http://newsroom.heart.org/news/potassium-rich-foods-cut-stroke-death-risks-among-older-women?preview=5f53
DALLAS, Sept. 4, 2014 — Postmenopausal women who eat foods higher in potassium are less likely to have strokes and die than women who eat less potassium-rich foods, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke.
“Previous studies have shown that potassium consumption may lower blood pressure. But whether potassium intake could prevent stroke or death wasn’t clear,” said Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, Ph.D., study senior author and distinguished university professor emerita, department of epidemiology and population health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
“Our findings give women another reason to eat their fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are good sources of potassium, and potassium not only lowers postmenopausal women’s risk of stroke, but also death.”
•••••
The researchers found:
Women who ate the most potassium were 12 percent less likely to suffer stroke in general and 16 percent less likely to suffer an ischemic stroke than women who ate the least.
Women who ate the most potassium were 10 percent less likely to die than those who ate the least.
Among women who did not have hypertension (whose blood pressure was normal and they were not on any medications for high blood pressure), those who ate the most potassium had a 27 percent lower ischemic stroke risk and 21 percent reduced risk for all stroke types, compared to women who ate the least potassium in their daily diets.
Among women with hypertension (whose blood pressure was high or they were taking drugs for high blood pressure), those who ate the most potassium had a lower risk of death, but potassium intake did not lower their stroke risk.
Researchers suggested that higher dietary potassium intake may be more beneficial before high blood pressure develops. They also said there was no evidence of any association between potassium intake and hemorrhagic stroke, which could be related to the low number of hemorrhagic strokes in the study.
•••••
“Our findings suggest that women need to eat more potassium-rich foods. You won’t find high potassium in junk food. Some foods high in potassium include white and sweet potatoes, bananas and white beans.”
While increasing potassium intake is probably a good idea for most older women, there are some people who have too much potassium in their blood, which can be dangerous to the heart. “People should check with their doctor about how much potassium they should eat,” she said.
The study was observational and included only postmenopausal women. Researchers also did not take sodium intake into consideration, so the potential importance of a balance between sodium and potassium is not among the findings. Researchers said more studies are needed to determine whether potassium has the same effects on men and younger people.
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Thursday, September 04, 2014
Liver injury caused by herbals, dietary supplements rises in study population
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 4-Sep-2014
Contact: Dawn Peters
Wiley
Liver injury caused by herbals, dietary supplements rises in study population
Supplements more likely than medications to lead to death or liver transplantation
New research shows that liver injury caused by herbals and dietary supplements increased from 7% to 20% in a U.S. study group over a ten-year period. According to the study published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, liver injury caused by non-bodybuilding supplements is most severe, occurring more often in middle-aged women and more frequently resulting in death or the need for transplantation than liver injury from bodybuilding supplements or conventional medications."
Nearly half of all adult Americans consume herbal and dietary supplements with prior reports suggesting that is on the rise. Medical evidence shows that supplements are used more often by women, non-Hispanic whites, those over 40 years of age and those with more advanced education. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III indicate that multivitamins, minerals, calcium and fish oils are the most commonly used supplements.
"While many Americans believe supplements to be safe, government regulations (Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994) require less safety evidence to market products than what is required for conventional pharmaceuticals" explains lead author Dr. Victor Navarro, from Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia. "With less stringent oversight for herbals and dietary supplements, there is greater potential for harmful consequences including life-threatening conditions."
•••••
The research team determined that among cases enrolled, liver injuries from herbal and dietary supplements rose to 20% during the study period. While bodybuilding supplements caused prolonged jaundice (median 91 days) in young men, no fatalities or liver transplantations occurred. Death or liver transplantation occurred more frequently among cases of injury from non-bodybuilding supplements, 13%, than from conventional medications, 3%. Liver injury from non-bodybuilding supplements was more common in middle aged women.
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Ozone pollution in India kills enough crops to feed 94 million in poverty
http://news.agu.org/press-release/ozone-pollution-in-india-kills-enough-crops-to-feed-94-million-in-poverty/
Sept. 4, 2014
In one year, India’s ozone pollution damaged millions of tons of the country’s major crops, causing losses of more than a billion dollars and destroying enough food to feed tens of millions of people living below the poverty line.
These are findings of a new study that looked at the agricultural effects in 2005 of high concentrations of ground-level ozone, a plant-damaging pollutant formed by emissions from vehicles, cooking stoves and other sources.
•••••
Rising emissions are causing severe ozone pollution in some of India’s most populated regions. Pollution in Delhi, the nation’s capital, has reached levels comparable to Beijing, one of the most polluted cities in the world, according to India’s Air Monitoring Center.
The main component of smog, ozone at ground level can cause leaf damage that stifles plant growth, injuring and killing vegetation. There are currently no air quality standards in India designed to protect agriculture from the effects of ground-level ozone pollution, according to the new study. Ground-level ozone is formed when nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds react with sunlight after the chemicals’ release from vehicles, industry, or burning of wood or other plant or animal matter.
•••••
India could feed 94 million people with the lost wheat and rice crops, about a third of the country’s poor, according to Sachin Ghude, an atmospheric scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune, India and lead author of the new study. There are about 270 million Indians that live in poverty, according to the study.
•••••
Sept. 4, 2014
In one year, India’s ozone pollution damaged millions of tons of the country’s major crops, causing losses of more than a billion dollars and destroying enough food to feed tens of millions of people living below the poverty line.
These are findings of a new study that looked at the agricultural effects in 2005 of high concentrations of ground-level ozone, a plant-damaging pollutant formed by emissions from vehicles, cooking stoves and other sources.
•••••
Rising emissions are causing severe ozone pollution in some of India’s most populated regions. Pollution in Delhi, the nation’s capital, has reached levels comparable to Beijing, one of the most polluted cities in the world, according to India’s Air Monitoring Center.
The main component of smog, ozone at ground level can cause leaf damage that stifles plant growth, injuring and killing vegetation. There are currently no air quality standards in India designed to protect agriculture from the effects of ground-level ozone pollution, according to the new study. Ground-level ozone is formed when nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds react with sunlight after the chemicals’ release from vehicles, industry, or burning of wood or other plant or animal matter.
•••••
India could feed 94 million people with the lost wheat and rice crops, about a third of the country’s poor, according to Sachin Ghude, an atmospheric scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune, India and lead author of the new study. There are about 270 million Indians that live in poverty, according to the study.
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Greener neighborhoods lead to better birth outcomes,
http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2014/sep/greener-neighborhoods-lead-better-birth-outcomes-new-research-shows
09/04/2014
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Mothers who live in neighborhoods with plenty of grass, trees or other green vegetation are more likely to deliver at full term and their babies are born at higher weights, compared to mothers who live in urban areas that aren’t as green, a new study shows.
The findings held up even when results were adjusted for factors such as neighborhood income, exposure to air pollution, noise, and neighborhood walkability, according to researchers at Oregon State University and the University of British Columbia.
•••••
In a study of more than 64,000 births, researchers found that very pre-term births were 20 percent lower and moderate pre-term births were 13 percent lower for infants whose mothers lived in greener neighborhoods.
They also found that fewer infants from greener neighborhoods were considered small for their gestational age. Babies from the greener neighborhoods weighed 45 grams more at birth than infants from less green neighborhoods, Hystad said.
The study establishes an important link between residential “greenness” and birth outcomes that could have significant implications for public health, said Hystad, an assistant professor of environmental and occupational health and safety.
“From a medical standpoint, those are small changes in birth weight, but across a large population, those are substantial differences that would have a significant impact on the health of infants in a community,” Hystad said.
Babies born early or underweight often have more health and developmental problems, not just at birth but also as they continue to grow up, and the cost to care for pre-term and underweight infants also can be much higher, Hystad said.
•••••
The study is also part of a growing body of work that indicates green space has a positive influence on health, Hystad said.
•••••
It’s unclear how much or what type of green space is of most benefit to developing infants, but researchers do know that adding a planter to the patio or a tree to the sidewalk median probably won’t make a significant difference in birth outcomes.
“Planting one tree likely won’t help,” Hystad said. “You don’t really see the beneficial effects of green space until you reach a certain threshold of greenness in a neighborhood.”
•••••
09/04/2014
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Mothers who live in neighborhoods with plenty of grass, trees or other green vegetation are more likely to deliver at full term and their babies are born at higher weights, compared to mothers who live in urban areas that aren’t as green, a new study shows.
The findings held up even when results were adjusted for factors such as neighborhood income, exposure to air pollution, noise, and neighborhood walkability, according to researchers at Oregon State University and the University of British Columbia.
•••••
In a study of more than 64,000 births, researchers found that very pre-term births were 20 percent lower and moderate pre-term births were 13 percent lower for infants whose mothers lived in greener neighborhoods.
They also found that fewer infants from greener neighborhoods were considered small for their gestational age. Babies from the greener neighborhoods weighed 45 grams more at birth than infants from less green neighborhoods, Hystad said.
The study establishes an important link between residential “greenness” and birth outcomes that could have significant implications for public health, said Hystad, an assistant professor of environmental and occupational health and safety.
“From a medical standpoint, those are small changes in birth weight, but across a large population, those are substantial differences that would have a significant impact on the health of infants in a community,” Hystad said.
Babies born early or underweight often have more health and developmental problems, not just at birth but also as they continue to grow up, and the cost to care for pre-term and underweight infants also can be much higher, Hystad said.
•••••
The study is also part of a growing body of work that indicates green space has a positive influence on health, Hystad said.
•••••
It’s unclear how much or what type of green space is of most benefit to developing infants, but researchers do know that adding a planter to the patio or a tree to the sidewalk median probably won’t make a significant difference in birth outcomes.
“Planting one tree likely won’t help,” Hystad said. “You don’t really see the beneficial effects of green space until you reach a certain threshold of greenness in a neighborhood.”
•••••
The No. 1 Brain Hack for Maximizing Productivity
BY Margaret Heffernan
•••••
Being an entrepreneur does give you great flexibility--but most business owners work almost all the time. And that's worrying, because vast amounts of research show that prolonged overwork is unproductive at least--and destructive at worst.
•••••
Working for 11 or more hours a day more than doubles the risk of depression and a loss in cognitive function. You may have difficulty finding the right words, thought processes and problem-solving abilities become impaired, you're slower to react, and the ability to be creative gets harder to retrieve. Executives who work three or more hours longer than a normal, seven-hour day run a 60% higher risk of heart-related problems.
•••••
Engineers responsible for important machinery talk about asset integrity: maintaining and repairing vital equipment before it breaks. In the work that most of us do, that equipment is our brains. Seen from this perspective, it's every business owner's most precious asset. Doesn't that mean you should look after it?
Wednesday, September 03, 2014
Enjoying the possibility of defeat
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 3-Sep-2014
Contact: Joan Robinson
Springer
Enjoying the possibility of defeat
Suspense and uncertainty predict how much players enjoy a game
Winning isn't everything, and in fact can even be a bit boring. Some people actually enjoy a game of tennis or poker more if their mettle is tested by a strong opponent – regardless of the outcome. It's the suspense and uncertainty of a close game that often brings them back for more, says a research team led by Sami Abuhamdeh of Istanbul Şehir University, in Springer's journal Motivation and Emotion.
•••••
The participants rated their own competence levels to be much higher when they won by a wide margin than when they did so with only the narrowest of margins. However, they experienced much lower levels of suspense and enjoyment when they made such a clean sweep. When asked which of the two games they would like to play again, 69 percent of the participants actually chose to play the game they won by a slim margin. This was because they actually enjoyed the uncertainty associated with such a close encounter.
The researchers' findings shed light on why people find some games more enjoyable than others, and choose to play some games again and again and others only once. When knowing almost in advance what the outcome of a game will be — for instance when a tennis player outperforms her opponent by a wide margin — the degree of suspense also goes down the drain. This in turn diminishes how much someone actually enjoys a game, and wants to play or watch it again.
These results are similar to what has been found in studies on the competitive balance in sports leagues. These have shown that spectators actually find it quite boring to watch lopsided games – even if the results are in their team's favor.
"There is little question that succeeding at competitive activities can promote the enjoyment of and intrinsic motivation for such activities. However, the uncertainty of whether one will succeed represents an additional, distinct factor and can sometimes even conflict with the motivational pull of competence," says Abuhamdeh.
Coffee increases prediabetes risk in susceptible young adults
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-09/esoc-cip082214.php
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 2-Sep-2014
Contact: ESC Press Office
European Society of Cardiology
Coffee increases prediabetes risk in susceptible young adults
•••••
Barcelona, Spain – Tuesday 2 September 2014: Coffee increases the risk of prediabetes in young adults with hypertension who are slow caffeine metabolisers, according to results from the HARVEST study presented at ESC Congress today by Dr Lucio Mos from Italy. People who drank more than three cups of coffee per day doubled their risk of prediabetes.
Dr Mos said: "Lifestyle factors are very important for the prognosis of young people with hypertension. In a previous analysis of HARVEST (Hypertension and Ambulatory Recording VEnetia STudy) we found that coffee was a risk factor for the development of sustained hypertension and that the risk was modulated by the genetic background of the individual. Slow metabolisers of caffeine were at increased risk of hypertension."(
•••••
Dr Mos said: "Our study shows that drinking coffee increases the risk of prediabetes in young adults with hypertension who are slow caffeine metabolisers. The risk is even greater if these individuals are overweight or obese, and if they are heavy drinkers of coffee."
He added: "Slow caffeine metabolisers are exposed for a longer time to the detrimental effects of caffeine on glucose metabolism. Thus, the effect of coffee on prediabetes depends on two factors, the amount of daily coffee intake and the individual's genetic background."
He continued: "Young-to-middle-age people with hypertension should be aware that coffee consumption may increase their risk of developing diabetes in later life. Genotyping for the CYP1A2 gene polymorphism could help them to better know their risk. Carriers of the slow *1F allele, who are slow caffeine metabolisers, should abstain from drinking caffeinated coffee."
•••••
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 2-Sep-2014
Contact: ESC Press Office
European Society of Cardiology
Coffee increases prediabetes risk in susceptible young adults
•••••
Barcelona, Spain – Tuesday 2 September 2014: Coffee increases the risk of prediabetes in young adults with hypertension who are slow caffeine metabolisers, according to results from the HARVEST study presented at ESC Congress today by Dr Lucio Mos from Italy. People who drank more than three cups of coffee per day doubled their risk of prediabetes.
Dr Mos said: "Lifestyle factors are very important for the prognosis of young people with hypertension. In a previous analysis of HARVEST (Hypertension and Ambulatory Recording VEnetia STudy) we found that coffee was a risk factor for the development of sustained hypertension and that the risk was modulated by the genetic background of the individual. Slow metabolisers of caffeine were at increased risk of hypertension."(
•••••
Dr Mos said: "Our study shows that drinking coffee increases the risk of prediabetes in young adults with hypertension who are slow caffeine metabolisers. The risk is even greater if these individuals are overweight or obese, and if they are heavy drinkers of coffee."
He added: "Slow caffeine metabolisers are exposed for a longer time to the detrimental effects of caffeine on glucose metabolism. Thus, the effect of coffee on prediabetes depends on two factors, the amount of daily coffee intake and the individual's genetic background."
He continued: "Young-to-middle-age people with hypertension should be aware that coffee consumption may increase their risk of developing diabetes in later life. Genotyping for the CYP1A2 gene polymorphism could help them to better know their risk. Carriers of the slow *1F allele, who are slow caffeine metabolisers, should abstain from drinking caffeinated coffee."
•••••
Community music programs enhance brain function in at-risk children
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-09/nu-cmp082514.php
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 2-Sep-2014
Contact: Hilary Hurd Anyaso
Northwestern University
Community music programs enhance brain function in at-risk children
Two years of musical training improves auditory brain function
•••••
EVANSTON, Ill. --- A new Northwestern University study provides the first direct evidence that a community music program for at-risk youth has a biological effect on children's developing nervous systems.
Two years of music lessons improved the precision with which the children's brains distinguished similar speech sounds, a neural process that is linked to language and reading skills. One year of training, however, was insufficient to spark changes in the nervous system.
"This research demonstrates that community music programs can literally 'remodel' children's brains in a way that improves sound processing, which could lead to better learning and language skills," said study lead author Nina Kraus, the Hugh Knowles professor of communication sciences in the School of Communication and of neurobiology and physiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern.
•••••
Research from around the world has suggested links between music training, enhanced brain function and heightened language skills. This is the first study, however, that uses random assignment to evaluate brain changes in collaboration with an existing and successful community music program that targets disadvantaged children. Prior research had focused on individuals from affluent homes who received private lessons.
"Thanks to this finding, sustained music training is now an evidence-based method for closing the achievement gap between poor kids and their more advantaged peers," said Margaret Martin, founder of Harmony Project. Martin approached Kraus several years ago, having observed the positive impact that music was having on Harmony kids' lives. Since 2008, 93 percent of Harmony Project seniors have gone on to college despite dropout rates of 50 percent or more in their neighborhoods.
"Now we know this success is rooted, at least in part, in the unique brain changes imparted by making music," Martin added.
"Biologically, you are what you do, and your past shapes your present," Kraus said. "Community interventions have the potential to instill salient benefits in children that can set them up for better learning in and out of the classroom."
•••••
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 2-Sep-2014
Contact: Hilary Hurd Anyaso
Northwestern University
Community music programs enhance brain function in at-risk children
Two years of musical training improves auditory brain function
•••••
EVANSTON, Ill. --- A new Northwestern University study provides the first direct evidence that a community music program for at-risk youth has a biological effect on children's developing nervous systems.
Two years of music lessons improved the precision with which the children's brains distinguished similar speech sounds, a neural process that is linked to language and reading skills. One year of training, however, was insufficient to spark changes in the nervous system.
"This research demonstrates that community music programs can literally 'remodel' children's brains in a way that improves sound processing, which could lead to better learning and language skills," said study lead author Nina Kraus, the Hugh Knowles professor of communication sciences in the School of Communication and of neurobiology and physiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern.
•••••
Research from around the world has suggested links between music training, enhanced brain function and heightened language skills. This is the first study, however, that uses random assignment to evaluate brain changes in collaboration with an existing and successful community music program that targets disadvantaged children. Prior research had focused on individuals from affluent homes who received private lessons.
"Thanks to this finding, sustained music training is now an evidence-based method for closing the achievement gap between poor kids and their more advantaged peers," said Margaret Martin, founder of Harmony Project. Martin approached Kraus several years ago, having observed the positive impact that music was having on Harmony kids' lives. Since 2008, 93 percent of Harmony Project seniors have gone on to college despite dropout rates of 50 percent or more in their neighborhoods.
"Now we know this success is rooted, at least in part, in the unique brain changes imparted by making music," Martin added.
"Biologically, you are what you do, and your past shapes your present," Kraus said. "Community interventions have the potential to instill salient benefits in children that can set them up for better learning in and out of the classroom."
•••••
NYU study compares consequences of teen alcohol and marijuana use
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-09/nyu-nsc082814.php
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 2-Sep-2014
Contact: Christopher James
New York University
NYU study compares consequences of teen alcohol and marijuana use
The study found that for high school seniors, alcohol consumption led to unsafe driving and compromised relationships with peers, while marijuana consumption was found to compromise relationships with authority figures
•••••
"The paucity of research is of particular public health concern as alcohol and marijuana are the two most commonly used psychoactive substances among adolescents," said Joseph J. Palamar, PhD, MPH, a CDUHR affiliated researcher and an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Langone Medical Center (NYULMC). "Nearly half of high school seniors have used marijuana in their lifetime and over two-thirds have used alcohol, but few studies have compared adverse psychosocial outcomes of alcohol and marijuana directly resulting from use."
"The most alarming finding was that alcohol use was highly associated with unsafe driving, especially among frequent drinkers," said Dr. Palamar. "Compared to non-drinkers, frequent drinkers were over 13 times more likely to report that their alcohol use has led to unsafe driving. Marijuana users, compared to non-users, were three times more likely to report unsafe driving as a direct result of use."
The researchers also found that alcohol use was more commonly reported to compromise relationships with friends and significant others (e.g., boyfriends); it was also reported to lead to more regret, particularly among females. Marijuana use on the other hand was more commonly reported to compromise relationships with teachers or supervisors, result in less energy or interest, and result in lower school or job performance.
•••••
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 2-Sep-2014
Contact: Christopher James
New York University
NYU study compares consequences of teen alcohol and marijuana use
The study found that for high school seniors, alcohol consumption led to unsafe driving and compromised relationships with peers, while marijuana consumption was found to compromise relationships with authority figures
•••••
"The paucity of research is of particular public health concern as alcohol and marijuana are the two most commonly used psychoactive substances among adolescents," said Joseph J. Palamar, PhD, MPH, a CDUHR affiliated researcher and an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Langone Medical Center (NYULMC). "Nearly half of high school seniors have used marijuana in their lifetime and over two-thirds have used alcohol, but few studies have compared adverse psychosocial outcomes of alcohol and marijuana directly resulting from use."
"The most alarming finding was that alcohol use was highly associated with unsafe driving, especially among frequent drinkers," said Dr. Palamar. "Compared to non-drinkers, frequent drinkers were over 13 times more likely to report that their alcohol use has led to unsafe driving. Marijuana users, compared to non-users, were three times more likely to report unsafe driving as a direct result of use."
The researchers also found that alcohol use was more commonly reported to compromise relationships with friends and significant others (e.g., boyfriends); it was also reported to lead to more regret, particularly among females. Marijuana use on the other hand was more commonly reported to compromise relationships with teachers or supervisors, result in less energy or interest, and result in lower school or job performance.
•••••
Cockatoos go to carpentry school
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 2-Sep-2014
Contact: University of Oxford News Office
University of Oxford
Cockatoos go to carpentry school
Goffin's cockatoos can learn how to make and use wooden tools from each other, a new study has found.
The discovery, made by scientists from Oxford University, the University of Vienna, and the Max Planck Institute at Seewiesen, is thought to be the first controlled experimental evidence for the social transmission of tool use in any bird species.
•••••
The successful birds did not just imitate Figaro's movements: their tool-use techniques were themselves new. Figaro held tools by their tips, inserted them through the cage grid at different heights and raked the nuts towards him while adjusting the tool's position as the target moved closer. The successful observers, instead, laid the sticks on the ground and propelled the nuts into their reach by a quick ballistic flipping movement. The latter technique was arguably more efficient for the test circumstances, which differed from those in which Figaro had made his first discovery; the pupils in this sense surpassed the teacher's performance.
'This means that although watching Figaro was necessary for their success they did not imitate his exact motor activities. Successful observers seemed to attend to the result of Figaro's interaction with the tool but developed their own strategies for reaching the same result, rather than copying his actions. This is typical of what psychologists would call emulation learning,' explains Dr Alice Auersperg who led the study at the Goffin Lab at the University of Vienna.
•••••
Two of the successful observers were later tested in the absence of ready-made tools, but offering them suitable tool-making material. One of them spontaneously started to make his own tools out of a wooden block, while the other initially failed, but then did so after a single demonstration session watching Figaro carve tools out of a block. Whilst inconclusive, this shows that learning to use tools may in itself stimulate the acquisition of tool-making, which is more distant from the target behaviour and closer to behavioural planning.
•••••
Cannabis withdrawal symptoms common among adolescents treated for substance use disorder
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-09/mgh-cws082914.php
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 2-Sep-2014
Contact: Noah Brown
Massachusetts General Hospital
Cannabis withdrawal symptoms common among adolescents treated for substance use disorder
More than 80 percent of participants met criteria for cannabis dependence, problem recognition a major determinant of usage reduction
Although cannabis – commonly known as marijuana – is broadly believed to be nonaddictive, a study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators found that 40 percent of cannabis-using adolescents receiving outpatient treatment for substance use disorder reported experiencing symptoms of withdrawal, which are considered a hallmark of drug dependence. Study participants reporting withdrawal were more likely to meet criteria for severe substance use and for mood disorders, although the presence or absence of withdrawal did not appear to change long-term treatment outcomes. The report will be published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine and has been released online.
"Our results are timely given the changing attitudes and perceptions of risk related to cannabis use in the U.S.," says John Kelly, PhD, of the Center for Addiction Medicine in the MGH Department of Psychiatry, senior author of the study. "As more people are able to obtain and consume cannabis legally for medical and, in some states, recreational use, people are less likely to perceive it as addictive or harmful. But research shows that cannabis use can have significant consequences, and we know that among adolescents it is second only to alcohol in rates of misuse."
•••••
Of the 90 cannabis-using participants, 76 (84 percent) met criteria for cannabis dependence – which include increased tolerance and use of cannabis, unsuccessful efforts to reduce or stop using, and persistent use in spite of medical and psychological problems made worse by cannabis. Withdrawal symptoms were reported by 36 participants (40 percent of the overall group), all of whom also met criteria for dependence. At the study's outset, substance use was likely to be more severe and consequences – such as missing work or school, financial and relationship problems – tended to be greater in participants reporting withdrawal symptoms, who also were more likely to have mood disorders.
While the presence of withdrawal symptoms is a strong indicator of cannabis dependence, the authors note, it did not significantly impact the ability of participants to reduce their use of cannabis during the 12-month follow-up period. The factor that did appear to make a difference was whether or not an individual recognized having a problem with substance use upon entering the study. Participants who both reported withdrawal symptoms and recognized having a problem had a small but steady improvement in abstinence through the entire study period. Those who reported withdrawal symptoms but did not recognize a substance use problem had a slight increase in abstinence in the first 3 months, but then had some increase in cannabis use during the subsequent 9 months, a pattern that was also seen in participants not experiencing withdrawal.
"We hypothesize that participants who experience withdrawal symptoms but do not recognize having a substance use problem may not attribute those symptoms to cannabis withdrawal," says Claire Greene, MPH, corresponding author of the report. "Those who do acknowledge a substance-use problem may correctly attribute those symptoms to cannabis withdrawal, giving them even more motivation to change their substance use behavior." Formerly with the MGH Center for Addiction Medicine, Greene is now a doctoral candidate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
•••••
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 2-Sep-2014
Contact: Noah Brown
Massachusetts General Hospital
Cannabis withdrawal symptoms common among adolescents treated for substance use disorder
More than 80 percent of participants met criteria for cannabis dependence, problem recognition a major determinant of usage reduction
Although cannabis – commonly known as marijuana – is broadly believed to be nonaddictive, a study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators found that 40 percent of cannabis-using adolescents receiving outpatient treatment for substance use disorder reported experiencing symptoms of withdrawal, which are considered a hallmark of drug dependence. Study participants reporting withdrawal were more likely to meet criteria for severe substance use and for mood disorders, although the presence or absence of withdrawal did not appear to change long-term treatment outcomes. The report will be published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine and has been released online.
"Our results are timely given the changing attitudes and perceptions of risk related to cannabis use in the U.S.," says John Kelly, PhD, of the Center for Addiction Medicine in the MGH Department of Psychiatry, senior author of the study. "As more people are able to obtain and consume cannabis legally for medical and, in some states, recreational use, people are less likely to perceive it as addictive or harmful. But research shows that cannabis use can have significant consequences, and we know that among adolescents it is second only to alcohol in rates of misuse."
•••••
Of the 90 cannabis-using participants, 76 (84 percent) met criteria for cannabis dependence – which include increased tolerance and use of cannabis, unsuccessful efforts to reduce or stop using, and persistent use in spite of medical and psychological problems made worse by cannabis. Withdrawal symptoms were reported by 36 participants (40 percent of the overall group), all of whom also met criteria for dependence. At the study's outset, substance use was likely to be more severe and consequences – such as missing work or school, financial and relationship problems – tended to be greater in participants reporting withdrawal symptoms, who also were more likely to have mood disorders.
While the presence of withdrawal symptoms is a strong indicator of cannabis dependence, the authors note, it did not significantly impact the ability of participants to reduce their use of cannabis during the 12-month follow-up period. The factor that did appear to make a difference was whether or not an individual recognized having a problem with substance use upon entering the study. Participants who both reported withdrawal symptoms and recognized having a problem had a small but steady improvement in abstinence through the entire study period. Those who reported withdrawal symptoms but did not recognize a substance use problem had a slight increase in abstinence in the first 3 months, but then had some increase in cannabis use during the subsequent 9 months, a pattern that was also seen in participants not experiencing withdrawal.
"We hypothesize that participants who experience withdrawal symptoms but do not recognize having a substance use problem may not attribute those symptoms to cannabis withdrawal," says Claire Greene, MPH, corresponding author of the report. "Those who do acknowledge a substance-use problem may correctly attribute those symptoms to cannabis withdrawal, giving them even more motivation to change their substance use behavior." Formerly with the MGH Center for Addiction Medicine, Greene is now a doctoral candidate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
•••••
Blacks more feared, but shot less quickly
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 2-Sep-2014
Contact: Lois James
Washington State University
WSU 'deadly force' lab finds racial disparities in shootings
Blacks more feared, but shot less quickly
SPOKANE, Wash.—Participants in an innovative Washington State University study of deadly force were more likely to feel threatened in scenarios involving black people. But when it came time to shoot, participants were biased in favor of black suspects, taking longer to pull the trigger against them than against armed white or Hispanic suspects.
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But the last comprehensive look at the racial makeup of justifiable and non-justifiable shootings was a 2001 study (pdf) using more than two decades of U.S. Bureau of Justice data, said James. And while statistics show black suspects are shot at more frequently than white suspects, the 2001 study found black suspects were also as likely to shoot at police as be shot at.
"At the moment, there are no comprehensive statistics on whether the police do inappropriately shoot at black males more than they do at white males," said James. "Although isolated incidents of black males being shot by the police are devastating and well documented, at the aggregate level we need to understand whether the police are shooting black unarmed males more than they are white unarmed males. And at the moment, nobody knows that."
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James' study is a follow-up to one in which she found active police officers, military personnel and the general public took longer to shoot black suspects than white or Hispanic suspects. Participants were also more likely to shoot unarmed white suspects than black or Hispanic ones and more likely to fail to fire at armed black suspects.
"In other words," wrote James and her co-authors, "there was significant bias favoring blacks where decisions to shoot were concerned."
When confronted by an armed white person, participants took an average of 1.37 seconds to fire back. Confronted by an armed black person, they took 1.61 seconds to fire and were less likely to fire in error. The 240-millisecond difference may seem small, but it's enough to be fatal in a shooting.
The recent study analyzed data from electroencephalograph sensors that measured participants' alpha brain waves, which are suppressed in situations that appear threatening.
The participants, 85 percent of whom were white, "demonstrated significantly greater threat responses against black suspects than white or Hispanic suspects," wrote James and her co-authors, University of Missouri-St. Louis criminologist David Klinger and WSU Spokane's Bryan Vila. This, they said, suggests the participants "held subconscious biases associating blacks and threats," which is consistent with previous psychological research on racial stereotypes.
However, the current study only measured the alpha waves of participants drawn from the general public, not law enforcement or the military. Consequently, wrote the authors, "results from this sample are not generalizable to sworn officers."
"However," they added, "there is some evidence from the field to support the proposition that an officer's threat bias could cause him or her to tend to take more time to make decisions to shoot people whom they subconsciously perceived as more threatening because of race or ethnicity. This behavioral 'counter-bias' might be rooted in people's concerns about the social and legal consequences of shooting a member of a historically oppressed racial or ethnic group."
James said she has data on subconscious associations between race and threat from law enforcement subjects, and she awaits funding to analyze whether these biases predict decisions to shoot in the simulator. Like study participants from the general public, she said, "they were still more hesitant to shoot black suspects than white suspects. They took longer and they made fewer errors."
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Childhood trauma could lead to adult obesity
http://news.cision.com/karolinska-institutet/r/childhood-trauma-could-lead-to-adult-obesity,c9637036
Sept. 2, 2014
Being subjected to abuse during childhood entails a markedly increased risk of developing obesity as an adult. This is the conclusion of a meta-analysis carried out on previous studies, which included a total of 112,000 participants. The analysis was conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, and has been published in the journal Obesity Reviews.
“The study clearly shows that difficult life events leave traces which can manifest as disease much later in life. The mechanisms behind this process include stress, negative patterns of thought and emotions, poor mental health, increased inflammation, as well as lowered immune function and metabolism,” says Erik Hemmingsson, researcher at the Huddinge Department of Medicine at Karolinska Institutet, who is also linked to the Karolinska University Hospital's Obesity Centre in Huddinge, Stockholm County.
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“These findings indicate causality, where the abuse is the cause of the obesity later in life. However, not everyone who is subjected to abuse will develop obesity, and not all obese individuals have been abused, so there are obviously other causes too. At the same time, it is important to remember that child abuse is more common than we think, and it needs to be brought to light. Between five and ten per cent of the adult population say that they have been subjected to some form of abuse during childhood,” says Erik Hemmingsson.
In another recently published paper, Erik Hemmingsson has developed a new theoretical model for how stressful childhood experiences increase the risk of obesity, via psychological and emotional factors. These factors impact negatively on appetite regulation, metabolism, eating behaviour, sleep, inflammation and cognitive function – which in turn pave the way for obesity. Erik Hemmingsson hopes that the published studies might help disprove the many preconceptions that exist about people who are overweight, as they show that obesity is caused by so many other factors than overeating or a sedentary lifestyle.
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tags: child abuse
Sept. 2, 2014
Being subjected to abuse during childhood entails a markedly increased risk of developing obesity as an adult. This is the conclusion of a meta-analysis carried out on previous studies, which included a total of 112,000 participants. The analysis was conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, and has been published in the journal Obesity Reviews.
“The study clearly shows that difficult life events leave traces which can manifest as disease much later in life. The mechanisms behind this process include stress, negative patterns of thought and emotions, poor mental health, increased inflammation, as well as lowered immune function and metabolism,” says Erik Hemmingsson, researcher at the Huddinge Department of Medicine at Karolinska Institutet, who is also linked to the Karolinska University Hospital's Obesity Centre in Huddinge, Stockholm County.
•••••
“These findings indicate causality, where the abuse is the cause of the obesity later in life. However, not everyone who is subjected to abuse will develop obesity, and not all obese individuals have been abused, so there are obviously other causes too. At the same time, it is important to remember that child abuse is more common than we think, and it needs to be brought to light. Between five and ten per cent of the adult population say that they have been subjected to some form of abuse during childhood,” says Erik Hemmingsson.
In another recently published paper, Erik Hemmingsson has developed a new theoretical model for how stressful childhood experiences increase the risk of obesity, via psychological and emotional factors. These factors impact negatively on appetite regulation, metabolism, eating behaviour, sleep, inflammation and cognitive function – which in turn pave the way for obesity. Erik Hemmingsson hopes that the published studies might help disprove the many preconceptions that exist about people who are overweight, as they show that obesity is caused by so many other factors than overeating or a sedentary lifestyle.
•••••
tags: child abuse
Rediscovering Our Mundane Moments Brings Us Unexpected Pleasure
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/rediscovering-our-mundane-moments-brings-us-unexpected-pleasure.html?utm_source=pressrelease&utm_medium=eureka&utm_campaign=rediscoveringeverydaymoments
We like to document the exciting and momentous occasions in our lives, but new research suggests there is value in capturing our more mundane, everyday experiences, which can bring us unexpected joy in the future.
“We generally do not think about today’s ordinary moments as experiences that are worthy of being rediscovered in the future. However, our studies show that we are often wrong: What is ordinary now actually becomes more extraordinary in the future — and more extraordinary than we might expect,” explains psychological scientist and lead researcher Ting Zhang of Harvard Business School.
The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Science has shown that we consistently make errors in trying to predict how we’ll feel about something and how much we’ll remember from that experience later on.
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This doesn’t mean that we should start documenting everything we do in order to maximize pleasure, however.
Some acts of documentation, such as trying to get just the right shot of your artfully prepared restaurant meal, can interrupt the present moment and detract from the overall experience. Additional research is needed to discover where the tipping point lies between enjoying the present and documenting the present for enjoyment in the future, says Zhang.
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We like to document the exciting and momentous occasions in our lives, but new research suggests there is value in capturing our more mundane, everyday experiences, which can bring us unexpected joy in the future.
“We generally do not think about today’s ordinary moments as experiences that are worthy of being rediscovered in the future. However, our studies show that we are often wrong: What is ordinary now actually becomes more extraordinary in the future — and more extraordinary than we might expect,” explains psychological scientist and lead researcher Ting Zhang of Harvard Business School.
The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Science has shown that we consistently make errors in trying to predict how we’ll feel about something and how much we’ll remember from that experience later on.
•••••
This doesn’t mean that we should start documenting everything we do in order to maximize pleasure, however.
Some acts of documentation, such as trying to get just the right shot of your artfully prepared restaurant meal, can interrupt the present moment and detract from the overall experience. Additional research is needed to discover where the tipping point lies between enjoying the present and documenting the present for enjoyment in the future, says Zhang.
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Clean air halves health costs in Chinese city
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 2-Sep-2014
Contact: Timothy Paul
Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Clean air halves health costs in Chinese city
Environmental regulations improve health and decrease expenses related to death and disability in Taiyuan, China
Air pollution regulations over the last decade in Taiyuan, China, have substantially improved the health of people living there, accounting for a greater than 50% reduction in costs associated with loss of life and disability between 2001 and 2010, according to researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health, the Shanxi Medical University, the Center of Diseases Control and Prevention of Taiyuan Municipality, and Shanghai Fudan University School of Public Health.
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A Handsome Face Could Mean Lower Semen Quality
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/PressRelease/pressReleaseId-111822.html
Sept. 2, 2014
Contrary to what one might expect, facial masculinity was negatively associated with semen quality in a recent Journal of Evolutionary Biology study. As increased levels of testosterone have been demonstrated to impair sperm production, this finding may indicate a trade-off between investments in secondary sexual signaling (i.e. facial masculinity) and fertility.
Interestingly, males estimated facial images generally more attractive than females did, suggesting that males may generally overestimate the attractiveness of other men to females.
Sept. 2, 2014
Contrary to what one might expect, facial masculinity was negatively associated with semen quality in a recent Journal of Evolutionary Biology study. As increased levels of testosterone have been demonstrated to impair sperm production, this finding may indicate a trade-off between investments in secondary sexual signaling (i.e. facial masculinity) and fertility.
Interestingly, males estimated facial images generally more attractive than females did, suggesting that males may generally overestimate the attractiveness of other men to females.
Extinctions during human era worse than thought
https://news.brown.edu/articles/2014/09/extinctions
September 2, 2014 David Orenstein
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — It’s hard to comprehend how bad the current rate of species extinction around the world has become without knowing what it was before people came along. The newest estimate is that the pre-human rate was 10 times lower than scientists had thought, which means that the current level is 10 times worse.
Extinctions are about 1,000 times more frequent now than in the 60 million years before people came along. The explanation from lead author Jurriaan de Vos, a Brown University postdoctoral researcher, senior author Stuart Pimm, a Duke University professor, and their team appears online in the journal Conservation Biology.
“This reinforces the urgency to conserve what is left and to try to reduce our impacts,” said de Vos, who began the work while at the University of Zurich. “It was very, very different before humans entered the scene.”
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There is little doubt among the scientists that humans are not merely witnesses to the current elevated extinction rate. This paper follows a recent one in Science , authored by Pimm, Joppa, and other colleagues, that tracks where species are threatened or confined to small ranges around the globe. In most cases, the main cause of extinctions is human population growth and per capita consumption, although the paper also notes how humans have been able to promote conservation.
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September 2, 2014 David Orenstein
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — It’s hard to comprehend how bad the current rate of species extinction around the world has become without knowing what it was before people came along. The newest estimate is that the pre-human rate was 10 times lower than scientists had thought, which means that the current level is 10 times worse.
Extinctions are about 1,000 times more frequent now than in the 60 million years before people came along. The explanation from lead author Jurriaan de Vos, a Brown University postdoctoral researcher, senior author Stuart Pimm, a Duke University professor, and their team appears online in the journal Conservation Biology.
“This reinforces the urgency to conserve what is left and to try to reduce our impacts,” said de Vos, who began the work while at the University of Zurich. “It was very, very different before humans entered the scene.”
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There is little doubt among the scientists that humans are not merely witnesses to the current elevated extinction rate. This paper follows a recent one in Science , authored by Pimm, Joppa, and other colleagues, that tracks where species are threatened or confined to small ranges around the globe. In most cases, the main cause of extinctions is human population growth and per capita consumption, although the paper also notes how humans have been able to promote conservation.
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Pesticide risk assessments underestimate potential harm
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-09/aiob-pra082714.php
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 3-Sep-2014
Contact: James Verdier
American Institute of Biological Sciences
Pesticide risk assessments seen as biased
The Environmental Protection Agency's pesticide risk assessment practices may invite bias and underestimate potential harm
In the October issue of BioScience, a group of ecotoxicologists argue that the US Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) current practices for evaluating pesticide safety are inadequate and likely to result in decisions biased toward industry interests.
In their article, Michelle Boone of Miami University and her colleagues note that most pesticide toxicity tests used in risk assessments are conducted by pesticide manufacturers themselves, which the authors believe can result in untenable conflicts of interest. Moreover, rigid inclusion criteria often mean that potentially relevant studies are barred from the USEPA's assessment process. The article highlights the case of atrazine, which the agency reassessed on the basis of a single manufacturer-funded study. The herbicide was ultimately deemed safe to amphibians, despite the existence of a number of studies that could have led to a different conclusion.
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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 3-Sep-2014
Contact: James Verdier
American Institute of Biological Sciences
Pesticide risk assessments seen as biased
The Environmental Protection Agency's pesticide risk assessment practices may invite bias and underestimate potential harm
In the October issue of BioScience, a group of ecotoxicologists argue that the US Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) current practices for evaluating pesticide safety are inadequate and likely to result in decisions biased toward industry interests.
In their article, Michelle Boone of Miami University and her colleagues note that most pesticide toxicity tests used in risk assessments are conducted by pesticide manufacturers themselves, which the authors believe can result in untenable conflicts of interest. Moreover, rigid inclusion criteria often mean that potentially relevant studies are barred from the USEPA's assessment process. The article highlights the case of atrazine, which the agency reassessed on the basis of a single manufacturer-funded study. The herbicide was ultimately deemed safe to amphibians, despite the existence of a number of studies that could have led to a different conclusion.
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E-cigarettes may promote illicit drug use and addiction
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 3-Sep-2014
Contact: Karin Eskenazi
Columbia University Medical Center
E-cigarettes may promote illicit drug use and addiction
Nicotine, no matter the source, may function as a gateway to marijuana and cocaine
NEW YORK, NY (September 3, 2014)—Like conventional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes (or e-cigarettes) may function as a "gateway drug"—a drug that lowers the threshold for addiction to other substances, such as marijuana and cocaine—according to the 120th Shattuck lecture, presented to the Massachusetts Medical Society by Columbia researchers Denise and Eric Kandel and published today in the online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"While e-cigarettes do eliminate some of the health effects associated with combustible tobacco, they are pure nicotine-delivery devices," said co-author Denise B. Kandel, PhD, professor of sociomedical sciences (in psychiatry), Department of Psychiatry and Mailman School of Public Health, at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC).
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they found that when mice are exposed to nicotine, it alters their brain biochemically and induces activation of a reward-related gene. As a result, nicotine primes the animals' subsequent response to cocaine, providing a molecular basis for nicotine as a gateway drug for cocaine.
Dr. Denise Kandel's further analysis of 2004 epidemiologic data from a large, longitudinal sample suggested that nicotine also primes human brains to respond to cocaine. She found that the rate of cocaine dependence was highest among users who started using cocaine after having smoked cigarettes. "Our findings provided a biologic basis for the sequence of drug use observed in people," said Dr. Eric Kandel. "One drug alters the brain's circuitry in a way that enhances the effects of a subsequent drug."
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"E-cigarettes have the same physiological effects on the brain and may pose the same risk of addiction to other drugs as regular cigarettes, especially in adolescence during a critical period of brain development. We don't yet know whether e-cigarettes will prove to be a gateway to the use of conventional cigarettes and illicit drugs, but that's certainly a possibility. Nicotine clearly acts as a gateway drug on the brain, and this effect is likely to occur whether the exposure comes from smoking cigarettes, passive tobacco smoke, or e-cigarettes."
Studies show that the typical e-cigarette user is a long-term smoker who has been unable to stop smoking. However, the researchers point out that e-cigarette use is increasing exponentially among adolescents and young adults.
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‘Family Meal’ Ideal Is Stressful, Impossible for Many Families
And there are some families where relationships are so toxic that family meals are not healthy psychologically.http://news.ncsu.edu/2014/09/bowen-out-of-the-kitchen-2014/
Summer 2014
Dr. Sarah Bowen, Dr. Sinikka Elliott, Matt Shipman
Magazines, television and other popular media increasingly urge families to return to the kitchen, stressing the importance of home-cooked meals and family dinners to physical health and family well-being. But new research findings from North Carolina State University show that home cooking and family meals place significant stresses on many families – and are simply impossible for others.
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“We found that middle-class, working-class, and poor families faced some similar challenges,” says Dr. Sinikka Elliott, an associate professor of sociology at NC State who co-authored the paper. “For example, mothers from all backgrounds reported difficulty in finding time to prepare meals that everyone in the family would be willing to eat.”
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But, while all families reported financial considerations as a factor in meal planning, finances affected family decisions in very different ways.
For example, middle-class mothers were concerned that they weren’t able to give their kids the best possible meals because they couldn’t afford to buy all organic foods.
Poor families, meanwhile, faced more severe restrictions. Their financial limitations made it more difficult for them to afford fresh produce, find transportation to grocery stories, or have access to the kitchen tools needed to prepare meals – such as sharp knives, stoves, or pots and pans.
“Poor mothers also skipped meals and stood in long lines at non-profit food pantries to provide food for their children,” Bowen says.
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Nature or nurture? It’s all about the message
http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2014/nature-or-nurture-its-all-about-the-message/
Sept. 3, 2014
Were Albert Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci born brilliant or did they acquire their intelligence through effort?
No one knows for sure, but telling people the latter – that hard work trumps genes – causes instant changes in the brain and may make them more willing to strive for success, indicates a new study from Michigan State University.
The findings suggest the human brain is more receptive to the message that intelligence comes from the environment, regardless of whether it’s true. And this simple message, said lead investigator Hans Schroder, may ultimately prompt us to work harder.
“Giving people messages that encourage learning and motivation may promote more efficient performance,” said Schroder, a doctoral student in clinical psychology whose work is funded by the National Science Foundation. “In contrast, telling people that intelligence is genetically fixed may inadvertently hamper learning.”
In past research by Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, elementary students performing a task were either praised for their intelligence (“You’re so smart!”) or for their effort (“You worked really hard!”) after correct responses. As the task became harder, children in the first group performed worse after their mistakes compared to the group that had heard effort was important.
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Sept. 3, 2014
Were Albert Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci born brilliant or did they acquire their intelligence through effort?
No one knows for sure, but telling people the latter – that hard work trumps genes – causes instant changes in the brain and may make them more willing to strive for success, indicates a new study from Michigan State University.
The findings suggest the human brain is more receptive to the message that intelligence comes from the environment, regardless of whether it’s true. And this simple message, said lead investigator Hans Schroder, may ultimately prompt us to work harder.
“Giving people messages that encourage learning and motivation may promote more efficient performance,” said Schroder, a doctoral student in clinical psychology whose work is funded by the National Science Foundation. “In contrast, telling people that intelligence is genetically fixed may inadvertently hamper learning.”
In past research by Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, elementary students performing a task were either praised for their intelligence (“You’re so smart!”) or for their effort (“You worked really hard!”) after correct responses. As the task became harder, children in the first group performed worse after their mistakes compared to the group that had heard effort was important.
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Willful Ignorance
November 29, 2011 by Susan L. Smalley, Ph.D.
According to James Carse, Professor Emeritus at NYU, there are three kinds of ignorance: ordinary ignorance, willful ignorance, and higher ignorance. The first is the very essence of learning—you move from unknowing to knowing—like learning history, science, facts and trivia. The second type, willful ignorance, is when you know something but choose to pretend you do not. The third type of ignorance is lofty in scope and hard to achieve—it is a reverence for the unknown—for mystery—or what may be unknowable. It is infinite, as Carse notes, ‘the intellect … never comprehends truth so precisely that truth cannot be comprehended infinitely more precisely’ (p. 15, The Religious Case against Belief). A higher ignorance allows us to be open and curious in the face of knowing that we do not know.
The most disconcerting form of ignorance is when it is willful. We seem to be living in a culture that condones it more and more. The Penn State sex abuse tragedy is a perfect example of willful ignorance where individual values were ignored in the face of a culture of secrecy. As discussions emerged around ‘how can this happen?’. I started to see that willful ignorance can be accepted as part and parcel of a cultural mindset.
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I’ve been working with a human rights organization lately on a book about survivors of the sex trade. As we talked about the book, it became clear that we hoped to get people to become aware of the presence of harmful actions of human against human when sex is for sale. The question we kept asking was,
“Should girls and women be sold for sex’?
We heard story after story of westerners (often college students) buying sex from prostitutes while on vacation in Brazil or Cambodia or other travel destination. It’s very unlikely these men and boys are fully aware of the abuses and bondage of females in prostitution that is connected to buying sex. I doubt many men would do so if they fully understood the extent of violence toward women and girls that underlies or is connected to their purchase. The average prostitute starts at 12-13 years of age and begins that life because of being sold or forced into servitude because of poverty, lack of education, or dire family conditions. Few people would think that at 12 years of age, a decision to sell oneself for sex would be truly of ‘free choice’.
There is both an element of ordinary and willful ignorance when it comes to buying sex. Naivety arises because we aren’t that well informed about the insidious nature of the sex trade, the abuses that are connected to pornography, strip clubs, and other mainstream sex for sale media. Yet willful ignorance arises when we are somewhat informed and yet ignore it for the pursuit of individual pleasure. Willful ignorance arises when we pretend it happens ‘over there’—somewhere foreign to our backyard, affecting girls and women who we wish to think are different from our own mothers, sisters, and daughters.
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Willful ignorance happens all the time and it is up to each of us to battle it individually and then around us when it arises. A battle is an appropriate metaphor because countering willful ignorance requires action, often contrary to self-serving interests. It requires learning about the effects of ones actions on others and may involve sacrificing personal pleasure for the benefit of others.
When we choose to act in ways that we know are detrimental to others or the planet and pretend to ourselves that it is not so, we acknowledge and accept willful ignorance.
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Lowering coal-fired power plant emissions in one state may have saved 1,700 lives in 1 year
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 3-Sep-2014
Contact: Michael Bernstein
American Chemical Society
Lowering coal-fired power plant emissions may have saved 1,700 lives in 1 year
After scoring a Supreme Court victory this spring, the Environmental Protection Agency can move forward with its strategy to cut air pollution from coal-fired power plants in several states — and new research suggests the impact could be lifesaving. Scientists assessed the effects of one state's prescient restrictions on plant emissions in a report in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology. They estimated that the state's legislation prevented about 1,700 premature deaths in 2012.
Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson and Ya-Ru Li explain that the U.S. has been working for years to lower levels of particulate matter, a form of air pollution that can cause serious health problems when people breathe it in. Certain kinds of particulate matter form mainly from power plant emissions. More than 10 years ago, correctly anticipating the federal government would eventually set tighter restrictions on power plants, North Carolina had approved more stringent goals than neighboring states. It required 14 major coal-fired plants within its borders to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides by 60 percent and 72 percent, respectively, over a 10-year period. Gibson's team wanted to see what effect the measures were having.
They found that the policy had successfully reduced emissions in North Carolina more than other southeastern states. Sulfur dioxide levels, for example, dropped an average of 20 percent a year from 2002 to 2012. Across all southeastern states, they dropped 13.6 percent per year. As a result of the improved air in North Carolina, the scientists used a health impact model to estimate that about 1,700 lives were saved in 2012 alone.
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Exposure of pregnant women to certain phenols may disrupt the growth of boys during foetal development and the first years of life
http://presse-inserm.fr/en/exposure-of-pregnant-women-to-certain-phenols-may-disrupt-the-growth-of-boys-during-foetal-development-and-the-first-years-of-life/15100/
Sept. 2, 2014
Pregnant women are exposed to several compounds that are widely produced and abundant in our environment. This is the case for parabens (used as preservatives in cosmetics and healthcare products), triclosan (an antibacterial agent and pesticide found in some toothpastes and soaps), benzophenone-3 (used in sun protection products as a UV filter), dichlorophenols (the precursors of which are used in the manufacture of indoor deodorisers), and bisphenol A (the uses of which include manufacture of polycarbonate-based plastics (plastic bottles, CD cases, etc.) and epoxy resins (lining of food cans, dental amalgams) . These compounds belong to the phenol family, and are endocrine disruptors.[1] Experimental studies carried out in vitro and on animals have indicated that these compounds interact with the hormone systems involved in growth and weight gain.
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Results obtained by Rémy Slama, Claire Philippat and colleagues show that over 95% of the pregnant women were exposed to these substances, and that maternal exposure to some phenols may disrupt the growth of boys. More specifically, the researchers showed a negative correlation between triclosan levels and growth parameters measured at the ultrasound examination in the third trimester of pregnancy, and that parabens were associated with increased weight at birth and at three years.
It is known that accelerated growth in the first years of life may increase the risk of obesity in later childhood.
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Sept. 2, 2014
Pregnant women are exposed to several compounds that are widely produced and abundant in our environment. This is the case for parabens (used as preservatives in cosmetics and healthcare products), triclosan (an antibacterial agent and pesticide found in some toothpastes and soaps), benzophenone-3 (used in sun protection products as a UV filter), dichlorophenols (the precursors of which are used in the manufacture of indoor deodorisers), and bisphenol A (the uses of which include manufacture of polycarbonate-based plastics (plastic bottles, CD cases, etc.) and epoxy resins (lining of food cans, dental amalgams) . These compounds belong to the phenol family, and are endocrine disruptors.[1] Experimental studies carried out in vitro and on animals have indicated that these compounds interact with the hormone systems involved in growth and weight gain.
•••••
Results obtained by Rémy Slama, Claire Philippat and colleagues show that over 95% of the pregnant women were exposed to these substances, and that maternal exposure to some phenols may disrupt the growth of boys. More specifically, the researchers showed a negative correlation between triclosan levels and growth parameters measured at the ultrasound examination in the third trimester of pregnancy, and that parabens were associated with increased weight at birth and at three years.
It is known that accelerated growth in the first years of life may increase the risk of obesity in later childhood.
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Sleep loss might affect your brain size
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-09/aaon-csl090314.php
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 3-Sep-2014
Contact: Rachel Seroka
American Academy of Neurology
Can sleep loss affect your brain size?
MINNEAPOLIS – Sleep difficulties may be linked to faster rates of decline in brain volume, according to a study published in the September 3, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Sleep has been proposed to be "the brain's housekeeper", serving to repair and restore the brain.
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The study found that sleep difficulties were linked with a more rapid decline in brain volume over the course of the study in widespread brain regions, including within frontal, temporal and parietal areas.
The results were more pronounced in people over 60 years old.
"It is not yet known whether poor sleep quality is a cause or consequence of changes in brain structure," said study author Claire E. Sexton, DPhil, with the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. "There are effective treatments for sleep problems, so future research needs to test whether improving people's quality of sleep could slow the rate of brain volume loss. If that is the case, improving people's sleep habits could be an important way to improve brain health."
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 3-Sep-2014
Contact: Rachel Seroka
American Academy of Neurology
Can sleep loss affect your brain size?
MINNEAPOLIS – Sleep difficulties may be linked to faster rates of decline in brain volume, according to a study published in the September 3, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Sleep has been proposed to be "the brain's housekeeper", serving to repair and restore the brain.
•••••
The study found that sleep difficulties were linked with a more rapid decline in brain volume over the course of the study in widespread brain regions, including within frontal, temporal and parietal areas.
The results were more pronounced in people over 60 years old.
"It is not yet known whether poor sleep quality is a cause or consequence of changes in brain structure," said study author Claire E. Sexton, DPhil, with the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. "There are effective treatments for sleep problems, so future research needs to test whether improving people's quality of sleep could slow the rate of brain volume loss. If that is the case, improving people's sleep habits could be an important way to improve brain health."
Study links healthy sleep duration to less sick time from work
I need more sleep than that to stay healthy. Maybe because I have osteoarthritis, and it disturbs my sleep.http://www.aasmnet.org/articles.aspx?id=4970
National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
DARIEN, IL – New research suggests that sleeping 7 to 8 hours per night is associated with the lowest risk of absence from work due to sickness. The results underscore the importance of the “Sleep Well, Be Well” campaign of the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project, a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Sleep Research Society and other partners.
Results show that the risk of an extended absence from work due to sickness rose sharply among those who reported sleeping less than 6 hours or more than 9 hours per night. Further analysis found that the optimal sleep duration with the lowest risk of sickness absence from work was between 7 and 8 hours per night: 7 hours, 38 minutes for women and 7 hours, 46 minutes for men. Insomnia-related symptoms, early morning awakenings, feeling more tired than others, and using sleeping pills also were consistently associated with a significant increase in workdays lost due to sickness.
“Optimal sleep duration should be promoted, as very long and very short sleep indicate health problems and subsequent sickness absence,” said principal investigator Tea Lallukka, PhD, specialized researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. “Those sleeping five hours or less, or 10 hours or more, were absent from work every year for 4.6 to 8.9 days more, as compared to those with the optimal sleep length.”
The study results are published in the September issue of the journal Sleep.
“Insufficient sleep – due to inadequate or mistimed sleep – contributes to the risk for several of today’s public health epidemics, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Getting at least seven hours of nightly sleep is a key to overall health, which translates to less sick time away from work,” said American Academy of Sleep Medicine President Dr. Timothy Morgenthaler, a national spokesperson for the Healthy Sleep Project. The “Sleep Well, Be Well” campaign was launched earlier this year to increase awareness of the importance of sleep as one of the three pillars of a healthy lifestyle.
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When our rivers caught fire
I found that many young people don't know about this. Even people old enough to remember have often forgotten.http://www.environmentalcouncil.org/priorities/article.php?x=264
July 2011
When Lake Erie – or more exactly the Cuyahoga River which flows into Lake Erie – caught fire in 1969, it ignited a firestorm of public outrage over the indiscriminate dumping of sewage and industrial chemicals into the Great Lakes.
But the incident was not particularly unusual. Nor was it the most significant of a long history of fires fueled by the thick oily sludges that fouled the Lakes and their arteries. The Chicago and Buffalo rivers also repeatedly caught fire. So did Michigan’s Rouge River.
“Burning Rivers – Revival of Four Urban-Industrial Rivers that Caught on Fire,” a new book by Michigan environmental hero John Hartig, chronicles the shameful and lasting damage done to the greatest rivers in the most spectacular freshwater ecosystem on our planet. More importantly, Hartig recounts the concerted and successful efforts to restore the rivers – not to their natural state, but at least within hailing distance of acceptable water quality.
For citizens and environmentalists worn down by the exhausting and seemingly fruitless battles to engage the public and policymakers in defense of our Lakes, the lesson is this: We’ve done it before. We can do it again.
•••••
Those questioning the wisdom of unrestricted discharge of feces, oils, solvents and industrial chemicals were labeled anti-progress wackos (sound familiar?) and politicians were loath to oppose the powerful industrial lobbies (again, ringing any bells?).
Fires on the Chicago River were so frequent they were community events. Spectators gathered on bridges like it was a Fourth of July celebration.
•••••
Hartig shows us graphically how oil sludge and industrial chemicals fouled the river so thoroughly that tens of thousands of oil-soaked waterfowl died in 1948. Furious sportsmen loaded them in pickup trucks and drove them to Lansing, dumping them on the Capitol lawn in protest.
In 1969, shortly after the notorious Cuyahoga River fire, the oil-matted Rouge River in Detroit caught fire, shooting flames 50 feet in the air and sending smoke billowing near the I-75 highway bridge.
“The 1969 Rouge River fire didn’t get much local media attention,” Hartig writes. “Most citizens accepted the fires as part of the industrial operations that brought jobs to the area.”
•••••
Adding to the industrial pollution was a torrent of sewage flowing into the Rouge and other waterways. Mats of dense fecal matter mixed with condoms and other unmentionables joined the oil sludge in a macabre cocktail of toxicity. I
•••••
But even as the river was burning in 1969, public awareness was forcing politicians to act.
The era saw the establishment of Michigan’s first pollution control programs, including the Water Resources Commission, and a new rule requiring state approval for all new uses of Michigan waters.
Nationally, the landmark 1972 Clean Water Act signed by President Richard Nixon continues to be the primary law protecting the nation’s fresh surface water.
•••••
The Worst Mistake Perfectionists Make
I would also say there's not enough perfectionism in a lot of software and products that are sold! A proper balance is needed.http://www.inc.com/margaret-heffernan/3-perils-of-perfectionism.html
BY Margaret Heffernan
Mar 24, 2014
If you're not screwing something up, you're not trying hard enough. Perfectionism is great--but not everywhere.
I worked recently with a company that's perfect: Headquarters immaculate, lawns pristine, everyone turns up punctually for meetings with the right paperwork.
That was the problem.
The perfectionism of the company conveyed many messages, chief of which was: don't make mistakes. And that in turn produced three mission-critical problems:
1. Silence. No one spoke about anything unless it was already on an agenda. This kept everyone focused but much of what was going on in peoples' heads stayed there. Even very powerful people found the atmosphere intimidating and constraining--meaning they could do very little with the power that they had. The upshot of this was that senior people didn't really know what was going on (no one would tell them) and junior people just felt anxious.
2. Waste. Vast amounts of energy were expended on things that weren't important.
•••••
3. Lack of innovation. Ideas aren't born perfect. They start off vague and rough, evolving into something ugly and awful before becoming useful and valuable. In a perfect culture, they cannot be born.
This culture derived from a business whose products did have to be perfect; anything less and they could be dangerous. So the perfectionism was not without its value--it had simply invaded everything the company did.
We often talk about the need to break down silos in organizations. But this was a company that needed to put its perfectionism into a silo all of its own--and leave it there.
Is Testosterone Good for Business? Nope.
http://www.inc.com/margaret-heffernan/is-testosterone-good-for-business-nope.html
BY Margaret Heffernan
Apr 8, 2014
People--male and female--are exposed to testosterone as they grow: in the womb, at adolescence, and in adulthood. Most scientists believe that testosterone levels play a role in brain development. By the time we are adult, all of us have a basal level of testosterone that remains fairly stable throughout our lives. So testosterone levels aren't purely a guy's issue. But are high levels of testosterone good or bad for business?
Because it is associated with aggressiveness, it's often assumed that testosterone is great, at least for certain kinds of jobs. Day traders, lawyers, merger and acquisition specialists, to name a few. Though some have argued that less testosterone in our banks might have made them less risky, others believe that a zest for full-throttle competition is what makes certain people great at what they do.
The reality is both more subtle and more worrying. Testosterone is implicated in poor judgment and weaker emotional intelligence. In one experiment, T (as it's called in the academic literature) was administered to women who were then asked to take a test routinely used to measure empathy. As the research team expected, the women's talent for picking up nonverbal signals was significantly impaired.
But even more interesting was the relationship between T and collaboration. Groups given testosterone orally proved less able to work together than groups given a placebo. Primarily, this was because those who had ingested the hormone demonstrated an "egocentricity bias"--meaning they were more likely to overvalue their own opinion and less likely to take seriously the views of their colleagues. Raised T levels, in other words, made everyone more self-centered and less able to tune in to others.
•••••
BY Margaret Heffernan
Apr 8, 2014
People--male and female--are exposed to testosterone as they grow: in the womb, at adolescence, and in adulthood. Most scientists believe that testosterone levels play a role in brain development. By the time we are adult, all of us have a basal level of testosterone that remains fairly stable throughout our lives. So testosterone levels aren't purely a guy's issue. But are high levels of testosterone good or bad for business?
Because it is associated with aggressiveness, it's often assumed that testosterone is great, at least for certain kinds of jobs. Day traders, lawyers, merger and acquisition specialists, to name a few. Though some have argued that less testosterone in our banks might have made them less risky, others believe that a zest for full-throttle competition is what makes certain people great at what they do.
The reality is both more subtle and more worrying. Testosterone is implicated in poor judgment and weaker emotional intelligence. In one experiment, T (as it's called in the academic literature) was administered to women who were then asked to take a test routinely used to measure empathy. As the research team expected, the women's talent for picking up nonverbal signals was significantly impaired.
But even more interesting was the relationship between T and collaboration. Groups given testosterone orally proved less able to work together than groups given a placebo. Primarily, this was because those who had ingested the hormone demonstrated an "egocentricity bias"--meaning they were more likely to overvalue their own opinion and less likely to take seriously the views of their colleagues. Raised T levels, in other words, made everyone more self-centered and less able to tune in to others.
•••••
Why excessive executive pay is a mistake
I recommend reading the whole article.
By Margaret Heffernan March 25, 2014
When David Winters, a longtime money manager, read the Coca-Cola Company's annual report recently, the amount of stock put aside to reward the company's managers stopped him in his tracks. Over the next four years, some $13 billion of stock was set aside for company executives. This would have meant that fully 14.2 percent of company stock was being used to motivate a management team already well paid. According to the New York Times, Winters argued that "it is unfathomable that they would require such astronomical sums of money to provide motivation."
It isn't just unfathomable. It's wrong. Why?
First of all, money isn't a great motivator. While it may offer temporary delight, its value soon wears off. We all accommodate to what we get, so its value as a long-term incentive is slight.
Moreover, money inhibits our sense of social connectedness.
•••••
Moreover, geographically the money also separates me from everyone else.
•••••
The old argument -- that you have to pay to secure real talent -- is exactly wrong. If you have to pay to get or keep your talent, you end up with the wrong person. Consider instead the view of Charles Munger of Berkshire Hathaway: "People should take way less than they're worth when they're favored by life," he says, further arguing that when you have risen high enough, you have a "moral duty to be underpaid -- not to get all you can, but to actually be underpaid."
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Ignition debacle shows willful blindness at GM
http://www.mheffernan.com
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/willful-blindness-at-gm/
By Margaret Heffernan March 31, 2014
Now that there's increasing evidence to suggest that both GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ignored or dismissed warnings about the Chevrolet Cobalt's faulty ignition, the natural question to ask is, why didn't anyone say anything? That questions must be uppermost in the minds of the House subcommittee that will meet later this week to investigate the crashes.
We should no longer be amazed that, when companies go wrong, it often turns out that lots of people knew about the problems but did and said nothing. We saw it at Bear Stearns, when leaders at the investment bank resisted efforts before the housing crash to quantify the bank's mortgage risks. We saw it at Barclays, where the manipulation of LIBOR happened out in the open. We saw it perhaps first when Enron employees openly and jubilantly manipulated oil prices and misstated company accounts.
In fact, most of the biggest commercial and political catastrophes occur because of events that are not secret and hidden, but rather are studiously ignored while laying out in the open. In the trial of Enron's then chairman and CEO, Kenneth Lay and Jeff Skilling, Judge Simeon Lake cited the legal doctrine of willful blindness, which maintains that if there's knowledge you could and should have, but somehow manage not to have, the law deems that you have chosen ignorance. Whether or not the top bosses at GM knew about the faults in their cars, they should have and they could have known; instead, they were willfully blind.
raise it. That conformity is often exacerbated by obedience -- doing what you're told, and only what you're. Add in the "bystander effect" -- the psychological rule that says that the more people who witness something going wrong, the less likely it is that anyone will intervene -- and it's pretty much guaranteed that mistakes will be ignored. And if you have a highly competitive, driven organization, where multitasking and fatigue are normal, few will have the cognitive capacity, never mind the moral will, to do anything.
Since I wrote my book "Willful Blindness," examples have been legion: from banks, from media companies, from oil and gas businesses. The problem is pervasive and now well understood.
•••••
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/willful-blindness-at-gm/
By Margaret Heffernan March 31, 2014
Now that there's increasing evidence to suggest that both GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ignored or dismissed warnings about the Chevrolet Cobalt's faulty ignition, the natural question to ask is, why didn't anyone say anything? That questions must be uppermost in the minds of the House subcommittee that will meet later this week to investigate the crashes.
We should no longer be amazed that, when companies go wrong, it often turns out that lots of people knew about the problems but did and said nothing. We saw it at Bear Stearns, when leaders at the investment bank resisted efforts before the housing crash to quantify the bank's mortgage risks. We saw it at Barclays, where the manipulation of LIBOR happened out in the open. We saw it perhaps first when Enron employees openly and jubilantly manipulated oil prices and misstated company accounts.
In fact, most of the biggest commercial and political catastrophes occur because of events that are not secret and hidden, but rather are studiously ignored while laying out in the open. In the trial of Enron's then chairman and CEO, Kenneth Lay and Jeff Skilling, Judge Simeon Lake cited the legal doctrine of willful blindness, which maintains that if there's knowledge you could and should have, but somehow manage not to have, the law deems that you have chosen ignorance. Whether or not the top bosses at GM knew about the faults in their cars, they should have and they could have known; instead, they were willfully blind.
raise it. That conformity is often exacerbated by obedience -- doing what you're told, and only what you're. Add in the "bystander effect" -- the psychological rule that says that the more people who witness something going wrong, the less likely it is that anyone will intervene -- and it's pretty much guaranteed that mistakes will be ignored. And if you have a highly competitive, driven organization, where multitasking and fatigue are normal, few will have the cognitive capacity, never mind the moral will, to do anything.
Since I wrote my book "Willful Blindness," examples have been legion: from banks, from media companies, from oil and gas businesses. The problem is pervasive and now well understood.
•••••
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
25 Years of Declining State Support for Public Colleges
The older generations are trashing the environment younger generations will have to live in, and also making it harder for them to have a decent economic life.http://chronicle.com/article/25-Years-of-Declining-State/144973/
You can look up how the Share of revenue coming from state support for a college has changed between 1987 and 2012. You can do a search for the college of you choice.
Eg., for University of Alabama at Huntsville
1987 : 43.9%
2012 : 24.7%
•••••
http://www.demos.org/publication/great-cost-shift-continues-state-higher-education-funding-after-recession
The Great Cost Shift Continues: State Higher Education Funding After the Recession
March 6, 2014
|
Robert Hiltonsmith,
Tamara Draut
As student debt continues to climb, it’s important to understand how our once debt-free system of public universities and colleges has been transformed into a system in which most students borrow, and at increasingly higher amounts. In less than a generation, our nation’s higher education system has become a debt-for-diploma system—more than seven out of 10 college seniors now borrow to pay for college and graduate with an average debt of $29,400.1 Up until about two decades ago, state funding ensured college tuition remained within reach for most middle-class families, and financial aid provided extra support to ensure lower-income students could afford the costs of college.
As Demos chronicled in its first report in the The Great Cost Shift series, this compact began to unravel as states disinvested in higher education during economic downturns but were unable, or unwilling, to restore funding levels during times of economic expansion. Today, as a result, public colleges and universities rely on tuition to fund an ever-increasing share of their operating expenses. And students and their families rely more and more on debt to meet those rising tuition costs. Nationally, revenue from tuition paid for 44 percent of all operating expenses of public colleges and universities in 2012, the highest share ever. A quarter century ago, the share was just 20 percent. This shift—from a collective funding of higher education to one borne increasingly by individuals—has come at the very same time that low- and middle-income households experienced stagnant or declining household income.
The Great Recession intensified these trends, leading to unprecedented declines in state funding for higher education and steep tuition increases:
•••••
Average tuition at 4-year public schools now consumes more than 15 percent of the median household income in 26 states. Average total cost—including room and board—consumes more than one third of the median household income in 22 states.
•••••
With $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt and climbing, student loan debt is now substantial enough to affect our overall economy as indebted graduates find it harder to buy a home or a car.
•••••
Every state but one—North Dakota—has cut per-student funding since the Great Recession in order to help close wide budget gaps. Nationwide, these cuts have averaged $2,394 per student, or 27 percent.
•••••
Wall Street's internet darlings require an endless supply of victims
http://www.theregister.co.uk/Print/2014/08/23/internet_economy_needs_infinite_supply_of_idiots/
Sharing Economy? Mug Economy, more like
By Andrew Orlowski
Posted in Weekend Edition, 23rd August 2014 12:33 GMT
Last week Samsung announced the acquisition of a crowd-funded startup called SmartThings for $200m. USA Today wrote that the deal “has also once again validated the power of crowdsourcing platform Kickstarter, which helped bring SmartThings to market back in 2012. The startup originally sought $250,000 in funding to produce its smart hub, eventually raising more than $1.2 million from individual backers.”
SmartThing’s individual backers, who in conventional language are called “investors”, received nothing from the windfall. Nor did Kickstarter backers of the brilliant Oculus Rift VR headset, after Facebook acquired the team for $2bn. WiReD magazine glossed over this, mentioning “people who had ponied up to support the original Kickstarter campaign, only to see their investments made irrelevant by a deep-pocketed corporation.”
“Irrelevant” is beside the point. The conventional investment logic is that risk is rewarded when success arrives. Most startups fail, while a handful accrue enormous value. Yet Kickstarter investors receive no such reward: although they backed "the next big thing" in SmartThings and Oculus, they don't get the payout.
Here’s another example. Cabaret performer and former living statue (and Mrs Neil Gaiman) Amanda Palmer bypassed the music industry to fund an album and a tour, again using the pan-handling site Kickstarter. She was lauded on tech blogs and beyond for pioneering a new economy of music production. Having raised $1.2m on Kickstarter, however, Palmer decided she could only pay her tour musicians in “hugs” After unfavourable press coverage, Palmer was shamed into grudgingly remunerating them with a currency a little more convertible in the real world. Did her Kickstarter "investors" revolt? No, and they couldn’t; it took hugely unfavourable press coverage to change Palmer's mind.
Last week the New York Times reported how the euphemistically named "sharing economy" – which encompasses piecemeal labour - is creating its own "precariat". The freelance workers who provide the drivers for Uber or the accommodation for AirBnB pay a hefty chunk to the new intermediaries, must accept ever changing rates, and further accept that they’ll not see a penny of the payouts when value is accrued – when the company floats or is acquired. It’s a strange sort of "sharing".
•••••
In short, you’ve been a mug.
And this seems to be the common thread. Strip away the language of "sharing" and "community" and you’ve got an economy that requires an endless supply of mug punters.
•••••
Sharing Economy? Mug Economy, more like
By Andrew Orlowski
Posted in Weekend Edition, 23rd August 2014 12:33 GMT
Last week Samsung announced the acquisition of a crowd-funded startup called SmartThings for $200m. USA Today wrote that the deal “has also once again validated the power of crowdsourcing platform Kickstarter, which helped bring SmartThings to market back in 2012. The startup originally sought $250,000 in funding to produce its smart hub, eventually raising more than $1.2 million from individual backers.”
SmartThing’s individual backers, who in conventional language are called “investors”, received nothing from the windfall. Nor did Kickstarter backers of the brilliant Oculus Rift VR headset, after Facebook acquired the team for $2bn. WiReD magazine glossed over this, mentioning “people who had ponied up to support the original Kickstarter campaign, only to see their investments made irrelevant by a deep-pocketed corporation.”
“Irrelevant” is beside the point. The conventional investment logic is that risk is rewarded when success arrives. Most startups fail, while a handful accrue enormous value. Yet Kickstarter investors receive no such reward: although they backed "the next big thing" in SmartThings and Oculus, they don't get the payout.
Here’s another example. Cabaret performer and former living statue (and Mrs Neil Gaiman) Amanda Palmer bypassed the music industry to fund an album and a tour, again using the pan-handling site Kickstarter. She was lauded on tech blogs and beyond for pioneering a new economy of music production. Having raised $1.2m on Kickstarter, however, Palmer decided she could only pay her tour musicians in “hugs” After unfavourable press coverage, Palmer was shamed into grudgingly remunerating them with a currency a little more convertible in the real world. Did her Kickstarter "investors" revolt? No, and they couldn’t; it took hugely unfavourable press coverage to change Palmer's mind.
Last week the New York Times reported how the euphemistically named "sharing economy" – which encompasses piecemeal labour - is creating its own "precariat". The freelance workers who provide the drivers for Uber or the accommodation for AirBnB pay a hefty chunk to the new intermediaries, must accept ever changing rates, and further accept that they’ll not see a penny of the payouts when value is accrued – when the company floats or is acquired. It’s a strange sort of "sharing".
•••••
In short, you’ve been a mug.
And this seems to be the common thread. Strip away the language of "sharing" and "community" and you’ve got an economy that requires an endless supply of mug punters.
•••••
Study links polar vortex chills to melting sea ice
http://phys.org/news/2014-09-links-polar-vortex-chills-sea.html
by Seth Borenstein
Sept. 2, 2014
A new study says that as the world gets warmer, parts of North America, Europe and Asia could see more frequent and stronger visits of cold air as the world gets warmer.
Researchers say that's because of shrinking ice in the seas off Russia. Less ice would let more energy go from the ocean into the air, and that would weaken the atmospheric forces that usually keep cold air trapped in the Arctic.
But at times it escapes and wanders south, bringing with it a bit of Arctic super chill.
That can happen for several reasons, and the new study suggests that one of them occurs when ice in northern seas shrinks, leaving more water uncovered.
Normally, sea ice keeps heat energy from escaping the ocean and entering the atmosphere. When there's less ice, more energy gets into the atmosphere and weakens the jet stream, the high-altitude river of air that usually keeps Arctic air from wandering south, said study co-author Jin-Ho Yoon of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington. So the cold air escapes instead.
That happened relatively infrequently in the 1990s, but since 2000 it has happened nearly every year, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. A team of scientists from South Korea and United States found that many such cold outbreaks happened a few months after unusually low sea ice levels in the Barents and Kara seas, off Russia.
The study observed historical data and then conducted computer simulations. Both approaches showed the same strong link between shrinking sea ice and cold outbreaks, according to lead author Baek-Min Kim, a research scientist at the Korea Polar Research Institute. A large portion of sea ice melting is driven by man-made climate change from the burning of fossil fuels, Kim wrote in an email.
•••••
by Seth Borenstein
Sept. 2, 2014
A new study says that as the world gets warmer, parts of North America, Europe and Asia could see more frequent and stronger visits of cold air as the world gets warmer.
Researchers say that's because of shrinking ice in the seas off Russia. Less ice would let more energy go from the ocean into the air, and that would weaken the atmospheric forces that usually keep cold air trapped in the Arctic.
But at times it escapes and wanders south, bringing with it a bit of Arctic super chill.
That can happen for several reasons, and the new study suggests that one of them occurs when ice in northern seas shrinks, leaving more water uncovered.
Normally, sea ice keeps heat energy from escaping the ocean and entering the atmosphere. When there's less ice, more energy gets into the atmosphere and weakens the jet stream, the high-altitude river of air that usually keeps Arctic air from wandering south, said study co-author Jin-Ho Yoon of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington. So the cold air escapes instead.
That happened relatively infrequently in the 1990s, but since 2000 it has happened nearly every year, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. A team of scientists from South Korea and United States found that many such cold outbreaks happened a few months after unusually low sea ice levels in the Barents and Kara seas, off Russia.
The study observed historical data and then conducted computer simulations. Both approaches showed the same strong link between shrinking sea ice and cold outbreaks, according to lead author Baek-Min Kim, a research scientist at the Korea Polar Research Institute. A large portion of sea ice melting is driven by man-made climate change from the burning of fossil fuels, Kim wrote in an email.
•••••
Judge overturns murder-rape convictions for 2 who served 30 years
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-overturns-murder-rape-convictions-for-2-who-served-30-years/
September 2, 2014,
LUMBERTON, N.C. - A North Carolina judge overturned the convictions Tuesday of two men who have served 30 years in prison for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl after another man's DNA was recently discovered on evidence in the case.
Superior Court Judge Douglass Sasser ordered the immediate release of Henry McCollum, 50, and Leon Brown, 46. The half brothers were convicted in the 1983 slaying of Sabrina Buie in Robeson County.
Lawyers for the men petitioned for their release after DNA evidence from a cigarette butt recovered at the crime scene pointed to another man. That man, who lived close to the soybean field where the dead girl's body was found, is already serving a life sentence for a similar rape and murder that happened less than a month later.
•••••
Authorities said McCollum, who was 19 at the time, and Brown, who was 15, confessed to killing Buie.
Attorneys said both men have low IQs and their confessions were coerced after hours of questioning. There is no physical evidence connecting them to the crime.
Both were initially given death sentences, which were overturned. At a second trial, McCollum was again sent to death row, where he remains, while Brown was convicted of rape and sentenced to life.
The DNA from the cigarette butts doesn't match either of them, and fingerprints taken from a beer can at the scene aren't theirs either. The other man now suspected in Buie's killing was convicted of assaulting three other women over 30 years before his last conviction.
September 2, 2014,
LUMBERTON, N.C. - A North Carolina judge overturned the convictions Tuesday of two men who have served 30 years in prison for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl after another man's DNA was recently discovered on evidence in the case.
Superior Court Judge Douglass Sasser ordered the immediate release of Henry McCollum, 50, and Leon Brown, 46. The half brothers were convicted in the 1983 slaying of Sabrina Buie in Robeson County.
Lawyers for the men petitioned for their release after DNA evidence from a cigarette butt recovered at the crime scene pointed to another man. That man, who lived close to the soybean field where the dead girl's body was found, is already serving a life sentence for a similar rape and murder that happened less than a month later.
•••••
Authorities said McCollum, who was 19 at the time, and Brown, who was 15, confessed to killing Buie.
Attorneys said both men have low IQs and their confessions were coerced after hours of questioning. There is no physical evidence connecting them to the crime.
Both were initially given death sentences, which were overturned. At a second trial, McCollum was again sent to death row, where he remains, while Brown was convicted of rape and sentenced to life.
The DNA from the cigarette butts doesn't match either of them, and fingerprints taken from a beer can at the scene aren't theirs either. The other man now suspected in Buie's killing was convicted of assaulting three other women over 30 years before his last conviction.
Home Depot Probing 'Unusual Activity' After Reports of Data Breach
Target found their data breach early, and reported it. Their reward was to be criticized and lose business.http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/home-depot-probing-unusual-activity-after-reports-data-breach-n193951
Home Depot may be the latest retailer to have suffered a massive credit card breach, the company confirmed on Tuesday, after Krebs on Security reported that a large cache of stolen data had appeared on black market sites. Home Depot is working with investigators to flesh out the origin of "unusual activity," a spokeswoman told CNBC in a statement.
•••••
Krebs reported that the breach bore hallmarks of the same groups that have hit Target and P.F. Chang's, among other vendors. Krebs says the breach may be extended across all of Home Depot's U.S. stores.
•••••
Poverty Blamed for Return of Rickets and Gout to Britain
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/poverty-blamed-return-rickets-gout-britain-n193801
Sept. 2, 2014
A "toxic combination" of poor wage growth and higher food prices has led to the return of Victorian-era diseases like rickets and gout to Britain.The Faculty of Public Health (FPH), which represents doctors and health workers, links food poverty with the rise in those diseases. "It's getting worse because people can't afford good quality food," the FPH's John Middleton told the Observer newspaper. "Malnutrition, rickets and other manifestations of extreme poor diet are becoming apparent. (Doctors) are reporting rickets anecdotally in Manchester, the East End of London, Birmingham and the West Midlands. It is a condition we believed should have died out." Poverty in Britain has become a hot political topic since the global financial crisis. Wages have been consistently below the rate of inflation since 2008 there has been a rise in food banks. Rickets is caused by lack of vitamin D and calcium and affects bone development in children.
•••••
Sept. 2, 2014
A "toxic combination" of poor wage growth and higher food prices has led to the return of Victorian-era diseases like rickets and gout to Britain.The Faculty of Public Health (FPH), which represents doctors and health workers, links food poverty with the rise in those diseases. "It's getting worse because people can't afford good quality food," the FPH's John Middleton told the Observer newspaper. "Malnutrition, rickets and other manifestations of extreme poor diet are becoming apparent. (Doctors) are reporting rickets anecdotally in Manchester, the East End of London, Birmingham and the West Midlands. It is a condition we believed should have died out." Poverty in Britain has become a hot political topic since the global financial crisis. Wages have been consistently below the rate of inflation since 2008 there has been a rise in food banks. Rickets is caused by lack of vitamin D and calcium and affects bone development in children.
•••••
Stamford CEO Accused of Abusing Dog Resigns
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Stamford-CEO-Accused-of-Abusing-Dog-Resigns-273560441.html
Sep 2, 2014
The CEO of Stamford-based catering company Centerplate has resigned after he was caught on surveillance video abusing a Doberman puppy in an elevator.
Canadian television network Global News obtained the video, which shows Desmond Hague, who was staying at a hotel in Vancouver, kicking the dog, then snapping its leash.
At one point, the video shoes him jerking so hard that he lifts the puppy off the ground by its neck. Then he leaves the elevator, dragging the dog behind him.
Hague has resigned from Centerplate, according to a statement from the company on Tuesday.
•••••
Sep 2, 2014
The CEO of Stamford-based catering company Centerplate has resigned after he was caught on surveillance video abusing a Doberman puppy in an elevator.
Canadian television network Global News obtained the video, which shows Desmond Hague, who was staying at a hotel in Vancouver, kicking the dog, then snapping its leash.
At one point, the video shoes him jerking so hard that he lifts the puppy off the ground by its neck. Then he leaves the elevator, dragging the dog behind him.
Hague has resigned from Centerplate, according to a statement from the company on Tuesday.
•••••
Monday, September 01, 2014
Why plants in the office make us more productive
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/uoe-wpi082914.php
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 31-Aug-2014
Contact: Eleanor Gaskarth
University of Exeter
Why plants in the office make us more productive
'Green' offices with plants make staff happier and more productive than 'lean' designs stripped of greenery, new research shows.
In the first field study of its kind, published today, researchers found enriching a 'lean' office with plants could increase productivity by 15%.
The team examined the impact of 'lean' and 'green' offices on staff's perceptions of air quality, concentration, and workplace satisfaction, and monitored productivity levels over subsequent months in two large commercial offices in the UK and The Netherlands.
Lead researcher Marlon Nieuwenhuis, from Cardiff University's School of Psychology, said: "Our research suggests that investing in landscaping the office with plants will pay off through an increase in office workers' quality of life and productivity.
"Although previous laboratory research pointed in this direction, our research is, to our knowledge, the first to examine this in real offices, showing benefits over the long term. It directly challenges the widely accepted business philosophy that a lean office with clean desks is more productive."
The research showed plants in the office significantly increased workplace satisfaction, self-reported levels of concentration, and perceived air quality.
Analyses into the reasons why plants are beneficial suggests that a green office increases employees' work engagement by making them more physically, cognitively, and emotionally involved in their work.
•••••
Marlon Nieuwenhuis added: "Simply enriching a previously Spartan space with plants served to increase productivity by 15% - a figure that aligns closely with findings in previously conducted laboratory studies. This conclusion is at odds with the present economic and political zeitgeist as well as with modern 'lean' management techniques, yet it nevertheless identifies a pathway to a more enjoyable, more comfortable and a more profitable form of office-based working."
Kenneth Freeman, Head of Innovation at interior landscaping company Ambius, who were involved in the study, said: "We know from previous studies that plants can lower physiological stress, increase attention span and improve well-being. But this is the first long term experiment carried out in a real-life situation which shows that bringing plants into offices can improve well-being and make people feel happier at work. Businesses should rethink their lean processes, not only for the health of the employees, but for the financial health of the organisation."
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 31-Aug-2014
Contact: Eleanor Gaskarth
University of Exeter
Why plants in the office make us more productive
'Green' offices with plants make staff happier and more productive than 'lean' designs stripped of greenery, new research shows.
In the first field study of its kind, published today, researchers found enriching a 'lean' office with plants could increase productivity by 15%.
The team examined the impact of 'lean' and 'green' offices on staff's perceptions of air quality, concentration, and workplace satisfaction, and monitored productivity levels over subsequent months in two large commercial offices in the UK and The Netherlands.
Lead researcher Marlon Nieuwenhuis, from Cardiff University's School of Psychology, said: "Our research suggests that investing in landscaping the office with plants will pay off through an increase in office workers' quality of life and productivity.
"Although previous laboratory research pointed in this direction, our research is, to our knowledge, the first to examine this in real offices, showing benefits over the long term. It directly challenges the widely accepted business philosophy that a lean office with clean desks is more productive."
The research showed plants in the office significantly increased workplace satisfaction, self-reported levels of concentration, and perceived air quality.
Analyses into the reasons why plants are beneficial suggests that a green office increases employees' work engagement by making them more physically, cognitively, and emotionally involved in their work.
•••••
Marlon Nieuwenhuis added: "Simply enriching a previously Spartan space with plants served to increase productivity by 15% - a figure that aligns closely with findings in previously conducted laboratory studies. This conclusion is at odds with the present economic and political zeitgeist as well as with modern 'lean' management techniques, yet it nevertheless identifies a pathway to a more enjoyable, more comfortable and a more profitable form of office-based working."
Kenneth Freeman, Head of Innovation at interior landscaping company Ambius, who were involved in the study, said: "We know from previous studies that plants can lower physiological stress, increase attention span and improve well-being. But this is the first long term experiment carried out in a real-life situation which shows that bringing plants into offices can improve well-being and make people feel happier at work. Businesses should rethink their lean processes, not only for the health of the employees, but for the financial health of the organisation."
Drinking tea reduces non-CV mortality by 24 percent
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/esoc-dtr082614.php
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 31-Aug-2014
Contact: ESC Press Office
European Society of Cardiology
Drinking tea reduces non-CV mortality by 24 percent
Barcelona, Spain – Sunday 31 August 2014: Drinking tea reduces non-cardiovascular mortality by 24%, reveals a study in 131 000 people presented at ESC Congress today by Professor Nicolas Danchin from France.
Professor Danchin said: "If you have to choose between tea or coffee it's probably better to drink tea. Coffee and tea are important components of our way of life. Their effects on cardiovascular (CV) health have been investigated in the past with sometimes divergent results. We investigated the effects of coffee and tea on CV mortality and non-CV mortality in a large French population at low risk of cardiovascular diseases."
•••••
"Tea has antioxidants which may provide survival benefits. Tea drinkers also have healthier lifestyles so does tea drinking reflect a particular person profile or is it tea, per se, that improves outcomes - for me that remains an open question. Pending the answer to that question, I think that you could fairly honestly recommend tea drinking rather than coffee drinking and even rather than not drinking anything at all."
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 31-Aug-2014
Contact: ESC Press Office
European Society of Cardiology
Drinking tea reduces non-CV mortality by 24 percent
Barcelona, Spain – Sunday 31 August 2014: Drinking tea reduces non-cardiovascular mortality by 24%, reveals a study in 131 000 people presented at ESC Congress today by Professor Nicolas Danchin from France.
Professor Danchin said: "If you have to choose between tea or coffee it's probably better to drink tea. Coffee and tea are important components of our way of life. Their effects on cardiovascular (CV) health have been investigated in the past with sometimes divergent results. We investigated the effects of coffee and tea on CV mortality and non-CV mortality in a large French population at low risk of cardiovascular diseases."
•••••
"Tea has antioxidants which may provide survival benefits. Tea drinkers also have healthier lifestyles so does tea drinking reflect a particular person profile or is it tea, per se, that improves outcomes - for me that remains an open question. Pending the answer to that question, I think that you could fairly honestly recommend tea drinking rather than coffee drinking and even rather than not drinking anything at all."
Wine only protects against CVD in people who exercise
cardio : hearthttp://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/esoc-wop082614.php
vascular : blood vessels
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 31-Aug-2014
Contact: ESC Press Office
European Society of Cardiology
Wine only protects against CVD in people who exercise
Barcelona, Spain – Sunday 31 August 2014: Wine only protects against cardiovascular disease (CVD) in people who exercise, according to results from the In Vino Veritas (IVV) study presented at ESC Congress today by Professor Milos Taborsky from the Czech Republic.
Professor Taborsky said: "This is the first randomised trial comparing the effects of red and white wine on markers of atherosclerosis (1) in people at mild to moderate risk of CVD. We found that moderate wine drinking was only protective in people who exercised. Red and white wine produced the same results."
Evidence suggesting that mild to moderate consumption of wine protects against cardiovascular disease has been accumulating since the early 1990s. In particular, retrospective studies have found that wine increases levels of HDL, the "good" cholesterol. But until now there has been no long-term, prospective, randomised study comparing the effects of red and white wine on HDL cholesterol and other markers of atherosclerosis.
•••••
Energy drinks cause heart problems
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/esoc-edc082214.php
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 31-Aug-2014
Contact: ESC Press Office
European Society of Cardiology
Energy drinks cause heart problems
Barcelona, Spain – Sunday 31 August 2014: Energy drinks can cause heart problems according to research presented at ESC Congress 2014 today by Professor Milou-Daniel Drici from France.
Professor Drici said: "So-called 'energy drinks' are popular in dance clubs and during physical exercise, with people sometimes consuming a number of drinks one after the other. This situation can lead to a number of adverse conditions including angina, cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) and even sudden death."
He added: "Around 96% of these drinks contain caffeine, with a typical 0.25 litre can holding 2 espressos worth of caffeine. Caffeine is one of the most potent agonists of the ryanodine receptors and leads to a massive release of calcium within cardiac cells. This can cause arrhythmias, but also has effects on the heart's abilities to contract and to use oxygen. In addition, 52% of drinks contain taurine, 33% have glucuronolactone and two-thirds contain vitamins."
•••••
The researchers found that consumption of the 103 energy drinks in France increased by 30% between 2009 and 2011 up to over 30 million litres. The leading brand made up 40% of energy drinks consumed. Two-thirds of drinks were consumed away from home.
During the two year period 257 cases were reported to the agency, of which 212 provided sufficient information for food and drug safety evaluation. The experts found that 95 of the reported adverse events had cardiovascular symptoms, 74 psychiatric, and 57 neurological, sometimes overlapping. Cardiac arrests and sudden or unexplained deaths occurred at least in 8 cases, while 46 people had heart rhythm disorders, 13 had angina and 3 had hypertension.
Dr Drici said: "We found that 'caffeine syndrome' was the most common problem, occurring in 60 people. It is characterised by a fast heart rate (called tachycardia), tremor, anxiety and headache.
Rare but severe adverse events were also associated with these drinks, such as sudden or unexplained death, arrhythmia and heart attack (myocardial infarction). Our literature search confirmed that these conditions can be related to consumption of energy drinks."
He added: "Patients with cardiac conditions including catecholaminergic arrhythmias, long QT syndrome and angina should be aware of the potential danger of a large intake of caffeine, which is a stimulant that can exacerbate their condition with possibly fatal consequences."
Dr Drici continued: "The general public need to know that so-called 'energy drinks' have absolutely no place during or after physical exercise, as compared with other drinks designed for that purpose. When used in long alcoholic cocktails, the caffeine in 'energy drinks' enables young people in dance clubs or elsewhere to overcome the unwanted effects of alcohol, leading to an even greater intake of caffeine."
He concluded: "Patients rarely mention consumption of energy drinks to their doctors unless they are asked. Doctors should warn patients with cardiac conditions about the potential dangers of these drinks and ask young people in particular whether they consume such drinks on a regular basis or through binge drinking."
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 31-Aug-2014
Contact: ESC Press Office
European Society of Cardiology
Energy drinks cause heart problems
Barcelona, Spain – Sunday 31 August 2014: Energy drinks can cause heart problems according to research presented at ESC Congress 2014 today by Professor Milou-Daniel Drici from France.
Professor Drici said: "So-called 'energy drinks' are popular in dance clubs and during physical exercise, with people sometimes consuming a number of drinks one after the other. This situation can lead to a number of adverse conditions including angina, cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) and even sudden death."
He added: "Around 96% of these drinks contain caffeine, with a typical 0.25 litre can holding 2 espressos worth of caffeine. Caffeine is one of the most potent agonists of the ryanodine receptors and leads to a massive release of calcium within cardiac cells. This can cause arrhythmias, but also has effects on the heart's abilities to contract and to use oxygen. In addition, 52% of drinks contain taurine, 33% have glucuronolactone and two-thirds contain vitamins."
•••••
The researchers found that consumption of the 103 energy drinks in France increased by 30% between 2009 and 2011 up to over 30 million litres. The leading brand made up 40% of energy drinks consumed. Two-thirds of drinks were consumed away from home.
During the two year period 257 cases were reported to the agency, of which 212 provided sufficient information for food and drug safety evaluation. The experts found that 95 of the reported adverse events had cardiovascular symptoms, 74 psychiatric, and 57 neurological, sometimes overlapping. Cardiac arrests and sudden or unexplained deaths occurred at least in 8 cases, while 46 people had heart rhythm disorders, 13 had angina and 3 had hypertension.
Dr Drici said: "We found that 'caffeine syndrome' was the most common problem, occurring in 60 people. It is characterised by a fast heart rate (called tachycardia), tremor, anxiety and headache.
Rare but severe adverse events were also associated with these drinks, such as sudden or unexplained death, arrhythmia and heart attack (myocardial infarction). Our literature search confirmed that these conditions can be related to consumption of energy drinks."
He added: "Patients with cardiac conditions including catecholaminergic arrhythmias, long QT syndrome and angina should be aware of the potential danger of a large intake of caffeine, which is a stimulant that can exacerbate their condition with possibly fatal consequences."
Dr Drici continued: "The general public need to know that so-called 'energy drinks' have absolutely no place during or after physical exercise, as compared with other drinks designed for that purpose. When used in long alcoholic cocktails, the caffeine in 'energy drinks' enables young people in dance clubs or elsewhere to overcome the unwanted effects of alcohol, leading to an even greater intake of caffeine."
He concluded: "Patients rarely mention consumption of energy drinks to their doctors unless they are asked. Doctors should warn patients with cardiac conditions about the potential dangers of these drinks and ask young people in particular whether they consume such drinks on a regular basis or through binge drinking."
Females Ignored in Basic Medical Research
http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2014/08/females-ignored-in-basic-medical-research.html
Five surgical journals will now require studies to report sex of animals and cells
August 28, 2014 | by Erin White
CHICAGO --- A new study from Northwestern Medicine® has found that surgical researchers rarely use female animals or female cells in their published studies -- despite a huge body of evidence showing that sex differences can play a crucial role in medical research.
Editors of the five major surgical journals reviewed in this study have responded to this finding and will now require authors to state the sex of animals and cells used in their studies. If they use only one sex in their studies, they will be asked to justify why.
“Women make up half the population, but in surgical literature, 80 percent of the studies only use males,” said Melina R. Kibbe, M.D., senior author of the study and a vascular surgeon at Northwestern Medicine®.
- See more at: http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2014/08/females-ignored-in-basic-medical-research.html#sthash.GMAfyioO.dpuf
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Females Ignored in Basic Medical Research
Five surgical journals will now require studies to report sex of animals and cells
text size AAA
August 28, 2014 | by Erin White
CHICAGO --- A new study from Northwestern Medicine® has found that surgical researchers rarely use female animals or female cells in their published studies -- despite a huge body of evidence showing that sex differences can play a crucial role in medical research.
Editors of the five major surgical journals reviewed in this study have responded to this finding and will now require authors to state the sex of animals and cells used in their studies. If they use only one sex in their studies, they will be asked to justify why.
“Women make up half the population, but in surgical literature, 80 percent of the studies only use males,” said Melina R. Kibbe, M.D., senior author of the study and a vascular surgeon at Northwestern Medicine®.
“We need to do better and provide basic research on both sexes to ultimately improve treatments for male and female patients.”
Published Aug. 28 in the journal Surgery, the study follows a “60 Minutes” segment in February about the problem of overlooking sex differences in biomedical research, featuring Northwestern Medicine® scientists Teresa Woodruff and Kibbe.
Following the “60 Minutes” piece, the National Institutes of Health announced that they are developing a policy that will require all of its funded researchers to study both sexes for all pre-clinical research (the animal and cell studies performed before human studies).
Basic science research has shown repeatedly that male and female animals metabolize drugs differently. Accordingly, the research shows that men and women may experience differences in the ways they manifest diseases, experience illnesses and benefit from treatments.
•••••
Five surgical journals will now require studies to report sex of animals and cells
August 28, 2014 | by Erin White
CHICAGO --- A new study from Northwestern Medicine® has found that surgical researchers rarely use female animals or female cells in their published studies -- despite a huge body of evidence showing that sex differences can play a crucial role in medical research.
Editors of the five major surgical journals reviewed in this study have responded to this finding and will now require authors to state the sex of animals and cells used in their studies. If they use only one sex in their studies, they will be asked to justify why.
“Women make up half the population, but in surgical literature, 80 percent of the studies only use males,” said Melina R. Kibbe, M.D., senior author of the study and a vascular surgeon at Northwestern Medicine®.
- See more at: http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2014/08/females-ignored-in-basic-medical-research.html#sthash.GMAfyioO.dpuf
News
News Home
Photo Galleries
Northwestern in the News
Past Stories
Resources
Social Media
Subscribe
(130)
(26)
Print this Story
Email this Story
Females Ignored in Basic Medical Research
Five surgical journals will now require studies to report sex of animals and cells
text size AAA
August 28, 2014 | by Erin White
CHICAGO --- A new study from Northwestern Medicine® has found that surgical researchers rarely use female animals or female cells in their published studies -- despite a huge body of evidence showing that sex differences can play a crucial role in medical research.
Editors of the five major surgical journals reviewed in this study have responded to this finding and will now require authors to state the sex of animals and cells used in their studies. If they use only one sex in their studies, they will be asked to justify why.
“Women make up half the population, but in surgical literature, 80 percent of the studies only use males,” said Melina R. Kibbe, M.D., senior author of the study and a vascular surgeon at Northwestern Medicine®.
“We need to do better and provide basic research on both sexes to ultimately improve treatments for male and female patients.”
Published Aug. 28 in the journal Surgery, the study follows a “60 Minutes” segment in February about the problem of overlooking sex differences in biomedical research, featuring Northwestern Medicine® scientists Teresa Woodruff and Kibbe.
Following the “60 Minutes” piece, the National Institutes of Health announced that they are developing a policy that will require all of its funded researchers to study both sexes for all pre-clinical research (the animal and cell studies performed before human studies).
Basic science research has shown repeatedly that male and female animals metabolize drugs differently. Accordingly, the research shows that men and women may experience differences in the ways they manifest diseases, experience illnesses and benefit from treatments.
•••••
Probable not much posting for a few days.
I am doing voter registration or door-to-door canvassing every day until Tues., and I have some evening fun activities like music and improv comedy, plus housework & yard work (if it doesn't rain), so I probably won't be posting a lot until after Mon.
And I hope to have time to practice playing my songs, and work on lead sheets for those which don't already have one.
And I hope to have time to practice playing my songs, and work on lead sheets for those which don't already have one.
Study finds four-way symbiosis in cicadas
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/tuom-uom082114.php
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 28-Aug-2014
Contact: John McCutcheon
The University of Montana
University of Montana cicada study discovers 2 genomes that function as 1
MISSOULA, Mont. – Two is company, three is a crowd. But in the case of the cicada, that's a good thing.
Until a recent discovery by a University of Montana research lab, it was thought that cicadas had a symbiotic relationship with two important bacteria that live within the cells of its body. Since the insect eats a simple diet consisting solely of plant sap, it relies on these bacteria to produce the nutrients it needs for survival.
In exchange, those two bacteria, Hodgkinia and Sulcia, live comfortably inside the cicada. Since all three divvy up the nutritional roles, each member of the symbiosis is completely dependent on the others for survival.
So, where does this third-wheel bacterium come into play? That is exactly what UM microbiologist John McCutcheon and his team of colleagues stumbled upon once they started delving deeper into the genome sequence of the essential bacteria. Instead of two bacterial symbionts, they actually identified three. Sulcia was predictably still there, but they found two different kinds of Hodgkinia. What previously was thought to be a tripartite, or a three-way symbiosis, is now proven to actually be a four-way symbiosis.
•••••
Because they only are complete when they operate as a team, they are reliant on each other just as the Sulcia, and ultimately the cicada, is reliant on their contributions to the symbiotic ecosystem.
"This is an obligate symbiosis – all of the organisms in there need each other," McCutcheon said. "We've shown that what was once a three-way symbiosis is now a four-way symbiosis."
•••••
Hodgkinia's development closely parallels that of a path of some organelles. Essentially, organelles are to cells what an organ is to the human body. Mitochondria of our own cells are organelles, and like Hodgkinia, are derived from symbiotic bacteria.
•••••
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 28-Aug-2014
Contact: John McCutcheon
The University of Montana
University of Montana cicada study discovers 2 genomes that function as 1
MISSOULA, Mont. – Two is company, three is a crowd. But in the case of the cicada, that's a good thing.
Until a recent discovery by a University of Montana research lab, it was thought that cicadas had a symbiotic relationship with two important bacteria that live within the cells of its body. Since the insect eats a simple diet consisting solely of plant sap, it relies on these bacteria to produce the nutrients it needs for survival.
In exchange, those two bacteria, Hodgkinia and Sulcia, live comfortably inside the cicada. Since all three divvy up the nutritional roles, each member of the symbiosis is completely dependent on the others for survival.
So, where does this third-wheel bacterium come into play? That is exactly what UM microbiologist John McCutcheon and his team of colleagues stumbled upon once they started delving deeper into the genome sequence of the essential bacteria. Instead of two bacterial symbionts, they actually identified three. Sulcia was predictably still there, but they found two different kinds of Hodgkinia. What previously was thought to be a tripartite, or a three-way symbiosis, is now proven to actually be a four-way symbiosis.
•••••
Because they only are complete when they operate as a team, they are reliant on each other just as the Sulcia, and ultimately the cicada, is reliant on their contributions to the symbiotic ecosystem.
"This is an obligate symbiosis – all of the organisms in there need each other," McCutcheon said. "We've shown that what was once a three-way symbiosis is now a four-way symbiosis."
•••••
Hodgkinia's development closely parallels that of a path of some organelles. Essentially, organelles are to cells what an organ is to the human body. Mitochondria of our own cells are organelles, and like Hodgkinia, are derived from symbiotic bacteria.
•••••
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