A recently formed ocean inside Saturn's moon Mimas.

Moons potentially harbouring a global ocean are tending to become relatively common objects in the Solar System1. The presence of these long-lived global oceans is generally betrayed by surface modification owing to internal dynamics2. Hence, Mimas would be the most unlikely place to look for the presence of a global ocean3. Here, from detailed analysis of Mimas's orbital motion based on Cassini data, with a particular focus on Mimas's periapsis drift, we show that its heavily cratered icy shell hides a global ocean, at a depth of 20-30 kilometres. Eccentricity damping implies that the ocean is likely to be less than 25 million years old and still evolving. Our simulations show that the ocean-ice interface reached a depth of less than 30 kilometres only recently (less than 2-3 million years ago), a time span too short for signs of activity at Mimas's surface to have appeared.

The feasibility of adapted group-based interpersonal therapy (IPT) for the treatment of depression by community health workers within the context of task shifting in South Africa.

Within the context of a large treatment gap for depression and a scarcity of specialist resources, there is a need for task shifting to scale up mental health services to address this gap in South Africa. This study assessed the feasibility of an adapted manualized version of grouped based Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) for use by supervised community health workers through a pilot study on 60 primary health care clinic users screened as having moderate to severe depression. Retention was good and participants in the group-based IPT intervention showed significant reduction in depressive symptoms on completion of the 12-week intervention as well as 24 weeks post baseline compared to the control group. Qualitative process evaluation suggests that improved social support, individual coping skills and improved personal agency assisted in the reduction of depressive symptoms.

Health implications of transition from a planned to a free-market economy--an overview.

China and the Former Soviet Union have both undergone substantial political and economic change in recent years as they began the transition from planned to more liberal market economies. The approaches to market liberalization in Russia (privatization in the minimum time) and China (gradual liberalization of prices and slow withdrawal of agricultural subsidies) were quite different. This paper examines some of the health implications associated with these changes, particularly in relation to the increasing burden of diet-related chronic diseases. The changing patterns of tobacco and alcohol use, increase in sedentary lifestyles and increased consumption of non-traditional, energy-dense processed foods, high in salt, fat and sugar are examined, as are the strategies used by foreign direct investors in these emerging markets to ensure market penetration, to gain a fuller understanding of how children and adults' choices of food are being influenced as a result of these socioeconomic changes. Some of the threats and opportunities facing Chinese and foreign food producers in these new conditions are assessed. It is suggested that to ensure successful prevention of future diet-related chronic diseases in such rapidly changing conditions, there needs to be a move beyond reliance solely on health education programmes and individual or local community-based interventions. A series of strategies involving multiple stakeholders should be considered as options for intervention.

Cassini discovers a kinematic spiral ring around Saturn.

Since the time of the Voyager flybys of Saturn in 1980-1981, Saturn's eccentric F ring has been known to be accompanied on either side by faint strands of material. New Cassini observations show that these strands, initially interpreted as concentric ring segments, are in fact connected and form a single one-arm trailing spiral winding at least three times around Saturn. The spiral rotates around Saturn with the orbital motion of its constituent particles. This structure is likely the result of differential orbital motion stretching an initial cloud of particles scattered from the dense core of the F ring. Different scenarios of formation, implying ringlet-satellite interactions, are explored. A recently discovered moon candidate, S/2004 S6, is on an orbit that crosses the F-ring core at the intersection of the spiral with the ring, which suggests a dynamical connection between S/2004 S6 and the spiral.

Varicella zoster gastritis in a bone marrow transplant recipient.

A case is reported of a patient who had previously undergone autologous bone marrow transplantation for recurrent Hodgkin's disease. The patient developed a generalised vesicular skin eruption. The clinical diagnosis was of disseminated shingles. Herpes viral particles were identified within the vesicular fluid by electron microscopy and using a specific monoclonal antibody to varicella zoster virus (VZV), positive immunofluorescence was detected in scrapings from the base of a vesicle. Gastroscopy and biopsy were performed because of severe abdominal pain and vomiting. The histological features were of non-specific active inflammation. Despite the histological absence of viral inclusions electron microscopy of the gastric biopsy revealed the presence of intranuclear herpes viral particles with a diameter of 90-100 nm. VZV specific DNA was detected by the polymerase chain reaction in the gastric biopsy extract. The patient was treated with acyclovir and made a full recovery.