http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/b-fm030716.php
Public Release: 9-Mar-2016
'Ultra-processed' foods make up more than half of all calories in US diet
And contribute 90 percent of all dietary added sugar intake
BMJ
'Ultra-processed' foods make up more than half of all calories consumed in the US diet, and contribute nearly 90% of all added sugar intake, finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open.
Ultra-processed foods are formulations of several ingredients. Besides salt, sugar, oils and fats, they include substances not generally used in cooking, such as flavourings, emulsifiers, and other additives designed to mimic the qualities of 'real foods'.
Ultra-processed foods include mass produced soft drinks; sweet or savoury packaged snacks; confectionery and desserts; packaged baked goods; chicken/fish nuggets and other reconstituted meat products; instant noodles and soups.
They looked at the average dietary content of added sugars and the proportion of people who consumed more than 10% of their total energy intake--the maximum recommended limit--from this source.
Ultra-processed foods made up over half of total calorie intake (just under 60%) and contributed almost 90% of energy intake from added sugars.
Added sugars represented 1 in every 5 calories in the average ultra-processed food product--far higher than the calorie content of added sugars in processed foods and in unprocessed or minimally processed foods and processed culinary ingredients, including table sugar, combined.
A strong linear association emerged between the dietary content of ultra-processed foods and the overall dietary intake of added sugars.
Furthermore, the proportion of people exceeding the recommended upper limit of 10% of energy from added sugars was far higher when ultra-processed food consumption was high, rising to more than 80% among those who ate the most ultra-processed foods.
Notably, only those Americans whose ultra-processed food consumption was within the lowest 20% had an average daily added sugar intake that fell below the maximum recommended limit.
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Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Suffering warthogs seek out nit-picking mongooses for relief
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/wcs-sws030716.php
Public Release: 9-Mar-2016
Suffering warthogs seek out nit-picking mongooses for relief
Partnership is a rare example of mammals that exhibit 'mutualism'
Wildlife Conservation Society
Warthogs living in Uganda have learned to rid themselves of annoying ticks by seeking out the grooming services of some accommodating neighbors: a group of mongooses looking for snacks.
Specifically, the warthogs of Queen Elizabeth National Park have learned to lie down in the presence of banded mongooses. In response, the mongoose cleaning crew have learned to inspect the wild pigs for ticks, going so far as to climb on top of their customers to gain access to more parasites.
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"Such partnerships between different mammal species are rare, and this particular interaction illustrates a great deal of trust between participants," said Dr. Andy Plumptre, Director for WCS Albertine Rift Program and author of the published description of the behavior. "It makes you wonder what else may be happening between species that we don't see because, in order to see it, both species need to be unafraid of people."
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The warthog-mongoose encounter is a rare example of mammals exhibiting a symbiotic relationship called mutualism, where two animal species form a partnership with benefits for both groups. The warthogs get a cleaning and the mongooses get a meal. Other examples of mutualism include rhinos, zebras, and other animals that receive visits from parasite-eating birds called oxpeckers, and bees that feed on the nectar of flowers and deliver pollen to other plants.
"Wild pigs never fail to amaze me," commented Dr. Erik Meijaard, Chair of the IUCN/SSC Wild Pigs Specialist Group. "Not many scientists are interested in studying the 18 species of wild pig, but behaviors like the one described here, reiterate how uniquely adaptive, intelligent, and even cute wild pigs are. Pigs play important roles in ecosystem and their protection helps many other species."
Public Release: 9-Mar-2016
Suffering warthogs seek out nit-picking mongooses for relief
Partnership is a rare example of mammals that exhibit 'mutualism'
Wildlife Conservation Society
Warthogs living in Uganda have learned to rid themselves of annoying ticks by seeking out the grooming services of some accommodating neighbors: a group of mongooses looking for snacks.
Specifically, the warthogs of Queen Elizabeth National Park have learned to lie down in the presence of banded mongooses. In response, the mongoose cleaning crew have learned to inspect the wild pigs for ticks, going so far as to climb on top of their customers to gain access to more parasites.
•••••
"Such partnerships between different mammal species are rare, and this particular interaction illustrates a great deal of trust between participants," said Dr. Andy Plumptre, Director for WCS Albertine Rift Program and author of the published description of the behavior. "It makes you wonder what else may be happening between species that we don't see because, in order to see it, both species need to be unafraid of people."
•••••
The warthog-mongoose encounter is a rare example of mammals exhibiting a symbiotic relationship called mutualism, where two animal species form a partnership with benefits for both groups. The warthogs get a cleaning and the mongooses get a meal. Other examples of mutualism include rhinos, zebras, and other animals that receive visits from parasite-eating birds called oxpeckers, and bees that feed on the nectar of flowers and deliver pollen to other plants.
"Wild pigs never fail to amaze me," commented Dr. Erik Meijaard, Chair of the IUCN/SSC Wild Pigs Specialist Group. "Not many scientists are interested in studying the 18 species of wild pig, but behaviors like the one described here, reiterate how uniquely adaptive, intelligent, and even cute wild pigs are. Pigs play important roles in ecosystem and their protection helps many other species."
Want a younger brain? Stay in school -- and take the stairs
Public Release: 9-Mar-2016
Want a younger brain? Stay in school -- and take the stairs
A Concordia University study shows that education and physical activity can significantly slow down grey-matter aging
Concordia University
Taking the stairs is normally associated with keeping your body strong and healthy. But new research shows that it improves your brain's health too -- and that education also has a positive effect.
In a study recently published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, researchers led by Jason Steffener, a scientist at Concordia University's Montreal-based PERFORM Centre, show that the more flights of stairs a person climbs, and the more years of school a person completes, the "younger" their brain physically appears.
The researchers found that brain age decreases by 0.95 years for each year of education, and by 0.58 years for every daily flight of stairs climbed -- i.e., the stairs between two consecutive floors in a building.
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Fifteen shades of photoreceptor in a butterfly's eye
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/f-fso030116.php
Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
Fifteen shades of photoreceptor in a butterfly's eye
Frontiers
When researchers studied the eyes of Common Bluebottles, a species of swallowtail butterfly from Australasia, they were in for a surprise. These butterflies have large eyes and use their blue-green iridescent wings for visual communication - evidence that their vision must be excellent. Even so, no-one expected to find that Common Bluebottles (Graphium sarpedon) have at least 15 different classes of "photoreceptors" -- light-detecting cells comparable to the rods and cones in the human eye. Previously, no insect was known to have more than nine.
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Have multiple classes of photoreceptors is indispensable for seeing color. Each class is stimulated by light of some wavelengths, and less or not at all by other wavelengths. By comparing information received from the different photoreceptor classes, the brain is able to distinguish colors.
Through physiological, anatomical and molecular experiments, Arikawa and colleagues were able to determine that Common Bluebottles have 15 photoreceptor classes, one stimulated by ultraviolet light, another by violet, three stimulated by slightly different blue lights, one by blue-green, four by green lights, and five by red lights.
Why do Common Bluebottles need so many classes of photoreceptor? After all, many other insects have only three classes of photoreceptor and yet have excellent color vision. Likewise, humans have only three classes of cones, enough to distinguish millions of colors.
Arikawa and his colleagues believe that Common Bluebottles use only four classes of photoreceptor for routine color vision, and use the other eleven to detect very specific stimuli in the environment, for example fast-moving objects against the sky or colorful objects hidden among vegetation. A similar system is found in another butterfly previously studied by the same research group, the Asian swallowtail Papilio xuthus, which has six photoreceptors.
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Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
Fifteen shades of photoreceptor in a butterfly's eye
Frontiers
When researchers studied the eyes of Common Bluebottles, a species of swallowtail butterfly from Australasia, they were in for a surprise. These butterflies have large eyes and use their blue-green iridescent wings for visual communication - evidence that their vision must be excellent. Even so, no-one expected to find that Common Bluebottles (Graphium sarpedon) have at least 15 different classes of "photoreceptors" -- light-detecting cells comparable to the rods and cones in the human eye. Previously, no insect was known to have more than nine.
•••••
Have multiple classes of photoreceptors is indispensable for seeing color. Each class is stimulated by light of some wavelengths, and less or not at all by other wavelengths. By comparing information received from the different photoreceptor classes, the brain is able to distinguish colors.
Through physiological, anatomical and molecular experiments, Arikawa and colleagues were able to determine that Common Bluebottles have 15 photoreceptor classes, one stimulated by ultraviolet light, another by violet, three stimulated by slightly different blue lights, one by blue-green, four by green lights, and five by red lights.
Why do Common Bluebottles need so many classes of photoreceptor? After all, many other insects have only three classes of photoreceptor and yet have excellent color vision. Likewise, humans have only three classes of cones, enough to distinguish millions of colors.
Arikawa and his colleagues believe that Common Bluebottles use only four classes of photoreceptor for routine color vision, and use the other eleven to detect very specific stimuli in the environment, for example fast-moving objects against the sky or colorful objects hidden among vegetation. A similar system is found in another butterfly previously studied by the same research group, the Asian swallowtail Papilio xuthus, which has six photoreceptors.
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Antidepressants linked to tooth implant failure, new study finds
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/uab-alt030816.php
Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
Antidepressants linked to tooth implant failure, new study finds
Side effects of antidepressants, the second most prescribed drug in America, weaken bone growth, a crucial factor for implant success
University at Buffalo
Antidepressants, commonly used to treat anxiety, pain and other disorders, may play a role in dental implant failure, according to a new pilot study by University at Buffalo researchers.
The research found that the use of antidepressants increased the odds of implant failure by four times. Each year of antidepressant use doubled the odds of failure.
While these drugs are often used to manage mood and emotions, a side effect decreases the regulation of bone metabolism, which is crucial to the healing process.
For an implant to heal properly, new bone must form around it to secure it in place, says Sulochana Gurung, lead investigator and a doctor of dental surgery (DDS) candidate.
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Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
Antidepressants linked to tooth implant failure, new study finds
Side effects of antidepressants, the second most prescribed drug in America, weaken bone growth, a crucial factor for implant success
University at Buffalo
Antidepressants, commonly used to treat anxiety, pain and other disorders, may play a role in dental implant failure, according to a new pilot study by University at Buffalo researchers.
The research found that the use of antidepressants increased the odds of implant failure by four times. Each year of antidepressant use doubled the odds of failure.
While these drugs are often used to manage mood and emotions, a side effect decreases the regulation of bone metabolism, which is crucial to the healing process.
For an implant to heal properly, new bone must form around it to secure it in place, says Sulochana Gurung, lead investigator and a doctor of dental surgery (DDS) candidate.
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An active social life associated with well-being in life
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/apa-aas030816.php
Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
An active social life associated with well-being in life
Social participation and social goals even in the face of health decrements may ease well-being decline late in life, study says
American Psychological Association
taying active socially despite health-related challenges appears to help lessen the decline in well-being people often experience late in life, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
"Our results indicate that living a socially active life and prioritizing social goals are associated with higher late-life satisfaction and less severe declines toward the end of life," said study lead author Denis Gerstorf, PhD, of Humboldt University. The research was published in the journal Psychology and Aging.
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In this study, the researchers compared well-being (as measured by answers on a scale of 0 to 10 to the question, "How satisfied are you with your life concurrently, all things considered?"), participation in social activities, social goals (how important they found participating in social or political activities) and family goals (how much they valued their marriage or relationships with their children) during the last few years in life.
The research team, including scholars from Arizona State University, Cornell University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of British Columbia, found that being socially active and having social goals were associated with higher well-being late in life, but family goals were not. This association was independent of other relevant variables including age at death, gender, education as well as key health indicators (e.g., disability, hospital stays).
One particularly intriguing observation was that while low social participation and lack of social goals independently were associated with lower levels of well-being, when combined they each magnified the other's effect.
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Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
An active social life associated with well-being in life
Social participation and social goals even in the face of health decrements may ease well-being decline late in life, study says
American Psychological Association
taying active socially despite health-related challenges appears to help lessen the decline in well-being people often experience late in life, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
"Our results indicate that living a socially active life and prioritizing social goals are associated with higher late-life satisfaction and less severe declines toward the end of life," said study lead author Denis Gerstorf, PhD, of Humboldt University. The research was published in the journal Psychology and Aging.
•••••
In this study, the researchers compared well-being (as measured by answers on a scale of 0 to 10 to the question, "How satisfied are you with your life concurrently, all things considered?"), participation in social activities, social goals (how important they found participating in social or political activities) and family goals (how much they valued their marriage or relationships with their children) during the last few years in life.
The research team, including scholars from Arizona State University, Cornell University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of British Columbia, found that being socially active and having social goals were associated with higher well-being late in life, but family goals were not. This association was independent of other relevant variables including age at death, gender, education as well as key health indicators (e.g., disability, hospital stays).
One particularly intriguing observation was that while low social participation and lack of social goals independently were associated with lower levels of well-being, when combined they each magnified the other's effect.
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Sea level rise threatens larger number of people than earlier estimated
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/au-slr030816.php
Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
Sea level rise threatens larger number of people than earlier estimated
Aalto University
More people live close to sea coast than earlier estimated, assess researchers in a new study. These people are the most vulnerable to the rise of the sea level as well as to the increased number of floods and intensified storms. By using recent increased resolution datasets, Aalto University researchers estimate that 1.9 billion inhabitants, or 28% of the world's total population, live closer than 100 km from the coast in areas less than 100 meters above the present sea level.
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By 2050 the amount of people in that zone is predicted to increase to 2.4 billion, while population living lower than 5 meters will reach 500 million people. Many of these people need to adapt their livelihoods to changing climate, say Assistant Professor Matti Kummu from Aalto University.
The study found that while population and wealth concentrate by the sea, food must be grown further and further away from where people live. Highlands and mountain areas are increasingly important from food production point of view, but also very vulnerable to changes in climate.
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Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
Sea level rise threatens larger number of people than earlier estimated
Aalto University
More people live close to sea coast than earlier estimated, assess researchers in a new study. These people are the most vulnerable to the rise of the sea level as well as to the increased number of floods and intensified storms. By using recent increased resolution datasets, Aalto University researchers estimate that 1.9 billion inhabitants, or 28% of the world's total population, live closer than 100 km from the coast in areas less than 100 meters above the present sea level.
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By 2050 the amount of people in that zone is predicted to increase to 2.4 billion, while population living lower than 5 meters will reach 500 million people. Many of these people need to adapt their livelihoods to changing climate, say Assistant Professor Matti Kummu from Aalto University.
The study found that while population and wealth concentrate by the sea, food must be grown further and further away from where people live. Highlands and mountain areas are increasingly important from food production point of view, but also very vulnerable to changes in climate.
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Low-level arsenic may impact fetal growth, Dartmouth-led study finds
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/dc-lam030516.php
Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
Low-level arsenic may impact fetal growth, Dartmouth-led study finds
Dartmouth College
Fetal growth may be impacted by low levels of arsenic that pregnant women consume in drinking water and food, a Dartmouth College study finds.
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higher levels of mother's arsenic in their urine during the second trimester was related to decreased head circumference at birth. This finding is consistent with an earlier study by the same researchers that looked at head circumference measured in fetal ultrasound reports.
In the current study, researchers also found that mother's urinary arsenic levels were associated with infant's birth weight and birth length and that those associations varied by the mother's pre-pregnancy body mass index (body weight in kgs/height in cm2) as well as the infant's sex. The study included more than 700 pairs of women and their newborns and therefore was large enough to identify such differences.
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Arsenic, which can contaminate our food and water supply, is a common metalloid on the earth's crust that is used for industrial purposes.
"This is a particular concern in rural regions where many people rely on private, unregulated drinking water," says senior author Margaret Karagas, professor and chair of Geisel's Department of Epidemiology. "People who use private wells need to have them tested for arsenic and other contaminants as recommended by their local public health agency."
Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
Low-level arsenic may impact fetal growth, Dartmouth-led study finds
Dartmouth College
Fetal growth may be impacted by low levels of arsenic that pregnant women consume in drinking water and food, a Dartmouth College study finds.
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higher levels of mother's arsenic in their urine during the second trimester was related to decreased head circumference at birth. This finding is consistent with an earlier study by the same researchers that looked at head circumference measured in fetal ultrasound reports.
In the current study, researchers also found that mother's urinary arsenic levels were associated with infant's birth weight and birth length and that those associations varied by the mother's pre-pregnancy body mass index (body weight in kgs/height in cm2) as well as the infant's sex. The study included more than 700 pairs of women and their newborns and therefore was large enough to identify such differences.
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Arsenic, which can contaminate our food and water supply, is a common metalloid on the earth's crust that is used for industrial purposes.
"This is a particular concern in rural regions where many people rely on private, unregulated drinking water," says senior author Margaret Karagas, professor and chair of Geisel's Department of Epidemiology. "People who use private wells need to have them tested for arsenic and other contaminants as recommended by their local public health agency."
Domestic violence during pregnancy doubles risk of preterm birth and low birth weight
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/w-dvd030816.php
Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
Domestic violence during pregnancy doubles risk of preterm birth and low birth weight
Wiley
Domestic violence by a partner or ex-partner during pregnancy increases the risk of preterm birth, low birth weight and small-for-gestational-age babies, finds a study in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG).
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Overall, the results found that domestic violence doubled the risk of preterm birth and low birth weight. This risk was increased further for women who experienced two or more types of domestic violence during their pregnancy.
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Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
Domestic violence during pregnancy doubles risk of preterm birth and low birth weight
Wiley
Domestic violence by a partner or ex-partner during pregnancy increases the risk of preterm birth, low birth weight and small-for-gestational-age babies, finds a study in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG).
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Overall, the results found that domestic violence doubled the risk of preterm birth and low birth weight. This risk was increased further for women who experienced two or more types of domestic violence during their pregnancy.
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Fatal marijuana-related crashes up where drug is legal
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/aaa-report-fatal-marijuana-related-crashes-up-where-drug-is-legal/
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In 2012, Washington became one of the first states to legalize marijuana. Now a new study by AAA has found the number of fatal accidents involving drivers who'd recently used pot more than doubled between 2013 and 2014.
The study also found that there is currently no reliable test to determine the amount of marijuana in the blood stream that leads to driver impairment, reports CBS News' Kris Van Cleave.
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tags: drug use, drub abuse
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In 2012, Washington became one of the first states to legalize marijuana. Now a new study by AAA has found the number of fatal accidents involving drivers who'd recently used pot more than doubled between 2013 and 2014.
The study also found that there is currently no reliable test to determine the amount of marijuana in the blood stream that leads to driver impairment, reports CBS News' Kris Van Cleave.
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tags: drug use, drub abuse
Saturday, May 07, 2016
New discoveries on the connection between nicotine and type 2 diabetes
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/lu-ndo030816.php
Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
New discoveries on the connection between nicotine and type 2 diabetes
Lund University
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have made two new discoveries with regard to the beta cells' ability to release insulin. The findings can also provide a possible explanation as to why smokers have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
The study was conducted on mice and donated beta cells from humans, and is now published in the scientific journal Cell Reports.
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Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
New discoveries on the connection between nicotine and type 2 diabetes
Lund University
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have made two new discoveries with regard to the beta cells' ability to release insulin. The findings can also provide a possible explanation as to why smokers have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
The study was conducted on mice and donated beta cells from humans, and is now published in the scientific journal Cell Reports.
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Being short or overweight linked to reduced life chances
Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
Being short or overweight linked to reduced life chances
Findings have important social and health implications
BMJ
Being a short man or an overweight woman is associated with lower chances in life in areas such as education, occupation, and income, concludes a study published by The BMJ today.
The findings provide the strongest evidence to date that overweight people, especially women, are at a socioeconomic disadvantage - and that taller people, especially men, are at a socioeconomic advantage.
It is well known that higher socioeconomic status is associated with better health and longer life. In developed countries, being taller and thinner are associated with higher socioeconomic status, but the directions of these associations are not fully understood.
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Green tea and iron, bad combination
I have seen similar research about milk doing the same thing.
Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
Green tea and iron, bad combination
Penn State
Green tea is touted for its many health benefits as a powerful antioxidant, but experiments in a laboratory mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease suggest that consuming green tea along with dietary iron may actually lessen green tea's benefits.
"If you drink green tea after an iron-rich meal, the main compound in the tea will bind to the iron," said Matam Vijay-Kumar, assistant professor of nutritional sciences, Penn State. "When that occurs, the green tea loses its potential as an antioxidant. In order to get the benefits of green tea, it may be best to not consume it with iron-rich foods." Iron-rich foods include red meat and dark leafy greens, such as kale and spinach. According to Vijay-Kumar, the same results also apply to iron supplements.
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Welfare recipients seen as immoral for buying ethical products
Just another example of the fact that humans are irrational. Putting down people for caring about something outside of their own pocket, and for trying to take care of their health to avoid health problems shouldn't be targets of meanness.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/uobc-usw030816.php
Public Release: 8-Mar-2016
UBC study: Welfare recipients seen as immoral for buying ethical products
University of British Columbia
Shoppers making ethical purchases, such as buying organic food or environmentally friendly cars, are generally seen as more virtuous - unless they're receiving government assistance. If ethical shopping is funded by welfare cheques, those shoppers are judged as immoral for taking advantage of public generosity, according to a new UBC Sauder School of Business study.
"People on welfare tend to be seen as undeserving of more expensive options and of wasting taxpayers' hard-earned cash," said study author Darren Dahl, senior associate dean of faculty at UBC Sauder. "We discovered a double standard where people are judged differently for making identical choices, depending on where their money comes from."
Dahl and his co-authors were curious about the interaction between two prized values: making prosocial choices and thrift. They found that people reliant on government assistance are only praised when they're frugal, and are seen as less moral if they go for ethical but more expensive products.
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Too many avoidable errors in patient care, says report
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Too many avoidable errors in patient care, says report
Avoidable harm to patients is still too high in healthcare in the UK and across the globe -- making safety a top healthcare priority for providers and policy makers alike
Imperial College London
Avoidable harm to patients is still too high in healthcare in the UK and across the globe -- making safety a top healthcare priority for providers and policy makers alike.
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In particular, the report reiterates problems around under-reporting of safety incidents, and reveals structural concerns within the NRLS, that have inhibited its usefulness as a tool to drive safety improvement.
Erik Mayer, lead author of the report, from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial, explains: "The UK has one of the biggest incident reporting systems in the world. But despite this, evidence suggests that as little as 5 per cent of patient safety incidents are reported. This is often related to the culture of institutions and the culture of medicine. For instance, staff may witness an incident that should be reported, but are hesitant to do so for fear of repercussions."
Furthermore, the information produced by the system is difficult to analyse, making it hard to spot dangerous trends or problems.
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New findings suggest severe tornado outbreaks are increasingly common
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/ru-nfs030716.php
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
New findings suggest severe tornado outbreaks are increasingly common
Rockefeller University
One tornado alone can cause intense destruction, but the largest impact on both death rates and economic losses stems from "outbreaks," in which six or more tornadoes occur within a limited time.
New research from Joel Cohen, Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor and head of the Laboratory of Populations at The Rockefeller University, and Michael Tippett of Columbia University, shows that the number of tornadoes that occur within each outbreak has increased over the past 60 years. Published recently in Nature Communications, findings supported by mathematical models indicate that the likelihood of extreme events -- outbreaks with considerably more tornadoes than average--is growing over time.
"Over a recent 10 year period, tornadoes in the United States resulted in an average of 110 deaths per year and annual losses ranging from $500 million to $9.6 billion," says Cohen. "Outbreaks are the main offender,
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Using reports from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the researchers found that the average number of tornadoes per outbreak increased by about 50 percent from 1954 to 2014. However, the total number of tornadoes has been largely the same from year to year, suggesting that tornadoes are increasingly clustered in outbreaks.
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"Variance is growing faster than I would have guessed, and we don't know why it's so different from what we find elsewhere," says Cohen. "If I were to speculate, I would say that certain physical drivers are accelerating, leading to increased energy in the atmosphere, which affects the forces behind tornadoes. Our results do not directly link climate change to the increasing severity of outbreaks, but we've found an indicator of change that's hard to explain otherwise."
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Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
New findings suggest severe tornado outbreaks are increasingly common
Rockefeller University
One tornado alone can cause intense destruction, but the largest impact on both death rates and economic losses stems from "outbreaks," in which six or more tornadoes occur within a limited time.
New research from Joel Cohen, Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor and head of the Laboratory of Populations at The Rockefeller University, and Michael Tippett of Columbia University, shows that the number of tornadoes that occur within each outbreak has increased over the past 60 years. Published recently in Nature Communications, findings supported by mathematical models indicate that the likelihood of extreme events -- outbreaks with considerably more tornadoes than average--is growing over time.
"Over a recent 10 year period, tornadoes in the United States resulted in an average of 110 deaths per year and annual losses ranging from $500 million to $9.6 billion," says Cohen. "Outbreaks are the main offender,
•••••
Using reports from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the researchers found that the average number of tornadoes per outbreak increased by about 50 percent from 1954 to 2014. However, the total number of tornadoes has been largely the same from year to year, suggesting that tornadoes are increasingly clustered in outbreaks.
•••••
"Variance is growing faster than I would have guessed, and we don't know why it's so different from what we find elsewhere," says Cohen. "If I were to speculate, I would say that certain physical drivers are accelerating, leading to increased energy in the atmosphere, which affects the forces behind tornadoes. Our results do not directly link climate change to the increasing severity of outbreaks, but we've found an indicator of change that's hard to explain otherwise."
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Destructive Wildfire near Canada's Oil Sands May Have Been Fueled by Global Warming
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/destructive-wildfire-near-canada-s-oil-sands-may-have-been-fueled-by-global-warming/
By Brian Kahn, Climate Central on May 4, 2016
An unusually intense May wildfire roared into Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday, forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in province history. The flames rode the back of hot, windy weather that will continue through Wednesday and could pick up again this weekend.
The wildfire is the latest in a lengthening lineage of early wildfires in the northern reaches of the globe that are indicative of a changing climate. As the planet continues to warm, these types of fires will likely only become more common and intense as spring snowpack disappears and temperatures warm.
“This (fire) is consistent with what we expect from human-caused climate change affecting our fire regime,” Mike Flannigan, a wildfire researcher at the University of Alberta, said.
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By Brian Kahn, Climate Central on May 4, 2016
An unusually intense May wildfire roared into Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday, forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in province history. The flames rode the back of hot, windy weather that will continue through Wednesday and could pick up again this weekend.
The wildfire is the latest in a lengthening lineage of early wildfires in the northern reaches of the globe that are indicative of a changing climate. As the planet continues to warm, these types of fires will likely only become more common and intense as spring snowpack disappears and temperatures warm.
“This (fire) is consistent with what we expect from human-caused climate change affecting our fire regime,” Mike Flannigan, a wildfire researcher at the University of Alberta, said.
•••••
Wildfire: Syrian Refugees in Canada Donating to help climate Refugees
http://www.juancole.com/2016/05/wildfire-refugees-donating.html
By Juan Cole | May. 6, 2016
Syrian refugees in Canada are using Facebook and web sites to raise donations for climate refugees from the massive tar sands fire that has destroyed much of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada and forced the evacuation of 80,000 people living in the city and its surroundings.
•••••
Annalise Klingbeil of the Calgary Herald wrote that the drive was begun with an Arabic posting on a private Facebook group for Syrian refugees in Alberta province by recent arrival Rita Khanchet:
“It’s not easy to lose everything. We can understand them more than anyone in Canada. We were in the same situation . . . Me and my family wanted to do something for these people. Canadian society helped us when we came to Canada . . . (Canadians) gave us everything. And now it’s time to return the favour . . .”
•••••
Ironically, some of the turmoil in Syria derives from climate change, which exacerbated the country’s prolonged drought and drove rural farmers off their land to festering slums like East Aleppo and the bidonvilles around cities like Hama and Homs. These suffering populations in turn joined demonstrations against the regime, and when they were met with brute force, turned to Muslim fundamentalist militias, throwing the country into civil war. The war is complex and has many roots, but my guess is that 20% of the drought is climate change-related (the latter process causes droughts in the Middle East to be more frequent, last longer, and be hotter).
•••••
By Juan Cole | May. 6, 2016
Syrian refugees in Canada are using Facebook and web sites to raise donations for climate refugees from the massive tar sands fire that has destroyed much of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada and forced the evacuation of 80,000 people living in the city and its surroundings.
•••••
Annalise Klingbeil of the Calgary Herald wrote that the drive was begun with an Arabic posting on a private Facebook group for Syrian refugees in Alberta province by recent arrival Rita Khanchet:
“It’s not easy to lose everything. We can understand them more than anyone in Canada. We were in the same situation . . . Me and my family wanted to do something for these people. Canadian society helped us when we came to Canada . . . (Canadians) gave us everything. And now it’s time to return the favour . . .”
•••••
Ironically, some of the turmoil in Syria derives from climate change, which exacerbated the country’s prolonged drought and drove rural farmers off their land to festering slums like East Aleppo and the bidonvilles around cities like Hama and Homs. These suffering populations in turn joined demonstrations against the regime, and when they were met with brute force, turned to Muslim fundamentalist militias, throwing the country into civil war. The war is complex and has many roots, but my guess is that 20% of the drought is climate change-related (the latter process causes droughts in the Middle East to be more frequent, last longer, and be hotter).
•••••
The Meaning of the Fort McMurray Fire
Ironic. Safe to say there are a lot of people there who are opposed to reducing the use of fossil fuels, because of the oil sands operations there.
I suggest reading the whole article at the following link:
by Greg Laden on May 6, 2016
It is hard to understand the connection between climate change and wild fire. This is in part because it is hard to understand the factors that determine the frequency and extent of wild fires to begin with, and partly because of the messiness of the conversation about climate change and fire. I’m going to try to make this simple, I don’t expect to succeed, but maybe we can achieve a somewhat improved understanding.
•••••
Fires start, and humans starting fires is, really, just as “natural” in a way as any other way to start a fire. But fire starting is not context free. It is difficult to start a fire with human intent, carelessness, accident, or with lightning, in a wet forest. Stuff doesn’t burn that well, so a fire might start up but then it dies out. If, however, there is plenty of fuel and the fuel is dry, a real fire is more likely to get going. The conditions in Alberta (and over a much larger area, including the northern Tier of the US states at the moment) are ripe for fires to get started right now, and in many areas, have been so for weeks.
Once the fire starts, it burns. The more fuel, the more intense the burn, and the larger area with fuel, the larger the fire may become. Winds push the fire along and spread it. So, dry conditions with a good breeze are optimal to get a fire started and spread.
The conditions in the vicinity of Fort McMurray have been dry all winter. There was reduced snow pack, and the snow pack melted away quickly. there has been very little rain. There has been a lot of wind, which further dries things out. There has been a lot of heat, a warmer atmosphere, which exacerbates the drying. The forested areas of Alberta are ripe for fires starting, and for their spread, and for their intensity.
•••••
Weather is climate, now, just as climate is weather over the long term. If the climate changes for any reason, the weather changes. In other words, the relationship between climate changing and weather being altered is a natural tautology. All weather events are related to climate because they are climate.
The relevant question, then, is not is there a link between A and A (because they are the same things at different scales) but rather, is the nature of a potential weather event — including it’s likelihood as a statistically defined hazard, or other variables such as how big, how wet, how hot, how dry, or when it happens, etc. — different now than it would have been in the absence of surface warming cause by the human release of greenhouse gas pollution?
When it comes to fire, the answer is, simply yes. But, the reasons for this are complex.
Surface warming has caused … wait for it … warming. The warm air exacerbating the Alberta fires is warm air we can presume is contributed to by an El Niño event (which has been winding down but surface temperature remain elevated after the event itself is over), riding on top of surface temperatures elevated by global warming. There are a lot of ways to get warm air into Alberta in May, but we know that the northern regions have been warming apace with global warming, with winters shorter, snow pack melting out faster, etc. So we can be reasonably confident that the “warming” part of “global warming” can account for … warming, generally, probably here, now, this Spring.
•••••
Surface warming has caused atmospheric moisture to become more clumped. This has to do with differential warming in the Arctic vs. the rest of the planet, which has caused the polar jet stream to change its characteristics, so instead of being usually straightish as it runs around the planet, it seems now to be usually slow moving and wavy. This has caused large areas of the landscape to experience prolonged dry conditions, sometimes for months (then it rains) and sometimes for years (like in California, where there is a drought). Meanwhile, other areas experience multiple 100-year or 500-year rainfall events with flooding in a short period of time. The forested regions of Alberta have been dry.
The same effect might also have brought prolonged and energetic winds to Alberta over recent weeks, making it more dry and fanning and spreading fires once they start. I quickly add that I’m not sure if Alberta has been exceptionally windy or, of so, why, but that is something that should be examined.
Finally, climate change has helped the spread of the pine bark beetle in the region. Fort McMurray is within the area of increased pine bark beetle activity, but other areas farther to the west are even worse. These beetles turn normal trees into kindling, providing fuel for any fires that start in the area.
So, yes, the Alberta fires, and other fires in western Canada and in the northern tier of the US are more frequent and larger than they otherwise would have been because the things that cause fires to get started and spread are worse because of climate change.
•••••
The people of Fort McMurray did not decide to cause climate change. They decided to get a job so they could eat and live in a house. Same with the coal minters in West Virginia or the workers in a Koch refinery somewhere. It is only form a position of great and unexamined privilege that one can see the victims of this enormous catastrophe as getting what they deserve. [We need to help the people who are being displaced from these jobs that are destroying us.]
•••••
Friday, May 06, 2016
Green and lack of regulation leads to big sinkholes in neighborhood
Conservatives, libertarians, and anarchists will be happy that there was no government interference in the effort of the builder to make as much money as possible.http://www.11alive.com/news/local/giant-sink-holes-opening-up-in-alpharetta-neighborhood-for-strange-reason/151804357
LaTasha Givens, WXIA 3:25 PM. GMT April 24, 2016
ALPHARETTA, GA. - It’s a strange problem 15 years in the making – sinkholes are popping up in Alpharetta subdivisions
Several homeowners alerted 11Alive News to the large holes which didn’t exist when the houses were built, but have become major headaches to homeowners like Jeremy Gilbertson.
Walking into Gilbertson's backyard is like stepping into a mini land fill. He recently started noticing what appears to be sinkholes around his property, all several feet deep.
As he looked at what was inside the ground, he found debris and materials often seen on construction sites – everything from tree logs to trash bags to metal scraps.
•••••
11Alive reached out to officials with the Environmental Protection Division and they say this is a growing problem that's popping up now 15 years after the housing boom. They said there are at least three other homes in that same subdivision with the same issue.
The EPD says homeowners can take civil action against the builder, but in this case the company that built Gilbertson’s home no longer exists.
These key Republican figures say they are voting for Hillary Clinton instead of Donald Trump
The Republicans and the power elite they serve have brought this on themselves.http://www.vox.com/2016/5/4/11590356/stop-donald-trump-republicans-vote-hillary-clinton
Updated by Tara Golshan on May 4, 2016
As Donald Trump all but solidified his Republican presidential nomination in Indiana Tuesday, the #NeverTrump movement was forced to come to terms with a harsh reality: that Democrat Hillary Clinton may be the only way to stop Trump.
Since the chair of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, called Trump the "presumptive GOP nominee," some key Republican figures have made it clear they are not voting for Trump — ever.
•••••
Republican Sen. John McCain's top aide, Mark Salter ... the GOP is going to nominate for President a guy who reads the National Enquirer and thinks it's on the level. I'm with her. ...
Tony Fratto, the deputy press secretary under former President George W. Bush, tweeted that he too was "never ever ever ever ever" going to vote for Trump....
RedState blog's editor Ben Howe tweeted, "I am no longer a Republican," ...
And Philip Klein, the managing editor of the conservative newspaper the Washington Examiner, said he had "officially de-registered" from the Republican Party.
•••••
But early polling in late February from Rasmussen Reports found that 60 percent of Republicans said they would vote for Trump if he were the nominee. In April, Washington Post/ABC polls found 56 percent of Republicans supported Trump.
•••••
Wednesday, May 04, 2016
Down the drain: Here's why we should use rainwater to flush toilets
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/du-dtd030716.php
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Down the drain: Here's why we should use rainwater to flush toilets
Drexel research looks at feasibility of rainwater recycling in 4 major US cities
Drexel University
If you live in one of four major U.S. cities chances are you're letting the benefits of a ubiquitous natural resource go right down the drain -- when it could be used to cut down your water bill. Research by a team of Drexel University environmental engineers indicates that it rains enough in Philadelphia, New York, Seattle and Chicago that if homeowners had a way to collect and store even just the rain falling on their roofs, they could flush their toilets often without having to use a drop of municipal water.
Toilet flushing is the biggest use of water in households in the United States and the United Kingdom, accounting for nearly one-third of potable water use. But there is no reason that clean, treated, municipal water needs to be used to flush a toilet -- rainwater could do the job just as well.
•••••
"When the natural landscape is replaced by a building, rain can no longer infiltrate into the ground," Montalto said. "It runs off, is captured in drains, where it can cause downstream flooding, carry pollutants that settle out of the air into local water bodies or -- in the case of a city like Philadelphia or New York -- cause the sewer to overflow, which leads to a discharge of untreated wastewater into local streams and rivers. So capturing rainwater can help to reduce the demands on the water treatment system and ensure that it will still function properly even during heavy rainfall events."
Taking into consideration the cities' annual rainfall patterns, residential population and roof areas, the team calculated that, with enough water storage capacity -- a little more than a standard 1,000-gallon home storage tank -- a three person family in a home with the city's average roof size would have enough water to cover over 80 percent of its flushes throughout the year simply by diverting their downspouts to collect stormwater.
This would reduce overall household potable water demand by approximately 25 percent, which could mean slashing the municipal water bill for an average-sized home by as much as one-fourth. But even without installing a storage tank capable of holding a year's worth of flushing water, a scaled-back version would still help chip away at the water bill.
•••••
"Think of it this way. Before the building was on the site, the rain was intercepted by vegetation canopies, and/or infiltrated into natural soils. Either way, the rain ended up replenishing soil moisture, allowing the plants to grow, and recharging the local groundwater aquifer," Montalto said. "The more buildings that go up, the more we need to consider how to manage the water that would have landed in the drainage area they're displacing."
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Down the drain: Here's why we should use rainwater to flush toilets
Drexel research looks at feasibility of rainwater recycling in 4 major US cities
Drexel University
If you live in one of four major U.S. cities chances are you're letting the benefits of a ubiquitous natural resource go right down the drain -- when it could be used to cut down your water bill. Research by a team of Drexel University environmental engineers indicates that it rains enough in Philadelphia, New York, Seattle and Chicago that if homeowners had a way to collect and store even just the rain falling on their roofs, they could flush their toilets often without having to use a drop of municipal water.
Toilet flushing is the biggest use of water in households in the United States and the United Kingdom, accounting for nearly one-third of potable water use. But there is no reason that clean, treated, municipal water needs to be used to flush a toilet -- rainwater could do the job just as well.
•••••
"When the natural landscape is replaced by a building, rain can no longer infiltrate into the ground," Montalto said. "It runs off, is captured in drains, where it can cause downstream flooding, carry pollutants that settle out of the air into local water bodies or -- in the case of a city like Philadelphia or New York -- cause the sewer to overflow, which leads to a discharge of untreated wastewater into local streams and rivers. So capturing rainwater can help to reduce the demands on the water treatment system and ensure that it will still function properly even during heavy rainfall events."
Taking into consideration the cities' annual rainfall patterns, residential population and roof areas, the team calculated that, with enough water storage capacity -- a little more than a standard 1,000-gallon home storage tank -- a three person family in a home with the city's average roof size would have enough water to cover over 80 percent of its flushes throughout the year simply by diverting their downspouts to collect stormwater.
This would reduce overall household potable water demand by approximately 25 percent, which could mean slashing the municipal water bill for an average-sized home by as much as one-fourth. But even without installing a storage tank capable of holding a year's worth of flushing water, a scaled-back version would still help chip away at the water bill.
•••••
"Think of it this way. Before the building was on the site, the rain was intercepted by vegetation canopies, and/or infiltrated into natural soils. Either way, the rain ended up replenishing soil moisture, allowing the plants to grow, and recharging the local groundwater aquifer," Montalto said. "The more buildings that go up, the more we need to consider how to manage the water that would have landed in the drainage area they're displacing."
Overconfidence linked to one's view of intelligence
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/wsu-olt030416.php
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Overconfidence linked to one's view of intelligence
Those who think intelligence is fixed have confidence exceeding their ability
Washington State University
Washington State University researcher Joyce Ehrlinger has found that a person's tendency to be overconfident increases if he or she thinks intelligence is fixed and unchangeable.
Such people tend to maintain their overconfidence by concentrating on the easy parts of tasks while spending as little time as possible on the hard parts of tasks, said Ehrlinger, a WSU assistant professor of psychology. But people who hold a growth mindset--meaning they think intelligence is a changeable quality--spend more time on the challenging parts of tasks, she said. Consequently, their levels of confidence are more in line with their abilities.
•••••
"A little bit of overconfidence can be helpful," said Ehrlinger, "but larger amounts of overconfidence can lead people to make bad decisions and to miss out on opportunities to learn." The researchers note that overconfidence is a documented problem for drivers, motorcyclists, bungee jumpers, doctors and lawyers.
•••••
"We know that students' beliefs about intelligence are very consequential in the classroom and that interventions that teach students a growth mindset lead to improvements in their grades," said Ehrlinger. "We also know that being overconfident keeps people from learning. You have to understand and acknowledge what you don't yet know in order to truly learn. This research suggests that part of why growth mindsets improve learning might be because they lead people to better understand what they do and what they do not know."
"Education is perhaps the best way to advance opportunity," she said, "and emerging evidence suggests that the benefits of teaching a growth mindset for improving grades are particularly strong for students in stigmatized groups based on race or gender."
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Overconfidence linked to one's view of intelligence
Those who think intelligence is fixed have confidence exceeding their ability
Washington State University
Washington State University researcher Joyce Ehrlinger has found that a person's tendency to be overconfident increases if he or she thinks intelligence is fixed and unchangeable.
Such people tend to maintain their overconfidence by concentrating on the easy parts of tasks while spending as little time as possible on the hard parts of tasks, said Ehrlinger, a WSU assistant professor of psychology. But people who hold a growth mindset--meaning they think intelligence is a changeable quality--spend more time on the challenging parts of tasks, she said. Consequently, their levels of confidence are more in line with their abilities.
•••••
"A little bit of overconfidence can be helpful," said Ehrlinger, "but larger amounts of overconfidence can lead people to make bad decisions and to miss out on opportunities to learn." The researchers note that overconfidence is a documented problem for drivers, motorcyclists, bungee jumpers, doctors and lawyers.
•••••
"We know that students' beliefs about intelligence are very consequential in the classroom and that interventions that teach students a growth mindset lead to improvements in their grades," said Ehrlinger. "We also know that being overconfident keeps people from learning. You have to understand and acknowledge what you don't yet know in order to truly learn. This research suggests that part of why growth mindsets improve learning might be because they lead people to better understand what they do and what they do not know."
"Education is perhaps the best way to advance opportunity," she said, "and emerging evidence suggests that the benefits of teaching a growth mindset for improving grades are particularly strong for students in stigmatized groups based on race or gender."
Teen girls see big drop in chemical exposure with switch in cosmetics
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/uoc--tgs030416.php
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Teen girls see big drop in chemical exposure with switch in cosmetics
University of California - Berkeley
A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas demonstrates how even a short break from certain kinds of makeup, shampoos and lotions can lead to a significant drop in levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals in the body.
•••••
Researchers provided teen study participants with personal care products labeled free of chemicals such as phthalates, parabens, triclosan and oxybenzone. Such chemicals are widely used in personal care products, including cosmetics, fragrance, hair products, soaps and sunscreens, and have been shown in animal studies to interfere with the body's endocrine system.
"Because women are the primary consumers of many personal care products, they may be disproportionately exposed to these chemicals," said study lead author Kim Harley, associate director of the UC Berkeley Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health. "Teen girls may be at particular risk since it's a time of rapid reproductive development, and research has suggested that they use more personal care products per day than the average adult woman."
Analysis of urine samples before and after a three-day trial in which the participants used the lower- chemical products found significant drops in levels of these chemicals in the body. Metabolites of diethyl phthalate, commonly used in fragrances, decreased 27 percent by the end of the trial period. Methyl and propyl parabens, used as preservatives in cosmetics, dropped 44 and 45 percent respectively. Both triclosan, found in antibacterial soaps and some brands of toothpaste, and benzophenone-3 (BP-3), found in some sunscreens under the name oxybenzone, fell 36 percent.
Surprisingly, there was a small increase in concentrations in two less common parabens. Those levels were small and could have been caused by accidental contamination or a substitution not listed on the labels, the study authors said.
•••••
"We know enough to be concerned about teen girls' exposure to these chemicals. Sometimes it's worth taking a precautionary approach, especially if there are easy changes people can make in the products they buy," said Harley.
Cárdenas said the research findings have already influenced the products she buys for herself.
"Personally, since the study, I've tried to use more organic products," she said. "It's hard, especially as a college student who doesn't have a lot of money. You tend to just get what's on sale. But I've decided to splurge more on products with fewer chemicals because of the effect in the future. And if you can't make the best choice when you're buying because of cost, you can at least try to limit the use of the products you do buy."
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Teen girls see big drop in chemical exposure with switch in cosmetics
University of California - Berkeley
A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas demonstrates how even a short break from certain kinds of makeup, shampoos and lotions can lead to a significant drop in levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals in the body.
•••••
Researchers provided teen study participants with personal care products labeled free of chemicals such as phthalates, parabens, triclosan and oxybenzone. Such chemicals are widely used in personal care products, including cosmetics, fragrance, hair products, soaps and sunscreens, and have been shown in animal studies to interfere with the body's endocrine system.
"Because women are the primary consumers of many personal care products, they may be disproportionately exposed to these chemicals," said study lead author Kim Harley, associate director of the UC Berkeley Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health. "Teen girls may be at particular risk since it's a time of rapid reproductive development, and research has suggested that they use more personal care products per day than the average adult woman."
Analysis of urine samples before and after a three-day trial in which the participants used the lower- chemical products found significant drops in levels of these chemicals in the body. Metabolites of diethyl phthalate, commonly used in fragrances, decreased 27 percent by the end of the trial period. Methyl and propyl parabens, used as preservatives in cosmetics, dropped 44 and 45 percent respectively. Both triclosan, found in antibacterial soaps and some brands of toothpaste, and benzophenone-3 (BP-3), found in some sunscreens under the name oxybenzone, fell 36 percent.
Surprisingly, there was a small increase in concentrations in two less common parabens. Those levels were small and could have been caused by accidental contamination or a substitution not listed on the labels, the study authors said.
•••••
"We know enough to be concerned about teen girls' exposure to these chemicals. Sometimes it's worth taking a precautionary approach, especially if there are easy changes people can make in the products they buy," said Harley.
Cárdenas said the research findings have already influenced the products she buys for herself.
"Personally, since the study, I've tried to use more organic products," she said. "It's hard, especially as a college student who doesn't have a lot of money. You tend to just get what's on sale. But I've decided to splurge more on products with fewer chemicals because of the effect in the future. And if you can't make the best choice when you're buying because of cost, you can at least try to limit the use of the products you do buy."
New study finds troubling health care outcomes for US workers without paid sick leave
If you take off when you're sick you're criticized, if you come to work sick you're criticized.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/fau-nsf030316.php
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
New study finds troubling health care outcomes for US workers without paid sick leave
Similar results for all workers without paid sick leave regardless of income, race, age, health insurance or occupation
Florida Atlantic University
•••••
regardless of income, age, race, occupation, full-time or part-time work status, health status or health insurance coverage, workers without paid sick leave were three times more likely to delay medical care than were workers with paid sick leave. They also were three times more likely to forgo needed medical care altogether. Furthermore, families of workers without paid sick leave were two times more likely to delay medical care and 1.6 times more likely to forgo needed medical care. The lowest-income group of workers without paid sick leave were at the highest risk of delaying and forgoing medical care for themselves and their family members -- making the most financially vulnerable workers the least likely to be able to address health care concerns in a timely manner.
The researchers also found that working adults with paid sick leave benefits missed one-and-a-half days more of work because of an illness or injury compared to workers without paid sick leave, indicating that they were more likely to take time off work to care for themselves or family when needed.
•••••
DeRigne further underscores the importance of paid sick leave. "During the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people infected stay home. Yet, estimates suggest that employees who did not stay home infected an additional 7 million people, and that lack of paid sick leave resulted in about 1,500 additional deaths during this outbreak."
Stoddard-Dare observes, "Workers who come to work when ill are also more prone to injuries and mistakes; therefore, offering paid sick leave may make good business sense."
Thinking and feeling
Cognitive empathy is not what I would consider empathy. How is being able to predict how someone will react that depends only on observation different from being able to predict when the tides will turn based on observation? But we wouldn't say it means we have empathy with the tides.
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
'Thinking and feeling'
UC Santa Barbara researchers studying empathy in relationships find that in the absence of caring, understanding alone doesn't cut it when stressful situations arise
University of California - Santa Barbara
•••••
When stress sets in, many of us turn to a partner to help us manage by being a sounding board or shoulder to cry on. Your odds of actually feeling better are much improved if they're both those things.
New research by psychologists at UC Santa Barbara reveals that simply understanding your partner's suffering isn't sufficient to be helpful in a stressful situation; you've got to actually care that they're suffering in the first place.
The findings, published in the journal Psychological Science, provide the first evidence that cognitive and affective forms of empathy work together to facilitate responsive behavior.
"When people were empathically accurate -- when they had an accurate understanding of their partner's thoughts and feelings -- they were more responsive only when they also felt more empathic concern, more compassion and motivation to attend to their partner's needs," explained lead author Lauren Winczewski, a graduate student in UCSB's Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences. "People might assume that accurate understanding is all it takes to be responsive, but understanding a partner's thoughts and feelings was helpful only when listeners were also feeling more compassionate and sympathetic toward their partner. When listeners had accurate knowledge but did not feel compassionate, they tended to be less supportive and responsive."
•••••
"You can know very well what your partner is thinking and feeling -- maybe you've heard this story 17 times, the fight with the boss and so on -- but if you don't care?" said Winczewski. "Having accurate knowledge in the absence of compassionate feelings may even undermine responsiveness."
•••••
Global warming increases flash flooding in world's driest areas
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/uons-gwi030716.php
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Global warming increases rain in world's driest areas
Not only does the wet get wetter over land, but the driest areas get wetter too
University of New South Wales
Global warming will increase rainfall in some of the world's driest areas over land, with not only the wet getting wetter but the dry getting wetter as well.
New research published today in Nature Climate Change has revealed that in the Earth's dry regions, global warming will bring an overall increase in rainfall and in extreme precipitation events that could lead to flash flooding becoming a more regular event.
"We found a strong relationship between global warming and an increase in rainfall, particularly in areas outside of the tropics," said lead author Dr Markus Donat from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science.
•••••
Unfortunately for societies, businesses and agricultural activities that exist in arid regions, the expected increase in rainfall over dry areas does not necessarily mean that more water will become available according to the researchers. The additional heat caused by global warming will likely lead to increased evaporation. This means that while there may be more extreme flooding events it may have little impact on overall water storage rates.
"The concern with an increased frequency and in particular intensity of extreme precipitation events in areas that are normally dry is that there may not be infrastructure in place to cope with extreme flooding events," said Dr Donat.
"Importantly, this research suggests we will see these extreme rainfall events increase at regional levels in dry areas, not just as an average across the globe."
•••••
tags: extreme weather
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Global warming increases rain in world's driest areas
Not only does the wet get wetter over land, but the driest areas get wetter too
University of New South Wales
Global warming will increase rainfall in some of the world's driest areas over land, with not only the wet getting wetter but the dry getting wetter as well.
New research published today in Nature Climate Change has revealed that in the Earth's dry regions, global warming will bring an overall increase in rainfall and in extreme precipitation events that could lead to flash flooding becoming a more regular event.
"We found a strong relationship between global warming and an increase in rainfall, particularly in areas outside of the tropics," said lead author Dr Markus Donat from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science.
•••••
Unfortunately for societies, businesses and agricultural activities that exist in arid regions, the expected increase in rainfall over dry areas does not necessarily mean that more water will become available according to the researchers. The additional heat caused by global warming will likely lead to increased evaporation. This means that while there may be more extreme flooding events it may have little impact on overall water storage rates.
"The concern with an increased frequency and in particular intensity of extreme precipitation events in areas that are normally dry is that there may not be infrastructure in place to cope with extreme flooding events," said Dr Donat.
"Importantly, this research suggests we will see these extreme rainfall events increase at regional levels in dry areas, not just as an average across the globe."
•••••
tags: extreme weather
Healthy lifestyle advice provides long-term benefits
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/w-hla030716.php
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Healthy lifestyle advice provides long-term benefits
Wiley
In a recently published study, providing advice over a 5-year period about leading a healthy lifestyle reduced the risk of heart-related deaths over the next 40 years.
Participants were advised to decrease the intake of saturated fats and increase fish and vegetable products. In addition, overweight individuals were advised to reduce their weight and smokers were advised to stop smoking.
Those who received the advice showed a sustained 29% reduced risk of death at first heart attack compared with individuals who did not receive the advice, for up to 40 years. Death from any cause decreased in the period 8 to 20 years after randomization, but not thereafter.
•••••
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Healthy lifestyle advice provides long-term benefits
Wiley
In a recently published study, providing advice over a 5-year period about leading a healthy lifestyle reduced the risk of heart-related deaths over the next 40 years.
Participants were advised to decrease the intake of saturated fats and increase fish and vegetable products. In addition, overweight individuals were advised to reduce their weight and smokers were advised to stop smoking.
Those who received the advice showed a sustained 29% reduced risk of death at first heart attack compared with individuals who did not receive the advice, for up to 40 years. Death from any cause decreased in the period 8 to 20 years after randomization, but not thereafter.
•••••
Neighborhood features associated with decreased odds of homicide in adolescents
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/tjnj-nfa030316.php
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Neighborhood features associated with decreased odds of homicide in adolescents
The JAMA Network Journals
Neighborhood features including street lighting, parks, public transportation and maintained vacant lots were associated with lower odds of homicide among young people ages 13 to 20, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics.
•••••
Study results indicate lower odds of adolescent homicide were associated with street lighting, illuminated walk/don't walk signs, painted marked crosswalks, public transportation, parks and maintained vacant lots.
The odds of adolescent homicide were higher in places with stop signs, houses with security bars/gratings and private bushes or plantings.
[Houses with security bars/gratings might be a result of increased violence.]\
•••••
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Neighborhood features associated with decreased odds of homicide in adolescents
The JAMA Network Journals
Neighborhood features including street lighting, parks, public transportation and maintained vacant lots were associated with lower odds of homicide among young people ages 13 to 20, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics.
•••••
Study results indicate lower odds of adolescent homicide were associated with street lighting, illuminated walk/don't walk signs, painted marked crosswalks, public transportation, parks and maintained vacant lots.
The odds of adolescent homicide were higher in places with stop signs, houses with security bars/gratings and private bushes or plantings.
[Houses with security bars/gratings might be a result of increased violence.]\
•••••
Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy may increase risk of MS in children
The risk of MS increases the farther one lives from the equator, which is consistent with these findings, since vitamin D can be created in the skin when exposed to sunlight.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/tjnj-vdd030316.php
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy may increase risk of MS in children
The JAMA Network Journals
Children of mothers with vitamin D deficiency during early pregnancy appeared to be at greater risk for multiple sclerosis (MS) in adulthood, according to an article published online by JAMA Neurology.
While elevated levels of vitamin D have been associated with a decreased risk of MS in adulthood, some previous research also has suggested that vitamin D exposure in utero may be a risk factor for MS in later life.
•••••
The risk of MS as an adult was 90 percent higher in children of mothers who were vitamin-D deficient (25(OH)D levels less than 12.02 ng/mL) compared with the children of mothers who were not vitamin D deficient, according to the results.
•••••
People often over-claim their own contributions to the team
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/uoc--ilt030716.php
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
I'd like to thank...myself
People often over-claim their own contributions to the team
University of California - Berkeley Haas School of Business
When Leonardo DiCaprio accepted his Oscar for Best Actor in "The Revenant" this year, he acknowledged the hard work of the movie's entire team. But such generosity isn't always the case. On large teams--such as big film production crews--size can lead people to inflate their own contributions while diminishing their team members' work.
A new study finds that the bigger the teams, the more individual members of a team "over-claim" their contributions. It's not that people intend to take more credit than due. Instead, people inadvertently fail to account for everyone's contributions because they are naturally egocentric. It is harder to consider everyone's contributions when groups are larger.
"People were surprised about the extent that over-claiming occurs. They think their reporting is accurate," says Juliana Schroeder, an assistant professor of management at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
•••••
Schroeder suggests ways to reduce over-claiming. "When you have large groups, you might want to consider breaking down the group into smaller teams," says Schroeder. "It is also important to make the workflow very clear. If assignments are clearly divided, it's easier for people to remember who is doing what."
While the participants of the study's four surveys were anonymous, what happens when group members in the real world learn that their colleagues are over-claiming their contribution to the team? Schroeder says asking people to report others' contributions before their own tends to force people to be more accurate about self-reporting and ultimately, not "thank" themselves too much.
Public Release: 7-Mar-2016
I'd like to thank...myself
People often over-claim their own contributions to the team
University of California - Berkeley Haas School of Business
When Leonardo DiCaprio accepted his Oscar for Best Actor in "The Revenant" this year, he acknowledged the hard work of the movie's entire team. But such generosity isn't always the case. On large teams--such as big film production crews--size can lead people to inflate their own contributions while diminishing their team members' work.
A new study finds that the bigger the teams, the more individual members of a team "over-claim" their contributions. It's not that people intend to take more credit than due. Instead, people inadvertently fail to account for everyone's contributions because they are naturally egocentric. It is harder to consider everyone's contributions when groups are larger.
"People were surprised about the extent that over-claiming occurs. They think their reporting is accurate," says Juliana Schroeder, an assistant professor of management at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
•••••
Schroeder suggests ways to reduce over-claiming. "When you have large groups, you might want to consider breaking down the group into smaller teams," says Schroeder. "It is also important to make the workflow very clear. If assignments are clearly divided, it's easier for people to remember who is doing what."
While the participants of the study's four surveys were anonymous, what happens when group members in the real world learn that their colleagues are over-claiming their contribution to the team? Schroeder says asking people to report others' contributions before their own tends to force people to be more accurate about self-reporting and ultimately, not "thank" themselves too much.
Latin dancing may have health benefits for older adults
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/aha-ldm022416.php
Public Release: 4-Mar-2016
Latin dancing may have health benefits for older adults
American Heart Association Meeting Report Abstract P246
American Heart Association
A four-month dance program helped older Latino adults walk faster and improved their physical fitness, which may reduce their risk for heart disease, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology/Lifestyle 2016 Scientific Sessions.
•••••
Public Release: 4-Mar-2016
Latin dancing may have health benefits for older adults
American Heart Association Meeting Report Abstract P246
American Heart Association
A four-month dance program helped older Latino adults walk faster and improved their physical fitness, which may reduce their risk for heart disease, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology/Lifestyle 2016 Scientific Sessions.
•••••
Can social support be a bad thing for older adults?
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/dms-css030416.php
Public Release: 4-Mar-2016
Can social support be a bad thing for older adults?
Duke-NUS Medical School
A recent study conducted by Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS) researchers suggests that social support from family and friends does not have an entirely positive effect on mental health but is instead a 'mixed blessing'. This is the first study that demonstrates the simultaneous negative and positive effects of social support among Singaporean older adults and has implications for policy makers.
•••••
A study recently published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, by Assistant Professor Rahul Malhotra and Shannon Ang from the Centre for Ageing Research and Education (CARE) at Duke-NUS, analysed data collected from surveys administered to 2766 older adults aged 62 to 97 who are a part of the Panel of Health and Aging in Singaporean Elderly (PHASE). It found that receipt of social support, such as receiving money, food, clothing and housework help, reduced depressive symptoms among older individuals but at the same time made them feel like they had lost their control over their lives. This loss of control in turn increased their depressive symptoms, counteracting the positive effect of receiving social support. The study also found that the reduction in one's sense of control over their life was larger for women than in men.
•••••
"Our findings have implications for policy-makers because it points toward the importance of crafting policies and encouraging ways to provide support to older persons that can help them maintain their sense of control over their own lives," emphasised senior author Asst Prof Malhotra, Head of Research at CARE. "We need to think of ways in which we can help older adults without increasing their sense of dependence."
•••••
Public Release: 4-Mar-2016
Can social support be a bad thing for older adults?
Duke-NUS Medical School
A recent study conducted by Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS) researchers suggests that social support from family and friends does not have an entirely positive effect on mental health but is instead a 'mixed blessing'. This is the first study that demonstrates the simultaneous negative and positive effects of social support among Singaporean older adults and has implications for policy makers.
•••••
A study recently published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, by Assistant Professor Rahul Malhotra and Shannon Ang from the Centre for Ageing Research and Education (CARE) at Duke-NUS, analysed data collected from surveys administered to 2766 older adults aged 62 to 97 who are a part of the Panel of Health and Aging in Singaporean Elderly (PHASE). It found that receipt of social support, such as receiving money, food, clothing and housework help, reduced depressive symptoms among older individuals but at the same time made them feel like they had lost their control over their lives. This loss of control in turn increased their depressive symptoms, counteracting the positive effect of receiving social support. The study also found that the reduction in one's sense of control over their life was larger for women than in men.
•••••
"Our findings have implications for policy-makers because it points toward the importance of crafting policies and encouraging ways to provide support to older persons that can help them maintain their sense of control over their own lives," emphasised senior author Asst Prof Malhotra, Head of Research at CARE. "We need to think of ways in which we can help older adults without increasing their sense of dependence."
•••••
Eating peanut in early years helps reduce risk of allergy even with later abstinence
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/kcl-epi030316.php
Public Release: 4-Mar-2016
Eating peanut in early years helps reduce risk of allergy even with later abstinence
King's College London
The early introduction of peanut to the diets of infants at high-risk of developing peanut allergy significantly reduces the risk of peanut allergy until 6 years of age, even if they stop eating peanut around the age of five, according to a new study led by King's College London.
Published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, the LEAP-On study followed on from the LEAP (Learning Early About Peanut Allergy) study, both led by Professor Gideon Lack at King's, which found that the majority of infants at high-risk of developing peanut allergy are protected from peanut allergy at age 5 years if they eat peanut frequently, starting within the first 11 months of life.
LEAP-On asked whether those infants who had consumed peanut in the LEAP study would remain protected against peanut allergy if they then stopped eating peanut for 12 months. The study findings conclude that the early introduction of peanut protects against the development of peanut allergy, and such protection is sustained even when peanut is no longer consumed for 12 months.
•••••
Public Release: 4-Mar-2016
Eating peanut in early years helps reduce risk of allergy even with later abstinence
King's College London
The early introduction of peanut to the diets of infants at high-risk of developing peanut allergy significantly reduces the risk of peanut allergy until 6 years of age, even if they stop eating peanut around the age of five, according to a new study led by King's College London.
Published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, the LEAP-On study followed on from the LEAP (Learning Early About Peanut Allergy) study, both led by Professor Gideon Lack at King's, which found that the majority of infants at high-risk of developing peanut allergy are protected from peanut allergy at age 5 years if they eat peanut frequently, starting within the first 11 months of life.
LEAP-On asked whether those infants who had consumed peanut in the LEAP study would remain protected against peanut allergy if they then stopped eating peanut for 12 months. The study findings conclude that the early introduction of peanut protects against the development of peanut allergy, and such protection is sustained even when peanut is no longer consumed for 12 months.
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New research uncovers the 'myths' behind aviation's climate change crisis
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/uos-nru030416.php
Public Release: 4-Mar-2016
New research uncovers the 'myths' behind aviation's climate change crisis
Reliance on technological solutions in cutting emissions are 'myths' propagating inaction by industry and government
University of Surrey
A new study published in the journal Transportation Research Part D has explored the ways in which new technologies have been 'hyped' by the aviation industry and media as the key to sustainable air travel, perpetuating a culture of non-accountability for increased emissions and subsequent environmental damage.
Researchers from the University of Surrey, in collaboration with NHTV Breda, Netherlands and the University of Otago, New Zealand, explored how new technologies such as alternative fuels, solar flight and a range of aircraft design options are presented by industry and media, alongside the subsequent level of success in practically applying these technologies. The researchers argue that discussion around these technologies creates 'myths' of zero-emission flight, shielding the aviation industry from closer scrutiny of its sustainability policies.
"Air travel has experienced substantial growth over the last 40 years. By 2050 energy use in aviation will have tripled, accounting for 19% of all transport energy use in 2050, compared to 11% in 2006," Dr Scott Cohen, of the University of Surrey explained.
"This is in sharp contrast to pledges by industry to reduce flight emissions through technology, aiming for 'zero emission flight' through overly hyped developments such as solar planes and hydrogen fuels."
"The way in which new technologies are presented constitutes a 'myth', a form of propaganda which denies the truth that progress in climate policy for aviation has stalled. The use of these technology myths by industry and government relieves anxiety that nothing is being done, by pointing to future 'miracle' solutions, which in reality are unfeasible."
•••••
"While these inventions are fascinating from a research perspective, they won't act as a panacea for the harmful, climate damaging emissions that the aviation industry is increasingly releasing into our atmosphere. Industry will always wish to present an optimistic view of their role in this issue, but our research has also shown that some politicians are complicit in propagating these myths and need to stop relying on rhetoric and start referring to facts."
Public Release: 4-Mar-2016
New research uncovers the 'myths' behind aviation's climate change crisis
Reliance on technological solutions in cutting emissions are 'myths' propagating inaction by industry and government
University of Surrey
A new study published in the journal Transportation Research Part D has explored the ways in which new technologies have been 'hyped' by the aviation industry and media as the key to sustainable air travel, perpetuating a culture of non-accountability for increased emissions and subsequent environmental damage.
Researchers from the University of Surrey, in collaboration with NHTV Breda, Netherlands and the University of Otago, New Zealand, explored how new technologies such as alternative fuels, solar flight and a range of aircraft design options are presented by industry and media, alongside the subsequent level of success in practically applying these technologies. The researchers argue that discussion around these technologies creates 'myths' of zero-emission flight, shielding the aviation industry from closer scrutiny of its sustainability policies.
"Air travel has experienced substantial growth over the last 40 years. By 2050 energy use in aviation will have tripled, accounting for 19% of all transport energy use in 2050, compared to 11% in 2006," Dr Scott Cohen, of the University of Surrey explained.
"This is in sharp contrast to pledges by industry to reduce flight emissions through technology, aiming for 'zero emission flight' through overly hyped developments such as solar planes and hydrogen fuels."
"The way in which new technologies are presented constitutes a 'myth', a form of propaganda which denies the truth that progress in climate policy for aviation has stalled. The use of these technology myths by industry and government relieves anxiety that nothing is being done, by pointing to future 'miracle' solutions, which in reality are unfeasible."
•••••
"While these inventions are fascinating from a research perspective, they won't act as a panacea for the harmful, climate damaging emissions that the aviation industry is increasingly releasing into our atmosphere. Industry will always wish to present an optimistic view of their role in this issue, but our research has also shown that some politicians are complicit in propagating these myths and need to stop relying on rhetoric and start referring to facts."
Poor helmet fit associated with concussion severity in high school football players
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/aaoo-phf030316.php
Public Release: 4-Mar-2016
Poor helmet fit associated with concussion severity in high school football players
Coaches, trainers and physicians need to supervise helmet checks throughout the sports season
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
High school football players with ill-fitting helmets are at greater risk for more severe concussions, according to a study presented today at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).
•••••
Athletes who suffered concussions due to improper fitting helmets had higher rates of drowsiness, hyperexcitability and sensitivity to noise. Many of these athletes experienced more than one of the 13 concussive symptoms reviewed retrospectively in the study. In addition, athletes wearing helmets lined with air bladders suffered concussions that lasted longer.
"Correct helmet fit varies with helmet design, and players are encouraged to fit their equipment according to manufacturers' instructions," said study co-author Dustin Greenhill, MD, an orthopaedic surgery resident at Temple.
Dr. Greenhill explained that when helmets don't fit correctly, an athlete's cervical muscles in their neck and head may not be able to reduce the force of impact on the brain, especially when parts of the body rotate during high-speed hits. Helmet fit can change and evolve during the season and games, due to sweat, hair style, rain, cold weather clothing, and other factors.
•••••
Public Release: 4-Mar-2016
Poor helmet fit associated with concussion severity in high school football players
Coaches, trainers and physicians need to supervise helmet checks throughout the sports season
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
High school football players with ill-fitting helmets are at greater risk for more severe concussions, according to a study presented today at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).
•••••
Athletes who suffered concussions due to improper fitting helmets had higher rates of drowsiness, hyperexcitability and sensitivity to noise. Many of these athletes experienced more than one of the 13 concussive symptoms reviewed retrospectively in the study. In addition, athletes wearing helmets lined with air bladders suffered concussions that lasted longer.
"Correct helmet fit varies with helmet design, and players are encouraged to fit their equipment according to manufacturers' instructions," said study co-author Dustin Greenhill, MD, an orthopaedic surgery resident at Temple.
Dr. Greenhill explained that when helmets don't fit correctly, an athlete's cervical muscles in their neck and head may not be able to reduce the force of impact on the brain, especially when parts of the body rotate during high-speed hits. Helmet fit can change and evolve during the season and games, due to sweat, hair style, rain, cold weather clothing, and other factors.
•••••
Oestrogen in birth control pills has a negative impact on fish
Spelled "estrogen" in the U.S.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/lu-oib030416.php
Public Release: 4-Mar-2016
Oestrogen in birth control pills has a negative impact on fish
Lund University
A new doctoral thesis from Lund University in Sweden shows that hormones found in birth control pills alter the genes in fish, which can cause changes in their behaviour. The thesis also shows that nurse midwives, who are the main prescribers in Sweden, lack information about the environmental impact of hormonal birth control methods, which may affect the advice they provide.
The hormone ethinyl-estradiol (EE2) is an active substance in many birth control pills which affects aquatic organisms when released as waste into the water. In her thesis, Lina Nikoleris studies how fish are affected by EE2.
"Even low concentrations of EE2 have an impact on fish - both their behaviour and their genetics. We have seen a change in the genetic balance in fish, and that they have a harder time catching food. Previous studies have shown that the fish also develop problems with procreation. This can lead to the complete disappearance of an entire fish population, and consequences for entire ecosystems", says Lina Nikoleris.
Fish have more oestrogen receptors than humans, which makes them especially vulnerable to oestrogen in water.
•••••
Brutal Heat Intensifies Across India
https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/brutal-heat-intensifies-across-india-generous-monsoon-on-the-way
By: Bob Henson , 3:24 PM GMT on May 04, 2016
There are encouraging signs of a wetter-than-average monsoon in the cards for India this year--but until it arrives, millions of residents will have to deal with torrid pre-monsoon heat assaulting South and Southeast Asia this spring. More than 300 fatalities have been reported in the east-central Indian states of Odisha and Telangana. On May 1 and 2, at least 12 Indian locations broke or tied their all-time highest May temperatures. Accentuating the premature nature of this year’s heat, most of the prior records had been set during the last week of May.
•••••
Extra weeks of heat stress are an ominous portent in this highly vulnerable nation. Some 2500 people were killed in 2015 by India’s second-deadliest pre-monsoonal heat wave on record, close behind 1998 (2541 deaths).
The pre-monsoon season is naturally a hot period in India: it’s the increasing contrast between land and sea that eventually brings the heat-quenching, life-giving summer monsoon. Yet even by pre-monsoonal standards, April was extraordinarily hot across the region, as reported by WU weather historian Christopher Burt. On April 24, it hit 48.5°C [119.3°F] in the east-central town of Titilagarh--the highest temperature ever reliably measured in India during April. “You can say there is an undeclared curfew in Titlagarh after 10 am. If you go out, you are either a very brave person or you are an outsider,” local Congress member Upendra Bag told the Hindustan Times.
•••••
By: Bob Henson , 3:24 PM GMT on May 04, 2016
There are encouraging signs of a wetter-than-average monsoon in the cards for India this year--but until it arrives, millions of residents will have to deal with torrid pre-monsoon heat assaulting South and Southeast Asia this spring. More than 300 fatalities have been reported in the east-central Indian states of Odisha and Telangana. On May 1 and 2, at least 12 Indian locations broke or tied their all-time highest May temperatures. Accentuating the premature nature of this year’s heat, most of the prior records had been set during the last week of May.
•••••
Extra weeks of heat stress are an ominous portent in this highly vulnerable nation. Some 2500 people were killed in 2015 by India’s second-deadliest pre-monsoonal heat wave on record, close behind 1998 (2541 deaths).
The pre-monsoon season is naturally a hot period in India: it’s the increasing contrast between land and sea that eventually brings the heat-quenching, life-giving summer monsoon. Yet even by pre-monsoonal standards, April was extraordinarily hot across the region, as reported by WU weather historian Christopher Burt. On April 24, it hit 48.5°C [119.3°F] in the east-central town of Titilagarh--the highest temperature ever reliably measured in India during April. “You can say there is an undeclared curfew in Titlagarh after 10 am. If you go out, you are either a very brave person or you are an outsider,” local Congress member Upendra Bag told the Hindustan Times.
•••••
Man Convicted of Brooklyn Murder Exonerated After 52 Years
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-convicted-brooklyn-murder-exonerated-after-52-years-n566076
by Dan Slepian and Corky Siemaszko
May 2, 2016
Come November, 81-year-old Paul Gatling will get to do something that many Americans take for granted —he'll get to vote for a presidential candidate.
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson vacated Gatling's 1964 murder conviction on Monday and restored his rights, including his right to vote.
"I want my name cleared," Gatling told NBC News before Thompson made it official. "Most of all, I just want to vote before I die."
•••••
Thompson said full justice for Gatling was a long time coming.
"Paul Gatling repeatedly proclaimed his innocence even as he faced the death penalty back in the 60s," the DA said in a statement. "He was pressured to plead guilty and, sadly, did not receive a fair trial. Today, 52 years later, he will be given back his good name and receive justice here in Brooklyn, where he once called home."
•••••
tags: exonerated
by Dan Slepian and Corky Siemaszko
May 2, 2016
Come November, 81-year-old Paul Gatling will get to do something that many Americans take for granted —he'll get to vote for a presidential candidate.
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson vacated Gatling's 1964 murder conviction on Monday and restored his rights, including his right to vote.
"I want my name cleared," Gatling told NBC News before Thompson made it official. "Most of all, I just want to vote before I die."
•••••
Thompson said full justice for Gatling was a long time coming.
"Paul Gatling repeatedly proclaimed his innocence even as he faced the death penalty back in the 60s," the DA said in a statement. "He was pressured to plead guilty and, sadly, did not receive a fair trial. Today, 52 years later, he will be given back his good name and receive justice here in Brooklyn, where he once called home."
•••••
tags: exonerated
Tuesday, May 03, 2016
Why people defend corporal punishment
http://www.unicef.org/violencestudy/pdf/Hitting-wrong.pdf
Save the Children organization
Hitting people is wrong - and children are people too
•••••
Corporal punishment of children is a very personal issue:
most people were hit as children; most parents have hit their children. We do not like to think badly of our parents or our parenting. This gets in the way of compassionate and logical consideration of the arguments.
Challenging parents’, other carers’ and teachers’ rights to hit children often provokes emotional reactions. That is not surprising: corporal punishment is in most countries still a deeply embedded traditional practice, a habit passed down from one generation to another as part of the child- rearing culture, and in some cases supported by religious belief.
•••••
Children need discipline, and particularly need to learn self-discipline. But corporal punishment is a very ineffective form of discipline. Research has consistently shown that it rarely motivates children to act differently, because it does not bring an understanding of what they ought to be doing nor does it offer any kind of reward for being good. The fact that parents, teachers and others often have to repeat corporal punishment for the same misbehaviour by the same child testifies to its ineffectiveness.
Smacking, spanking and beating are a poor substitute for positive forms of discipline which, far from spoiling children, ensure that they learn to think about others and about the consequences of their actions.
•••••
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/good-thinking/201409/is-what-happens-when-you-hit-your-kids
This is What Happens When You Hit Your Kids
Denise Cummins Ph.D.
Sept. 19, 2014
•••••
1. Honoring your parents doesn't mean doing exactly what they did.
Our parents and grandparents accepted many things that we no longer find acceptable today: Jim Crow laws, smoking and drinking when pregnant, advertising jobs as "Help wanted: Male; Help wanted: Female", and so on. We've come to see that many of these traditions and beliefs were wrong, and we quite reasonably reject them. It is possible to love your parents and reject their traditions or beliefs. It is possible to accept that they were doing what they believed to be right at the time while simultaneously choosing not to do or believe those things.
•••••
A rational person changes his or her beliefs when reality turns out to contradict those beliefs.
The data show that punishment must be age-appropriate, and must be used when appropriate. Mild spanks may be acceptable for children aged 2-6, older children should be disciplined in non-violent ways, and parents with anger issues or abusive tendencies should avoid physical discipline entirely.
•••••
Even when using physical punishment on a young child, you must be sure punishment is really called for in the circumstances. I once saw a father and young son (about age five) bicycling along a busy road, the father following the son. The father was beside himself with rage because his son simply would not keep his mind on the road. Everything seemed to distract him. The father finally lost it, pulled his son off his bicycle, and swatted him hard on the bottom. "What you're doing is dangerous", he yelled, "You could be killed! You have to pay attention!" What the father failed to understand is that his young son was not capable of ignoring all of those distractions. His son was getting punished for failing to do something he was incapable of doing. A child that age is more capable of following someone on a bicycle than leading. The reason for this is biological: Self-control and focus is the function of the brain's frontal lobes, and the frontal lobes are not fully developed or fully connected to the rest of the brain until early adulthood.
•••••
tags: child abuse, corporal punishment
Save the Children organization
Hitting people is wrong - and children are people too
•••••
Corporal punishment of children is a very personal issue:
most people were hit as children; most parents have hit their children. We do not like to think badly of our parents or our parenting. This gets in the way of compassionate and logical consideration of the arguments.
Challenging parents’, other carers’ and teachers’ rights to hit children often provokes emotional reactions. That is not surprising: corporal punishment is in most countries still a deeply embedded traditional practice, a habit passed down from one generation to another as part of the child- rearing culture, and in some cases supported by religious belief.
•••••
Children need discipline, and particularly need to learn self-discipline. But corporal punishment is a very ineffective form of discipline. Research has consistently shown that it rarely motivates children to act differently, because it does not bring an understanding of what they ought to be doing nor does it offer any kind of reward for being good. The fact that parents, teachers and others often have to repeat corporal punishment for the same misbehaviour by the same child testifies to its ineffectiveness.
Smacking, spanking and beating are a poor substitute for positive forms of discipline which, far from spoiling children, ensure that they learn to think about others and about the consequences of their actions.
•••••
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/good-thinking/201409/is-what-happens-when-you-hit-your-kids
This is What Happens When You Hit Your Kids
Denise Cummins Ph.D.
Sept. 19, 2014
•••••
1. Honoring your parents doesn't mean doing exactly what they did.
Our parents and grandparents accepted many things that we no longer find acceptable today: Jim Crow laws, smoking and drinking when pregnant, advertising jobs as "Help wanted: Male; Help wanted: Female", and so on. We've come to see that many of these traditions and beliefs were wrong, and we quite reasonably reject them. It is possible to love your parents and reject their traditions or beliefs. It is possible to accept that they were doing what they believed to be right at the time while simultaneously choosing not to do or believe those things.
•••••
A rational person changes his or her beliefs when reality turns out to contradict those beliefs.
The data show that punishment must be age-appropriate, and must be used when appropriate. Mild spanks may be acceptable for children aged 2-6, older children should be disciplined in non-violent ways, and parents with anger issues or abusive tendencies should avoid physical discipline entirely.
•••••
Even when using physical punishment on a young child, you must be sure punishment is really called for in the circumstances. I once saw a father and young son (about age five) bicycling along a busy road, the father following the son. The father was beside himself with rage because his son simply would not keep his mind on the road. Everything seemed to distract him. The father finally lost it, pulled his son off his bicycle, and swatted him hard on the bottom. "What you're doing is dangerous", he yelled, "You could be killed! You have to pay attention!" What the father failed to understand is that his young son was not capable of ignoring all of those distractions. His son was getting punished for failing to do something he was incapable of doing. A child that age is more capable of following someone on a bicycle than leading. The reason for this is biological: Self-control and focus is the function of the brain's frontal lobes, and the frontal lobes are not fully developed or fully connected to the rest of the brain until early adulthood.
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tags: child abuse, corporal punishment
Sunday, May 01, 2016
Risks of harm from spanking confirmed by analysis of 5 decades of research
This matches my own experience from babysitting when I was in high school and college, and other observations of families I have known.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160425143106.htm
Date: April 25, 2016
Source: University of Texas at Austin
Summary:
The more children are spanked, the more likely they are to defy their parents and to experience increased anti-social behavior, aggression, mental health problems and cognitive difficulties, according to a new meta-analysis of 50 years of research on spanking.
The more children are spanked, the more likely they are to defy their parents and to experience increased anti-social behavior, aggression, mental health problems and cognitive difficulties, according to a new meta-analysis of 50 years of research on spanking by experts at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan.
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"Our analysis focuses on what most Americans would recognize as spanking and not on potentially abusive behaviors," says Elizabeth Gershoff, an associate professor of human development and family sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. "We found that spanking was associated with unintended detrimental outcomes and was not associated with more immediate or long-term compliance, which are parents' intended outcomes when they discipline their children."
Gershoff and co-author Andrew Grogan-Kaylor, an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, found that spanking (defined as an open-handed hit on the behind or extremities) was significantly linked with 13 of the 17 outcomes they examined, all in the direction of detrimental outcomes.
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Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor tested for some long-term effects among adults who were spanked as children. The more they were spanked, the more likely they were to exhibit anti-social behavior and to experience mental health problems. They were also more likely to support physical punishment for their own children, which highlights one of the key ways that attitudes toward physical punishment are passed from generation to generation.
The researchers looked at a wide range of studies and noted that spanking was associated with negative outcomes consistently and across all types of studies, including those using the strongest methodologies such as longitudinal or experimental designs.
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Both spanking and physical abuse were associated with the same detrimental child outcomes in the same direction and nearly the same strength.
"We as a society think of spanking and physical abuse as distinct behaviors," she says. "Yet our research shows that spanking is linked with the same negative child outcomes as abuse, just to a slightly lesser degree."
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tags: child abuse
Our culture of attack
Liberals can be as disgusting as conservatives. The popularity of Trump has shocked David Brook into a recognition of his insulation from the real world of those less privileged, and wants to correct this. I am happy he has been able to grow and learn, although of course I would have been happy if he had not required such a strong lesson. But it is normal to be resistant to changing our opinions. But what I see in liberal commentary is ugly put-downs of him. This just helps to perpetuate a culture of attack, and seeing life as a war of us against them.
Death toll mounts following flash flooding in Texas
Global warming has caused an increase in the amount of moisture in the air, leading to an increase in the number of severe precipitation events. Whether or not this storm would have happened with or w/o global warming, the added moisture would add to the amount of rainfall during it.http://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-floods-death-toll-mounts/
May 1, 2016
PALESTINE, Texas -- Authorities have found a sixth body following flash flooding in East Texas that also killed a woman and her four great-grandchildren.
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More than 7 inches of rain fell in less than an hour late Friday evening, swamping a neighborhood and forcing some people onto their roofs.
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Palestine [Texas] Mayor Bob Herrington signed an emergency declaration on Saturday, saying that he had not seen so much water rise so fast in the 59 years he'd lived there.
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https://weather.com/storms/tornado/news/severe-weather-late-week-storms-tornado-late-april-2016
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Sunday morning, heavy rain caused significant flooding in southern Louisiana, including reports of cars submerged on Interstate 49 north of Lafayette and reports of water entering some homes. Rainfall totals of 6 to 9 inches had been reported from Sunday midnight through Sunday late morning.
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tags: severe weather
Using empathy to use people
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/moral-universe/using-empathy-to-use-people-emotional-intelligence-and-manipulation/
Using empathy to use people: Emotional intelligence and manipulation
By Jamil Zaki on November 7, 2013
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But empathy is not always used in the service of good. Two papers last month highlight this idea through evidence that people use empathy to use other people, manipulating them through a savvy understanding of emotions.
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These studies highlight at least two things. First, the “pieces” that make up empathy don’t always go together. In many cases, understanding someone’s emotions (so-called “cognitive empathy”) and sharing those emotions (so-called “emotional empathy”) can split apart. Further, understanding without sharing is a dangerous pattern, which likely underlies intimidation, used car sales tactics, and all sorts of other manipulation. Of course in many—and perhaps most—cases, we use our understanding of others to help them. This highlights the second point these papers make. Empathic ability is value neutral, sometimes helping and other times hurting people. As are so many features of our minds.
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Using empathy to use people: Emotional intelligence and manipulation
By Jamil Zaki on November 7, 2013
•••••
But empathy is not always used in the service of good. Two papers last month highlight this idea through evidence that people use empathy to use other people, manipulating them through a savvy understanding of emotions.
•••••
These studies highlight at least two things. First, the “pieces” that make up empathy don’t always go together. In many cases, understanding someone’s emotions (so-called “cognitive empathy”) and sharing those emotions (so-called “emotional empathy”) can split apart. Further, understanding without sharing is a dangerous pattern, which likely underlies intimidation, used car sales tactics, and all sorts of other manipulation. Of course in many—and perhaps most—cases, we use our understanding of others to help them. This highlights the second point these papers make. Empathic ability is value neutral, sometimes helping and other times hurting people. As are so many features of our minds.
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Researchers overturn landmark study on the replicability of psychological science
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/hu-rol022916.php
Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
Researchers overturn landmark study on the replicability of psychological science
Harvard University
According to two Harvard professors and their collaborators, a 2015 landmark study showing that more than half of all psychology studies cannot be replicated is actually wrong.
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But an in-depth examination of the data by Daniel Gilbert (Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University), Gary King (Albert J. Weatherhead III University Professor at Harvard University), Stephen Pettigrew (doctoral student in the Department of Government at Harvard University), and Timothy Wilson (Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia) has revealed that the OSC made some serious mistakes that make this pessimistic conclusion completely unwarranted:
The methods of many of the replication studies turn out to be remarkably different from the originals and, according to Gilbert, King, Pettigrew, and Wilson, these "infidelities" had two important consequences.
First, they introduced statistical error into the data which led the OSC to significantly underestimate how many of their replications should have failed by chance alone. When this error is taken into account, the number of failures in their data is no greater than one would expect if all 100 of the original findings had been true.
Second, Gilbert, King, Pettigrew, and Wilson discovered that the low-fidelity studies were four times more likely to fail than were the high-fidelity studies, suggesting that when replicators strayed from the original methods, they caused their own studies to fail.
Finally, the OSC used a "low powered" design. When Gilbert, King, Pettigrew, and Wilson applied this design to a published data set that was known to have a high replication rate, it too showed a low replication rate, suggesting that the OSC's design was destined from the start to underestimate the replicability of psychological science.
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Tiny island deer in Panama hunted to extinction thousands of years ago
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/stri-tid030316.php
Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
Tiny island deer in Panama hunted to extinction thousands of years ago
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
As polar ice caps melted at the end of the last Ice Age about 8,500 years ago, the global sea level rose and Panama's Pearl Islands were isolated from the mainland. A new archaeological study by a team including a Smithsonian scientist shows that several thousand years later pre-Columbian colonists hunted a dwarf deer to extinction on an island called Pedro González.
The settlers arrived on the 14-hectare island by sea 6,200 years ago and stayed for a maximum of eight centuries, farming maize and roots, fishing, gathering palm fruits and shellfish and hunting deer, opossums, agoutis, iguanas and large snakes--the major predators.
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Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
Tiny island deer in Panama hunted to extinction thousands of years ago
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
As polar ice caps melted at the end of the last Ice Age about 8,500 years ago, the global sea level rose and Panama's Pearl Islands were isolated from the mainland. A new archaeological study by a team including a Smithsonian scientist shows that several thousand years later pre-Columbian colonists hunted a dwarf deer to extinction on an island called Pedro González.
The settlers arrived on the 14-hectare island by sea 6,200 years ago and stayed for a maximum of eight centuries, farming maize and roots, fishing, gathering palm fruits and shellfish and hunting deer, opossums, agoutis, iguanas and large snakes--the major predators.
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What influences 11-year-olds to drink?
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/bc-wi1030116.php
Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
What influences 11-year-olds to drink?
BioMed Central
Around one in seven 11 years olds in the UK have had at least one drink of alcohol, according to a study published in the open access journal BMC Public Health, which analyzed data from 10,498 children aged 11.
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The researchers found that nearly 14% of 11 year olds had drunk more than a few sips of alcohol at least once. It is not possible to make statements regarding cause and effect with this sort of study, but the numbers do show a strong association between 11 year olds drinking and their friends' and mothers' behavior. Children whose mothers drank heavily were 80% more likely to drink than children whose mothers did not drink and boys were more likely to report drinking than girls. Children whose friends drank were five times more likely to drink than those whose friends did not drink. It was also found that friends' drinking had a stronger association with children's alcohol consumption than parents' drinking. Other factors associated with drinking were having started puberty, being a second or later born child, having socioemotional difficulties (e.g. sustaining positive relationships, experiencing, managing or expressing emotions) and antisocial behaviors.
Positive perceptions of alcohol were associated with increased odds of a child drinking. These include perceptions that alcohol makes people feel better about themselves or that it makes it easier to make friends. Other factors associated with increased odds of a child drinking were a lack of parental supervision on weekends and weekdays, and not being happy with family relationships.
Children were less likely to drink if they had heightened perceptions of the harms of drinking and negative expectations towards alcohol, such as that it makes it hard to get along with friends or that it impacts school work.
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Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
What influences 11-year-olds to drink?
BioMed Central
Around one in seven 11 years olds in the UK have had at least one drink of alcohol, according to a study published in the open access journal BMC Public Health, which analyzed data from 10,498 children aged 11.
•••••
The researchers found that nearly 14% of 11 year olds had drunk more than a few sips of alcohol at least once. It is not possible to make statements regarding cause and effect with this sort of study, but the numbers do show a strong association between 11 year olds drinking and their friends' and mothers' behavior. Children whose mothers drank heavily were 80% more likely to drink than children whose mothers did not drink and boys were more likely to report drinking than girls. Children whose friends drank were five times more likely to drink than those whose friends did not drink. It was also found that friends' drinking had a stronger association with children's alcohol consumption than parents' drinking. Other factors associated with drinking were having started puberty, being a second or later born child, having socioemotional difficulties (e.g. sustaining positive relationships, experiencing, managing or expressing emotions) and antisocial behaviors.
Positive perceptions of alcohol were associated with increased odds of a child drinking. These include perceptions that alcohol makes people feel better about themselves or that it makes it easier to make friends. Other factors associated with increased odds of a child drinking were a lack of parental supervision on weekends and weekdays, and not being happy with family relationships.
Children were less likely to drink if they had heightened perceptions of the harms of drinking and negative expectations towards alcohol, such as that it makes it hard to get along with friends or that it impacts school work.
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Long-term aspirin use linked to lower risk for gastrointestinal tract cancers
When I was taking time-release aspirin at night for back pain, I started getting sick a lot. I learned that aspirin decreases the immune system.http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/tjnj-lau030116.php
Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
Long-term aspirin use linked to lower risk for gastrointestinal tract cancers
The JAMA Network Journals
Regular low doses of aspirin for at least six years was associated with a modestly reduced overall risk for cancer, primarily due to a lower risk for gastrointestinal tract cancer, especially colorectal cancers, according to an article published online by JAMA Oncology.
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Regular use of aspirin two times or more per week was associated with a 3 percent lower risk for overall cancers, which was mostly due to a 15 percent lower risk for gastrointestinal tract cancers and a 19 percent lower risk for cancers of the colon and rectum, according to the results.
However, regular use of aspirin was not associated with a lower risk for other major cancers, such as breast, prostate or lung, the authors report.
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Study shows broccoli may offer protection against liver cancer
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/uoic-ssb030316.php
Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
Study shows broccoli may offer protection against liver cancer
University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
Consumption of broccoli has increased in the United States over the last few decades as scientists have reported that eating the vegetable three to five times per week can lower the risk of many types of cancer including breast, prostate, and colon cancers.
A new study from the University of Illinois reports that including broccoli in the diet may also protect against liver cancer, as well as aid in countering the development of fatty liver or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) which can cause malfunction of the liver and lead to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a liver cancer with a high mortality rate.
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effery says that the majority of the U.S. population eats a diet high in saturated fats and added sugars. However, both of these are stored in the liver and can be converted to body fat. Consuming a high-fat, high-sugar diet and having excess body fat is linked with the development of NAFLD, which can lead to diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.
"We called this a Westernized-style diet in the study because we wanted to model how so many of us are eating today," Jeffery says.
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The study shows that in mice on the Westernized diet both the number of cancer nodules and the size of the cancer nodules increased in the liver. But when broccoli was added to the diet, the number of nodules decreased. Size was not affected.
"That was what we really set out to show," Jeffery says. "But on top of that we were looking at the liver health. There are actually two ways of getting fatty liver; one, by eating a high-fat, high-sugar diet and the other by drinking too much alcohol. In this case, it is called non-alcoholic fatty liver, because we didn't use the alcohol. And it is something that is becoming prevalent among Americans. This disease means you are no longer controlling the amount of fat that is accumulating in your liver."
With NAFLD, lipid globules form on the liver. During the study, the researchers observed these globules in the livers of the mice on the Westernized diet.
"We found that the Westernized diet did increase fatty liver, but we saw that the broccoli protected against it. Broccoli stopped too much uptake of fat into the liver by decreasing the uptake and increasing the output of lipid from the liver," she says.
Jeffery notes that adding broccoli to the diet of the mice did not make them "thin," or affect their body weight, but it did bring the liver under control, ultimately making them healthier. "This is one of the things that makes this very exciting for us," she says.
•••••
Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
Study shows broccoli may offer protection against liver cancer
University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
Consumption of broccoli has increased in the United States over the last few decades as scientists have reported that eating the vegetable three to five times per week can lower the risk of many types of cancer including breast, prostate, and colon cancers.
A new study from the University of Illinois reports that including broccoli in the diet may also protect against liver cancer, as well as aid in countering the development of fatty liver or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) which can cause malfunction of the liver and lead to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a liver cancer with a high mortality rate.
•••••
effery says that the majority of the U.S. population eats a diet high in saturated fats and added sugars. However, both of these are stored in the liver and can be converted to body fat. Consuming a high-fat, high-sugar diet and having excess body fat is linked with the development of NAFLD, which can lead to diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.
"We called this a Westernized-style diet in the study because we wanted to model how so many of us are eating today," Jeffery says.
•••••
The study shows that in mice on the Westernized diet both the number of cancer nodules and the size of the cancer nodules increased in the liver. But when broccoli was added to the diet, the number of nodules decreased. Size was not affected.
"That was what we really set out to show," Jeffery says. "But on top of that we were looking at the liver health. There are actually two ways of getting fatty liver; one, by eating a high-fat, high-sugar diet and the other by drinking too much alcohol. In this case, it is called non-alcoholic fatty liver, because we didn't use the alcohol. And it is something that is becoming prevalent among Americans. This disease means you are no longer controlling the amount of fat that is accumulating in your liver."
With NAFLD, lipid globules form on the liver. During the study, the researchers observed these globules in the livers of the mice on the Westernized diet.
"We found that the Westernized diet did increase fatty liver, but we saw that the broccoli protected against it. Broccoli stopped too much uptake of fat into the liver by decreasing the uptake and increasing the output of lipid from the liver," she says.
Jeffery notes that adding broccoli to the diet of the mice did not make them "thin," or affect their body weight, but it did bring the liver under control, ultimately making them healthier. "This is one of the things that makes this very exciting for us," she says.
•••••
Violence linked to early signs of blood vessel disease in women
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/aha-vlt022416.php
Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
Violence linked to early signs of blood vessel disease in women
American Heart Association Meeting Report Abstract P202
American Heart Association
Experiencing physical violence in adulthood may increase the risk of women developing heart and blood-vessel disease, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology/Lifestyle 2016 Scientific Sessions.
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Worldwide, violence against women is a critical problem. It is established that experiencing violence can cause depression, substance abuse and other disorders in women, its possible effects on heart and blood vessel disease are a new area of research.
In this study from Mexico, researchers found that women who had experienced physical violence as adults were more than one and a half times more likely to have narrowing of the main blood vessels in the neck that carry blood to the brain, compared to women who had not experienced violence. This narrowing is an early sign of increased risk for stroke. A leading cause of death and disability, a stroke occurs when the blood vessels to the brain either become blocked by fatty substances or burst, preventing blood flow to the brain.
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Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
Violence linked to early signs of blood vessel disease in women
American Heart Association Meeting Report Abstract P202
American Heart Association
Experiencing physical violence in adulthood may increase the risk of women developing heart and blood-vessel disease, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology/Lifestyle 2016 Scientific Sessions.
•••••
Worldwide, violence against women is a critical problem. It is established that experiencing violence can cause depression, substance abuse and other disorders in women, its possible effects on heart and blood vessel disease are a new area of research.
In this study from Mexico, researchers found that women who had experienced physical violence as adults were more than one and a half times more likely to have narrowing of the main blood vessels in the neck that carry blood to the brain, compared to women who had not experienced violence. This narrowing is an early sign of increased risk for stroke. A leading cause of death and disability, a stroke occurs when the blood vessels to the brain either become blocked by fatty substances or burst, preventing blood flow to the brain.
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New study finds elders living alone with abuser more likely to endure severe mistreatment
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/uot-nsf030316.php
Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
New study finds elders living alone with abuser more likely to endure severe mistreatment
Other findings: Non-perpetrators in the home act as a buffer and 'youngest old' experience most severe forms of abuse
University of Toronto
A new study examining elder abuse--released today by researchers at the University of Toronto, Cornell University, and Weill-Cornell Medical College--has found that older adult victims living alone with their abuser were up to four times more likely to endure more severe levels of mistreatment. The study suggests that the addition of non-perpetrators also living in the home played a protective function to buffer severity.
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Research on older adults tends to categorize subjects according to different age groups, including the 'youngest old' (ages 60 to 74) and the 'oldest old' (ages 85 and up). One surprising finding was that across each type of elder abuse, it was the 'youngest old' who experienced the most severe forms of mistreatment.
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"Previous studies on elder abuse have found that approximately one in ten older adults experience some form of elder abuse," says lead author Dr. David Burnes, an assistant professor with the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. "As the population of older adults in North America nearly doubles over the next 25 years, this problem will just get bigger. Older adults who are abused have shorter lifespans, and are more likely to be hospitalized and experience mental health issues."
Previous studies have largely explored elder abuse in general yes/no terms, but this study examined different forms of elder abuse along a continuum of severity. "We know that the yes/no characterization of elder abuse does not capture the complex, lived reality of mistreatment or align with the way clinicians examine and intervene on the problem," says the University of Toronto's Dr. David Burnes.
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Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
New study finds elders living alone with abuser more likely to endure severe mistreatment
Other findings: Non-perpetrators in the home act as a buffer and 'youngest old' experience most severe forms of abuse
University of Toronto
A new study examining elder abuse--released today by researchers at the University of Toronto, Cornell University, and Weill-Cornell Medical College--has found that older adult victims living alone with their abuser were up to four times more likely to endure more severe levels of mistreatment. The study suggests that the addition of non-perpetrators also living in the home played a protective function to buffer severity.
•••••
Research on older adults tends to categorize subjects according to different age groups, including the 'youngest old' (ages 60 to 74) and the 'oldest old' (ages 85 and up). One surprising finding was that across each type of elder abuse, it was the 'youngest old' who experienced the most severe forms of mistreatment.
•••••
"Previous studies on elder abuse have found that approximately one in ten older adults experience some form of elder abuse," says lead author Dr. David Burnes, an assistant professor with the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. "As the population of older adults in North America nearly doubles over the next 25 years, this problem will just get bigger. Older adults who are abused have shorter lifespans, and are more likely to be hospitalized and experience mental health issues."
Previous studies have largely explored elder abuse in general yes/no terms, but this study examined different forms of elder abuse along a continuum of severity. "We know that the yes/no characterization of elder abuse does not capture the complex, lived reality of mistreatment or align with the way clinicians examine and intervene on the problem," says the University of Toronto's Dr. David Burnes.
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Improved lifestyle led to decreased cholesterol and less cardiac death in Sweden
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/uu-ill030116.php
Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
Improved lifestyle led to decreased cholesterol and less cardiac death
Umea University
Cholesterol levels - the most common risk factor for heart attacks - have decreased in northern Sweden over the last 20 years. Since medical drugs only account for a third of the decrease, the reduced risk of cardiovascular disease is greatly thanks to a change in lifestyle. This according to a study published in the European Heart Journal.
Researchers at Umeå University and Sunderby Hospital in Luleå, both in northern Sweden, have found a general decrease in cholesterol levels, which was more pronounced in older people, women without university education and in people with high risk of cardiovascular disease.
"The most important reason for the decreased cholesterol in the population of Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties in northern Sweden is most likely a change in lifestyle, such as a reduced intake of fat, together with an increased intake of fibre from fruit, vegetables and grains," according to Mats Eliasson, professor at the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine as well as doctor at Sunderby Hospital in Luleå.
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Even if the risk of cardiovascular disease has been heavily reduced in the last 10-20 years, it is still the most common cause of death in Sweden, especially when it comes to heart attacks. High cholesterol levels is the most important cause of disease followed by smoking and high blood pressure.
Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
Improved lifestyle led to decreased cholesterol and less cardiac death
Umea University
Cholesterol levels - the most common risk factor for heart attacks - have decreased in northern Sweden over the last 20 years. Since medical drugs only account for a third of the decrease, the reduced risk of cardiovascular disease is greatly thanks to a change in lifestyle. This according to a study published in the European Heart Journal.
Researchers at Umeå University and Sunderby Hospital in Luleå, both in northern Sweden, have found a general decrease in cholesterol levels, which was more pronounced in older people, women without university education and in people with high risk of cardiovascular disease.
"The most important reason for the decreased cholesterol in the population of Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties in northern Sweden is most likely a change in lifestyle, such as a reduced intake of fat, together with an increased intake of fibre from fruit, vegetables and grains," according to Mats Eliasson, professor at the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine as well as doctor at Sunderby Hospital in Luleå.
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Even if the risk of cardiovascular disease has been heavily reduced in the last 10-20 years, it is still the most common cause of death in Sweden, especially when it comes to heart attacks. High cholesterol levels is the most important cause of disease followed by smoking and high blood pressure.
Bromances may be good for men's health
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/uoc--bmb030316.php
Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
Bromances may be good for men's health
Moderate stress encourages male bonding, and prosocial behavior makes them more resilient to stress
University of California - Berkeley
Male friendships, portrayed and often winked at in bromance movies, could have healthful effects similar to those seen in romantic relationships, especially when dealing with stress, according to a new study of male rats by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
Human studies show that social interactions increase the level of the hormone oxytocin in the brain, and that oxytocin helps people bond and socialize more, increasing their resilience in the face of stress and leading to longer, healthier lives. Studies of male-female rat pairs and other rodents, such as monogamous prairie voles, confirm these findings.
The new study extends these studies to male rats housed in the same cage, and demonstrates that mild stress can actually make male rats more social and cooperative than they are in an unstressed environment, much as humans come together after non-life-threatening events such as a national tragedy. After a mild stress, the rats showed increased brain levels of oxytocin and its receptor and huddled and touched more.
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"Having friends is not un-masculine," she added. "These rats are using their rat friendships to recover from what would otherwise be a negative experience. If rats can do it, men can do it too. And they definitely are, they just don't get as much credit in the research for that."
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The research also has implications for post-traumatic stress disorder, said senior author Daniela Kaufer, a UC Berkeley associate professor of integrative biology and member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute.
After severe, potentially life-threatening stress, the male rat cagemates became withdrawn and antisocial, often sitting alone in a corner, and more aggressive, not unlike people who suffer from PTSD or illnesses such as depression or severe anxiety. The researchers found that oxytocin receptor levels in the brain actually decreased after severe stress, which would make the brain less responsive to whatever hormone is there.
"Social interactions can buffer you against stress, but if a trauma is just too much and there is PTSD, you actually withdraw from social interactions that can be supportive for you," Kaufer said. "This research suggests that this might be happening through changes in oxytocin; that in the context of life-threatening stress, you lose its effect and you see less prosocial behavior. This really aligns well with what you see with pathological effects of stress on humans."
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Male rats housed together, Kirby said, sometimes display aggression toward one another, such as fighting over water and food. But after a mild stress - in this experiment, restraining them for a few hours - they tended to cooperate more, despite or because of an even stronger dominance hierarchy between the rats.
"If you repeatedly take away and return their water, normal rats become very aggressive, pushing and shoving at the water fountain like a bunch of thirsty 7-year-olds who don't know how to stand in line yet," Kirby said. "The cagemates who had the mild stressor did not show this behavior at all. After taking away their water and bringing it back, they shared it very evenly and without any pushing and shoving. It was very civil."
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The researchers found that this was accompanied by increased hypothalamic oxytocin levels.
On the other hand, a severe stressor - in this case, adding the smell of fox urine while they were restrained - had the opposite effect.
"If you are a rat and you smell a predator, the likelihood that you are going to get eaten soon is pretty high," Kirby said. "In that case, the oxytocin bump that would come with a less threatening stressor is suppressed, and oxytocin receptor levels decrease Then, you don't see social bonding anymore. You don't see the rodent cuddling, you don't see them showing increased prosocial behaviors."
This is akin to PTSD after a battle experience or a car accident, she said. "People stop talking to their friends, they stop engaging in their social networks the way they used to."
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Public Release: 3-Mar-2016
Bromances may be good for men's health
Moderate stress encourages male bonding, and prosocial behavior makes them more resilient to stress
University of California - Berkeley
Male friendships, portrayed and often winked at in bromance movies, could have healthful effects similar to those seen in romantic relationships, especially when dealing with stress, according to a new study of male rats by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
Human studies show that social interactions increase the level of the hormone oxytocin in the brain, and that oxytocin helps people bond and socialize more, increasing their resilience in the face of stress and leading to longer, healthier lives. Studies of male-female rat pairs and other rodents, such as monogamous prairie voles, confirm these findings.
The new study extends these studies to male rats housed in the same cage, and demonstrates that mild stress can actually make male rats more social and cooperative than they are in an unstressed environment, much as humans come together after non-life-threatening events such as a national tragedy. After a mild stress, the rats showed increased brain levels of oxytocin and its receptor and huddled and touched more.
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"Having friends is not un-masculine," she added. "These rats are using their rat friendships to recover from what would otherwise be a negative experience. If rats can do it, men can do it too. And they definitely are, they just don't get as much credit in the research for that."
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The research also has implications for post-traumatic stress disorder, said senior author Daniela Kaufer, a UC Berkeley associate professor of integrative biology and member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute.
After severe, potentially life-threatening stress, the male rat cagemates became withdrawn and antisocial, often sitting alone in a corner, and more aggressive, not unlike people who suffer from PTSD or illnesses such as depression or severe anxiety. The researchers found that oxytocin receptor levels in the brain actually decreased after severe stress, which would make the brain less responsive to whatever hormone is there.
"Social interactions can buffer you against stress, but if a trauma is just too much and there is PTSD, you actually withdraw from social interactions that can be supportive for you," Kaufer said. "This research suggests that this might be happening through changes in oxytocin; that in the context of life-threatening stress, you lose its effect and you see less prosocial behavior. This really aligns well with what you see with pathological effects of stress on humans."
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Male rats housed together, Kirby said, sometimes display aggression toward one another, such as fighting over water and food. But after a mild stress - in this experiment, restraining them for a few hours - they tended to cooperate more, despite or because of an even stronger dominance hierarchy between the rats.
"If you repeatedly take away and return their water, normal rats become very aggressive, pushing and shoving at the water fountain like a bunch of thirsty 7-year-olds who don't know how to stand in line yet," Kirby said. "The cagemates who had the mild stressor did not show this behavior at all. After taking away their water and bringing it back, they shared it very evenly and without any pushing and shoving. It was very civil."
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The researchers found that this was accompanied by increased hypothalamic oxytocin levels.
On the other hand, a severe stressor - in this case, adding the smell of fox urine while they were restrained - had the opposite effect.
"If you are a rat and you smell a predator, the likelihood that you are going to get eaten soon is pretty high," Kirby said. "In that case, the oxytocin bump that would come with a less threatening stressor is suppressed, and oxytocin receptor levels decrease Then, you don't see social bonding anymore. You don't see the rodent cuddling, you don't see them showing increased prosocial behaviors."
This is akin to PTSD after a battle experience or a car accident, she said. "People stop talking to their friends, they stop engaging in their social networks the way they used to."
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