What exactly is Hughes syndrome?

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) is a rare autoimmune condition that causes thickening of the circulating blood. APS is estimated to affect one in 2,000 people in the United States alone. But while there is no cure for the condition, the risk of developing blood clots can be greatly reduced if it's correctly diagnosed. So, what are the symptoms of APS, and how is it treated?

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome explained

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS), also known as Hughes syndrome, is a disorder of the immune system that causes an increased risk of blood clots.

Abnormal blood clotting

The condition causes abnormal blood clots to form in veins and arteries.

Autoimmune disorders

Autoimmune disorders occur when your body's immune system makes antibodies that attack and damage your own tissues or cells.

Abnormal antibodies

Normally, antibodies protect your body from viruses or bacteria. But APS produces abnormal antibodies called antiphospholipid antibodies that attack healthy cells.

Increased risk of blood clots

These target proteins attached to fat molecules (phospholipids), which significantly raises the risk of blood clots.

Causes

It's not clear what causes the immune system to produce abnormal antibodies. However, as with other autoimmune conditions, genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors are thought to play a part.

Who's affected?

APS can strike people of all ages, including children and babies. But like most autoimmune diseases, APS is five times more common in women than in men.

Association with lupus

According to the APS Foundation of America (APSFA), up to 15% of patients with the condition also have systemic lupus erythematosus, another autoimmune disease.

Signs and symptoms of APS

High levels of APS antibodies in the blood increase the risk of a variety of health problems. These include chest pain and shortness of breath.

Nausea

Waves of nausea and repeated headaches or migraines are classic indicators of APS.

Mobility issues

Dizziness, lack of coordination, and problems with balance are all symptoms of abnormal blood clotting.

Vision problems

People with APS may also experience double vision, or blurred eyesight.

Speech problems and memory loss

APS can cause problems with speech. Less commonly, it can induce bouts of amnesia.

Swelling in arms or legs

Those with APS may suffer from pain, redness, warmth, and swelling in the arms or legs. A tingling sensation—pins and needles—may also be present.

Fatigue

Extreme exhaustion coupled with upper body discomfort in the arms, back, neck, and jaw are other signs that you may have APS.

Complications from APS

The thickening of the circulating blood associated with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome is responsible for a range of serious health risks.

Pregnancy problems

Unfortunately, women with APS have a much higher risk of developing complications during pregnancy, particularly if it's not treated promptly. These include possible miscarriage or premature birth.

Heart attack

Furthermore, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome is a major contributor to heart attacks.

Deep vein thrombosis

APS can trigger deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot in a vein, usually in the leg.

Stroke

The chances of suffering a stroke increase with APS. A stroke occurs when something blocks blood supply to part of the brain or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. It can be fatal.

Diagnosing APS

An accurate diagnosis of APS is vital because blood clots can have serious consequences. Tests used in determining the condition include specific blood tests and a medical assessment.

Treatment

There is no cure for APS. Instead, treatment of the condition is aimed towards reducing the risk of developing more blood clots. A patient will likely be prescribed anticoagulant medicine such as warfarin. Antiplatelet medication such as low-dose aspirin may also be prescribed.

Other common treatments

A physician may recommend a course of cortisone drugs to control the inflammation associated with autoimmune diseases.

Treatment during pregnancy

In pregnant women with APS, treatment with low‐dose aspirin and therapeutic‐dose heparin is recommended. It's very important to speak with your doctor before taking any drugs, because some medications used to treat APS can also harm an unborn baby.

Living with APS

You can reduce the risk of developing blood clots by making healthy lifestyle changes. For example, if you smoke, quit.

Lifestyle changes

Eating a healthy balanced diet low in fat and sugar and containing plenty of fruit and vegetables is always recommended.

Exercise regularly

Regular exercise, jogging daily for example, is an excellent way of maintaining overall health.

Maintain a healthy weight

Check your weight. If you're obese (have a body mass index of over 30) then it's time to diet. Seriously.

Stay alert!

It's worth wearing a medical alert bracelet. This will draw health professionals to the fact that you have a blood clotting disorder, in case of an accident.

There are more than 100 autoimmune diseases, and they mostly strike women. Here's what to know

Our immune system has a dark side: It’s supposed to fight off invaders to keep us healthy. But sometimes it turns traitor and attacks our own cells and tissues.

What are called autoimmune diseases can affect just about every part of the body – and tens of millions of people. While most common in women, these diseases can strike anyone, adults or children, and they’re on the rise.

New research is raising the prospect of treatments that might do more than tamp down symptoms. Dozens of clinical trials are testing ways to reprogram an immune system-gone-rogue, with some promising early successes against lupus, myositis and certain other illnesses. Other researchers are hunting ways to at least delay brewing autoimmune diseases, spurred by a drug that can buy some time before people show symptoms of Type 1 diabetes.

“This is probably the most exciting time that we’ve ever had to be in autoimmunity,” said Dr. Amit Saxena, a rheumatologist at NYU Langone Health.

Here are some things to know.

What are autoimmune diseases?

They’re chronic diseases that can range from mild to life-threatening, more than 100 with different names depending on how and where they do damage. Rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis attack joints. Sjögren’s disease is known for dry eyes and mouth. Myositis and myasthenia gravis weaken muscles in different ways, the latter by attacking how nerves signal them. Lupus has widely varied symptoms including a butterfly-shaped facial rash, joint and muscle pain, fevers and damage to the kidneys, lungs and heart.

They’re also capricious: Even patients faring well for long periods can suddenly have a “flare” for no apparent reason.

Why autoimmune diseases are so difficult to diagnose

Many start with vague symptoms that come and go or mimic other illnesses. Many also have overlapping symptoms – rheumatoid arthritis and Sjögren’s also can harm major organs, for example.

Diagnosis can take multiple tests, including some blood tests to detect antibodies that mistakenly latch onto healthy tissue. It usually centers on symptoms and involves ruling out other causes. Depending on the disease it can take years and seeing multiple doctors before one puts the clues together. There are efforts to improve: The National MS Society is educating doctors about newly updated guidelines to streamline diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

How the immune system gets out of whack

The human immune system is a complex army with sentinels to detect threats like germs or cancer cells, a variety of soldiers to attack them, and peacemakers to calm things down once the danger is over. Key is that it can distinguish what’s foreign from what’s “you,” what scientists call tolerance.

Sometimes confused immune cells or antibodies slip through, or the peacemakers can’t calm things down after a battle. If the system can’t spot and fix the problem, autoimmune diseases gradually develop.

Autoimmune diseases are often set off by a trigger

Most autoimmune diseases, especially in adults, aren’t caused by a specific gene defect. Instead, a variety of genes that affect immune functions can make people susceptible. Scientists say it then takes some “environmental” trigger, such as an infection, smoking or pollutants, to set the disease into motion. For example, the Epstein-Barr virus is linked to MS.

Scientists are zeroing in on the earliest molecular triggers. For example, white blood cells called neutrophils are first responders to signs of infection or injury — but abnormally overactive ones are suspected of playing a key role in lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases.

Women are at highest risk for autoimmune diseases

Women account for about 4 of 5 autoimmune patients, many of them young. Hormones are thought to play a role. But also, females have two X chromosomes while males have one X and one Y. Some research suggests an abnormality in how female cells switch off that extra X can increase women’s vulnerability.

But men do suffer from autoimmune diseases. One especially severe one named VEXAS syndrome wasn’t discovered until 2020. It mainly affects men over 50 and in addition to typical autoimmune symptoms it can cause blood clots, shortness of breath and night sweats.


Certain populations also have higher risks. For example, lupus is more common in Black and Hispanic women. Northern Europeans have a higher risk of MS than other groups.

Treatment for autoimmune diseases is complicated

According to investment research company Morningstar, the global market for autoimmune disease treatments is $100 billion a year. That’s not counting doctor visits and such things as lost time at work. Treatment is lifelong and, while usually covered by insurance, can be pricey.

Not so long ago there was little to offer for many autoimmune diseases beyond high-dose steroids and broad immune-suppressing drugs, with side effects that include a risk of infections and cancer. Today some newer options target specific molecules, somewhat less immune dampening. But for many autoimmune diseases, treatment is trial and error, with little to guide patient decisions.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Electroconvulsive therapy may have more adverse effects than thought

Electroconvulsive therapy could be causing a wider range of adverse effects when used to treat depression than previously understood, according to a paper that calls for the practice to be suspended pending more robust research.

Although short- and long-term memory loss is widely known to result from ECT, the research identified 25 further concerning side effects, which included cardiovascular problems, fatigue and emotional blunting.

ECT involves passing electricity through the brain while under general anaesthesia to cause seizures, usually over a course of six to 12 treatments. It is administered to about 2,500 people in the UK annually, primarily for treatment-resistant depression, as well as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and catatonia.

The research, published in the International Journal of Mental Health, draws on a survey of 747 ECT patients and 201 relatives and friends, which means it is not conclusive but could give an indication of possible other side effects given the difficulty of researching ECT.

Prof John Read, the study’s author and a professor in the University of East London’s department of psychology, said: “Given that we still don’t know if ECT is more effective than placebo, these startling new findings make it even more urgent that it be suspended pending a thorough investigation into both safety and efficacy.

“The research is so flawed and inconclusive that ECT would have absolutely no chance of obtaining MHRA approval in the UK, or FDA approval in the USA, if it were introduced today.”

The research found that nearly a quarter of participants (22.9%) reported heart problems such as arrhythmia after ECT, while more than half (53.9%) said they had recurring headaches. More than three-quarters (76.4%) experienced emotional blunting. Some side effects were connected to memory loss, for example relationship problems, difficulty navigating and loss of vocabulary.

Sue Cunliffe, who was given ECT in 2004 for severe depression, said the side effects had “completely wrecked my life from age 38”. She said she was left with slurred speech, shaking hands and impaired balance, and was unable to recognise faces, count money, follow directions or read and write properly.

Prof George Kirov from Cardiff University said ECT was “highly effective” and he had observed it as “life-changing” for people with severe depression, with 60% seeing improvements in their symptoms. He said stigma had resulted in “under-utilisation” in the UK, but that it was more commonly used in some other northern European countries.


“There is a very wide and robust evidence that it is effective, beyond the early sham-controlled trials. For example large meta analyses show that it out-performs antidepressants, TMS, tDCS and any other treatments,” he said, adding that calls for more placebo-controlled trials were “not supported by the scientific community”.

Lucy Johnstone, a clinical psychologist and member of the UK ECT Improving Standards Campaign Group, which is pushing for stronger regulation, said very few people were aware that ECT was still performed as a treatment, and that it was mainly given to older women, with one-third receiving it against their will.

She said “a significant proportion” of ECT patients were victims of domestic abuse, which she believed was not always well explored by mental health professionals. “Pills won’t help, so it quickly gets to the point of: what do we try next? That’s when ECT gets raised,” Johnstone said.

A spokesperson from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said its guidelines stipulated: ‘“Clinicians should only consider ECT for acute treatment of severe depression that is life-threatening and when a rapid response is required, when it is the person’s preference based on past experience of ECT, or when other treatments have failed.”

Patients should be informed of the risks and benefits, and clinics must be Electroconvulsive Therapy Accreditation Service (ECTAS) accredited and record data on delivery and outcomes, the spokesperson said.

Rare warning sign in your eye could be a symptom of high cholesterol

High cholesterol is a concern for many, as it can result in blocked blood vessels and heighten the risk of strokes or heart issues. It's often caused by consuming fatty foods and lack of exercise, but lifestyle changes can help lower cholesterol levels.

But how can you tell if your cholesterol is high? High cholesterol typically doesn't present any symptoms, but familial hypercholesterolaemia may exhibit visible signs. One such sign is corneal arcus - a pale white ring around the iris of your eye.

Another physical symptom is xanthelasmas, small yellow cholesterol deposits near the inner corner of your eye. Swellings on the knuckles of your hands, knees, or Achilles tendon, known as tendon xanthomata, may also occur.

Familial hypercholesterolaemia is a genetic condition, meaning it's present from birth, reports Surrey Live. Despite potentially having no other risk factors, this condition can lead to very high cholesterol levels due to faulty genes passed down through families, as explained by the British Heart Foundation.

While high cholesterol can be hereditary, other groups at higher risk include those over 50, men, post-menopausal women, and individuals of South Asian or sub-Saharan African descent.

Cholesterol levels are typically determined through a blood test, with results usually available within a few days. The NHS also notes that individuals over 40 may have their cholesterol checked during an NHS Health Check, which involves a quick finger prick test with results returned in minutes.

One way to lower cholesterol is by reducing the intake of fatty foods. This includes cutting back on items such as meat pies, sausages, butter, cream, hard cheese, cakes, biscuits, and products containing coconut or palm oil.

Physical activity can also contribute to lowering cholesterol, with a recommended minimum of 150 minutes of exercise per week. Quitting smoking is advised as it can increase cholesterol levels, and alcohol consumption should be limited to no more than 14 units per week, as per NHS guidelines.

If cholesterol levels remain high despite dietary and lifestyle changes, doctors may prescribe medication in the form of pills or injections.

Signs you have iron deficiency

Iron is a mineral that plays a vital role in health and overall well-being. It helps you produce red blood cells and maintain a healthy immune system, so getting enough iron is essential, especially for women.

The body needs iron to make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen through your blood vessels. Without enough hemoglobin, your tissues and muscles won’t be able to work effectively, which can then lead to anemia.

With this said, would you like to know the signs of iron deficiency? Then check out this gallery.

You're exhausted

Exhaustion is the most common symptom of iron deficiency, but it's also the most difficult one to detect due to busy and stressful lifestyles.

Iron deficiency causes less oxygen to reach your tissues, so your body is deprived of the energy it needs. If your fatigue is mixed with you feeling weak, irritable, or unable to focus, then it can be related to iron deficiency.

You're pale

Hemoglobin gives your blood its red color, which also means it gives your skin its rosy hue. Therefore, low levels of the protein can make you look pale.

It's easy to spot if you have a light complexion. But no matter your skin tone, if the inside of your lips, gums, and the inside of your bottom eyelids are less red than usual, low iron may be to blame.

You crave nonfood substances

Known as pica, craving and actually eating nonfood substances can be a sign of iron deficiency. Iron-deficient people may be tempted to chew on chalk, clay, dirt, or paper.

Luckily, ice would be the safest choice if you really crave nonfood substances. However, still check with your doctor in case you start craving something else.

You feel anxious for no reason

Iron deficiency can trick you into feeling even more anxious. A lack of oxygen accelerates your body's sympathetic nervous system, which is like the body's gas pedal.

On top of that, because iron deficiency can send your heart racing, it's easy to feel like you're in fight-or-flight mode even when you have every reason to feel relaxed.

You have restless leg syndrome

If you can't stop fidgeting, you probably need to check your iron levels, as about 15% of people with restless leg syndrome have iron deficiency. The lower the iron levels, the worse the symptoms.

You get short of breath easily

It doesn't matter how deep you breathe, if your oxygen levels are low, you'll easily feel out of air. And this can be a symptom of iron deficiency.

If you notice yourself getting out of breath doing things that you'd normally handle just fine, be it climbing stairs or doing your usual workout, iron deficiency could be to blame.

You have an underactive thyroid

Iron deficiency slows your body's thyroid function and blocks its metabolism-boosting effects. Hypothyroidism if often missed, meaning a lot of people don't even know they have a thyroid disease.

So if you notice low energy levels, weight gain, or even a lower body temperature, talk to your doctor, as these could be signs of an underactive thyroid.

You get headaches

Although there are many causes of headaches, frequent headaches may be a symptom of iron deficiency, particularly in those who are menstruating.

An iron-deficient body will prioritize getting oxygen to your brain before it worries about other tissues. In response, the brain's arteries can swell, causing headaches.

You have celiac or an inflammatory bowel disease

Even if you get enough iron in your diet, celiac disease and inflammatory bowel diseases can lead to problems absorbing nutrients, including iron.

These conditions cause inflammation and damage to the digestive tract. If you've been diagnosed with any of these diseases, talk to your doctor about how you can increase your iron intake.

You have heavy periods

In women, the number one cause of iron deficiency is too-heavy periods. This means they lose too much blood, replace about half of it, and then lose again too much the following month.

Your period should only fill two to three tablespoons each month. To check this, try the tampon test. If you have to change a tampon more than every two hours, talk to a gynecologist.

You're vegetarian or vegan

Not all iron is the same. Your body absorbs heme iron, which comes from meat, poultry, and fish, two to three times more efficiently than non-heme iron from plants.

The good news is you can still get enough iron with careful meal planning. Dark leafy greens, whole grains, and legumes are all rich in iron. And to boost your absorption, pair them with vitamin C-rich foods like bell peppers, berries, and broccoli.

Your heart is pounding

An overworked heart can end up suffering from irregular heartbeats, enlargement, and even heart failure. But for things to get that bad, you would probably have to suffer from iron deficiency anemia for a long time.

However, if you have heart problems, it's important to get your iron levels checked, as iron deficiency can worsen with heart problems.

Your tongue looks strange

Low iron counts can reduce levels of myoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that supports muscle health, including the muscles that make up the tongue. It can turn the tongue sore, inflamed, and strangely smooth.

You're losing your hair

Don't panic if there are a few hairs in your drain. Most scalps lose about 100 hairs on a good day. But if you notice an unusual amount of hair loss, this could be a symptom of iron deficiency.

Iron deficiency, especially when it progresses into full-blown anemia, can cause hair loss. This is because it sends your body into survival mode, so your body channels oxygen to support vital functions instead to ones like keeping your hair intact.

You're pregnant

Babies-to-be need iron, and they can steal a lot from the mother. Also, many women lose a substantial amount of blood during delivery, which can lower iron counts.

If you're pregnant, have pregnancies close together, or regularly vomit because of morning sickness, you may need to boost your iron intake.

How to get more iron

Iron requirements aren't one-size-fits-all, especially for women. The amount depends on your age, if you're pregnant, how heavy your periods are, and even your weight. It's best to seek professional help in order to know which foods or even supplements work for you.

What Is an AI PaaS?

 

A Guide to the Future of AI Development.

Discover what an AI Platform as a Service (PaaS) is and how it simplifies building, deploying and operating production-grade AI applications.

Deploying an AI-powered application is more than just calling a model. Developers must wrangle inference infrastructure, version data pipelines and integrate external tools, while also finding ways to monitor or govern outputs that are more likely to hallucinate. The moment a team tries to move beyond a basic prototype, it’s suddenly forced to develop expertise in orchestration, compliance and AI architecture.

As AI capabilities explode across modalities (think: text to image to audio), the developer experience hasn’t kept pace. Teams are duct-taping solutions together across cloud providers, large language models (LLMs) APIs, vector databases and brittle control loops. Even companies with strong engineering muscle struggle to maintain velocity.

What’s missing is a platform-level solution that abstracts these AI concerns the same way traditional Platform as a Service (PaaS) abstracts infrastructure.

This is the space AI Platform as a Service (AI PaaS) aims to fill. It brings the core PaaS principles of simplicity, scalability and developer-first tooling to modern AI building blocks.

Let’s explore what an AI PaaS is and how it lets you ship production-grade AI applications without reinventing your entire stack.

What Is an AI PaaS and Why Is It Necessary?

An AI PaaS does exactly what it says: It’s a platform that helps developers build, deploy and operate AI-powered applications in the cloud without needing to manage models, orchestration, pipelines or infrastructure themselves. It builds on the foundation of traditional PaaS but extends it with AI-native features like model access, retrieval pipelines, agent orchestration and evaluation tools.

These platforms fill a critical gap, as many AI projects never make it to production. Gartner predicts that up to 40% of agentic AI initiatives will fail by 2027, often due to integration costs, lack of observability or deployment complexity. An AI PaaS addresses these challenges by providing opinionated, scalable defaults.

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Core Foundations of A Modern PaaS

Every PaaS needs to get a few core things right, whether you’re building a CRUD app or a conversational agent. They are:

Scalability: The infrastructure can easily scale to handle changes in compute-intensive AI workloads.
Security: All tenants are isolated with proper access controls to ensure models, data and agents remain secure. Secrets are all held to the principle of least privilege and managed securely.
Containerization: Agents and tooling are in containers for consistent deployments.
Orchestration: No manual configuration of infrastructure. Code is built and deployed automatically.
Data: Databases are automatically provisioned, scalable and provide secure access. This can mean vector databases, customer data or any other content required by the AI.
Observability: Latency, usage patterns and error management are visible through OpenTelemetry or a similar tool. AI workflows also need observability in prompt flows and results for debugging LLM results.

These are the table stakes. But building with AI introduces a new layer of complexity. Let’s look at specific features required for an AI PaaS.

Essential Features for a Minimum-Viable AI PaaS

To begin building an AI PaaS, the minimal tools required include model inference, retrieval pipelines and Model Context Protocol (MCP) scaffolding.

AI Models and Inference Options

AI-powered features are centered around LLMs. An LLM offers conversational generative AI, which has become commonplace since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022. An AI PaaS should provide seamless access to various machine learning (ML) models. Models all have different strengths and weaknesses, so having access to multiple models provides the most flexibility for teams building AI agents.

Control Loops for AI Quality and Reliability

When an LLM provides a response, a control loop should be in place to monitor the responses and verify their quality. Developers can create customer-defined heuristics and rules that will be used to evaluate the response. This could involve hard-coded guardrails or comparing the results of multiple LLMs to achieve consensus.

control loop will pass the response on to the next step of the model.

Model Context Protocol for Connecting Data and Tools

LLMs are powerful tools and can converse with users on many disparate topics. To power a generative AI that is useful for an organization, additional data must be constantly supplied to ensure timely and accurate responses.

MCP is a standardized approach to connect external tools into an AI system to provide additional data or knowledge. MCP servers make it easy to securely connect existing data tools (both internal and external) to incorporate new data.

Additionally, the MCP acts as a service directory. When a query is sent to the AI, it formulates its response based on knowing where the data is located and how it can be retrieved and formatted into a response. This allows existing applications and agents to connect to the MCP.

What To Expect from Enterprise-Grade AI PaaS

A credible AI PaaS goes beyond inference. It helps teams build responsibly, iterate quickly and scale with confidence. Here’s what to expect from platforms that can support long-term, production-grade AI use:

Retrieval Augmented Generation

One common data storage tool for external knowledge is retrieval augmented generation (RAG). The RAG database is generally a vector database containing enterprise data encoded specifically to interact quickly with the LLM. For example, Heroku’s Postgres pgvector provides seamless vector database support without the need for additional database tooling.

For instance, loan processing and approvals at 1West were a slow and manual process. After training a machine learning model using Heroku’s AI PaaS to work with a vast number of data sources, loan processing was cut from days to minutes.

RAG Data Pipelines for Updating RAG Databases

Just as LLMs can quickly become outdated and provide incorrect or stale responses on their own, the same can happen with data in the RAG database. To maintain accuracy in the AI application, the RAG database must be continually refreshed to reflect new or changing data. This requires automated workflows for document processing. These workflows should integrate seamlessly with existing systems and handle all processing steps efficiently.

How Heroku Delivers a Comprehensive AI PaaS

As companies integrate AI-powered tools into their stacks, many development teams lack the MLOps, governance and orchestration skills necessary to deploy AI in production. Using Heroku’s AI PaaS jumpstarts the process of building, deploying, operating and scaling AI-powered applications.

Heroku Vibes AI code generation allows you to create and deploy to Heroku with natural language. Heroku’s Managed Inference and Agents provides curated AI models to build upon. The Heroku MCP Server makes it straightforward for agents to access Heroku resources like logs, provision add-ons and scale applications. A custom MCP server deployed on Heroku can give access to existing systems to your AI service.

• LLM support is provided by Heroku Managed Inference and Agents, with access to multiple LLM inference models.

• Heroku AppLink provides secure connections to Agentforce (the agentic layer of the Salesforce platform), with connections to Salesforce Flows, Apex and Data Cloud.

• Heroku’s AI native tools integration enables developers to build new apps, enhance existing ones and create new AI agents using AI-generated code. This means that an AI agent running on Heroku can securely interact with sensitive enterprise data, leveraging state-of-the-art AI while keeping your data secure.

Empowering the Next Generation of AI Developers

Deploying AI apps should be as easy as pushing a web app. With opinionated defaults and managed services, Heroku continues to evolve alongside developers, providing a streamlined, integrated platform experience.

Heroku is bringing its decades of expertise in deploying applications in the cloud to help developers quickly launch AI technologies. To learn more about Heroku and AI PaaS, watch the demo on YouTube or follow on LinkedIn for updates.

Test Anxiety: Why Some People Perform Badly On Tests No Matter How Much They Study

Tests are a high-stress situation for many students and professionals as grades, advancement, and sometimes jobs can be on the line. However, some people tend to perform poorly on tests despite putting in the hours to study and knowing the material. This is typically due to test anxiety, which is an extreme and debilitating form of stress that clouds judgment, memory, and confidence. Test anxiety is not an indication of laziness or low intelligence. It is a mental and physical reaction to pressure and can affect anyone from a young elementary student to an adult taking a professional certification test.

Are You Susceptible to Test Anxiety?

Test anxiety is more common in people with certain personality traits or bad habits. Test anxiety occurs more often in people who worry a lot or have unrealistically high standards. Perfectionists set themselves up for test anxiety by putting excessive importance on a test or quiz. They might be afraid of making even minor mistakes on a test, to the point where getting a perfect score is the only acceptable outcome. They might see a bad score as a personal failure, even when they are otherwise well prepared.

Test anxiety is also more likely in students who genuinely care about doing well but who are not well prepared. It is only natural to feel anxiety when you know you are taking a test that you aren’t prepared for. There are many different reasons why someone might feel unprepared, such as having had too little time to study, not understanding the material, having bad study habits, or not sleeping enough to be able to focus. A student who does not get enough sleep, for instance, may find that their focus and confidence start to wane as test day approaches. Feelings of not being prepared when you care about the outcome often result in worry, self-doubt, and an increased risk of freezing up on the test.

How to Overcome Test Anxiety?

Test anxiety might feel like an unbeatable foe, but it’s not. With reliable strategies and practice, you can combat it. It’s normal to feel a little nervous or worried about a test, and even these feelings can help you focus. But when your anxiety starts to take over your thoughts and ability to do your best, it’s time to try some tactics.

Learning how to study is a powerful first step. Many schools offer study-skills workshops, and there are many well-researched learning techniques that you can rely on to build up your confidence over time. Techniques like spaced repetition, active recall, and regular practice tests can help you feel more prepared. Study in advance if you can and try to study in similar environments to your testing site. Memory cues like location and smell can help you recall what you’ve studied, and spreading out your study sessions over days or weeks is more effective than cramming. Work on a pre-test routine you can trust.

Some students find that looking over their notes, stretching, eating the same snack, or a few deep breaths help them relax before a test. Try different strategies until you find what works for you and keep doing it every time to create a pattern your brain can recognize. Talk to your teachers. They might be able to help you get tips for what to study or even adjust some of the pressure on tests.

Test anxiety is a common yet deeply frustrating obstacle, especially for those who work hard but still struggle to show what they know. Understanding who is most vulnerable, and why, is the first step. With the right techniques, from better study habits to relaxation strategies and counseling support, anyone can learn to manage test anxiety and perform closer to their true abilities.

Putin ‘preparing for war against NATO' after Russia hit by huge mystery gas blast

Russia is preparing for war against NATO warned Poland’s top general after it was hit by a massive gas explosion.

Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces Wieslaw Kukula warned that Russia “has begun the period of preparing for war. They are building an environment here intended to create conditions favourable for potential aggression on Polish territory.”

He spoke out as Poland confirmed a key rail link between Warsaw and Ukraine - used for funnelling Western supplies - was blown up in an “unprecedented act of sabotage”. A Russian military attack on Poland would trigger a response under NATO’s Article 5 - likely amounting to a Third World War.

Gen Kukula said Russia was currently engaged in “a pre‑war situation — or what we refer to as hybrid warfare.” He was quoted as saying: “The enemy has begun preparing for war.

"He is creating a certain atmosphere here aimed at undermining public trust in the government, in key structures such as the armed forces and the police, as well as creating conditions favourable to potential aggression on Polish territory.”

Estonia’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna warned in Washington that the clock was ticking for Russia’s military machine to directly threaten NATO states.

Vladimir Putin will “return to our Baltic borders with even more troops and military equipment than they had before the full-scale invasion” within “two to three years, or less’, he warned. The Kremlin dictator’s aims were to “to conquer Ukraine, to dominate its near abroad, to divide the West, and to push the US out of Europe”.

The came as the Russian FSB security service was called in to investigate a massive explosion of a key gas artery in Omsk region, 1,330 miles east of Moscow.

Footage showed the spectacular detonation and mushroom cloud which came during repairs on the gas pipeline at Rostovka, in the suburbs of Omsk city.

A powerful inferno was blazing hours after the explosion, with flames rising 130ft into the sky. It was initially unclear if the cause was accidental or sabotage during repairs.

“The causes are being investigated by law enforcement agencies,” said the regional governor Vitaly Khotsenko who urged residents to “remain calm”. In Ukrainian region Kharkiv, a girl aged 17 died in hospital after sustaining serious injuries in a Russian missile strike on Berestyn. Nine more suffered injuries.

Russia is believed to have targeted a gas plant.The city of Dnipro was rocked by 20 huge explosions, leading to pensioners suffering injuries. In a strike by Ukraine, swathes of the Russian-occupied Donetsk People’s Republic were bathed in darkness for the second day running.

Two thermal power plants - Zuyevskaya, near Zagreb city, and Starobeshevskaya, in Novy Svet - were put out of operation. Electricity and heating supplies to residents were hit, said Putin’s puppet leader Denis Pushilin. The strikes appear as revenge for a succession of Russian attacks on power plants in Ukraine in recent days and weeks.

WW3 fears explode as Russia threatens to turn 'insane' Europe into 'nuclear wasteland'

Russia's Professor Doomsday has threatened to obliterate Europe and turn it into a "nuclear wasteland', as tensions between Brussels and Moscow intensify. The Kremlin has regularly threatened to unleash its formidable nuclear arsenal on Europe, as it tries to deter Western allies from providing military aid to Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin even changed Russia's nuclear doctrine to facilitate the use of his atomic weapons, in an ominous warning to NATO. The new document says an attack from a non-nuclear state, if backed by an atomic power, will be treated as a joint assault on Russia. Kremlin propagandists have also rattled the nuclear sabre on countless TV appearances, as well as in media interviews.

One of its chief provocateurs is the tough-talking and uncompromising Sergey Kaganaov, head of Russia's Council for Foreign and Defence Policy.

In an interview with the Multipolar publication, the Kremlin stooge unleashed a blistering attack on Europe.

He accused the continent of being historically a source of conflict, racism and colonialism - conveniently forgetting the same charges could be applied to Russia.

Kaganov insisted the best cure for European aggression and arrogance was to re-instil the fear of nuclear armageddon among the population.

"Now that Europe itself poses the greatest threat, it must remember its history of major wars. Restoring the fear of war - including fear of nuclear war - is necessary," he said. "This is the key to returning Europe to its geopolitical responsibility."

He warned that a nuclear war in Europe would mean that "most European countries would turn into a wasteland."

"We are dealing - especially in Europe - with absolutely insane people," he added.

"The European elite I grew up around is gone; it has degenerated. A number of European countries are governed by people with 'hyena brains' who have no understanding of the consequences of their actions.

"Dialogue with them is pointless. They must fear only one thing: physical pain."

Russia has the largest confirmed nuclear weapons, with over 5,500 warheads according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

Trump thought Gulf monarchs would rebuild Gaza. Then he told them his plan

The American writer Kurt Vonnegut was a prisoner in Dresden during the Second World War, and after the devastating Allied bombing of that city, was forced to go “mining” for corpses. In his novel Slaughterhouse Five, he described the terrible stench as being like “mustard gas and roses”.

A similar “ghoulish mission” – as Vonnegut put it – faces those charged with rebuilding Gaza … first, they must excavate the decomposing bodies entombed beneath the rubble. There are between 10,000 and 14,000 of them, according to published estimates, though no one knows the true number.

That grim task may be the easy part. After that, comes the job of clearing away the rubble. I covered an earlier Gaza war, in 2008-09. I say “covered” but – just like today – Israel stopped foreign journalists from entering Gaza. After a ceasefire, we were finally allowed in, pushing our camera gear on a luggage trolley through an eerily deserted Erez crossing. We soon saw a row of houses destroyed by bombs. The flat roofs were mostly intact, everything below having collapsed … they really had been flattened like pancakes. A woman in a hijab stood wailing over the remains of her home. I went back to Gaza many times but those houses were never rebuilt.

Rubble from Gaza’s earlier wars still hadn’t been cleared away by the time this one started. They hadn’t managed to remove some of the buildings demolished during the 2014 war, and that lasted just 51 days. There is now two years’ worth of twisted metal and broken concrete after the most recent bombing.

The UN Environment Programme said there was 17 times more rubble than from all those previous conflicts, or 50.8 million tonnes, as of last December. UN-Habitat estimates that it would take 105 lorries 20 years to take it all away. But there isn’t anything like that number of trucks and there’s almost no heavy equipment.

The numbers tell a story of devastation. The UN says that at least 69 per cent of all buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. This includes 94 per cent of hospitals, with almost half of them closed; 89 per cent of schools and all 12 universities; 92 per cent of the electricity grid; 70 per cent of water and sewage plants; 79 per cent of mosques, as well as 92 per cent of major roads. The most important figures perhaps are that 92 per cent of homes in Gaza are in ruins, and 1.9 million people are homeless. As the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, said last year, this “systematic” destruction of housing is a cause of “profound trauma”.

As winter approaches, many people are living in the open. On Friday, the UN spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said that 4,000 pallets of tents, blankets and kitchen sets remained stuck in Jordan, Egypt and Israel, waiting for permission to enter Gaza. He said the Israeli authorities had rejected 23 requests from nine different humanitarian aid providers to bring in these “critical” supplies. This happens routinely: the Israeli position is that aid organisations are failing to make sure Hamas does not get its hands on the supplies.

That points to a major problem in the way of reconstruction. Israel bans more than 1,000 items as “dual use”. They include cement, steel bars, pipes, and welding equipment, all of which the Israeli authorities say could be used for military purposes.

Before the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, Israel allowed Qatar to send concrete into Gaza as aid. This was tactical: Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted a strong Hamas as a counterweight to the Palestinian Authority, to stop the emergence of a Palestinian state. But the concrete was used in the network of tunnels built by Hamas. Netanyahu will not allow that to happen again.


All this is theoretical: there’s no money to rebuild Gaza.

The World Bank and the UN put reconstruction costs at $70bn (£53bn). Donald Trump had high hopes that rich Gulf monarchies would give a large part of this. He even had plans for a Gaza riviera, complete with a large gold statue of “your favourite president”. But so far, the response has been minimal.

As things stand, the Gulf states and others have donated around $1.14bn of the $4bn requested for urgent aid. That’s barely a quarter of what’s required just for basic humanitarian needs, let alone to start rebuilding. There’s precedent for this. At the 2014 Cairo donor conference, countries pledged $5.4bn, but as little as 2 per cent of the funds were actually sent.

This time, there’s more than the usual reluctance to cough up. The international response has been paralysed by the question of who will govern Gaza. Israel rejects any role for Hamas but also opposes involvement by the Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu said he wanted neither “Hamastan” nor “Fatahstan”.


There’s supposed to be an international stabilisation force to provide security. But Hamas won’t disarm, and no one wants to send troops to fight Gaza’s armed groups on Israel’s behalf. The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Indonesia were all named as possible contributors to this force. All are now noticeably reluctant. (Turkey and Pakistan could still be willing, but Israel might not allow it.)

The Gaza agreement negotiated by the US President calls for a “Board of Peace” to oversee reconstruction. Tony Blair was nominated as co-chair, though Trump being Trump, he insisted he’d be chief, with Blair as deputy. As much as anyone else, Blair may have been the real author of the Trump plan. He knows the intricacies of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, having been a special envoy for the Quartet (representing the UN, US, EU and Russia). But he is a divisive figure, to many Arabs a war criminal for the invasion of Iraq.

The former Palestinian Authority negotiator Nabil Shaath said Blair had achieved little as Quartet envoy “because of his gross efforts to please the Israelis”. A member of the Hamas political bureau, Husam Badran, called him “the devil’s brother”.

The ceasefire was undoubtedly a major achievement by Trump, though Hamas says some 270 civilians have been killed since it came into force. But progress has stagnated since the truce was agreed – there’s precious little money, no foreign peacekeepers, and no sign of Sir Tony and the Board of Peace.

The Israeli commentator Ehud Yaari wrote that Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza was going nowhere. It “currently belongs to the realm of Disneyland and has no grip on reality”.

For Gazans living under canvas, raw sewage flowing between the tents, the grandiose plans for reconstruction must seem like a cruel fantasy.