiam mokslininkui krūties vėžys buvo diagnozuotas kitoje ligoninėje.

 

     Ketvirtadienį nebuvo atsiliepta į Guangdongo provincijos, kurioje yra ligoninė, sveikatos komisijos viešųjų ryšių biurą.

 

     Sun Yat-Sen memorialinė ligoninė Kinijoje garsėja jos medicininiais tyrimais ir pavadinta revoliucinės figūros ir šiuolaikinės Kinijos tėvo įkūrėjo, kuris taip pat buvo gydytojas, vardu.

 

     Rizikos lygis, su kuriuo susiduria medicinos tyrėjai, Kinijoje buvo aktuali tema nuo pirmųjų Covid-19 pandemijos dienų, kai Uhane dirbantis gydytojas Li Wenliangas mirė nuo Covid, bandęs įspėti dėl viruso. Ankstyvas viruso plitimas Uhane, kuriame yra virusologijos laboratorija, kuri eksperimentavo su koronavirusu, taip pat sutelkė dėmesį į laboratorijų saugą šalyje." [1]

 

1. World News: Chinese Oncology Lab Tied To Cancer In Doctors. Cheng, Selina.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 10 Nov 2023: A.10. 

Chinese Oncology Lab Tied To Cancer In Doctors.

"HONG KONG -- An unusual cluster of cancer cases among Chinese researchers affiliated with one of the country's top oncology laboratories has attracted a wave of public attention, leading to new questions around lab safety.

Two surgeons at Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital in the southern city of Guangzhou were diagnosed with cancer in June and October, the hospital said on Wednesday. Both had previously worked in the hospital's highly regarded breast-cancer research laboratory.

A visiting scholar who worked at the lab until April 2022 was also diagnosed with cancer this year, the hospital said.

Reports of back-to-back cancer diagnoses among researchers at the lab began to circulate on Chinese social media this week. The hospital's partial confirmation of those reports has fueled a wave of public interest, with many internet users questioning whether the cases were caused by carcinogenic substances being studied at the lab and whether other cancer diagnoses connected to the facility would emerge.

The laboratory operates in strict accordance with standards and all members of its laboratory staff have received safety training, the hospital said.

"In response to concerns that the cancer diagnoses are linked to the laboratory or contact with test reagents, the causes of cancers are extremely complicated," the hospital said. "We sincerely welcome relevant agencies to organize third-party organizations to review and investigate."

The two surgeons, surnamed Huang and Liu, worked in the hospital's breast-cancer laboratory as medical students, the hospital said. Huang was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and Liu was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that occurs in soft tissues.

Both individuals have undergone surgery, with one in stable condition and the other in recovery, the hospital said. The visiting scholar was diagnosed with breast cancer at another hospital, it said.

Calls to the public-relations office of the health commission in Guangdong Province, where the hospital is located, weren't answered on Thursday.

Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital is renowned in China for its medical research and is named after the revolutionary figure and founding father of modern China, who was also a doctor.

The level of risk faced by medical researchers has been a charged topic in China since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when Li Wenliang, a doctor based in Wuhan, died from Covid after trying to sound an alarm about the virus. The early spread of the virus in Wuhan, home to a virology lab that experimented with coronavirus, has also focused scrutiny on lab safety in the country." [1]

1. World News: Chinese Oncology Lab Tied To Cancer In Doctors. Cheng, Selina.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 10 Nov 2023: A.10.   
 

Tyrimo rezultatai rodo, kad vienatvė yra susijusi su mirties rizika

 „Jei manote, kad planų atšaukimas visada yra gera savikontrolė, galbūt, norėsite pagalvoti dar kartą.

 

     Žmonės, kurie laikosi aktyvaus socialinio kalendoriaus, ne tik džiaugiasi geresne gyvenimo kokybe – jie taip pat galėtų išvengti ankstyvos kelionės į kapą.

 

     Remiantis naujais tyrimais, vienatvė ir socialinė izoliacija buvo susijusios su padidėjusia mirties nuo bet kokios priežasties rizika. Tai apima pasimatymą su artimaisiais, savaitės grupinės veiklos, pavyzdžiui, knygų klubo, nebuvimą ar tiesiog dažną vienišumo jausmą.

 

     „Kaip ir įtemptame gyvenime turime skirti laiko, kad būtume fiziškai aktyvūs, taip ir užimtame gyvenime turime skirti laiko, kad būtume socialiai aktyvūs“, – sakė Brigham Young universiteto Socialinių ryšių ir sveikatos laboratorijos direktorė Julianne Holt-Lunstad, kuris nedalyvavo, rengiant ataskaitą.

 

     Duomenys rodo, kad kelių vienatvės veiksnių derinys gali būti dar žalingesnis. Pavyzdžiui, retai turėti svečiuose šeimos narius ir draugus buvo rizikingiau, kai žmogus taip pat gyveno vienas.

 

     Ketvirtadienį medicinos žurnale BMC Medicine paskelbtame tyrime daugiau, nei dešimtmetį, buvo stebimi žmonės ir buvo renkami vienatvės duomenys prieš Covid-19 pandemiją.

 

     Tai papildo vis daugiau įrodymų, kad vienatvė gali pakenkti mūsų sveikatai, prisidėti prie sveikatos problemų, įskaitant nerimą, širdies ligas ir demenciją.

 

     „Sunku įsivaizduoti sveikatos būklę, kuriai nedaro įtakos vienatvė“, – sakė Kalifornijos universiteto San Franciske geriatrė ir paliatyviosios slaugos gydytoja Carla Perissinotto, kuri nedalyvavo naujausiame tyrime.

 

     Amerikiečiai dabar daugiau laiko praleidžia vieni ir mažiau laiko bendrauja asmeniškai, palyginti su prieš du dešimtmečius, ši tendencija įsigalėjo dar prieš pandemiją. 2023 m. „Gallup“ apklausa parodė, kad 17% JAV suaugusiųjų ir beveik ketvirtadalis suaugusiųjų iki 30 metų amžiaus pranešė, kad dieną prieš apklausą jautė didelį vienišumą.

 

     Sveikatos apsaugos pareigūnai atkreipia dėmesį.

 

      Generalinis chirurgas daktaras Vivekas Murthy gegužę paskelbė patariamąjį pranešimą apie vienišumą ir socialinę izoliaciją, remdamasis tyrimais, kurie rodo, kad socialinio ryšio trūkumas gali būti toks pat pavojingas, kaip surūkyti iki 15 cigarečių per dieną.

 

     Naujajame dokumente Glazgo universiteto mokslininkai išanalizavo duomenis iš daugiau, nei 450 000, JK Biobank duomenų bazės dalyvių. Dalyviai nuo 38 iki 73 metų atsakė į klausimus apie jų socialinį ryšį. Po maždaug 12 1/2 metų apie 33 000 mirė, įskaitant daugiau, nei 5 000, nuo širdies ir kraujagyslių ligų.

 

     Tyrėjai ištyrė penkias vienišumo ir izoliacijos priemones: dažnas vienišumo jausmas , nesugebėjimas pasitikėti artimu draugu, gyvenimas vienam, kaip dažnai žmonės lankosi su draugais ir šeima bei savaitinė grupinė veikla. Visos jos turėjo įtakos.

 

     „Kai klausiame žmonių, kiek jie yra socialiai susiję ar izoliuoti, turime užduoti daugiau, nei vieną klausimą“, – sakė vienas iš straipsnio autorių ir Glazgo universiteto kardiometabolinės sveikatos profesorius Jasonas Gillas.

 

     Stipriausias ryšys buvo žmonėms, kurių šeimos nariai ir draugai niekada nelankė, o tai buvo problema susijusi su 39% padidėjusia mirties rizika tyrimo laikotarpiu, palyginti su tais, pas kuriuos lankėsi kasdien. 

 

Tyrėjai teigė, kad tie, pas kuriuos bent kartą per mėnesį lankėsi draugai ir šeimos nariai, turėjo jau mažesnę mirties riziką.

 

     Kai kurie socialinio ryšio privalumai yra praktiški, pavyzdžiui, jei kas nors paimtų vaistus arba nuvežtų į pas gydytojus ir iš jų.

 

     Tačiau vienatvės pasekmės skauda giliau. Lėtinis vienišumo jausmas taip pat gali pakenkti žmogaus miegui ir yra susijęs su kūno uždegimu, kuris gali sukelti daugybę ligų.

 

     „Šis nemalonus, varginantis jausmas, kai liekame vieniši, turi neigiamą poveikį“, – sakė Floridos valstijos universiteto Medicinos koledžo geriatrijos profesorius Antonio Terracciano, kuris tyrime nedalyvavo.

 

     Atskirame tyrime Terracciano ir jo kolegos išanalizavo maždaug 490 000 JK Biobanko dalyvių duomenis ir nustatė, kad vienatvė buvo susijusi su padidėjusia Parkinsono ligos išsivystymo rizika.

 

 Rezultatai buvo paskelbti žurnale JAMA Neurology spalio mėn.

 

     Kiti tyrimai rodo, kad vienatvė padidina aukštesnio kraujospūdžio, insulto ir depresijos riziką. Viename tyrime netgi nustatyta, kad suaugusiems, gyvenantiems vienišai, gali padidėti rizika mirti nuo vėžio, o kitame buvo teigiama, kad vienatvė gali padidinti vėžį išgyvenusių žmonių mirties riziką.

 

     Pasak mokslininkų, žmonės gali turėti skirtingus pageidavimus dėl to, kaip jie nori bendrauti. Ir socialinių ryšių skaičius, kurį kažkas turi, ne visada yra galutinis tikslas. Svarbi tų santykių kokybė.

 

     „Ar tai kažkas, kas bus šalia, net jei nieko nereikės, sėdės su tavimi ir tu gali jaustis patogiai, nes juo visiškai pasitiki?" - sakė Louise Hawkley, sveikatos ir vienatvės tyrinėtoja iš NORC prie Čikagos universiteto, kuri nedalyvavo tyrime." [1]

 

Vakaruose vienišas gyvenimo būdas yra skatinamas ir reklamuojamas.  Tam daroma viskas, kas ardo tradicines šeimas. Juk išsiskyrus dviems žmonėms, jiems reikia daug ko dukart daugiau, įskaitant virtuvės stalus, prie kurių pusryčiaujame vienatvėje.

 

1. U.S. News: Loneliness Tied To Death Risk, Study Finds. Abbott, Brianna.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 10 Nov 2023: A.7.

Loneliness Tied To Death Risk, Study Finds.

"If you think canceling plans is always good self-care, you might want to think again. 

People who keep an active social calendar not only enjoy a better quality of life -- they could also stave off an early trip to the grave.

Loneliness and social isolation were linked to an increased risk of death from any cause, according to new research. That includes missing out on seeing loved ones, not having weekly group activities like a book club, or just often feeling lonely.

"Just like we need to make time in our busy lives to be physically active, we need to make time in our busy lives to be socially active," said Julianne Holt-Lunstad, director of the Social Connection & Health Lab at Brigham Young University, who wasn't involved in the report.

A combination of several loneliness factors could be even more harmful, the data suggested. For example, having few family and friend visits was riskier when the person also lived alone.

The study, published Thursday in the medical journal BMC Medicine, tracked people for more than a decade and collected loneliness data before the Covid-19 pandemic. 

It adds to increasing evidence that loneliness can be bad for our health, contributing to health problems including anxiety, heart disease and dementia.

"It is hard to think of a health condition that is not impacted by loneliness," said Dr. Carla Perissinotto, a geriatrician and palliative care physician at the University of California, San Francisco, who wasn't involved in the most recent study.

Americans are now spending more time alone and less time socializing in-person, compared with two decades ago, a trend that started taking hold even before the pandemic. A 2023 Gallup poll found that 17% of U.S. adults -- and nearly a quarter of adults under the age of 30 -- reported feeling a significant amount of loneliness the day before they took the survey.

Health officials are taking notice.

 Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy put out an advisory report on loneliness and social isolation in May, citing research that suggests that lacking social connection could be as dangerous as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.

In the new paper, researchers at the University of Glasgow analyzed data from more than 450,000 participants in the U.K. Biobank database. The participants, aged 38 to 73, answered questions about their social connectedness. After around 12 1/2 years, some 33,000 had died, including more than 5,000 from cardiovascular disease.

The researchers looked at five measures for loneliness and isolation: often feeling lonely, not being able to confide in a close companion, living alone, how often people visit with friends and family, and weekly group activities. All of them had an impact.

"When we're asking people how socially connected or isolated they are, we need to ask more than one question," said Jason Gill, one of the paper's authors and a professor of cardiometabolic health at the University of Glasgow.

The strongest link was for people who were never visited by family and friends, which was associated with a 39% increase in risk of death during the study period compared with those with daily visits. Those who had at least monthly friend and family visits had a lower risk of dying, the researchers said.

Some benefits of social connection are practical, such as having someone to pick up medications or take you to and from doctor's appointments. 

But the consequences of loneliness cut deeper. Chronic feelings of loneliness can also hurt a person's sleep and are linked to bodily inflammation, which can contribute to a range of diseases.

"This uncomfortable, distressful feeling of being lonely overtime has a negative effect," said Antonio Terracciano, a professor in geriatrics at Florida State University College of Medicine, who wasn't involved with the study.

In a separate study, Terracciano and his colleagues analyzed data from some 490,000 U.K. Biobank participants and found that loneliness was connected to an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease. The results were published in the journal JAMA Neurology in October.

Other research has implicated loneliness in increased risk for higher blood pressure, stroke, and depression. One study even found that adults living alone might be at an increased risk of dying from cancer, while another suggested that loneliness could increase the risk of death for cancer survivors.

People can have different preferences for how they want to socialize, researchers said. And the number of social connections someone has isn't always an end goal in itself; the quality of those relationships matters.

"Is it someone that is going to be there even if nothing is needed, will sit with you, and you can be comfortable because you have complete trust in them?" said Louise Hawkley, a health and loneliness researcher at NORC at the University of Chicago who wasn't involved in the study." [1]

 In the West, the single lifestyle is encouraged and promoted. Everything is done to destroy traditional families. After all, when two people break up, they need a lot of things twice as much, including the kitchen tables where we eat breakfast alone.

1. U.S. News: Loneliness Tied To Death Risk, Study Finds. Abbott, Brianna.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 10 Nov 2023: A.7.