http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/q-a-what-really-happened-to-the-water-in-flint-michigan/?WT.mc_id=SA_HLTH_20160308
By Jayde Lovell on March 2, 2016
•••••
Edwards and a Virginia Tech team stepped in, forming the Flint Water Study and testing almost 300 homes. They repeatedly found unsafe lead levels in the drinking water. They discovered that if Flint had been using an anticorrosion agent like orthophosphate minerals to coat city pipes, the lead crisis may have been averted. (Watch a Scientific American video about Flint's lead pipe corrosion.) Furthermore, Edwards’s team uncovered the widespread use of lead testing practices that deviated from EPA protocol—Flint residents were encouraged to “pre-flush” the pipes before each lead test, which would decrease the amount of lead reading in the test sample.
Edwards spoke to Scientific American guest contributor Jayde Lovell about the science behind what went wrong.
•••••
What sequence of events put more lead into the drinking water in Flint?
It turns out it is very simple: they didn’t follow federal law. Federal law requires that you have a corrosion control plan; a plan to stop the water from eating up your most expensive infrastructure—your pipes—and contaminating the water. That was the minimum acceptable response under the law. [Adding orthophosphates] would have cost $100 a day.
Instead, because the corrosion inhibitor wasn’t there, plus the Flint River had higher chloride—eight times higher chloride. Chloride is corrosive—it’s road salt. The combination of not following the law, plus more corrosive water, triggered everything.
When we went into this in September, we thought maybe the preventative treatment would not have worked [as the chloride was so high]. So we did lab experiments that, somewhat to our surprise, showed that the preventative treatment—the orthophosphates—if they’d done it, it definitely would have worked in this case. We proved that by experimentation.
If the right treatment had been added, in your opinion do you think the Flint River was a suitable choice for drinking water?
It was. I know people have reservations but we tested the river before and after treatment for contaminants, and we found it was a very suitable water source. It met federal standards. It may not look as good as Lake Huron, obviously. But with the effective treatments they had, it would have been deemed a success.
•••••
How did the Flint River concentrate so much salt?
Well there’s some level that’s present naturally but in the U.S. we’re currently contaminating our rivers with road salt. Every year in the U.S., we put 135 pounds of salt per person on the road. I did not know that until I started looking at this issue: Why is chloride so high in Flint River?
We’ve got other cities where they’ve got low lead, and then they went above this threshold and suddenly the lead started coming off their pipes. The preventative treatment worked, and now it’s not working. In those cities the chloride has been rising. Chloride levels in some U.S. rivers have doubled in the last 20 years.
•••••
If residents are concerned, how they can test if their water is safe?
In recent years we’ve learned that simply testing the water one time doesn’t tell you much. The problem is coming from pieces of rust that fall off into the water at [random] intervals. Sometimes a chunk of that corrosion will fall off a lead pipe. If you’re unlucky and you put your glass under the tap at that time, you can drink a glass of water that creates the same lead exposure as eating eleven paint chips.
As long as you have lead pipes and lead plumbing, you have a hazard. I recommend buying a $20 lead filter, and if it’s NSF [National Sanitation Foundation]-certified, you put it on your tap and you can filter all the water you use for cooking or drinking. You can dramatically reduce or almost eliminate lead hazards in water used for cooking or drinking. They’re rated up to 125 ppb by the National Sanitation Foundation, but we’ve tested them at much higher levels, and they’re very effective.
•••••
Tuesday, March 08, 2016
Monday, March 07, 2016
State taxes favor the very rich
Note that the so-called "Fair Tax" being pushed by some Republicans is a national sales tax, which, like local and sales taxes, would be highly regressive, taking a much higher percentage of income from people with low incomes. This is the very reason they favor it.http://www.itep.org/whopays/executive_summary.php
• Virtually every state tax system is fundamentally unfair, taking a much greater share of income from low- and middle-income families than from wealthy families. The absence of a graduated personal income tax and over reliance on consumption taxes exacerbate this problem.
• The lower one’s income, the higher one’s overall effective state and local tax rate. Combining all state and local income, property, sales and excise taxes that Americans pay, the nationwide average effective state and local tax rates by income group are 10.9 percent for the poorest 20 percent of individuals and families, 9.4 percent for the middle 20 percent and 5.4 percent for the top 1 percent.
• In the 10 states with the most regressive tax structures (the Terrible 10) the bottom 20 percent pay up to seven times as much of their income in taxes as their wealthy counterparts. Washington State is the most regressive, followed by Florida, Texas, South Dakota, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Arizona, Kansas, and Indiana.
• Heavy reliance on sales and excise taxes are characteristics of the most regressive state tax systems. Six of the 10 most regressive states derive roughly half to two-thirds of their tax revenue from sales and excise taxes, compared to a national average of roughly one-third . Five of these states do not levy a broad-based personal income tax (four do not have any taxes on personal income and one state only applies its personal income tax to interest and dividends) while four have a personal income tax rate structure that is flat or virtually flat.
•••••
• States commended as “low tax” are often high tax states for low- and middle-income families. The 10 states with the highest taxes on the poor are Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington. Seven of these are also among the “terrible ten” because they are not only high tax for the poorest, but low tax for the wealthiest.
Georgia taxes favor the very rich
State and local taxes in Georgia:
The non-elderly in the lowest 20% of income pay 10.4% of their income in state and local taxes.
Those in the top 1% pay 5.0%
http://www.itep.org/whopays/states/georgia.php
Georgia Republicans trying to cut state income taxes for top 1%
They say there is not enough money to protect children from being tortured to death by their parents; there is not enough money to expand Medicaid; there is not enough money to fix the potholes in the roads. But there is enough money to give a tax break to the very rich.http://www.taxjusticeblog.org/archive/state_tax_issues/georgia/
And this would make Georgia's already very regressive state and local taxes even more regressive.
March 3, 2016 10:29 AM
By Dylan Grundman
•••••
Georgia lawmakers, spurred on by the fact that all 236 of them are facing re-election this year, are considering drastic changes to their state's personal income tax. One proposal could entirely repeal the income tax.
One of the bills under consideration (HB 238) contains some positive provisions, such as limiting deductions that are primarily used by high-income households. But the bill would also flatten and reduce the state's income tax to a single rate of 5.4 percent (the top rate is currently 6 percent). Lawmakers are selling this proposal as a tax cut for most Georgia families. But an Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analysis of the plan reveals that most working families would receive minimal benefit. More than half of the resulting tax cuts would flow to just the top 20 percent (PDF) of Georgia residents, and even then the benefits are weighted most heavily for the very richest. Families earning less than $100,000 would receive an average tax cut of $100 while the top 1 percent of families would get an average cut of $2,850. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of Georgia families would lose because the state's ability to fund crucial services would be seriously harmed. Nonetheless, the bill has passed the House and advanced to the Senate Rules Committee and appears to be on a fast track to passage.
•••••
Meanwhile, the state Senate has approved a measure (SR 756) that would amend Georgia's constitution to force further income tax cuts when certain 'triggers' are met.
•••••
Even under that generous reading, however, revenues would fall by some $350 million and roughly 70 percent of the benefit would go to the top 20 percent of Georgia households.
Georgia’s pending tax cuts are part of a broader, disturbing trend at the state level that seeks to tilt already unfair state tax codes even more heavily in favor of the wealthy.
•••••
Georgia puts cheap pricetag on the lives of its children
But Republicans in the state legislature are trying to lower the state income taxes on the top 1%, which will be the subject of my next blog post.http://jaybookman.blog.myajc.com/2016/02/17/georgia-puts-cheap-pricetag-on-the-lives-of-its-children/
By Jay Bookman
February 17, 2016
•••••
Georgia children supposedly under the watchful protection of the state continue to die from neglect and abuse in unacceptably high numbers,
When I arrived here back in 1990, Georgians were scandalized by the number of children identified to the state as potential victims of abuse and neglect who were turning up dead. Naturally, promises were made to fix it. Yet that same scandal has popped up as a recurring major scandal every four or five years since then, and remains a scandal today, some 26 years later. Why is that?
•••••
DFCS (Division of Family and Children Services) has 20 percent fewer caseworkers than it did a decade ago, even though the number of abuse and neglect cases is soaring. The number of Georgia children living in poverty has also jumped, from 489,000 in 2006 to 647,000 in 2014.
•••••
We also expect those caseworkers to perform as professionals even though we don’t pay them that way. The state is now advertising for DFCS social service case managers, requiring both a bachelor’s degree and relevant experience. In Fulton County, the pay scale is from $28,000 to $34,000. Not surprisingly, that creates major turnover problems in a field in which continuity is critical.
Back in 2000, state officials acknowledged that children were dying because high caseloads and low pay were causing an unacceptably high turnover rate of 39 percent. Today, 16 years later, it is 36 percent.
•••••
Onelink Communications defrauded customers with Hispanic names
http://www.ajc.com/news/business/fcc-alleged-fake-post-office-calls-to-cost-alphare/nqQ5s/
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Feb. 16, 2016
An Alpharetta firm and three related companies face fines totalling $29.6 million for allegedly targeting Hispanic customers and adding unauthorized charges to their long-distance telephone bills, according to federal regulators.
•••••
The FCC, which regulates the telecommunications industry, said the companies also tried to obstruct the agency’s investigation. The agency said the firms fabricated audio recordings and sent them as fraudulent proof that customers had authorized the charges and changes to new carriers.
To get the recordings, the FCC said, the companies’ telemarketers in many cases posed as employees of the U.S. Postal Service notifying customers about package deliveries. In some cases, the callers’ telephone numbers were rigged to show up as the postal service on victims’ caller ID, the agency said.
•••••
More than 140 people filed complaints to the FCC complaining that the companies switched their long-distance carriers without permission — a practice known as “slamming” — and “crammed” their bills, or added unauthorized charges.
The agency said OneLink, which faces an $8 million fine, manages the other three firms as one operation from an office in Alpharetta. The other firms have no employees, the FCC said.
The other three firms being fined are TeleDias Communications, in Reno, Nev.; and TeleUno and Cytel, both in Pompano Beach, Fla. The FCC proposed a nearly $7.7 million fine against TeleDia, $9.6 million against TeleUno, and $4.3 million against Cytel.
•••••
The FCC said it also may initiate proceedings to revoke the companies’ operating authorizations.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Feb. 16, 2016
An Alpharetta firm and three related companies face fines totalling $29.6 million for allegedly targeting Hispanic customers and adding unauthorized charges to their long-distance telephone bills, according to federal regulators.
•••••
The FCC, which regulates the telecommunications industry, said the companies also tried to obstruct the agency’s investigation. The agency said the firms fabricated audio recordings and sent them as fraudulent proof that customers had authorized the charges and changes to new carriers.
To get the recordings, the FCC said, the companies’ telemarketers in many cases posed as employees of the U.S. Postal Service notifying customers about package deliveries. In some cases, the callers’ telephone numbers were rigged to show up as the postal service on victims’ caller ID, the agency said.
•••••
More than 140 people filed complaints to the FCC complaining that the companies switched their long-distance carriers without permission — a practice known as “slamming” — and “crammed” their bills, or added unauthorized charges.
The agency said OneLink, which faces an $8 million fine, manages the other three firms as one operation from an office in Alpharetta. The other firms have no employees, the FCC said.
The other three firms being fined are TeleDias Communications, in Reno, Nev.; and TeleUno and Cytel, both in Pompano Beach, Fla. The FCC proposed a nearly $7.7 million fine against TeleDia, $9.6 million against TeleUno, and $4.3 million against Cytel.
•••••
The FCC said it also may initiate proceedings to revoke the companies’ operating authorizations.
Low-fiber diet may cause irreversible depletion of gut bacteria over generations
This study was conducted in mice, but it seems likely it would apply to humans.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/sumc-ldm010716.php
Public Release: 13-Jan-2016
Low-fiber diet may cause irreversible depletion of gut bacteria over generations
Stanford University Medical Center
A study by Stanford University School of Medicine investigators raises concerns that the lower-fiber diets typical in industrialized societies may produce internal deficiencies that get passed along to future generations.
The study, conducted in mice, indicates that low-fiber diets not only deplete the complex microbial ecosystems residing in every mammalian gut, but can cause an irreversible loss of diversity within those ecosystems in as few as three or four generations.
Once an entire population has experienced the extinction of key bacterial species, simply "eating right" may no longer be enough to restore these lost species to the guts of individuals in that population, the study suggests. Those of us who live in advanced industrial societies may already be heading down that path.
The proliferation of nearly fiber-free, processed convenience foods since the mid-20th century has resulted in average per capita fiber consumption in industrialized societies of about 15 grams per day. That's as little as one-tenth of the intake among the world's dwindling hunter-gatherer and rural agrarian populations, whose living conditions and dietary intake presumably most closely resemble those of our common human ancestors, said Justin Sonnenburg, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology and senior author of the study, to be published Jan. 13 in Nature.
Virtually all health experts agree that low-fiber diets are suboptimal. Probably the chief reason for this is that fiber, which can't be digested by human enzymes, is the main food source for the commensal bacteria that colonize our colons, Sonnenburg said.
Thousands of distinct bacterial species inhabit every healthy individual's large intestine. "We would have difficulty living without them," he said. "They fend off pathogens, train our immune systems and even guide the development of our tissues." While we pick up these microscopic passengers in the course of routine exposures throughout our lifetimes, one of the most significant sources of our intestinal bacterial populations is our immediate family, especially our mothers during childbirth and infancy.
Surveys of humans' gut-dwelling microbes have shown that the diversity of bacterial species inhabiting the intestines of individual members of hunter-gatherer and rural agrarian populations greatly exceeds that of individuals living in modern industrialized societies, Sonnenburg said. In fact, these studies indicate the complete absence, throughout industrialized populations, of numerous bacterial species that are shared among many of the hunter-gatherer and rural agrarian populations surveyed, despite those groups' being dispersed across vast geographic expanses ranging from Africa to South America to Papua New Guinea.
•••••
Motivated "reasoning"
This is in line with previous research.http://www.rawstory.com/2016/02/the-most-depressing-discovery-about-the-brain-ever/
I would like to see studies to try to find out whether different cultures and child raising methods affect this. Our U.S. culture is very competitive, with people feeling that if they aren't THE winner, they are a failure. It seems to me that it might contribute to the inability to admit we were wrong, and learn new things.
The most depressing discovery about the brain, ever
Marty Kaplan, AlterNet
27 Feb 2016
ale law school professor Dan Kahan’s research paper is called “Motivated Numeracy and Enlightened Self-Government,” but for me a better title is the headline on science writer Chris Mooney’s piece about it in Grist: “Science Confirms: Politics Wrecks Your Ability to Do Math.”
Kahan conducted some ingenious experiments about the impact of political passion on people’s ability to think clearly. His conclusion, in Mooney’s words: partisanship “can even undermine our very basic reasoning skills…. [People] who are otherwise very good at math may totally flunk a problem that they would otherwise probably be able to solve, simply because giving the right answer goes against their political beliefs.”
•••••
Nyan and his collaborators have been running experiments trying to answer this terrifying question about American voters: Do facts matter?
The answer, basically, is no. When people are misinformed, giving them facts to correct those errors only makes them cling to their beliefs more tenaciously.
•••••
In Kahan’s experiment, some people were asked to interpret a table of numbers about whether a skin cream reduced rashes, and some people were asked to interpret a different table – containing the same numbers – about whether a law banning private citizens from carrying concealed handguns reduced crime. Kahan found that when the numbers in the table conflicted with people’s positions on gun control, they couldn’t do the math right, though they could when the subject was skin cream. The bleakest finding was that the more advanced that people’s math skills were, the more likely it was that their political views, whether liberal or conservative, made them less able to solve the math problem.
•••••
How black men can succeed in IT careers
There's a lot of boo-hooing about a shortage of people going into IT, w/o acknowledgement of the fact that when you get to late middle-age, you have a hard time getting an IT job, no matter how qualified you are. It doesn't help that often your job is outsourced to another country and you are required to train your replacement.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/wsu-hbm011116.php
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
How black men can succeed in IT careers
Study finds that cumulative experiences develop IT skills
Washington State University
Expanding the range of black men's career options in an increasingly technology-oriented world will help alleviate high unemployment and poverty they often experience, according to a study examining the career paths of successful black men in college.
The study comes at a time when minority college students who take STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) jobs may earn at least 50 percent more than their peers studying humanities or education, yet black men comprise only 2.2 percent of those working in information technology (IT) occupations.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, researchers from Washington State University and Pennsylvania State University studied 25 undergraduate black men enrolled in IT disciplines in four historically black colleges and universities to see what motivated them to achieve academically, attend college and pursue IT careers. Participants were also asked to reflect upon how their gender and ethnicity shaped their educational experiences and career choices.
The researchers found that an accumulation of experiences over time motivated black men to develop skills, such as resilience, that are valuable in IT careers. The researchers refer to these experiences give black men "a type of capital that is often less available to black women and other ethnic males. Skills may be learned from parents or through social conditioning, are long-lasting and are transferable to other fields besides IT, the researchers said.
As an example, one participant said growing up in a manufacturing town influenced his pursuit of an IT career. That environment gave him perspective about how things should work, which fueled his interest in the technology behind the manufacturing.
Others credited their IT career success to technical, leadership and problem-solving skills instilled in them by their families, college professors, military colleagues and sports activities.
"One very interesting skill emerged that we refer to as 'manhood training,' or skills that endure through the life history of the individual," said K.D. Joshi, a WSU management, information systems and entrepreneurship professor. "This is a critical learning experience that is important in building any career, not just an IT career."
She said the positive effects of manhood training were evident when participants commented about how much they valued their grandfathers' influence in helping them develop a strong work ethic and financial skills at an early age.
The researchers said another important discovery was the participants' resistance to the negative effects of the "black experience" on their lives and careers. The black experience includes negative experiences, such as frequent encounters with police or gang activity, as well as positive experiences, such as having more opportunities because of their underrepresentation in IT.
"The men in our study acknowledged the presence of the black experience as something powerful and unique but frequently dismissed or rejected its effects on their lives and careers," said Joshi. "These young black men's ability to embrace these experiences to generate a more positive outlook was remarkable."
•••••
Ultimately, the study's findings may increase the much needed STEM workforce while expanding career options for black men who are disproportionately affected by economic downturn.
Sunday, March 06, 2016
Climate change may hurt animals' ability to live on toxic plants
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/uou-pwo011016.php
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
Poison warmed over
Climate change may hurt animals' ability to live on toxic plants
University of Utah
University of Utah lab experiments found that when temperatures get warmer, woodrats suffer a reduced ability to live on their normal diet of toxic creosote - suggesting that global warming may hurt plant-eating animals.
•••••
While not all animal diets are as toxic as those of woodrats and other rodents that eat plants like creosote bushes or juniper, most mammals eat some toxins in their diet. In an ongoing evolutionary battle, plants evolve chemical defenses against being eaten and animals evolve liver enzymes or other ways to overcome or avoid plant toxins.
Dearing notes that "over 40 percent of all existing mammals eat only plants" and many more eat some plants. "Most plants produce toxins, so the majority of plant-eating mammals eat toxic compounds, and this may become more difficult to deal with as the climate warms," she adds. Birds also might be affected, she says.
Kurnath says animals with diets that contain toxic plants include rabbits, pikas, marmots, possums, deer, moose, elk, bighorn and domestic sheep, horses and even cows. "Any free-range domestic animal will face plants with toxins," she says.
Previous research suggested that plant chemicals ingested by mammals would become more toxic at warmer temperatures. The new study showed how temperature affects the ability of desert woodrats, Neotoma lepida - also known as pack rats - to tolerate the toxic resin from creosote bushes, which account for as much as three-fourths of their normal diet. Creosote resin contains hundreds of toxic compounds, and woodrats live on amounts that kill or cause kidney cysts in other laboratory rodents.
•••••
Agriculture research indicated that at higher temperatures, cows that got fescue toxicosis from eating fungi-laden grass were more likely to get sicker, lose weight, stop producing milk and have unhealthier calves than infected cows living in cooler temperature.
As for desert woodrats, Kurnath conducted an earlier study showing that at warmer temperatures, they had reduced liver function to process toxins. The pack rats were anesthetized, and the warmer rats slept longer than the cooler woodrats, indicating the latter processed the anesthetic more quickly.
Two other studies showed that white-throated woodrats ate more toxic juniper at cooler temperatures than at warmer temperatures, and that woodrats with a normal juniper diet could maintain body temperature more easily than woodrats eating rabbit chow - an indication that when the liver is working harder to break down toxins at cooler temperatures, it needs less of a boost to keep the body warm.
•••••
Previous studies found that mammals ranging from goats to koalas, possums and woodrats reduce eating to avoid too much plant toxin. The first experiment identified maximum creosote doses for desert woodrats living at warm and cool temperatures.
•••••
The researchers say liver processing of toxins may be reduced at warmer temperatures because woodrats must put more energy into regulating body temperature.
"The mechanism that makes it more difficult for woodrats to consume toxic diets at warmer temperatures likely is not restricted solely to woodrats, and applies to plant-eating mammals in general," Dearing says. "As the climate warms, herbivores may face even more restricted menu choices."
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
Poison warmed over
Climate change may hurt animals' ability to live on toxic plants
University of Utah
University of Utah lab experiments found that when temperatures get warmer, woodrats suffer a reduced ability to live on their normal diet of toxic creosote - suggesting that global warming may hurt plant-eating animals.
•••••
While not all animal diets are as toxic as those of woodrats and other rodents that eat plants like creosote bushes or juniper, most mammals eat some toxins in their diet. In an ongoing evolutionary battle, plants evolve chemical defenses against being eaten and animals evolve liver enzymes or other ways to overcome or avoid plant toxins.
Dearing notes that "over 40 percent of all existing mammals eat only plants" and many more eat some plants. "Most plants produce toxins, so the majority of plant-eating mammals eat toxic compounds, and this may become more difficult to deal with as the climate warms," she adds. Birds also might be affected, she says.
Kurnath says animals with diets that contain toxic plants include rabbits, pikas, marmots, possums, deer, moose, elk, bighorn and domestic sheep, horses and even cows. "Any free-range domestic animal will face plants with toxins," she says.
Previous research suggested that plant chemicals ingested by mammals would become more toxic at warmer temperatures. The new study showed how temperature affects the ability of desert woodrats, Neotoma lepida - also known as pack rats - to tolerate the toxic resin from creosote bushes, which account for as much as three-fourths of their normal diet. Creosote resin contains hundreds of toxic compounds, and woodrats live on amounts that kill or cause kidney cysts in other laboratory rodents.
•••••
Agriculture research indicated that at higher temperatures, cows that got fescue toxicosis from eating fungi-laden grass were more likely to get sicker, lose weight, stop producing milk and have unhealthier calves than infected cows living in cooler temperature.
As for desert woodrats, Kurnath conducted an earlier study showing that at warmer temperatures, they had reduced liver function to process toxins. The pack rats were anesthetized, and the warmer rats slept longer than the cooler woodrats, indicating the latter processed the anesthetic more quickly.
Two other studies showed that white-throated woodrats ate more toxic juniper at cooler temperatures than at warmer temperatures, and that woodrats with a normal juniper diet could maintain body temperature more easily than woodrats eating rabbit chow - an indication that when the liver is working harder to break down toxins at cooler temperatures, it needs less of a boost to keep the body warm.
•••••
Previous studies found that mammals ranging from goats to koalas, possums and woodrats reduce eating to avoid too much plant toxin. The first experiment identified maximum creosote doses for desert woodrats living at warm and cool temperatures.
•••••
The researchers say liver processing of toxins may be reduced at warmer temperatures because woodrats must put more energy into regulating body temperature.
"The mechanism that makes it more difficult for woodrats to consume toxic diets at warmer temperatures likely is not restricted solely to woodrats, and applies to plant-eating mammals in general," Dearing says. "As the climate warms, herbivores may face even more restricted menu choices."
Common dementia drug found to improve Parkinson's symptoms
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
Common dementia drug found to improve Parkinson's symptoms
Parkinson's UK
Scientists have discovered that a commonly prescribed dementia drug could hold the key to helping prevent debilitating falls for people with Parkinson's.
The research, published today in The Lancet Neurology (1), shows people with Parkinson's who were given the oral drug rivastigmine were 45% less likely to fall and were considerably steadier when walking, compared to those on the placebo.
Parkinson's affects 127,000 people in the UK and approximately seven million worldwide. 70% of people with Parkinson's will fall at least once a year, with over a third experiencing falls repeatedly, resulting in fractures, broken bones and hospital admissions (2).
•••••
Deep poverty puts young children at risk for poor health and development
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/cums-dpp011216.php
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
Deep poverty puts young children at risk for poor health and development
Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Young children in deep poverty, whose family income is below 50 percent of the federal poverty line, fare even worse on health and development indicators than children in poverty, according to a study released by the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The study compared the well-being of children in deep poverty to children who are poor, but not in deep poverty, and to non-poor children.
Compared to other poor children, a higher percentage of young children in deep poverty suffer from obesity and elevated blood lead levels--a serious concern given their association with learning and behavior problems. The percentage of young children in deep poverty who have elevated lead levels is three times higher than the portion seen in poor children, and over 17 times higher than in non-poor children.
•••••
Researchers found a higher percentage of young children in deep poverty compared to children in poverty had parents in poor or fair health or mental health, experienced frequent parenting stress, and perceived a lack of social support and security in their neighborhood. For example, 21 percent of parents in deep poverty reported frequent parenting stress compared to 15 percent of parents in poverty. These family conditions have been shown to predict poor health and developmental outcomes, according to the authors.
Compared to other children in poverty, a lower percentage of children in deep poverty were judged by parents to be "flourishing," a composite measure that reflects parents' view of the child's curiosity, resilience, affection, and positive mood. Less positive views of children's wellness were especially common among parents of children who experienced frequent parenting stress. Only 22 percent of deeply poor, frequently stressed parents of children younger than age 5 reported their children were flourishing compared to 48 percent with low parenting stress.
"Deep poverty, which affects approximately 3.9 million young children,
•••••
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
Deep poverty puts young children at risk for poor health and development
Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Young children in deep poverty, whose family income is below 50 percent of the federal poverty line, fare even worse on health and development indicators than children in poverty, according to a study released by the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The study compared the well-being of children in deep poverty to children who are poor, but not in deep poverty, and to non-poor children.
Compared to other poor children, a higher percentage of young children in deep poverty suffer from obesity and elevated blood lead levels--a serious concern given their association with learning and behavior problems. The percentage of young children in deep poverty who have elevated lead levels is three times higher than the portion seen in poor children, and over 17 times higher than in non-poor children.
•••••
Researchers found a higher percentage of young children in deep poverty compared to children in poverty had parents in poor or fair health or mental health, experienced frequent parenting stress, and perceived a lack of social support and security in their neighborhood. For example, 21 percent of parents in deep poverty reported frequent parenting stress compared to 15 percent of parents in poverty. These family conditions have been shown to predict poor health and developmental outcomes, according to the authors.
Compared to other children in poverty, a lower percentage of children in deep poverty were judged by parents to be "flourishing," a composite measure that reflects parents' view of the child's curiosity, resilience, affection, and positive mood. Less positive views of children's wellness were especially common among parents of children who experienced frequent parenting stress. Only 22 percent of deeply poor, frequently stressed parents of children younger than age 5 reported their children were flourishing compared to 48 percent with low parenting stress.
"Deep poverty, which affects approximately 3.9 million young children,
•••••
Sedentary behavior linked to poor health in adults with severe obesity
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/uops-sbl011116.php
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
Sedentary behavior linked to poor health in adults with severe obesity
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
Sedentary behavior is associated with poor cardiovascular health and diabetes in adults with severe obesity, independent of how much exercise they perform, a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health-led study showed for the first time.
The finding, published online and scheduled for the March issue of the journal Preventive Medicine, could be used to design and test programs for adults with severe obesity that emphasize reducing time spent sitting, rather than immediately working toward increased moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity or exercise, such as brisk walking. In the U.S., 15 percent of adults have severe obesity, placing them at high risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease, and premature mortality.
"Adults with severe obesity often have difficultly following national guidelines to participate in at least 30 minutes per day of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity for health benefits," said lead author Wendy C. King, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Pitt Public Health. "Our findings suggest that replacing sedentary behavior, like watching television or sitting at the computer, with low-intensity physical activities, such as light housework or going for a casual stroll, may improve cardiometabolic health in this population."
•••••
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
Sedentary behavior linked to poor health in adults with severe obesity
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
Sedentary behavior is associated with poor cardiovascular health and diabetes in adults with severe obesity, independent of how much exercise they perform, a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health-led study showed for the first time.
The finding, published online and scheduled for the March issue of the journal Preventive Medicine, could be used to design and test programs for adults with severe obesity that emphasize reducing time spent sitting, rather than immediately working toward increased moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity or exercise, such as brisk walking. In the U.S., 15 percent of adults have severe obesity, placing them at high risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease, and premature mortality.
"Adults with severe obesity often have difficultly following national guidelines to participate in at least 30 minutes per day of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity for health benefits," said lead author Wendy C. King, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Pitt Public Health. "Our findings suggest that replacing sedentary behavior, like watching television or sitting at the computer, with low-intensity physical activities, such as light housework or going for a casual stroll, may improve cardiometabolic health in this population."
•••••
Long-term opioid use leads to increased risk of depression
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/slu-lou011216.php
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
Long-term opioid use associated with increased risk of depression
Study led by Saint Louis University's Dr. Jeffrey Scherrer is published in the Annals of Family Medicine
Saint Louis University
Opioids may cause short-term improvement in mood, but long-term use imposes risk of new-onset depression, a Saint Louis University study shows.
•••••
Jeffrey Scherrer, Ph.D., associate professor for family and community medicine at Saint Louis University, and his co-authors speculate that findings may be explained by long-term opioid use of more than 30 days leading to changes in neuroanatomy and low testosterone, among other possible biological explanations. The link was independent of the known contribution of pain to depression, and the study calls on clinicians to consider the contribution of opioid use when depressed mood develops in their patients.
"Opioid-related new onset of depression is associated with longer duration of use but not dose," Scherrer wrote. "Patients and practitioners should be aware that opioid analgesic use of longer than 30 days imposes risk of new-onset depression."
•••••
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
Long-term opioid use associated with increased risk of depression
Study led by Saint Louis University's Dr. Jeffrey Scherrer is published in the Annals of Family Medicine
Saint Louis University
Opioids may cause short-term improvement in mood, but long-term use imposes risk of new-onset depression, a Saint Louis University study shows.
•••••
Jeffrey Scherrer, Ph.D., associate professor for family and community medicine at Saint Louis University, and his co-authors speculate that findings may be explained by long-term opioid use of more than 30 days leading to changes in neuroanatomy and low testosterone, among other possible biological explanations. The link was independent of the known contribution of pain to depression, and the study calls on clinicians to consider the contribution of opioid use when depressed mood develops in their patients.
"Opioid-related new onset of depression is associated with longer duration of use but not dose," Scherrer wrote. "Patients and practitioners should be aware that opioid analgesic use of longer than 30 days imposes risk of new-onset depression."
•••••
Preventing food waste better strategy than turning it into biogas
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/nuos-pfw011116.php
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
Preventing food waste better strategy than turning it into biogas
A first-ever effort to quantify the benefits of recycling food waste versus preventing it uses Norway as a case study and shows prevention is the best policy
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Turning your old banana peels and last night's leftovers into biogas sounds like a win-win situation for you and the environment: You don't have to feel guilty about having cooked too much pasta, and the use of biogas reduces CO2 emissions when it replaces fossil fuels.
But a new study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) shows that it's not that simple.
In fact, encouraging people to work harder to cut food waste instead of collecting food waste and turning it into biogas cuts energy impacts more than biogas production and use, the researchers found.
Of equal importance, cutting food waste also helps cut the use of phosphorus, which is an increasingly scare but essential plant nutrient that is a key component of fertilizer. This matters because fully one-third of all food produced globally ends up as waste.
•••••
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
Preventing food waste better strategy than turning it into biogas
A first-ever effort to quantify the benefits of recycling food waste versus preventing it uses Norway as a case study and shows prevention is the best policy
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Turning your old banana peels and last night's leftovers into biogas sounds like a win-win situation for you and the environment: You don't have to feel guilty about having cooked too much pasta, and the use of biogas reduces CO2 emissions when it replaces fossil fuels.
But a new study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) shows that it's not that simple.
In fact, encouraging people to work harder to cut food waste instead of collecting food waste and turning it into biogas cuts energy impacts more than biogas production and use, the researchers found.
Of equal importance, cutting food waste also helps cut the use of phosphorus, which is an increasingly scare but essential plant nutrient that is a key component of fertilizer. This matters because fully one-third of all food produced globally ends up as waste.
•••••
The long-term benefits of improving your toddler's memory skills
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/cu-tlb011216.php
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
The long-term benefits of improving your toddler's memory skills
Early intervention: New research shows that preschoolers with poor short-term recall are more at risk of dropping out of high school
Concordia University
If your toddler is a Forgetful Jones, you might want to help boost his or her brainpower sooner rather than later. New research shows that preschoolers who score lower on a memory task are likely to score higher on a dropout risk scale at the age of 12.
•••••
"Our results suggest that early individual differences in working memory may contribute to developmental risk for high school dropout, as calculated from student engagement in school, grade point average and whether or not they previously repeated a year in school," says Fitzpatrick.
"When taken together, those factors can identify which 12 year olds are likely to fail to complete high school by the age of 21."
"Preschoolers can engage in pretend play with other children to help them practise their working memory, since this activity involves remembering their own roles and the roles of others," says Linda Pagani of the Université de Montréal, co-senior author.
"Encouraging mindfulness in children by helping them focus on their moment-to-moment experiences also has a positive effect on working memory."
Pagani also notes that breathing exercises and guided meditation can be practised with preschool and elementary school children. In older kids, vigorous aerobic activity such as soccer, basketball and jumping rope have all been shown to have beneficial effects on concentration and recall.
The researchers note that another promising strategy for improving working memory in children is to limit screen time -- video games, smartphones, tablets and television -- which can undermine cognitive control and take time away from more enriching pursuits.
•••••
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
The long-term benefits of improving your toddler's memory skills
Early intervention: New research shows that preschoolers with poor short-term recall are more at risk of dropping out of high school
Concordia University
If your toddler is a Forgetful Jones, you might want to help boost his or her brainpower sooner rather than later. New research shows that preschoolers who score lower on a memory task are likely to score higher on a dropout risk scale at the age of 12.
•••••
"Our results suggest that early individual differences in working memory may contribute to developmental risk for high school dropout, as calculated from student engagement in school, grade point average and whether or not they previously repeated a year in school," says Fitzpatrick.
"When taken together, those factors can identify which 12 year olds are likely to fail to complete high school by the age of 21."
"Preschoolers can engage in pretend play with other children to help them practise their working memory, since this activity involves remembering their own roles and the roles of others," says Linda Pagani of the Université de Montréal, co-senior author.
"Encouraging mindfulness in children by helping them focus on their moment-to-moment experiences also has a positive effect on working memory."
Pagani also notes that breathing exercises and guided meditation can be practised with preschool and elementary school children. In older kids, vigorous aerobic activity such as soccer, basketball and jumping rope have all been shown to have beneficial effects on concentration and recall.
The researchers note that another promising strategy for improving working memory in children is to limit screen time -- video games, smartphones, tablets and television -- which can undermine cognitive control and take time away from more enriching pursuits.
•••••
People who experience rage attacks have smaller 'emotional brains'
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/e-pwe011216.php
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
People who experience rage attacks have smaller 'emotional brains'
Reports new study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
Elsevier
Neuroimaging studies suggest that frontolimbic regions of the brain, structures that regulate emotions, play an important role in the biology of aggressive behavior.
A new article published in the inaugural issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging reports that individuals with intermittent explosive disorder (IED) have significantly lower gray matter volume in these frontolimbic brain structures. In other words, these people have smaller "emotional brains."
"Intermittent explosive disorder is defined in DSM-5 as recurrent, problematic, impulsive aggression," explained Dr. Emil Coccaro, the article's lead author. "While more common than bipolar disorder and schizophrenia combined, many in the scientific and lay communities believe that impulsive aggression is simply 'bad behavior' that requires an 'attitude adjustment.' However, our data confirm that IED, as defined by DSM-5, is a brain disorder and not simply a disorder of 'personality.'" Dr. Coccaro is the E.C. Manning Professor and Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Coccaro and his colleagues also report a significant inverse correlation between measures of aggression and frontolimbic gray matter volume.
•••••
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
People who experience rage attacks have smaller 'emotional brains'
Reports new study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
Elsevier
Neuroimaging studies suggest that frontolimbic regions of the brain, structures that regulate emotions, play an important role in the biology of aggressive behavior.
A new article published in the inaugural issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging reports that individuals with intermittent explosive disorder (IED) have significantly lower gray matter volume in these frontolimbic brain structures. In other words, these people have smaller "emotional brains."
"Intermittent explosive disorder is defined in DSM-5 as recurrent, problematic, impulsive aggression," explained Dr. Emil Coccaro, the article's lead author. "While more common than bipolar disorder and schizophrenia combined, many in the scientific and lay communities believe that impulsive aggression is simply 'bad behavior' that requires an 'attitude adjustment.' However, our data confirm that IED, as defined by DSM-5, is a brain disorder and not simply a disorder of 'personality.'" Dr. Coccaro is the E.C. Manning Professor and Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Coccaro and his colleagues also report a significant inverse correlation between measures of aggression and frontolimbic gray matter volume.
•••••
Racial disparity in premature births contributes significantly to infant mortality problem
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/cchm-rdi011216.php
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
Racial disparity in premature births contributes significantly to infant mortality problem
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Black women are nearly four times more likely than white women to have a baby born between 16 and 22 weeks gestation, a time period in which the life of a baby outside the womb is not viable.
The racial disparity in what are known as "previable" preterm births may explain much of the racial disparity in infant mortality, according to a new study published online in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
"This is promising information since there is emerging evidence to support the effectiveness of screening and treatments to reduce the rate of spontaneous preterm birth, such as cervical length screening and the use of progesterone," says Emily DeFranco, DO, a physician-researcher at the Center for Prevention of Preterm Birth at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and a professor of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Cincinnati.
"Our findings suggest that public health efforts should focus on access to prenatal care, optimizing opportunities for preterm birth screening and preventive efforts in high-risk black women to close the racial disparity gap in infant mortality."
•••••
She emphasizes the importance of pre-conceptual steps to close the disparity, including optimizing maternal health prior to pregnancy, secure housing and food, access to transportation, avoiding unplanned pregnancies and planning a 12-24 month interval between pregnancies.
Other factors found to be strongly associated with previable birth included having multiples, genetic abnormalities, congenital anomalies, and prior preterm birth.
Public Release: 12-Jan-2016
Racial disparity in premature births contributes significantly to infant mortality problem
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Black women are nearly four times more likely than white women to have a baby born between 16 and 22 weeks gestation, a time period in which the life of a baby outside the womb is not viable.
The racial disparity in what are known as "previable" preterm births may explain much of the racial disparity in infant mortality, according to a new study published online in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
"This is promising information since there is emerging evidence to support the effectiveness of screening and treatments to reduce the rate of spontaneous preterm birth, such as cervical length screening and the use of progesterone," says Emily DeFranco, DO, a physician-researcher at the Center for Prevention of Preterm Birth at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and a professor of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Cincinnati.
"Our findings suggest that public health efforts should focus on access to prenatal care, optimizing opportunities for preterm birth screening and preventive efforts in high-risk black women to close the racial disparity gap in infant mortality."
•••••
She emphasizes the importance of pre-conceptual steps to close the disparity, including optimizing maternal health prior to pregnancy, secure housing and food, access to transportation, avoiding unplanned pregnancies and planning a 12-24 month interval between pregnancies.
Other factors found to be strongly associated with previable birth included having multiples, genetic abnormalities, congenital anomalies, and prior preterm birth.
Saturday, March 05, 2016
No, raising the local minimum wage doesn’t hurt local businesses
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/no-raising-the-local-minimum-wage-doesnt-hurt-local-businesses/2016/02/26/4d6cabd0-dbed-11e5-925f-1d10062cc82d_story.html
By Jared Bernstein and Ben Spielberg February 26
•••••
Last August, almost 80 years later, the city council of Birmingham, Ala., voted 7 to 0 (with one abstention) to become the first city in the Deep South to enact a minimum wage above today’s federal level of $7.25. The ordinance planned an increase to $8.50 per hour by July 2016, with a second increase to $10.10 set for July 2017.
In response, state lawmakers leapt from “calamity-howling” to obstructionism. The Alabama legislature this past week passed a bill designed to block Birmingham and other cities not just from raising the local wage floor but also from mandating benefits such as paid sick leave. Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard (R) insists that the bill isn’t about the policies themselves but about preventing “all sorts of problems” that arise when cities are allowed to set their own minimum wages, presumably because there’s nothing preventing local businesses from relocating to avoid the higher labor costs engendered by an increase.
It’s not a crazy concern. When the national minimum wage goes up, no business is at a competitive disadvantage — they all face the same wage floor. It’s fair to wonder whether sub-national minimum wages might encourage businesses to avoid an increase by moving, a question with implications for people all over the country — from Olympia, Wash., to Lexington, Ky., to Bangor, Maine — who are trying to secure a raise. The geographical variation that has sprung up over time, however, has allowed economists to test Hubbard’s claims, and the evidence supports the actions of the Birmingham city council.
Partly because of federal inaction, 29 states, plus the District of Columbia, have set minimum wages above the federal level, with floors ranging from $7.50 in Maine and New Mexico to $10 in Massachusetts and California to $10.50 in Washington, D.C. (rising to $11.50 in July).
•••••
This variation has provided opportunities for something rare in empirical economics: quasi-experimental studies. In one famous paper, economists Alan Krueger and David Card compared fast-food employment in New Jersey, which raised its minimum wage in 1992, with that in Pennsylvania, which did not. “We find no indication that the rise in the minimum wage reduced employment,” they concluded.
•••••
Case studies of cities with higher wage floors are less common, but those that have been done support the findings of the state and county research. Studies of San Francisco and Santa Fe, the two cities with the longest track records of higher minimums, reveal “no statistically significant negative effects on employment or hours (including in low-wage industries such as restaurants).”
•••••
Finally, companies can cut profit margins or top-level salaries to meet higher wage mandates. This last mechanism is one reason such policies get so much pushback from business, and it is particularly germane in an economy where income inequality stands at historically high levels. According to data from the Economic Policy Institute, the real earnings of low-wage workers in Alabama are down 6 percent compared with 1979, while those of the state’s highest-paid workers are up 17 percent.
•••••
This is the same political establishment that professes to support “local control” when it finds it convenient. For example, dozens of Alabama state representatives who voted to preempt Birmingham’s minimum-wage ordinance were all for “necessary freedoms to address . . . issues at the local level” when voting on a school reform bill in 2013. The preemption bill’s sponsor, state Rep. David Faulkner, even acknowledged the contradiction: “While we say that we want local control of certain things, I don’t believe the minimum wage is one of those.”
No wonder Birmingham’s citizens and city council fought back. The council voted earlier this past week to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 immediately to try to preempt the preemption bill, and Raise Up Alabama, a coalition including workers, unions and clergy members, has formed to fight the state’s decision. If they lose the battle, it won’t be because the facts weren’t on their side.
By Jared Bernstein and Ben Spielberg February 26
•••••
Last August, almost 80 years later, the city council of Birmingham, Ala., voted 7 to 0 (with one abstention) to become the first city in the Deep South to enact a minimum wage above today’s federal level of $7.25. The ordinance planned an increase to $8.50 per hour by July 2016, with a second increase to $10.10 set for July 2017.
In response, state lawmakers leapt from “calamity-howling” to obstructionism. The Alabama legislature this past week passed a bill designed to block Birmingham and other cities not just from raising the local wage floor but also from mandating benefits such as paid sick leave. Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard (R) insists that the bill isn’t about the policies themselves but about preventing “all sorts of problems” that arise when cities are allowed to set their own minimum wages, presumably because there’s nothing preventing local businesses from relocating to avoid the higher labor costs engendered by an increase.
It’s not a crazy concern. When the national minimum wage goes up, no business is at a competitive disadvantage — they all face the same wage floor. It’s fair to wonder whether sub-national minimum wages might encourage businesses to avoid an increase by moving, a question with implications for people all over the country — from Olympia, Wash., to Lexington, Ky., to Bangor, Maine — who are trying to secure a raise. The geographical variation that has sprung up over time, however, has allowed economists to test Hubbard’s claims, and the evidence supports the actions of the Birmingham city council.
Partly because of federal inaction, 29 states, plus the District of Columbia, have set minimum wages above the federal level, with floors ranging from $7.50 in Maine and New Mexico to $10 in Massachusetts and California to $10.50 in Washington, D.C. (rising to $11.50 in July).
•••••
This variation has provided opportunities for something rare in empirical economics: quasi-experimental studies. In one famous paper, economists Alan Krueger and David Card compared fast-food employment in New Jersey, which raised its minimum wage in 1992, with that in Pennsylvania, which did not. “We find no indication that the rise in the minimum wage reduced employment,” they concluded.
•••••
Case studies of cities with higher wage floors are less common, but those that have been done support the findings of the state and county research. Studies of San Francisco and Santa Fe, the two cities with the longest track records of higher minimums, reveal “no statistically significant negative effects on employment or hours (including in low-wage industries such as restaurants).”
•••••
Finally, companies can cut profit margins or top-level salaries to meet higher wage mandates. This last mechanism is one reason such policies get so much pushback from business, and it is particularly germane in an economy where income inequality stands at historically high levels. According to data from the Economic Policy Institute, the real earnings of low-wage workers in Alabama are down 6 percent compared with 1979, while those of the state’s highest-paid workers are up 17 percent.
•••••
This is the same political establishment that professes to support “local control” when it finds it convenient. For example, dozens of Alabama state representatives who voted to preempt Birmingham’s minimum-wage ordinance were all for “necessary freedoms to address . . . issues at the local level” when voting on a school reform bill in 2013. The preemption bill’s sponsor, state Rep. David Faulkner, even acknowledged the contradiction: “While we say that we want local control of certain things, I don’t believe the minimum wage is one of those.”
No wonder Birmingham’s citizens and city council fought back. The council voted earlier this past week to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 immediately to try to preempt the preemption bill, and Raise Up Alabama, a coalition including workers, unions and clergy members, has formed to fight the state’s decision. If they lose the battle, it won’t be because the facts weren’t on their side.
My father died
In case some people who read my blog are interested in my private life, my father died yesterday. He would have been 94 in May.
Thursday, March 03, 2016
CEO gives his $14 million bonus to employees
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-one-ceo-is-giving-his-14-million-bonus-to-employees/
By Aimee Picchi MoneyWatch March 3, 2016
The past year has brought some missed connections for social networking site LinkedIn (LNKD).
The company's stock has plunged more than 50 percent in the past three months, with investors concerned about slowing growth, lower financial guidance and questions about its business strategy. That may be par for the course for a publicly traded company -- especially one that's in the high-expectations world of social networks -- but it might not make it any easier for employees to swallow.
Perhaps to bolster morale, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner is taking an unusual step: He's handing over his $14 million stock bonus to employees, according to tech site Re/Code.
"Jeff did not receive an equity package this year at his request," a representative told the publication. "He asked the compensation committee to take the stock package he would have received and put it back in the pool for employees."
•••••
while giving back bonuses isn't common, it's also not unheard of. Twitter (TWTR) CEO Jack Dorsey gave employees $200 million in stock last year, representing about one-third of his stake in the company. Dorsey said he was doing it to "reinvest directly in our people."
Of course, neither Dorsey nor Weiner are lacking for money. Dorsey has a net worth of $1.31 billion, according to Forbes. Weiner isn't a billionaire, but he's still doing just fine, with Re/Code pegging his LinkedIn stock holdings and vested stock at more than $70 million.
By Aimee Picchi MoneyWatch March 3, 2016
The past year has brought some missed connections for social networking site LinkedIn (LNKD).
The company's stock has plunged more than 50 percent in the past three months, with investors concerned about slowing growth, lower financial guidance and questions about its business strategy. That may be par for the course for a publicly traded company -- especially one that's in the high-expectations world of social networks -- but it might not make it any easier for employees to swallow.
Perhaps to bolster morale, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner is taking an unusual step: He's handing over his $14 million stock bonus to employees, according to tech site Re/Code.
"Jeff did not receive an equity package this year at his request," a representative told the publication. "He asked the compensation committee to take the stock package he would have received and put it back in the pool for employees."
•••••
while giving back bonuses isn't common, it's also not unheard of. Twitter (TWTR) CEO Jack Dorsey gave employees $200 million in stock last year, representing about one-third of his stake in the company. Dorsey said he was doing it to "reinvest directly in our people."
Of course, neither Dorsey nor Weiner are lacking for money. Dorsey has a net worth of $1.31 billion, according to Forbes. Weiner isn't a billionaire, but he's still doing just fine, with Re/Code pegging his LinkedIn stock holdings and vested stock at more than $70 million.
Sugar-sweetened drinks linked to increased visceral fat
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/aha-sdl010716.php
Public Release: 11-Jan-2016
Sugar-sweetened drinks linked to increased visceral fat
American Heart Association rapid access journal report
American Heart Association
Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages every day was associated with an increase in a particular type of body fat that may affect diabetes and heart disease risk, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.
Data from the Framingham Heart Study -- federally supported, ongoing research that has advanced the understanding of cardiovascular disease -- showed that among middle-aged adults, there was a direct correlation between greater sweetened beverage consumption and increased visceral fat.
Visceral fat or "deep" fat wraps around a number of important internal organs such as the liver, pancreas and intestines. Visceral fat affects how our hormones function and is thought to play a larger role in insulin resistance - which may boost Type 2 diabetes and heart disease risk.
Researchers looked at both sugar-sweetened beverage and diet soda consumption. The researchers did not observe this association with diet soda, which is often promoted as low in calories and sugar.
"There is evidence linking sugar-sweetened beverages with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes," said Caroline S. Fox, M.D., M.P.H, lead study author and a former investigator with the Framingham Heart Study of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
•••••
Sugar-sweetened beverages are the largest contributor of added sugar intake in the United States. Sucrose or high fructose corn syrup are two of the most common sugars found in these popular drinks, which include caffeinated and de-caffeinated soda, carbonated and non-carbonated drinks with added sugar, fruit juice, and lemonade.
Daily consumption of added sugar, such as those found in sugar-sweetened beverages and processed foods, is high; in 2001 to 2004, the usual intake of added sugars for Americans was 22.2 teaspoons per day or an extra 355 calories. Growing evidence revealing the health risks associated with drinking sweetened beverages led the American Heart Association to provide added sugar recommendations in 2009; for most women, no more than 100 calories per day of added sugars, such as those found in sweetened beverages, and for most men, a limit of 150 calories per day.
•••••
Public Release: 11-Jan-2016
Sugar-sweetened drinks linked to increased visceral fat
American Heart Association rapid access journal report
American Heart Association
Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages every day was associated with an increase in a particular type of body fat that may affect diabetes and heart disease risk, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.
Data from the Framingham Heart Study -- federally supported, ongoing research that has advanced the understanding of cardiovascular disease -- showed that among middle-aged adults, there was a direct correlation between greater sweetened beverage consumption and increased visceral fat.
Visceral fat or "deep" fat wraps around a number of important internal organs such as the liver, pancreas and intestines. Visceral fat affects how our hormones function and is thought to play a larger role in insulin resistance - which may boost Type 2 diabetes and heart disease risk.
Researchers looked at both sugar-sweetened beverage and diet soda consumption. The researchers did not observe this association with diet soda, which is often promoted as low in calories and sugar.
"There is evidence linking sugar-sweetened beverages with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes," said Caroline S. Fox, M.D., M.P.H, lead study author and a former investigator with the Framingham Heart Study of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
•••••
Sugar-sweetened beverages are the largest contributor of added sugar intake in the United States. Sucrose or high fructose corn syrup are two of the most common sugars found in these popular drinks, which include caffeinated and de-caffeinated soda, carbonated and non-carbonated drinks with added sugar, fruit juice, and lemonade.
Daily consumption of added sugar, such as those found in sugar-sweetened beverages and processed foods, is high; in 2001 to 2004, the usual intake of added sugars for Americans was 22.2 teaspoons per day or an extra 355 calories. Growing evidence revealing the health risks associated with drinking sweetened beverages led the American Heart Association to provide added sugar recommendations in 2009; for most women, no more than 100 calories per day of added sugars, such as those found in sweetened beverages, and for most men, a limit of 150 calories per day.
•••••
Exercise reduces heart disease risk in depressed patients
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/acoc-erh010716.php
Public Release: 11-Jan-2016
Exercise reduces heart disease risk in depressed patients
Further evidence regular physical activity is beneficial
American College of Cardiology
Symptoms of mild to minimal depression were associated with early indicators of heart disease in a research letter published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, but the study found regular exercise seems to reduce the adverse cardiovascular consequences of depression.
Depression has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and other physical ailments, and depression is commonly associated with worse outcomes for patients with heart disease and other conditions. In addition, as many as 20 percent of people hospitalized with a heart attack report symptoms of depression, while patients with heart disease have three times the risk of developing depression compared to the general population.
•••••
Researchers found arterial stiffening and inflammation--the early heart disease indicators--that accompany worsening depressive symptoms were more pronounced in people who were inactive. The indicators were less common in subjects engaging in regular physical activity.
•••••
Public Release: 11-Jan-2016
Exercise reduces heart disease risk in depressed patients
Further evidence regular physical activity is beneficial
American College of Cardiology
Symptoms of mild to minimal depression were associated with early indicators of heart disease in a research letter published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, but the study found regular exercise seems to reduce the adverse cardiovascular consequences of depression.
Depression has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and other physical ailments, and depression is commonly associated with worse outcomes for patients with heart disease and other conditions. In addition, as many as 20 percent of people hospitalized with a heart attack report symptoms of depression, while patients with heart disease have three times the risk of developing depression compared to the general population.
•••••
Researchers found arterial stiffening and inflammation--the early heart disease indicators--that accompany worsening depressive symptoms were more pronounced in people who were inactive. The indicators were less common in subjects engaging in regular physical activity.
•••••
One hookah tobacco smoking session delivers 25 times the tar of a single cigarette
http://patriciashannon.blogspot.com/
Public Release: 11-Jan-2016
One hookah tobacco smoking session delivers 25 times the tar of a single cigarette
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
As cigarette smoking rates fall, more people are smoking tobacco from hookahs--communal pipes that enable users to draw tobacco smoke through water. A new meta-analysis led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine shows that hookah smokers are inhaling a large load of toxicants.
The findings, published online and scheduled for the January/February print issue of the journal Public Health Reports, represent a meta-analysis, or a mathematical summary of previously published data. The research team reviewed 542 scientific articles potentially relevant to cigarette and hookah smoking and ultimately narrowed them down to 17 studies that included sufficient data to extract reliable estimates on toxicants inhaled when smoking cigarettes or hookahs.
They discovered that, compared with a single cigarette, one hookah session delivers approximately 125 times the smoke, 25 times the tar, 2.5 times the nicotine and 10 times the carbon monoxide.
•••••
Dr. Primack and his co-authors note that comparing a hookah smoking session to smoking a single cigarette is a complex comparison to make because of the differences in smoking patterns. A frequent cigarette smoker may smoke 20 cigarettes per day, while a frequent hookah smoker may only participate in a few hookah sessions each day.
"It's not a perfect comparison because people smoke cigarettes and hookahs in very different ways," said Dr. Primack. "We had to conduct the analysis this way--comparing a single hookah session to a single cigarette--because that's the way the underlying studies tend to report findings. So, the estimates we found cannot tell us exactly what is 'worse.' But what they do suggest is that hookah smokers are exposed to a lot more toxicants than they probably realize. After we have more fine-grained data about usage frequencies and patterns, we will be able to combine those data with these findings and get a better sense of relative overall toxicant load."
•••••
Public Release: 11-Jan-2016
One hookah tobacco smoking session delivers 25 times the tar of a single cigarette
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
As cigarette smoking rates fall, more people are smoking tobacco from hookahs--communal pipes that enable users to draw tobacco smoke through water. A new meta-analysis led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine shows that hookah smokers are inhaling a large load of toxicants.
The findings, published online and scheduled for the January/February print issue of the journal Public Health Reports, represent a meta-analysis, or a mathematical summary of previously published data. The research team reviewed 542 scientific articles potentially relevant to cigarette and hookah smoking and ultimately narrowed them down to 17 studies that included sufficient data to extract reliable estimates on toxicants inhaled when smoking cigarettes or hookahs.
They discovered that, compared with a single cigarette, one hookah session delivers approximately 125 times the smoke, 25 times the tar, 2.5 times the nicotine and 10 times the carbon monoxide.
•••••
Dr. Primack and his co-authors note that comparing a hookah smoking session to smoking a single cigarette is a complex comparison to make because of the differences in smoking patterns. A frequent cigarette smoker may smoke 20 cigarettes per day, while a frequent hookah smoker may only participate in a few hookah sessions each day.
"It's not a perfect comparison because people smoke cigarettes and hookahs in very different ways," said Dr. Primack. "We had to conduct the analysis this way--comparing a single hookah session to a single cigarette--because that's the way the underlying studies tend to report findings. So, the estimates we found cannot tell us exactly what is 'worse.' But what they do suggest is that hookah smokers are exposed to a lot more toxicants than they probably realize. After we have more fine-grained data about usage frequencies and patterns, we will be able to combine those data with these findings and get a better sense of relative overall toxicant load."
•••••
Transcendental Meditation may reduce PTSD symptoms, medication use in active-duty personnel
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/mcog-tmm011116.php
Public Release: 11-Jan-2016
Transcendental Meditation may reduce PTSD symptoms, medication use in active-duty personnel
Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University
Regular practice of Transcendental Meditation enables some active duty service members battling post-traumatic stress disorder to reduce or even eliminate their psychotropic medication and get better control of their often-debilitating symptoms, researchers report in the journal Military Medicine.
•••••
Half the service members voluntarily practiced Transcendental Meditation regularly in addition to their other therapy; half did not. At one month, 83.7 percent of the meditators had stabilized, reduced or stopped their use of psychotropic drugs to treat their conditions while 10.9 percent had increased their medication dosage.
Of those who did not meditate, 59.4 percent had stabilized, reduced or stopped taking psychotropic drugs while 40.5 percent were taking more medication. Similar percentages held up in the following months and by six months, non-meditators had experienced about a 20 percent increase in their symptoms compared with those using the meditation practice.
•••••
Public Release: 11-Jan-2016
Transcendental Meditation may reduce PTSD symptoms, medication use in active-duty personnel
Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University
Regular practice of Transcendental Meditation enables some active duty service members battling post-traumatic stress disorder to reduce or even eliminate their psychotropic medication and get better control of their often-debilitating symptoms, researchers report in the journal Military Medicine.
•••••
Half the service members voluntarily practiced Transcendental Meditation regularly in addition to their other therapy; half did not. At one month, 83.7 percent of the meditators had stabilized, reduced or stopped their use of psychotropic drugs to treat their conditions while 10.9 percent had increased their medication dosage.
Of those who did not meditate, 59.4 percent had stabilized, reduced or stopped taking psychotropic drugs while 40.5 percent were taking more medication. Similar percentages held up in the following months and by six months, non-meditators had experienced about a 20 percent increase in their symptoms compared with those using the meditation practice.
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Physics teachers grade girls harder than boys
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/ez-gse011116.php
Public Release: 11-Jan-2016
Girls should expect poorer physics grades
ETH Zurich
Imagine that you are a female student and give the exact same answer to a physics exam question as one of your male classmates, but you receive a significantly poorer grade. This is precisely what happens on a regular basis, as concluded in a study by Sarah Hofer, a researcher in the group led by ETH professor Elsbeth Stern.
Hofer asked secondary school physics teachers in an online test to grade an exam answer. She presented 780 participants from Switzerland, Germany and Austria with the same question from the field of classical mechanics and the exact same fictitious - and only partially correct - student answer. The only thing that the ETH scientist varied in the experiment was a short, introductory written statement: half of the trial participants were led to believe that they had to grade an answer from a "male student", the other half "a female student". Hofer left the participants in the dark about the purpose of her study, and instead pretended it related to a cross-comparison of two different methods for correcting exams.
The participants graded the physics task differently. In her analysis, Hofer compared the range of grades of the supposed female students with those of the supposed male students. The good news: for teachers who had taught for at least ten years, the gender of the student had no influence on the grade. The bad news: teachers in Switzerland and Austria who had taught for less than ten years gave the girls a significantly poorer grade than the boys. As an example: teachers with five or less years of professional experience discriminated girls by a grade of 0.7 (Switzerland) and 0.9 (Austria) on average.
•••••
Earlier studies have already provided evidence that girls have to work harder for the same grades in science-related subjects, but most of those studies looked at the field of mathematics.
•••••
The results of the new study are curious for German secondary school teachers with less than then years of teaching experience: the male teachers graded the girls and boys the same, while the female teachers behaved like their Swiss and Austrian colleagues and graded the girls more poorly. German female teachers with five or less years of experience discriminated the girls by a grade of 0.9 on average.
•••••
Public Release: 11-Jan-2016
Girls should expect poorer physics grades
ETH Zurich
Imagine that you are a female student and give the exact same answer to a physics exam question as one of your male classmates, but you receive a significantly poorer grade. This is precisely what happens on a regular basis, as concluded in a study by Sarah Hofer, a researcher in the group led by ETH professor Elsbeth Stern.
Hofer asked secondary school physics teachers in an online test to grade an exam answer. She presented 780 participants from Switzerland, Germany and Austria with the same question from the field of classical mechanics and the exact same fictitious - and only partially correct - student answer. The only thing that the ETH scientist varied in the experiment was a short, introductory written statement: half of the trial participants were led to believe that they had to grade an answer from a "male student", the other half "a female student". Hofer left the participants in the dark about the purpose of her study, and instead pretended it related to a cross-comparison of two different methods for correcting exams.
The participants graded the physics task differently. In her analysis, Hofer compared the range of grades of the supposed female students with those of the supposed male students. The good news: for teachers who had taught for at least ten years, the gender of the student had no influence on the grade. The bad news: teachers in Switzerland and Austria who had taught for less than ten years gave the girls a significantly poorer grade than the boys. As an example: teachers with five or less years of professional experience discriminated girls by a grade of 0.7 (Switzerland) and 0.9 (Austria) on average.
•••••
Earlier studies have already provided evidence that girls have to work harder for the same grades in science-related subjects, but most of those studies looked at the field of mathematics.
•••••
The results of the new study are curious for German secondary school teachers with less than then years of teaching experience: the male teachers graded the girls and boys the same, while the female teachers behaved like their Swiss and Austrian colleagues and graded the girls more poorly. German female teachers with five or less years of experience discriminated the girls by a grade of 0.9 on average.
•••••
Some video games might affect college students' capability for suicide
Public Release: 11-Jan-2016
Do video games affect college students' capability for suicide?
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students in the U.S., and a new study suggests that students who play many hours of action video games in particular may be more capable of acting on suicidal thoughts.
•••••
Sean Mitchell, Danielle Jahn, Evan Guidry, and Kelly Cukrowicz, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, found no significant association between overall hours of video game play and acquired capability for suicide (ACS), and gender did not make a difference. However, when focusing on the action category of video games, the relationship between hours of game play and ACS became significant.
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Study examines the downside of larger families
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/uoh-set011116.php
Public Release: 11-Jan-2016
Study examines the downside of larger families
Researchers say additional children increase risk of educational, behavioral problems
University of Houston
Large families often capture the public's attention, from "The Brady Bunch" to "19 Kids and Counting." But new research from economists at the University of Houston offers strong evidence that children in larger families are more likely to fall behind in cognitive achievement and have behavioral and other problems.
•••••
"Families face a substantial quantity-quality trade-off: increases in family size decrease parental investment, decrease childhood performance on cognitive tests and measures of social behavior," they wrote. "Importantly, we find that these negative effects are not merely temporary disruptions following a birth but in fact persist throughout childhood."
That persistence into early adulthood is consistent with other research pointing to the importance of early childhood experiences.
"A lot of what happens in early childhood has lasting impacts," Juhn said. "In many respects, this matters more than a lot of things that happen later in (a child's) life."
Most previous research in the field is based on data collected after children reach adulthood; this study used a dataset that tracked outcomes throughout childhood and compared outcomes of older children before and after a younger sibling was born. They found that additional children reduce "parental investment," a category defined as including time spent with children, affection, the safety of the home environment and resources - money, books and other material goods.
But the findings weren't monolithic. Children in families where mothers had above median scores on the Armed Force Qualification Test (AFQT) were less affected. Juhn said the AFQT is a proxy for socioeconomic factors. Mothers with low test scores are more likely to be poor, while those with high scores are more likely to be better educated and wealthier.
•••••
While several earlier studies found a negative relationship between family size and children's educational and labor market outcomes, a 2005 study using data from Norway found no trade-off.
Social supports and public policies in Norway may lessen the impact of increased family size, the researchers say.
"Parental investments may matter more in the U.S. where a substantial fraction of young men and women, particularly from lower income backgrounds, are at risk of not finishing high school," they wrote.
"If you are in a well-resourced family, some of these things don't apply," Juhn said. "When the second child comes along, there is less time and attention. But in an environment with more resources, it's not as binding."
Public Release: 11-Jan-2016
Study examines the downside of larger families
Researchers say additional children increase risk of educational, behavioral problems
University of Houston
Large families often capture the public's attention, from "The Brady Bunch" to "19 Kids and Counting." But new research from economists at the University of Houston offers strong evidence that children in larger families are more likely to fall behind in cognitive achievement and have behavioral and other problems.
•••••
"Families face a substantial quantity-quality trade-off: increases in family size decrease parental investment, decrease childhood performance on cognitive tests and measures of social behavior," they wrote. "Importantly, we find that these negative effects are not merely temporary disruptions following a birth but in fact persist throughout childhood."
That persistence into early adulthood is consistent with other research pointing to the importance of early childhood experiences.
"A lot of what happens in early childhood has lasting impacts," Juhn said. "In many respects, this matters more than a lot of things that happen later in (a child's) life."
Most previous research in the field is based on data collected after children reach adulthood; this study used a dataset that tracked outcomes throughout childhood and compared outcomes of older children before and after a younger sibling was born. They found that additional children reduce "parental investment," a category defined as including time spent with children, affection, the safety of the home environment and resources - money, books and other material goods.
But the findings weren't monolithic. Children in families where mothers had above median scores on the Armed Force Qualification Test (AFQT) were less affected. Juhn said the AFQT is a proxy for socioeconomic factors. Mothers with low test scores are more likely to be poor, while those with high scores are more likely to be better educated and wealthier.
•••••
While several earlier studies found a negative relationship between family size and children's educational and labor market outcomes, a 2005 study using data from Norway found no trade-off.
Social supports and public policies in Norway may lessen the impact of increased family size, the researchers say.
"Parental investments may matter more in the U.S. where a substantial fraction of young men and women, particularly from lower income backgrounds, are at risk of not finishing high school," they wrote.
"If you are in a well-resourced family, some of these things don't apply," Juhn said. "When the second child comes along, there is less time and attention. But in an environment with more resources, it's not as binding."
Risk taking across life span: The effects of hardship
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/uob-rta010816.php
Public Release: 8-Jan-2016
Risk taking across life span: The effects of hardship
University of Basel
With increasing age, the propensity to take physical, social, legal or financial risks decreases. Researchers from the University of Basel and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin were able to show how factors such as poverty and income equality play a role. Their study based on data from 77 countries has been published in the journal Psychological Science.
In most countries, the willingness to take risks in an everyday context decreases with age, including Germany, Russia and the U.S. In these countries, men on average are also much more disposed to take risks than women. But in other countries, such as Nigeria, Mali and Pakistan, risk behavior is more stable across age and more similar between the sexes.
•••••
"We were able to show that in countries with great poverty and difficult living conditions, the propensity to take risks remains high even in old age,"says Prof. Rui Mata, assistant professor and head of the Center for Cognitive and Decision Sciences at the University of Basel. "One reason could be that citizens of countries in which resources are scarce have to compete with each other more fiercely than in wealthier countries," says Rui Mata. This holds true for both men and women and may also account for the smaller differences between the sexes.
•••••
"For research on decision making, this means that - unlike what many economists assume - individuals' risk propensity cannot be considered stable over time. Our study instead shows that across many cultures, people tend to take fewer risks as they grow older. At the same time, this adaptive process also depends on local living condition sans existential needs," notes Ralph Hertwig.
•••••
Public Release: 8-Jan-2016
Risk taking across life span: The effects of hardship
University of Basel
With increasing age, the propensity to take physical, social, legal or financial risks decreases. Researchers from the University of Basel and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin were able to show how factors such as poverty and income equality play a role. Their study based on data from 77 countries has been published in the journal Psychological Science.
In most countries, the willingness to take risks in an everyday context decreases with age, including Germany, Russia and the U.S. In these countries, men on average are also much more disposed to take risks than women. But in other countries, such as Nigeria, Mali and Pakistan, risk behavior is more stable across age and more similar between the sexes.
•••••
"We were able to show that in countries with great poverty and difficult living conditions, the propensity to take risks remains high even in old age,"says Prof. Rui Mata, assistant professor and head of the Center for Cognitive and Decision Sciences at the University of Basel. "One reason could be that citizens of countries in which resources are scarce have to compete with each other more fiercely than in wealthier countries," says Rui Mata. This holds true for both men and women and may also account for the smaller differences between the sexes.
•••••
"For research on decision making, this means that - unlike what many economists assume - individuals' risk propensity cannot be considered stable over time. Our study instead shows that across many cultures, people tend to take fewer risks as they grow older. At the same time, this adaptive process also depends on local living condition sans existential needs," notes Ralph Hertwig.
•••••
Even children with higher IQs behave better when their sleep apnea is fixed
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/uomh-ecw010816.php
Public Release: 8-Jan-2016
Even children with higher IQs behave better when their sleep apnea is fixed
University of Michigan Health System
Many doctors will ask about quality of sleep when children have problems at school, but new research shows it's just as important to pay attention to how high achievers are sleeping.
A study in today's print edition of the International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology suggests doctors and parents should pay attention to snoring, labored breathing and other symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea in bright, high-performing children as well as those who struggle in school.
•••••
All of the children in this study, from low IQ to high IQ groups, improved at a similar level when their sleep and behavior were evaluated six months after the adenotonsillectomy procedure.
Parents graded their child's behavior in areas such as inattention, hyperactivity, social problems and perfectionism. Sleep tests included monitoring brain wave patterns, eye movements, heart rhythm, muscle activity, airflow at the nose and mouth, chest movements, and snoring.
"Regardless of intellectual level, we can expect to see some behavioral improvement along with better sleep," says study co-author Bruno Giordani, Ph.D., professor of neurology, psychiatry, psychology and nursing. "Once behavior improves, attention in school improves, and emotional ability and behavioral and impulsivity control improve."
In obstructive sleep apnea, the air stops in the throat, causing the child to choke, wake up briefly to open the airway and then go back to sleep. This can happen more than a hundred times in a night.
Although it's easy to tell when an adult is sleepy the next day, it can be more difficult to spot lack of good sleep in a child. A child may become hyperactive, leading parents and providers to wonder about other reasons for the behavior.
"Children with obstructive sleep apnea are fidgeting and not able to stay on task, because they're doing anything they can to stay awake," says first author Seockhoon Chung, M.D., Ph.D., who began the research as a U-M research fellow but is now associate professor at Asan Medical Center in South Korea. "Even when those behavioral problems are minimal, improvement is still possible."
"Deciding whether to perform an adenotonsillectomy should be about the physician's view of how bad the sleep problem is, and how significantly it appears to be related to the tonsil and adenoid issue," Giordani says. "Then, the physician can think about how that fits together with the child's appearance and behavior, expecting neurobehavioral benefit."
Higher-IQ children may be less likely, in practice, to have obstructive sleep apnea recognized and treated if they do not show problems with school performance. The new findings suggest that other signs and symptoms of sleep apnea, such as loud nightly snoring, should not be ignored, because the brain and daytime behavior of a child with higher IQ may still benefit from diagnosis and treatment of the sleep disorder.
Public Release: 8-Jan-2016
Even children with higher IQs behave better when their sleep apnea is fixed
University of Michigan Health System
Many doctors will ask about quality of sleep when children have problems at school, but new research shows it's just as important to pay attention to how high achievers are sleeping.
A study in today's print edition of the International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology suggests doctors and parents should pay attention to snoring, labored breathing and other symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea in bright, high-performing children as well as those who struggle in school.
•••••
All of the children in this study, from low IQ to high IQ groups, improved at a similar level when their sleep and behavior were evaluated six months after the adenotonsillectomy procedure.
Parents graded their child's behavior in areas such as inattention, hyperactivity, social problems and perfectionism. Sleep tests included monitoring brain wave patterns, eye movements, heart rhythm, muscle activity, airflow at the nose and mouth, chest movements, and snoring.
"Regardless of intellectual level, we can expect to see some behavioral improvement along with better sleep," says study co-author Bruno Giordani, Ph.D., professor of neurology, psychiatry, psychology and nursing. "Once behavior improves, attention in school improves, and emotional ability and behavioral and impulsivity control improve."
In obstructive sleep apnea, the air stops in the throat, causing the child to choke, wake up briefly to open the airway and then go back to sleep. This can happen more than a hundred times in a night.
Although it's easy to tell when an adult is sleepy the next day, it can be more difficult to spot lack of good sleep in a child. A child may become hyperactive, leading parents and providers to wonder about other reasons for the behavior.
"Children with obstructive sleep apnea are fidgeting and not able to stay on task, because they're doing anything they can to stay awake," says first author Seockhoon Chung, M.D., Ph.D., who began the research as a U-M research fellow but is now associate professor at Asan Medical Center in South Korea. "Even when those behavioral problems are minimal, improvement is still possible."
"Deciding whether to perform an adenotonsillectomy should be about the physician's view of how bad the sleep problem is, and how significantly it appears to be related to the tonsil and adenoid issue," Giordani says. "Then, the physician can think about how that fits together with the child's appearance and behavior, expecting neurobehavioral benefit."
Higher-IQ children may be less likely, in practice, to have obstructive sleep apnea recognized and treated if they do not show problems with school performance. The new findings suggest that other signs and symptoms of sleep apnea, such as loud nightly snoring, should not be ignored, because the brain and daytime behavior of a child with higher IQ may still benefit from diagnosis and treatment of the sleep disorder.
Postnatal depression linked to challenges in parenting, psychlogical interventions are helpful
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/wkh-pdl010816.php
Public Release: 8-Jan-2016
Postnatal depression linked to challenges in parenting -- could Oxytocin be helpful?
Wolters Kluwer Health
Caring for an infant is challenging for any mother -- but especially so for women with postnatal depression, which may lead to adverse effects on child outcomes. Current evidence on postnatal depression and parenting -- including preliminary data on the role of the hormone oxytocin -- is reviewed in the January/February issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.
Interventions for mothers with postnatal depression can improve parenting behaviors, according to the research review by Beth L. Mah, PhD, of Mothers and Babies Research Centre, Hunter Medical Research Institute, in New Lambton Heights, NSW, Australia. Hormone therapy with oxytocin might be a useful part of those treatment approaches, but more study is needed to define its risks and benefits.
Postnatal depression is a common disorder, affecting 10 to 20 percent of mothers. Children cared for by mothers with postnatal depression are at risk of adverse outcomes, with increased rates of psychiatric disorders and developmental problems.
Postnatal depression is clearly linked to poorer parenting behaviors, based on the results of 33 studies. "Compared to nondepressed controls, mothers with PND interact with their infants less sensitively, report feeling less competent, and less often choose recommended practical parenting strategies," Dr. Mah writes.
Several studies evaluated treatment programs aimed at improving parenting in mothers with postnatal depression. While the studies varied in terms of the type of treatment and the way the results were assessed, "Psychological interventions for mothers with postnatal depression generally have positive effects on mother-infant interactions," according to Dr. Mah.
Oxytocin -- a hormone that plays important roles in labor and breast-feeding -- also seems to have significant effects on parenting. In 13 studies, higher oxytocin levels were associated with parental behaviors likely to promote bonding. For example, mothers showed increased levels of oxytocin after affectionate contact with their infant. Some studies have suggested that parental behaviors may improve after treatment with oxytocin.
That raises the possibility that oxytocin might influence parenting in mothers with postnatal depression. So far, only four studies have looked at the relationship between postnatal depression and oxytocin. Two studies reported that mothers with lower oxytocin levels during pregnancy had higher scores for depressive symptoms.
The other two studies were randomized trials of oxytocin treatment: one in women with dysfunctional labor and one in women with postnatal depression. In both studies, depressive symptoms actually increased after treatment with oxytocin.
Thus the research so far has yielded divergent results: women with higher natural oxytocin levels have better mood, but administration of oxytocin results in poorer mood.
•••••
Interaction during reading is key to language development
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/uoi-idr010816.php
Public Release: 8-Jan-2016
Interaction during reading is key to language development
University of Iowa study finds how caregivers respond to the sounds babies make during book reading could be link to language development in young children
University of Iowa
Next time you read to your baby, pay attention to his babbling and respond.
Interaction, not just the sound of words being read from a page, is the key to language development during reading.
That's according to a new study from the University of Iowa that looked at how mothers responded to their 12-month-olds during book reading, puppet play, and toy play. What researchers found is the babies made more speech-like sounds during reading than when playing with puppets or toys. They also discovered mothers were more responsive to these types of sounds while reading to their child than during the other activities.
The findings might explain why book reading has been linked to language development in young children.
•••••
This isn't the first time Gros-Louis has studied how mothers respond to the babbling of their infants. In a study published in 2014, she and researchers from Indiana University found mothers who consciously engaged with their babbling 8-month-olds could accelerate their children's vocalizing and language learning.
Public Release: 8-Jan-2016
Interaction during reading is key to language development
University of Iowa study finds how caregivers respond to the sounds babies make during book reading could be link to language development in young children
University of Iowa
Next time you read to your baby, pay attention to his babbling and respond.
Interaction, not just the sound of words being read from a page, is the key to language development during reading.
That's according to a new study from the University of Iowa that looked at how mothers responded to their 12-month-olds during book reading, puppet play, and toy play. What researchers found is the babies made more speech-like sounds during reading than when playing with puppets or toys. They also discovered mothers were more responsive to these types of sounds while reading to their child than during the other activities.
The findings might explain why book reading has been linked to language development in young children.
•••••
This isn't the first time Gros-Louis has studied how mothers respond to the babbling of their infants. In a study published in 2014, she and researchers from Indiana University found mothers who consciously engaged with their babbling 8-month-olds could accelerate their children's vocalizing and language learning.
How Different Polling Locations Subconsciously Influence Voters
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-different-polling-locations-subconsciously-influence-voters/?WT.mc_id=SA_MB_20160302
By Ben Pryor
February 29, 2016
•••••
a score of recent studies highlight how the building where you vote—whether it’s a church or a school—can subconsciously influence which boxes you check on the ballot.
•••••
The method by which a polling location can influence someone’s decision is known as priming. Priming is a subconscious form of memory, based on identification of ideas and objects. This effect happens when external stimuli “manipulate” internal thoughts, feelings or behaviors. After becoming activated by stimuli, priming triggers these associations in our memory. For example, one study showed that a store playing traditional French or German music can prime shoppers to buy French or German products.
Most states prohibit campaigning within 100 feet of a polling place, and others ban wearing campaign buttons or t-shirts while voting. While these laws were passed to prevent voter intimidation, subtle exposure to campaign paraphernalia could result in priming. During the Nevada caucuses, some voters complained that caucus volunteers—not so subtly—were wearing Donald Trump paraphernalia.
But even if banning campaigning near polling sites were strictly enforced, research confirms that locations themselves can serve as contextual primes that influence specific attitudes and behaviors.
For example, simply being in a church can change our attitudes. A 2012 study found that religious locations prime significantly higher conservative attitudes—and negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians—than nonreligious locations.
Other studies also observed that being exposed to churches and clerical images can promote someone’s Christian identity, making them more likely to back political initiatives aligned with Christian values and philosophies.
For these reasons, it’s plausible to suspect that churches could cause religious priming in voters, unfairly biasing voters to vote for more conservative candidates and take more conservative stances on ballot issues such as same-sex marriage.
The use of schools as polling places has also been called into question, and social scientists have examined whether schools can unfairly bias vote choice on education-related ballot measures.
•••••
At this time, there are six published studies on the issue of whether or not polling location can subtly influence our vote. And all of them, to a varying degree, conclude that the priming of polling places is a real phenomenon.
In 2008, professors Jonah Berger, Marc Meredith and S. Christian Wheeler were the first to investigate this matter, finding that individuals voting in Arizona schools were more likely to support a ballot measure that increased the state’s sale tax to finance education.
Two years later, psychologist Abraham Rutchick discovered that voters in South Carolina churches were more likely to support a conservative Republican challenger, and more likely to oppose a same-sex marriage ballot measure.
•••••
Most recently, a study on polling sites was replicated for the first time outside the U.S. In October 2015, political scientist Matthias Fatke published his work concluding that polling places in Germany could influence vote choice.
•••••
tags: influence
By Ben Pryor
February 29, 2016
•••••
a score of recent studies highlight how the building where you vote—whether it’s a church or a school—can subconsciously influence which boxes you check on the ballot.
•••••
The method by which a polling location can influence someone’s decision is known as priming. Priming is a subconscious form of memory, based on identification of ideas and objects. This effect happens when external stimuli “manipulate” internal thoughts, feelings or behaviors. After becoming activated by stimuli, priming triggers these associations in our memory. For example, one study showed that a store playing traditional French or German music can prime shoppers to buy French or German products.
Most states prohibit campaigning within 100 feet of a polling place, and others ban wearing campaign buttons or t-shirts while voting. While these laws were passed to prevent voter intimidation, subtle exposure to campaign paraphernalia could result in priming. During the Nevada caucuses, some voters complained that caucus volunteers—not so subtly—were wearing Donald Trump paraphernalia.
But even if banning campaigning near polling sites were strictly enforced, research confirms that locations themselves can serve as contextual primes that influence specific attitudes and behaviors.
For example, simply being in a church can change our attitudes. A 2012 study found that religious locations prime significantly higher conservative attitudes—and negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians—than nonreligious locations.
Other studies also observed that being exposed to churches and clerical images can promote someone’s Christian identity, making them more likely to back political initiatives aligned with Christian values and philosophies.
For these reasons, it’s plausible to suspect that churches could cause religious priming in voters, unfairly biasing voters to vote for more conservative candidates and take more conservative stances on ballot issues such as same-sex marriage.
The use of schools as polling places has also been called into question, and social scientists have examined whether schools can unfairly bias vote choice on education-related ballot measures.
•••••
At this time, there are six published studies on the issue of whether or not polling location can subtly influence our vote. And all of them, to a varying degree, conclude that the priming of polling places is a real phenomenon.
In 2008, professors Jonah Berger, Marc Meredith and S. Christian Wheeler were the first to investigate this matter, finding that individuals voting in Arizona schools were more likely to support a ballot measure that increased the state’s sale tax to finance education.
Two years later, psychologist Abraham Rutchick discovered that voters in South Carolina churches were more likely to support a conservative Republican challenger, and more likely to oppose a same-sex marriage ballot measure.
•••••
Most recently, a study on polling sites was replicated for the first time outside the U.S. In October 2015, political scientist Matthias Fatke published his work concluding that polling places in Germany could influence vote choice.
•••••
tags: influence
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
Dow settlement signals impact of Scalia death on class actions
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-classactions-idUSKCN0VZ2TF
By Lawrence Hurley
Feb. 27, 2016
Dow Chemical Co's agreement to pay $835 million to settle a price-fixing dispute provides evidence that Justice Antonin Scalia's death is a blow to businesses that have had success recently in challenging class action cases at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dow (DOW.N), in the process of merging with Dupont (DD.N), on Friday settled the decade-long dispute rather than risk its fate being decided by a shorthanded, eight-justice court missing, in Scalia, a reliable vote in support of companies in class action cases.
The Dow dispute, in which it was accused of conspiring to artificially inflate polyurethane prices, had been on hold at the high court pending the outcome of another case.
Following Scalia's Feb. 13 death, the court's conservative wing lacks the five votes needed "to make dramatic new rules that curtail class actions," said Paul Bland, executive director of consumer advocacy group Public Justice.
•••••
With Scalia joining the four other conservative justices in the majority, the court in recent years had issued a series of rulings curbing class-action litigation against businesses. These included significant victories for Wal-Mart in 2011 and Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) in 2013.
In those two cases, Scalia wrote the majority opinion for the court. The Comcast ruling was 5-4. The Wal-Mart decision was 5-4 on one aspect and unanimous on another.
Scalia's absence may influence the court's decisions on which new cases to hear. Four of the eight remaining justices must agree in order for the court to take up a case.
•••••
By Lawrence Hurley
Feb. 27, 2016
Dow Chemical Co's agreement to pay $835 million to settle a price-fixing dispute provides evidence that Justice Antonin Scalia's death is a blow to businesses that have had success recently in challenging class action cases at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dow (DOW.N), in the process of merging with Dupont (DD.N), on Friday settled the decade-long dispute rather than risk its fate being decided by a shorthanded, eight-justice court missing, in Scalia, a reliable vote in support of companies in class action cases.
The Dow dispute, in which it was accused of conspiring to artificially inflate polyurethane prices, had been on hold at the high court pending the outcome of another case.
Following Scalia's Feb. 13 death, the court's conservative wing lacks the five votes needed "to make dramatic new rules that curtail class actions," said Paul Bland, executive director of consumer advocacy group Public Justice.
•••••
With Scalia joining the four other conservative justices in the majority, the court in recent years had issued a series of rulings curbing class-action litigation against businesses. These included significant victories for Wal-Mart in 2011 and Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) in 2013.
In those two cases, Scalia wrote the majority opinion for the court. The Comcast ruling was 5-4. The Wal-Mart decision was 5-4 on one aspect and unanimous on another.
Scalia's absence may influence the court's decisions on which new cases to hear. Four of the eight remaining justices must agree in order for the court to take up a case.
•••••
Harvard researchers discovered the one thing everyone needs for happier, healthier lives
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2016/03/02/harvard-researchers-discovered-the-one-thing-everyone-needs-for-happier-healthier-lives/
Colby Itkowitz March 2, 2016
•••••
My grandmother knew what Harvard researchers have since confirmed: Relationships are the key to a happy life.
Robert Waldinger, a Harvard psychiatrist, took over the more than 75-year-long Grant Study in 2003, becoming the fourth person to run it. He recently gave a TedTalk on it that has been viewed more than 6.5 million times since November 2015.
Waldinger felt it was important to do it. The federal government had spent millions on the study for decades, but everyday taxpayers didn’t really know what was discovered.
•••••
Many conclusions have been gleaned from monitoring these lives from young adult through old age, but to Waldinger there’s one clear takeaway: The happiest and healthiest participants in both groups were the ones who maintained close, intimate relationships.
•••••
Quality and intimacy, as well as stability and consistency also matter. Casual relationships, like the ones forged on social media won’t do; neither will contentious ones like an abusive marriage or an unreliable friend.
•••••
Colby Itkowitz March 2, 2016
•••••
My grandmother knew what Harvard researchers have since confirmed: Relationships are the key to a happy life.
Robert Waldinger, a Harvard psychiatrist, took over the more than 75-year-long Grant Study in 2003, becoming the fourth person to run it. He recently gave a TedTalk on it that has been viewed more than 6.5 million times since November 2015.
Waldinger felt it was important to do it. The federal government had spent millions on the study for decades, but everyday taxpayers didn’t really know what was discovered.
•••••
Many conclusions have been gleaned from monitoring these lives from young adult through old age, but to Waldinger there’s one clear takeaway: The happiest and healthiest participants in both groups were the ones who maintained close, intimate relationships.
•••••
Quality and intimacy, as well as stability and consistency also matter. Casual relationships, like the ones forged on social media won’t do; neither will contentious ones like an abusive marriage or an unreliable friend.
•••••
Neanderthal genes gave modern humans an immunity boost, allergies
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/cp-ngg123015.php
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
Neanderthal genes gave modern humans an immunity boost, allergies
Cell Press
When modern humans met Neanderthals in Europe and the two species began interbreeding many thousands of years ago, the exchange left humans with gene variations that have increased the ability of those who carry them to ward off infection. This inheritance from Neanderthals may have also left some people more prone to allergies.
•••••
As surprising as it may seem, it does make a lot of sense, she adds. "Neanderthals, for example, had lived in Europe and Western Asia for around 200,000 years before the arrival of modern humans. They were likely well adapted to the local climate, foods, and pathogens. By interbreeding with these archaic humans, we modern humans gained these advantageous adaptations."
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
Neanderthal genes gave modern humans an immunity boost, allergies
Cell Press
When modern humans met Neanderthals in Europe and the two species began interbreeding many thousands of years ago, the exchange left humans with gene variations that have increased the ability of those who carry them to ward off infection. This inheritance from Neanderthals may have also left some people more prone to allergies.
•••••
As surprising as it may seem, it does make a lot of sense, she adds. "Neanderthals, for example, had lived in Europe and Western Asia for around 200,000 years before the arrival of modern humans. They were likely well adapted to the local climate, foods, and pathogens. By interbreeding with these archaic humans, we modern humans gained these advantageous adaptations."
Certain yoga positions may impact eye pressure in glaucoma patients
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/tmsh-cyp010716.php
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
Certain yoga positions may impact eye pressure in glaucoma patients
New study highlights importance of patient education during glaucoma awareness month
The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Glaucoma patients may experience increased eye pressure as the result of performing several different head-down positions while practicing yoga, according to a new study published by researchers at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) in the journal PLOS ONE.
Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the United States and can dramatically affect the quality of life for patients with moderate to severe visual loss. Damage to the optic nerve occurs in glaucoma patients when fluid pressure inside the eye rises. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the most common known risk factor for glaucomatous damage and, at the current time, the only modifiable one for which treatment has a proven effect on preventing or slowing the progression of the disease.
•••••
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
Certain yoga positions may impact eye pressure in glaucoma patients
New study highlights importance of patient education during glaucoma awareness month
The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Glaucoma patients may experience increased eye pressure as the result of performing several different head-down positions while practicing yoga, according to a new study published by researchers at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) in the journal PLOS ONE.
Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the United States and can dramatically affect the quality of life for patients with moderate to severe visual loss. Damage to the optic nerve occurs in glaucoma patients when fluid pressure inside the eye rises. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the most common known risk factor for glaucomatous damage and, at the current time, the only modifiable one for which treatment has a proven effect on preventing or slowing the progression of the disease.
•••••
Lead exposure linked to ADHD in kids with genetic mutation
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/afps-lel010716.php
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
Lead exposure linked to ADHD in kids with genetic mutation
Association for Psychological Science
Exposure to small amounts of lead may contribute to ADHD symptoms in children who have a particular gene mutation, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
"This research is valuable to the scientific community as it bridges genetic and environmental factors and helps to illustrate one possible route to ADHD. Further, it demonstrates the potential to ultimately prevent conditions like ADHD by understanding how genes and environmental exposures combine," says lead researcher Joel Nigg, professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the OHSU School of Medicine.
•••••
The analysis showed a heightened association between lead exposure and ADHD symptoms -- particularly hyperactivity-impulsivity -- in those with the HFE C282Y gene mutation, present in approximately 10 percent of US children.
"Because the C282Y gene helps to control the effects of lead in the body and the mutation was spread randomly in the children, the findings of our study are difficult to explain unless lead is, in fact, part of the cause of ADHD, not just an association," explained Nigg.
The study also found that lead effects were more robust in males, which is consistent with previous research specific to neurodevelopmental conditions and gender. Children without HFE C282Y mutations showed amplified symptoms as lead exposure increased, but not as consistently.
The scientists do not purport that lead is the only cause of ADHD symptoms, nor does the research indicate that lead exposure will guarantee an ADHD diagnosis; rather, the study demonstrates that environmental pollutants, such as lead, do play a role in the explanation of ADHD.
Despite U.S. government regulations that drastically reduced environmental exposure to lead, the neurotoxin is still found in common objects such as children's toys and costume jewelry, and continues to be ingested in small amounts via water from aging pipes, as well as contaminated soil and dust.
•••••
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
Lead exposure linked to ADHD in kids with genetic mutation
Association for Psychological Science
Exposure to small amounts of lead may contribute to ADHD symptoms in children who have a particular gene mutation, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
"This research is valuable to the scientific community as it bridges genetic and environmental factors and helps to illustrate one possible route to ADHD. Further, it demonstrates the potential to ultimately prevent conditions like ADHD by understanding how genes and environmental exposures combine," says lead researcher Joel Nigg, professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the OHSU School of Medicine.
•••••
The analysis showed a heightened association between lead exposure and ADHD symptoms -- particularly hyperactivity-impulsivity -- in those with the HFE C282Y gene mutation, present in approximately 10 percent of US children.
"Because the C282Y gene helps to control the effects of lead in the body and the mutation was spread randomly in the children, the findings of our study are difficult to explain unless lead is, in fact, part of the cause of ADHD, not just an association," explained Nigg.
The study also found that lead effects were more robust in males, which is consistent with previous research specific to neurodevelopmental conditions and gender. Children without HFE C282Y mutations showed amplified symptoms as lead exposure increased, but not as consistently.
The scientists do not purport that lead is the only cause of ADHD symptoms, nor does the research indicate that lead exposure will guarantee an ADHD diagnosis; rather, the study demonstrates that environmental pollutants, such as lead, do play a role in the explanation of ADHD.
Despite U.S. government regulations that drastically reduced environmental exposure to lead, the neurotoxin is still found in common objects such as children's toys and costume jewelry, and continues to be ingested in small amounts via water from aging pipes, as well as contaminated soil and dust.
•••••
A carbon sink that can't be filled
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/uot-acs010716.php
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
A carbon sink that can't be filled
Organic matter in forests is breaking down more quickly with climate change, accelerating the release of carbon into the atmosphere
University of Toronto
Forests can store as much as 45 percent of the world's terrestrial carbon, making them a critical part of the process of regulating climate change.
As global temperatures rise, though, the organic matter in forests appears to break down more quickly, accelerating the release of carbon into the atmosphere.
This surprising conclusion comes out of a long-term study that was intended to find means to mitigate global warming, not exacerbate it.
"Our question was, 'How much carbon can the soil hold?'" says UTSC professor of environmental chemistry, Myrna Simpson. "But in our experiments, we found that soil was not the limiting factor. We couldn't even get to the carbon saturation point."
•••••
"I want to emphasize that this was just one forest. We don't know if this is a global phenomenon," she says. "We're looking now to see how vegetation, temperature, moisture in different regions affects the process. These results just suggest that for forests like the Harvard Forest, adding extra litter is not a way to mitigate climate change and enhance carbon storage."
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
A carbon sink that can't be filled
Organic matter in forests is breaking down more quickly with climate change, accelerating the release of carbon into the atmosphere
University of Toronto
Forests can store as much as 45 percent of the world's terrestrial carbon, making them a critical part of the process of regulating climate change.
As global temperatures rise, though, the organic matter in forests appears to break down more quickly, accelerating the release of carbon into the atmosphere.
This surprising conclusion comes out of a long-term study that was intended to find means to mitigate global warming, not exacerbate it.
"Our question was, 'How much carbon can the soil hold?'" says UTSC professor of environmental chemistry, Myrna Simpson. "But in our experiments, we found that soil was not the limiting factor. We couldn't even get to the carbon saturation point."
•••••
"I want to emphasize that this was just one forest. We don't know if this is a global phenomenon," she says. "We're looking now to see how vegetation, temperature, moisture in different regions affects the process. These results just suggest that for forests like the Harvard Forest, adding extra litter is not a way to mitigate climate change and enhance carbon storage."
Eat less and be happy -- really!
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/cfb-ela010616.php
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
Eat less and be happy -- really!
Cornell Food & Brand Lab
Researchers from the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management as well as the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business and Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences have found that offering a small incentive with a meal consistently motivates kids and adults to choose smaller portions.
According to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, the brain responds to a small toy, gift card, or lottery ticket in the same way it does to a mouthwatering burger or cheese-slathered pizza.
•••••
"Clearly, eating less is not fun for many people (and may even be a source of short-term unhappiness), as portion size restriction requires discipline and self-control," the authors wrote. "Yet, by combining one shorter-term desire (to eat) with another shorter-term desire (to play) that in combination also address a longer-term desire (to be healthy), different sources of happiness become commensurable."
In a series of experiments, the researchers found that the majority of children and adults chose a half-sized portion paired with a toy or monetary prize over a full-sized portion without a toy or monetary prize. The price of the two options was kept the same.
Great, right? But it gets better. Not only can a small prize motivate the healthier meal choice, but, in fact, the mere prospect of getting it is more motivating than the prize itself. In other words, the researchers found that people were more likely to choose a smaller meal for the chance to win a $10 lottery than to get a guaranteed reward. The premiums in the study were the chance to win $10, $50 or $100.
•••••
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
Eat less and be happy -- really!
Cornell Food & Brand Lab
Researchers from the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management as well as the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business and Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences have found that offering a small incentive with a meal consistently motivates kids and adults to choose smaller portions.
According to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, the brain responds to a small toy, gift card, or lottery ticket in the same way it does to a mouthwatering burger or cheese-slathered pizza.
•••••
"Clearly, eating less is not fun for many people (and may even be a source of short-term unhappiness), as portion size restriction requires discipline and self-control," the authors wrote. "Yet, by combining one shorter-term desire (to eat) with another shorter-term desire (to play) that in combination also address a longer-term desire (to be healthy), different sources of happiness become commensurable."
In a series of experiments, the researchers found that the majority of children and adults chose a half-sized portion paired with a toy or monetary prize over a full-sized portion without a toy or monetary prize. The price of the two options was kept the same.
Great, right? But it gets better. Not only can a small prize motivate the healthier meal choice, but, in fact, the mere prospect of getting it is more motivating than the prize itself. In other words, the researchers found that people were more likely to choose a smaller meal for the chance to win a $10 lottery than to get a guaranteed reward. The premiums in the study were the chance to win $10, $50 or $100.
•••••
New report shows fewer Texans have problems paying medical bills
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/ru-nrs010716.php
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
New report shows fewer Texans have problems paying medical bills
15 percent drop includes both insured and uninsured adults
Rice University
Fewer Texans say they have problems paying their medical bills in 2015 compared with 2013, according to a new report released today by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF).
The report found that since enrollment began in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance marketplace, the percentage of Texans who reported problems paying health care bills dropped almost 15 percent (25.8 percent in 2013 to 22 percent in 2015). The drop was consistent across income levels and health insurance status and corresponds with national data showing the percentage of adults reporting problems paying medical bills dropped across the U.S.
•••••
"The fact that Texans had fewer problems paying their medical bills in 2015 is good news," said Vivian Ho, the chair in health economics at Rice's Baker Institute and director of the institute's Center for Health and Biosciences, a professor of economics at Rice and a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. "One reason fewer Texans are having problems paying medical bills is because more Texans now have health insurance. However, one in five Texans still has problems affording health care. And it's no surprise our data show the uninsured and those with lower incomes continue to struggle paying those bills more than anyone else."
The report found that 30 percent of uninsured Texans reported problems paying their health care costs in 2015, down from 35 percent in 2013. Researchers found just 20 percent of those with health insurance said they had problems paying medical bills last year, down from 23 percent in 2013.
When it comes to skipping health care services because of cost, the report found uninsured Texans are more likely to skip all services (primary care, specialist care, prescription drugs, etc.) than those with insurance. However, researchers discovered fewer uninsured Texans said they skipped getting care in 2015 compared with 2013.
•••••
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
New report shows fewer Texans have problems paying medical bills
15 percent drop includes both insured and uninsured adults
Rice University
Fewer Texans say they have problems paying their medical bills in 2015 compared with 2013, according to a new report released today by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF).
The report found that since enrollment began in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance marketplace, the percentage of Texans who reported problems paying health care bills dropped almost 15 percent (25.8 percent in 2013 to 22 percent in 2015). The drop was consistent across income levels and health insurance status and corresponds with national data showing the percentage of adults reporting problems paying medical bills dropped across the U.S.
•••••
"The fact that Texans had fewer problems paying their medical bills in 2015 is good news," said Vivian Ho, the chair in health economics at Rice's Baker Institute and director of the institute's Center for Health and Biosciences, a professor of economics at Rice and a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. "One reason fewer Texans are having problems paying medical bills is because more Texans now have health insurance. However, one in five Texans still has problems affording health care. And it's no surprise our data show the uninsured and those with lower incomes continue to struggle paying those bills more than anyone else."
The report found that 30 percent of uninsured Texans reported problems paying their health care costs in 2015, down from 35 percent in 2013. Researchers found just 20 percent of those with health insurance said they had problems paying medical bills last year, down from 23 percent in 2013.
When it comes to skipping health care services because of cost, the report found uninsured Texans are more likely to skip all services (primary care, specialist care, prescription drugs, etc.) than those with insurance. However, researchers discovered fewer uninsured Texans said they skipped getting care in 2015 compared with 2013.
•••••
Trump’s huge Super Tuesday win coincides with spike in searches for ‘how to move to Canada’
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/trump-huge-super-tuesday-win-leads-spike-searches-141809620.html?src=rss
Jacob Siegal, BGR
March 2, 2016
After seeing Donald Trump’s success on Super Tuesday, the reality of the fact that he could become the nominee, and eventually the President of the United States, has begun to set in for many people. As a result, the Google search traffic for terms such as ‘how can I move to Canada’ have suddenly skyrocketed.
As the results poured in, Google Data Editor Simon Rogers noted the following:
That 350% increase turned into a 1,150% jump in the ensuing hours, before settling back down around +500% for the day, according to Mashable. If you aren’t confident that Donald Trump can truly “Make America Great Again,” this should be an encouraging sign. After all, general election polls have shown Trump losing more often than not. On the other hand, he’s still way in the lead.
Jacob Siegal, BGR
March 2, 2016
After seeing Donald Trump’s success on Super Tuesday, the reality of the fact that he could become the nominee, and eventually the President of the United States, has begun to set in for many people. As a result, the Google search traffic for terms such as ‘how can I move to Canada’ have suddenly skyrocketed.
As the results poured in, Google Data Editor Simon Rogers noted the following:
Searches for "how can I move to Canada" on Google have spiked +350% in the past four hours #SuperTuesday
12:13 AM - 2 Mar 2016
That 350% increase turned into a 1,150% jump in the ensuing hours, before settling back down around +500% for the day, according to Mashable. If you aren’t confident that Donald Trump can truly “Make America Great Again,” this should be an encouraging sign. After all, general election polls have shown Trump losing more often than not. On the other hand, he’s still way in the lead.
Your symptoms? Evolution's way of telling you to stay home
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/wios-yse010716.php
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
Your symptoms? Evolution's way of telling you to stay home
Research suggests that our selfish genes are behind the aches and fever
Weizmann Institute of Science
When you have a fever, your nose is stuffed and your headache is spreading to your toes, your body is telling you to stay home in bed. Feeling sick is an evolutionary adaptation according to a hypothesis put forward by Prof. Guy Shakhar of the Weizmann Institute's Immunology Department and Dr. Keren Shakhar of the Psychology Department of the College of Management Academic Studies, in a recent paper published in PLoS Biology.
We tend to take it for granted that infection is what causes the symptoms of illness, assuming that the microbial invasion directly impinges on our well-being. In truth, many of our body's systems are involved in being sick: the immune system and endocrine systems, as well as our nervous system. Moreover, the behavior we associate with sickness is not limited to humans. Anyone who has a pet knows that animals act differently when they are ill. Some of the most extreme "sickness behavior" is found in such social insects as bees, which typically abandon the hive to die elsewhere when they are sick. In other words, such behavior seems to have been preserved over millennia of evolution.
•••••
In the paper, the scientists go through a list of common symptoms, and each seems to support the hypothesis. Appetite loss, for example, hinders the disease from spreading by communal food or water resources. Fatigue and weakness can lessen the mobility of the infected individual, reducing the radius of possible infection. Along with the symptoms, the sick individual can become depressed and lose interest in social and sexual contact, again limiting opportunities to transmit pathogens. Lapses in personal grooming and changes in body language say: I'm sick! Don't come near!
"We know that isolation is the most efficient way to stop a transmissible disease from spreading," says Prof. Guy Shakhar. "The problem is that today, for example, with flu, many do not realize how deadly it can be. So they go against their natural instincts, take a pill to reduce pain and fever and go to work, where the chance of infecting others is much higher."
The scientists have proposed several ways of testing this hypothesis, but they also hope its message sinks in: When you feel sick, it's a sign you need to stay home. Millions of years of evolution are not wrong.
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
Your symptoms? Evolution's way of telling you to stay home
Research suggests that our selfish genes are behind the aches and fever
Weizmann Institute of Science
When you have a fever, your nose is stuffed and your headache is spreading to your toes, your body is telling you to stay home in bed. Feeling sick is an evolutionary adaptation according to a hypothesis put forward by Prof. Guy Shakhar of the Weizmann Institute's Immunology Department and Dr. Keren Shakhar of the Psychology Department of the College of Management Academic Studies, in a recent paper published in PLoS Biology.
We tend to take it for granted that infection is what causes the symptoms of illness, assuming that the microbial invasion directly impinges on our well-being. In truth, many of our body's systems are involved in being sick: the immune system and endocrine systems, as well as our nervous system. Moreover, the behavior we associate with sickness is not limited to humans. Anyone who has a pet knows that animals act differently when they are ill. Some of the most extreme "sickness behavior" is found in such social insects as bees, which typically abandon the hive to die elsewhere when they are sick. In other words, such behavior seems to have been preserved over millennia of evolution.
•••••
In the paper, the scientists go through a list of common symptoms, and each seems to support the hypothesis. Appetite loss, for example, hinders the disease from spreading by communal food or water resources. Fatigue and weakness can lessen the mobility of the infected individual, reducing the radius of possible infection. Along with the symptoms, the sick individual can become depressed and lose interest in social and sexual contact, again limiting opportunities to transmit pathogens. Lapses in personal grooming and changes in body language say: I'm sick! Don't come near!
"We know that isolation is the most efficient way to stop a transmissible disease from spreading," says Prof. Guy Shakhar. "The problem is that today, for example, with flu, many do not realize how deadly it can be. So they go against their natural instincts, take a pill to reduce pain and fever and go to work, where the chance of infecting others is much higher."
The scientists have proposed several ways of testing this hypothesis, but they also hope its message sinks in: When you feel sick, it's a sign you need to stay home. Millions of years of evolution are not wrong.
Valuing your time more than money is linked to happiness
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/sfpa-vyt010416.php
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
Valuing your time more than money is linked to happiness
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
Valuing your time more than the pursuit of money is linked to greater happiness, according to new research published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.
In six studies with more than 4,600 participants, researchers found an almost even split between people who tended to value their time or money, and that choice was a fairly consistent trait both for daily interactions and major life events.
"It appears that people have a stable preference for valuing their time over making more money, and prioritizing time is associated with greater happiness," said lead researcher Ashley Whillans, a doctoral student in social psychology at the University of British Columbia. The findings were published online in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
The researchers found an almost even split with slightly more than half of the participants stating they prioritized their time more than money. Older people also were more likely to say they valued their time compared to younger people.
"As people age, they often want to spend time in more meaningful ways than just making money," Whillans said.
•••••
A participant's gender or income didn't affect whether they were more likely to value time or money, although the study didn't include participants living at the poverty level who may have to prioritize money to survive.
•••••
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
Valuing your time more than money is linked to happiness
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
Valuing your time more than the pursuit of money is linked to greater happiness, according to new research published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.
In six studies with more than 4,600 participants, researchers found an almost even split between people who tended to value their time or money, and that choice was a fairly consistent trait both for daily interactions and major life events.
"It appears that people have a stable preference for valuing their time over making more money, and prioritizing time is associated with greater happiness," said lead researcher Ashley Whillans, a doctoral student in social psychology at the University of British Columbia. The findings were published online in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
The researchers found an almost even split with slightly more than half of the participants stating they prioritized their time more than money. Older people also were more likely to say they valued their time compared to younger people.
"As people age, they often want to spend time in more meaningful ways than just making money," Whillans said.
•••••
A participant's gender or income didn't affect whether they were more likely to value time or money, although the study didn't include participants living at the poverty level who may have to prioritize money to survive.
•••••
Treated water that's too pure lets arsenic sneak in
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/agi-etw010716.php
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
EARTH: Treated water that's too pure lets arsenic sneak in
American Geosciences Institute
In an effort to reduce water use in California, communities are turning to wastewater purification. This wastewater is being made so pure that it's actually causing problems: EARTH Magazine reports on a new study that showed that ultra-purified water allowed minute amounts of arsenic to leach from the surrounding bedrock into the water.
The study was conducted on water from the Orange County Water District, which purifies wastewater with a comprehensive process including microfiltration, reverse osmosis and UV light treatments. That purified water is then injected into a local aquifer. Over an approximately six-month residence time, that purified water accumulated trace amounts of arsenic. Geoscientists were called in to help solve the mystery of its occurrence. Learn the source of the arsenic and how the local geology and water chemistry interacted in the latest story from EARTH Magazine: http://bit.ly/1Z2o6v8.
Public Release: 7-Jan-2016
EARTH: Treated water that's too pure lets arsenic sneak in
American Geosciences Institute
In an effort to reduce water use in California, communities are turning to wastewater purification. This wastewater is being made so pure that it's actually causing problems: EARTH Magazine reports on a new study that showed that ultra-purified water allowed minute amounts of arsenic to leach from the surrounding bedrock into the water.
The study was conducted on water from the Orange County Water District, which purifies wastewater with a comprehensive process including microfiltration, reverse osmosis and UV light treatments. That purified water is then injected into a local aquifer. Over an approximately six-month residence time, that purified water accumulated trace amounts of arsenic. Geoscientists were called in to help solve the mystery of its occurrence. Learn the source of the arsenic and how the local geology and water chemistry interacted in the latest story from EARTH Magazine: http://bit.ly/1Z2o6v8.
Some facts about the Georgia primary
I saw a claim that people in Georgia who wanted to vote in the Democratic primary were given voting cards for the Republican primary.
I worked at the polls in Georgia, and some people were confused by the paperwork where they had to check which party primary they wanted to vote in. The checkmark for the party was in front of the party name, with the parties listed as Democratic Republican NonPartisan. (There were no non-partisan candidates in this election). Some people who wanted to vote in the Democratic primary mistakenly checked the box after the word Democratic, so they got a Republican card. When they saw the Republican ballot come up, they told us, and we fixed the problem. A few people who wanted to vote in the Republican primary checked the Non-partisan box. Since there were none in this race, we would inform them that in order to vote, they had to choose one of the other options. At the beginning, when I was creating their voting card, I didn't say the party, for the sake of their privacy. After several people get ballots they didn't want, I started saying the party out loud, which reduced problems. Those of us working that day agreed that it would have been better to required people to circle their choice. Hindsight is better than foresight, of course.
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