Symptoms of Living

Monte Carlo

2016-11-11T03:27:00.003-08:00

Qualities of a thoughtful life.

2016-11-11T03:26:00.001-08:00

Requires NO Talent:

Kindness
Gratitude
Generosity
Effort
Grit
Optimism
Being on Time
Hard Work
Preparing
Humility
Empathy
Sharing
Honesty

"Always do Right. This will Gratify some People and Astonish the Rest." - Mark Twain #ArtOfTheShave #Shave #SantaMonica #Barbershop

“Perhaps all anxiety might derive from a fixation on moments — an inability to accept life as ongoing.” https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/03/31/ongoingness-sarah-manguso/ …

Against Self-Criticism – fantastic read on the Stockholm syndrome of the psyche https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/05/23/against-self-criticism-adam-phillips-unforbidden-pleasures/ …

How to disagree—Amin Maalouf on the key to intelligent dissent and effective criticism, so rare and necessary today https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/10/09/amin-maalouf-identity-criticism/ …

Stress and the social self—a pioneering immunologist on the science of how relationships affect our immune system https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/10/07/esther-sternberg-stress-relationships/ …

Trump is President:

9/11 never forget

11/9 always regret

#Election Night

Intensity is the price of excellence

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic.

It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives.

If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something,

If we remember those times and places — and there are so many — where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however a small way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future.

The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

Howard Zinn
http://www.mindful.org/now-what/

‏@mindfuleveryday

“Silence is sometimes the best answer.” - @DalaiLama
#mindfulness

Your story is a canary. If your story is unclear, people (investors, reporters, recruits) assume your strategy is also a mess.

Robert Schumann - Piano Quintet, Op.44 (Grimaud, Capuçon, Shoji, Tomte, ...

2016-11-10T03:03:00.001-08:00

Robert Schumann - Piano Quintet, Op.44 (Grimaud,
Capuçon, Shoji, Tomte, Maisky)

Robert Schumann - Piano Quintet, Op.44

0:40 I. Allegro brillante
9:23 II. In modo d'una marcia
18:07 III. Scherzo
22:39 IV. Finale

Watch the full concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXvZV...

Category Music
License: Standard YouTube License
Created using YouTube Video Editor
Source videos View attributions

Link: https://youtu.be/aXvZV 8lltiY

Work

2016-11-10T01:32:00.000-08:00

How do we redesign work? Rather brilliant talk by Nick Leon @RCA_SD

Dust mites: Cause of so many people's allergies.

2016-11-05T22:39:00.000-07:00

Dust mites: bane of my existence. Cause of so many people's allergies.

‏@bylenasun

Speaking of Science

Scientists just completed a census of the creepy crawlies that live in our homes

Do you know the bugs that share your home?

No? Well, pull up a chair and get acquainted. Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Colorado Boulder just completed a census of creepy crawlies from hundreds of households across the country and found that creatures from more than 600 genera of arthropods live alongside us in our homes.

Arthropods, a phylum of invertebrate animals with exoskeletons and segmented bodies, include insects, spiders, crustaceans and all manner of other many-legged critters — most of whom you probably wouldn't want to get up close and personal with right before dinner.

But the reality is that you already are on intimate terms with these creatures. They reflect your environment and affect your health, even if you don't notice them.

Distribution of dust mites detected in door trim dust inside homes across the United States (purple) compared with the range where they are predicted to be most abundant (tan).
(Anne A. Madden)

“There are a whole bunch of different arthropods that we may not think about being part of our natural environment in the home but they’re there,” said biologist Anne Madden, the lead author of a report on the census published in the journal Molecular Ecology. “They're our present, but often-ignored roommates.”

Madden and her colleagues solicited samples from more than 700 houses in all 48 contiguous states. Each contributor needed to provide only a tiny amount of dust — one swab from inside the house, another from outside. Each sample could fit on the head of a Q-Tip.

But contained within those swatches of dust was a world of knowledge. After all, dust isn't just dust: It's microscopic detritus of the ecosystem that is your home. It's got bits of bug leg and moth wing scales, flakes of your skin and dander from your pets, bits of feces from inhabitants large and small (hope you weren't still eating breakfast). By sequencing the DNA of the organic material in each sample, Madden could conduct a genetic census of the creatures in that household.

For this study, she focused on the arthropods. She was specifically interested in analyzing the diversity of bugs — the variety of standard and surprising creatures live among us. Some households she examined had representatives from as many as 45 genera. (Note that diversity is different from abundance: Just because these houses had a wide assortment of bugs doesn't mean they were overrun with insects.)

These results allowed the researchers to understand the complex interactions that take place unnoticed at our feet and within our walls. For example, many samples contained DNA from tiny plant-eating aphids, ladybugs that eat them, and parasitic wasps that lay their eggs in aphids.

“We're seeing entire food webs,” Madden said. “Parasitoids, predators and prey all existing in dust.”
She and her colleagues also began to pick out some trends in the distribution of arthropods and the kinds of homes they like to live in. Roaches tended to stay in warm, southern climates, whereas ladybugs were more plentiful in northern homes. Dust mites like humidity. Houses with pets tended to have more diverse bugs, as did ones with basements.

This data could help clinicians working to understand things such as allergies, according to Madden. It's known that dust mites are a common cause of asthma, as is cockroach waste. “It's good to think about what unexpected arthropods we might be interacting with to figure out how they might be affecting our health in the future,” Madden said.
Some of our bugs may make our homes better without us noticing — spiders that eat other pests, for example. Some might be accidental intruders, tracked in on a sleeve or a dog's paw and as eager to escape the carpeted confines of our homes as we are to have kick them out. Still others may carry out their entire existences right next to us, without us ever noticing

“It’s fun to reveal the mysteries that we didn’t even know were mysteries,” Madden said. “We think of our houses as our most well known and intimate habitats, and yet we still have so much to learn about what's going on inside of them.”

Sarah Kaplan is a reporter for Speaking of Science.

Follow @sarahkaplan48

Pollution particles 'get into brain'

2016-11-01T04:51:00.000-07:00

Image copyright ZEPHYR/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Science + Environment

Pollution particles 'get into brain'

David Shukman
Science editor

Tiny particles of pollution have been discovered inside samples of brain tissue, according to new research.

Suspected of toxicity, the particles of iron oxide could conceivably contribute to diseases like Alzheimer's - though evidence for this is lacking.

The finding - described as "dreadfully shocking" by the researchers - raises a host of new questions about the health risks of air pollution.

Many studies have focused on the impact of dirty air on the lungs and heart.

Now this new research provides the first evidence that minute particles of what is called magnetite, which can be derived from pollution, can find their way into the brain.

Earlier this year the World Health Organisation warned that air pollution was leading to as many as three million premature deaths every year.

Tracing origins

The estimate for the UK is that 50,000 people die every year with conditions linked to polluted air.
The research was led by scientists at Lancaster University and is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The team analysed samples of brain tissue from 37 people - 29 who had lived and died in Mexico City, a notorious pollution hotspot, and who were aged from 3 to 85.

The other 8 came from Manchester, were aged 62-92 and some had died with varying severities of neurodegenerative disease.

The lead author of the research paper, Prof Barbara Maher, has previously identified magnetite particles in samples of air gathered beside a busy road in Lancaster and outside a power station.

She suspected that similar particles may be found in the brain samples, and that is what happened.

"It's dreadfully shocking. When you study the tissue you see the particles distributed between the cells and when you do a magnetic extraction there are millions of particles, millions in a single gram of brain tissue - that's a million opportunities to do damage."

Image copyright ALFRED PASIEKA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Image caption A link to Alzheimer's and other diseases is under investigation

Further study revealed that the particles have a distinctive shape which provides a crucial clue to their origin.

Magnetite can occur naturally in the brain in tiny quantities but the particles formed that way are distinctively jagged.

By contrast, the particles found in the study were not only far more numerous but also smooth and rounded - characteristics that can only be created in the high temperatures of a vehicle engine or braking systems.

Prof Maher said: "They are spherical shapes and they have little crystallites around their surfaces, and they occur with other metals like platinum which comes from catalytic converters.

"So for the first time we saw these pollution particles inside the human brain.

"It's a discovery finding. It's a whole new area to investigate to understand if these magnetite particles are causing or accelerating neuro-degenerative disease."

For every one natural magnetite particle identified, the researchers found about 100 of the pollution-derived ones.

The results did not show a straightforward pattern. While the Manchester donors, especially those with neurodegenerative conditions, had elevated levels of magnetite, the same or higher levels were found in the Mexico City victims.

The highest level was found in a 32-year-old Mexican man who had been killed in a traffic accident.

Disease risk?

Dubbed "nanospheres", the particles are less than 200 nanometres in diameter - by comparison, a human hair is at least 50,000 nanometres thick.

While large particles of pollution such as soot can be trapped inside the nose, smaller types can enter the lungs and even smaller ones can cross into the bloodstream.

But nanoscale particles of magnetite are believed to be small enough to pass from the nose into the olfactory bulb and then via the nervous system into the frontal cortex of the brain.

Prof David Allsop, a specialist in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, is a co-author of the study and also at Lancaster University.

He said that pollution particles "could be an important risk factor" for these conditions.

"There is no absolutely proven link at the moment but there are lots of suggestive observations - other people have found these pollution particles in the middle of the plaques that accumulate in the brain in Alzheimer's disease so they could well be a contributor to plaque formation.

"These particles are made out of iron and iron is very reactive so it's almost certainly going to do some damage to the brain. It's involved in producing very reactive molecules called reaction oxygen species which produce oxidative damage and that's very well defined.

"We already know oxidative damage contributes to brain damage in Alzheimer's patients so if you've got iron in the brain it's very likely to do some damage. It can't be benign."

Other experts in the field are more cautious about a possible link.

Dr Clare Walton, research manager at the Alzheimer's Society, said there was no strong evidence that magnetite causes Alzheimer's disease or makes it worse.

"This study offers convincing evidence that magnetite from air pollution can get into the brain, but it doesn't tell us what effect this has on brain health or conditions such as Alzheimer's disease," she said.

"The causes of dementia are complex and so far there hasn't been enough research to say whether living in cities and polluted areas raises the risk of dementia. Further work in this area is important, but until we have more information people should not be unduly worried."

She said that in the meantime more practical ways of lowering the chances of developing dementia include regular exercise, eating a healthy diet and avoiding smoking.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37276219

LSD helps to treat alcoholism

2016-11-01T04:21:00.001-07:00

DEA/Science Faction/Corbis

Nature | News

LSD helps to treat alcoholism

Retrospective analysis shows hallucinogenic drug helped problem drinkers.

Arran Frood

09 March 2012

An analysis of old studies suggests LSD may have a role to play in treating alcoholism.

The powerful hallucinogen LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) has potential as a treatment for alcoholism, according to a retrospective analysis of studies published in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The study1, by neuroscientist Teri Krebs and clinical psychologist Pål-Ørjan Johansen of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, is the first-ever quantitative meta-analysis of LSD–alcoholism clinical trials. The researchers sifted through thousands of records to collect data from randomized, double-blind trials that compared one dose of LSD to a placebo.

Of 536 participants in six trials, 59% of people receiving LSD reported lower levels of alcohol misuse, compared to 38% of people who received a placebo. “We were surprised that the effect was so clear and consistent,” says Krebs. She says that the problem with most studies done at that time was that there were too few participants, which limited statistical power. “But when you combine the data in a meta-analysis, we have more than 500 patients and there is definitely an effect,” she says. In general, the reported benefits lasted three to six months. Their findings are published today in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

Psychedelics were promoted by psychiatrists in the 1950s as having a range of medical uses — to treat conditions such as schizophrenia, for example — before political pressures in the United States and elsewhere largely ended the work. “Alcoholism was considered one of the most promising clinical applications for LSD,” says Johansen. Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson is said to have espoused the benefits of LSD in the book Pass It On: The Story of Bill Wilson and How the AA Message Reached the World.

In the last decade or so, however, a new generation of researchers have been interested in harnessing the therapeutic benefits of illicit drugs — such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) for post-traumatic stress disorder, ayahuasca for drug and alcohol dependency, and psilocybin, the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms, for smoking cessation.

The snow globe of perception?

How psychedelics exert such effects, especially after a single dose, remains unclear. LSD and its chemical cousins share structural similarities with the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is linked to many aspects of mood, memory and pleasure. These psychedelics also bind the same receptor sites in the brain as serotonin, but there the similarity may end — studies have shown that the hallucinogens elicit chemical cascades different from other compounds that bind at the same receptor2. To complicate matters further, LSD also acts at other receptors3.

For the moment, studying human behavioural responses rather than brain chemistry may be more helpful in understanding how the drugs work. Robin Carhart-Harris, a psychopharmacologist at Imperial College London who has researched how psilocybin could treat depression, says that psychedelics must work at both biological and psychological levels. “Psychedelics probably work in addiction by making the brain function more chaotically for a period — a bit like shaking up a snow globe — weakening reinforced brain connections and dynamics,” he says.

Roland Griffiths, a behavioural biologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, is investigating the influence of psilocybin on smoking cessation, and says that psychedelics sometimes give rise to distinctive, insightful experiences that can produce enduring positive changes in attitude, mood and behaviour.

“This is impressive and important work,” says Matthew Johnson, a psychiatrist also at Johns Hopkins University who is now running a small trial looking at the effectiveness of psilocybin to treat nicotine addiction. “Although this meta-analysis does not replace the need to test the approach in new, well-designed and rigorous clinical trials, it puts some more muscle behind the interpretation that the older literature shows hints that psychedelic therapy might really help addiction.”

However, Ken Checinski, a consultant addiction psychiatrist and independent researcher based in London, says that although the results are exciting, no pharmacological treatment should be seen as a magic bullet and that modern therapeutic techniques have improved. “The included LSD trials pre-date the use of psychological techniques such as motivational interviewing and cognitive behaviour therapy,” he says.

Nature

doi:10.1038/nature.2012.10200

References

Krebs, T. S. & Johansen, P-O. J. Psychopharmacol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0269881112439253 (2012).
- PubMed
- ISI
González-Maeso, J. et al. J. Neurosci. 23, 8836–8843 (2003).
Halberstadt, A. L. & Geyer, M. A. Neuropharmacology 61, 364–381 (2011).
- Article
- PubMed
- ISI
- ChemPort

Link: http://www.nature.com/news/lsd-helps-to-treat-alcoholism-1.10200

Soldier On

2016-06-04T04:35:00.000-07:00

Soldier On

Fathers drinking: Also responsible for fetal disorders?

2016-05-16T17:54:00.002-07:00

This puts a new spin on responsibility...

Fathers drinking: Also responsible for fetal disorders?

Date:: February 14, 2014
Source:: Taylor & Francis
Summary:: Maternal exposure to alcohol in-utero is a known risk and cause of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). FAS children suffer significant problems such as retarded intellect, stunted growth and nervous system abnormalities, social problems and isolation. Until now, fathers have not had a causal link to such disabilities. Ground breaking new research has been revealed which shows dads may have more accountability.


FULL STORY

The authors believe alcohol consumption affects genes in sperm which are responsible for normal fetal development.

Credit: © Dario Lo Presti / Fotolia

Maternal exposure to alcohol in-utero is a known risk and cause of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. FAS children suffer significant problems such as retarded intellect, stunted growth and nervous system abnormalities, social problems and isolation. Until now Fathers have not had a causal link to such disabilities. Ground breaking new research has been revealed which shows Dads may have more accountability.

Published in Animal Cells and Systems, researchers studied male mice exposed to varying concentrations of alcohol and one control group exposed only to saline. After exposure the mice were mated and resulting fetuses examined. The findings revealed previously unknown and riveting evidence that paternal alcohol consumption can directly affect fetal development.

A number of fetuses sired by males exposed to alcohol suffered abnormal organ development and or brain development. Those in the saline group were normal. So, can developmental abnormalities be predetermined at fertilization? This research proves so. The authors believe alcohol consumption affects genes in sperm which are responsible for normal fetal development.

Until now fathers' lifestyle choices have not seen any repercussion on their unborn children. This ground-breaking research provides the first definitive evidence that fathers' drinking habits pre-conception can cause significant fetal abnormalities.

Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Taylor & Francis. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal Reference:

Hye Jeong Lee, Jae-Sung Ryu, Na Young Choi, Yo Seph Park, Yong Il Kim, Dong Wook Han, Kisung Ko, Chan Young Shin, Han Sung Hwang, Kyung-Sun Kang, Kinarm Ko. Transgenerational effects of paternal alcohol exposure in mouse offspring. Animal Cells and Systems, 2013; 17 (6): 429 DOI: 10.1080/19768354.2013.865675

Cite This Page:

Taylor & Francis. "Fathers drinking: Also responsible for fetal disorders?." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 February 2014. .

Link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140214075405.htm

Medical pot patients can grow their own weed

2016-05-11T18:28:00.005-07:00

Medical pot patients can grow their own weed after federal court gives feds six months to regulate

The Canadian Press | February 24, 2016 12:37 PM ET

Jonathan Hayward / The Canadian PressMarijuana is weighed at a medical marijuana dispensary, in Vancouver, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2015.

VANCOUVER — A Federal Court judge has ruled that medical marijuana patients have the right to grow their own cannabis.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian WyldA man lights a marijuana joint as he participates in the 4/20 protest on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, April 20, 2015.

Judge Michael Phelan struck down federal legislation introduced by the previous Conservative government that barred patients from growing their own plants and required them to buy from licensed producers.
He is suspending the decision to strike down the law for six months, allowing the federal Liberal government time to create a new medical marijuana regime.
Phelan also extended the injunction that allowed people who held licences to grow their own marijuana to continue until a further court order.
The constitutional challenge was launched by four British Columbia residents who argued that legislation introduced by the previous Conservative government violated their charter rights.
The Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations were introduced in 2013 and required patients to buy cannabis from licensed producers instead of growing their own.
An injunction has allowed those who already held licences to continue growing marijuana until the Federal Court decision, which is set to have national impact on medical cannabis users and the new Liberal government.
The Liberals have committed to regulating and legalizing recreational marijuana but have said little about their plans for medical marijuana since being elected.

Phelan heard the case between February and May 2015 in Vancouver’s Federal Court.
Federal government lawyers argued that the new regime ensures patients have a supply of safe medical marijuana while protecting the public from the potential ills of grow-operations in patients’ homes.
But the lead counsel for the plaintiffs, John Conroy, told court that the legislation has robbed patients of affordable access to medicine. Some people were left with no choice but to run afoul of the law, he argued, either by continuing to grow their own or by purchasing on the black market.

Link: http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/medical-marijuana-patients-can-grow-their-own-weed-after-federal-court-ruling-giving-feds-six-months-to-regulate

Dietary Guidelines for Americans

2016-05-11T18:27:00.000-07:00

Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc1; Richard Olson, MD, MPH1; Kellie O. Casavale, PhD, RD1
[+] Author Affiliations

JAMA. 2016;315(5):457-458. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.18396.

Article

References

The US Departments of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Agriculture (USDA) have released the eighth edition (2015-2020) of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.1 The Dietary Guidelines are an important part of a complex and multifaceted solution to promoting health and preventing diet-related chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and obesity. The Dietary Guidelines are required under the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 and inform the development of federal food, nutrition, and health policies and programs. They serve as the evidence-based foundation for federal government nutrition education materials and are used to inform programs like Older Americans Act Nutrition Services Programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that affect millions of people each day. The Dietary Guidelines can also be adapted by health care professionals to describe and recommend healthy eating to patients. Recent studies have shown that diets that align closely with the Dietary Guidelines are associated with a significant reduction in the onset of and deaths due to diet-related chronic diseases.2,3

To update the Dietary Guidelines, as required by law, the Secretaries of the DHHS and the USDA formed an external Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee made up of prestigious researchers and scientists in the fields of nutrition, health, and medicine. The 2015 advisory committee was charged with reviewing the 2010 Dietary Guidelines to determine topics for which new scientific evidence is likely available and to review that evidence to inform the development of the 2015-2020 edition. The committee used 4 approaches to review the available evidence: original systematic reviews; existing systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and reports by federal agencies or leading scientific organizations; data analyses; and food pattern modeling analyses. The work of the committee was submitted to the DHHS and USDA in the scientific report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and made available for public comment. In addition to the committee report, the DHHS and USDA obtained input from federal nutrition and medical experts and comments from the public to develop the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines.

Although many of the recommendations have remained relatively consistent over time, the Dietary Guidelines have evolved with scientific knowledge. For example, recent research has examined the relationship between overall eating patterns and health. Consequently, eating patterns are a main focus of the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines. For most individuals, achieving a healthy eating pattern may require adjustments in food and beverage choices because at the population level, Americans are not following healthy eating patterns. The current guidelines focus on shifts in eating patterns to align current dietary intake with their recommendations and highlight multiple strategies across all segments of society to promote healthy eating and physical activity behaviors.

DIETARY COMPONENTS OF PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN

The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines contain 5 overarching goals and 13 key recommendations (Box).

Box.
Guidelines and Supporting Key Recommendations of the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Guidelines (Abbreviated)

Follow a healthy eating pattern across the life span.

Focus on variety, nutrient density, and amount.

Limit calories from added sugars and saturated fats and reduce sodium intake.

Shift to healthier food and beverage choices.

Support healthy eating patterns for all.
Key Recommendations

Follow a healthy eating pattern that accounts for all foods and beverages within an appropriate calorie level. A healthy eating pattern includes

A variety of vegetables from all of the subgroups—dark green, red and orange, legumes (beans and peas), starchy, and other

Fruits, especially whole fruits

Grains, at least half of which are whole grains

Fat-free or low-fat dairy, including milk, yogurt, cheese, and fortified soy beverages

A variety of protein foods, including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes (beans and peas), and nuts, seeds, and soy products

Oils

A healthy eating pattern limits saturated fats and trans fats, added sugars, and sodium.

Key recommendations that are quantitative are provided for several components of the diet of particular public health concern that should be limited.

Consume less than 10% of calories per day from added sugars.

Consume less than 10% of calories per day from saturated fats.

Consume less than 2300 mg/d of sodium.

If alcohol is consumed, it should be consumed in moderation—up to 1 drink per day for women and up to 2 drinks per day for men—and only by adults of legal drinking age.

The Dietary Guidelines also include a key recommendation to meet the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.4

Below is a brief summary of guidance for calories from added sugars and saturated fats, dietary cholesterol, and sodium. Additional information can be found at http://www.health.gov/DietaryGuidelines.1

Calories From Added Sugars

When sugars are added to foods and beverages, they add calories without contributing essential nutrients. The recommendation to limit added sugars to less than 10% of calories per day is a target to help the public achieve a healthy eating pattern—meeting nutrient and food group needs through nutrient-dense food and beverage choices while staying within calorie limits. This target is also informed by national data indicating that added sugars currently account for more than 13% of total calories consumed by the US population.5

Calories From Saturated Fats and Intake of Dietary Cholesterol

Intake of saturated fats should be limited to less than 10% of calories per day. Strong and consistent evidence shows that replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease events and deaths. The key recommendation from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines to limit consumption of dietary cholesterol to 300 mg/d is not included in the 2015 edition because adequate evidence is not available for a quantitative limit specific to the Dietary Guidelines. However, this change does not suggest that dietary cholesterol is no longer important to consider. In general, foods that are higher in dietary cholesterol, such as butter and sausage, also tend to be higher in saturated fats. Examples of healthy eating patterns in the Dietary Guidelines limit dietary cholesterol to a range of 100 to 300 mg/d.

Sodium

The scientific consensus from expert bodies, such as the Institute of Medicine,6 the American Heart Association, and Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committees, is that the average sodium intake among Americans aged 1 year or older, currently 3440 mg/d, is too high and should be reduced. Healthy eating patterns limit sodium to less than 2300 mg/d for adults and children aged 14 years or older and to the age- and sex-appropriate Tolerable Upper Intake Levels7 of sodium for children younger than 14 years. This recommendation is based on evidence showing a linear dose-response relationship between increased sodium intake and increased blood pressure in adults. Direct evidence for the association between sodium intake and risk of cardiovascular disease in adults is not as consistent as the evidence for blood pressure.

CONCLUSIONS

Everyone has a role in supporting healthy eating patterns. Concerted efforts among health care professionals, communities, businesses and industries, organizations, governments, and other segments of society are important to support individuals and families in making dietary and physical activity choices that align with the Dietary Guidelines and work for them. Health care professionals can help individuals identify how they can modify and improve their dietary patterns and intake to align with the Dietary Guidelines. Educational materials for both professionals and consumers will be available in 2016.

ARTICLE INFORMATION

Corresponding Author: Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20201 (karen.desalvo@hhs.gov).

Published Online: January 7, 2016. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.18396.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: All authors have completed and submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest and none were reported.

REFERENCES

1
US Department of Health and Human Services; US Department of Agriculture. 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 8th ed. Washington, DC: US Dept of Health and Human Services; December 2015. http://www.health.gov/DietaryGuidelines. Accessed December 16, 2015.

2
Schwingshackl L, Hoffmann G. Diet quality as assessed by the Healthy Eating Index, the Alternate Healthy Eating Index, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension score, and health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies . J Acad Nutr Diet. 2015;115(5):780-800.e5.
PubMed | Link to Article

3
Wang DD, Li Y, Chiuve SE, Hu FB, Willett WC. Improvements in US diet helped reduce disease burden and lower premature deaths, 1999-2012; overall diet remains poor . Health Aff (Millwood). 2015;34(11):1916-1922.
PubMed | Link to Article

4
US Department of Health and Human Services. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Washington, DC: US Dept of Health and Human Services; 2008. ODPHP publication U0036.

5
US Department of Health and Human Services; US Department of Agriculture. Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Part D. Washington, DC: US Dept of Health and Human Services; February 2015:chap 6. http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015-scientific-report. Accessed December 23, 2015.

6
Institute of Medicine. Sodium Intake in Populations: Assessment of Evidence. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2013.

7
Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2005.

JAMA Patient Page
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
JAMA. 2016;315(5):528. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.0077.

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Mindful Awareness

2016-04-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center

Mindfulness is making the news these days. It has been depicted in the media primarily as a tool to hone attention, to cultivate sensory awareness, and to keep us in the present moment.

Developing these tools takes effort and determination, but why is it we can sometimes be mindful without really even trying? Perhaps we were naturally mindful at points in life before we ever learned what mindfulness was. Maybe we feel naturally connected, present, and at ease in nature. Or we become mindful while talking authentically with a friend, or in the midst of music, art, or athletic activity.

Mindfulness is not only a meditation technique, but also a state of being. This state is available to anyone; it is a natural human capacity. Mindfulness practice, as a tool, is tremendously helpful to cultivate this awareness, and the state can arise at any moment. Mindfulness is also connected to a set of powerful outcomes: happiness, emotional regulation, compassion, altruism, and kindness.

We encourage you to attend an array of offerings to cultivate the moment-to-moment awareness, which is the foundation of our practice.

Link: http://marc.ucla.edu/

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can help prevent recurrence of depression.

2016-04-27T13:24:00.001-07:00

UniofOxford

Review finds mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can help prevent recurrence of depression. http://po.st/CJGK4f

The Science and Practise of Happiness

2016-01-15T00:56:00.002-08:00

Uploaded on Jul 1, 2011

Is happiness a skill? Modern neuroscientific research and the wisdom of ancient contemplative traditions converge in suggesting that happiness is the product of skills that can be enhanced through training and such training exemplifies how transforming the mind can change the brain.

Kent Berridge, Richie Davidson, and Daniel Gilbert speak at the Aspen Ideas Festival

Music
- "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" by Dick Hyman (iTunes • eMusic)
Category
- Science & Technology
License
- Standard YouTube License

Link: https://youtu.be/MDTi2_PHiiM

A sense of purpose in life

2016-01-15T00:21:00.001-08:00

Conclusion:

A sense of purpose in life also gives you this considerable advantage:

"People with a sense of purpose in life have a lower risk of death and cardiovascular disease."

The conclusions come from over 136,000 people who took part in 10 different studies.

Participants in the studies were mostly from the US and Japan.

The US studies asked people:

how useful they felt to others,
about their sense of purpose, and
the meaning they got out of life.

The Japanese studies asked people about ‘ikigai’ or whether their life was worth living.
The participants, whose average age was 67, were tracked for around 7 years.

During that time almost 20,000 died.

But, amongst those with a strong sense of purpose or high ‘ikigai’, the risk of death was one-fifth lower.

Despite the link between sense of purpose and health being so intuitive, scientists are not sure of the mechanism.

Sense of purpose is likely to improve health by strengthening the body against stress.

It is also likely to be linked to healthier behaviours.

Dr. Alan Rozanski, one of the study’s authors, said:

“Of note, having a strong sense of life purpose has long been postulated to be an important dimension of life, providing people with a sense of vitality motivation and resilience.

Nevertheless, the medical implications of living with a high or low sense of life purpose have only recently caught the attention of investigators.

The current findings are important because they may open up new potential interventions for helping people to promote their health and sense of well-being.”

This research on links between sense of purpose in life and longevity is getting stronger all the time:

“A 2009 study of 1,238 elderly people found that those with a sense of purpose lived longer.

A 2010 study of 900 older adults found that those with a greater sense of purpose were much less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Survey data often links a sense of purpose in life with increased happiness.

No matter what your age, then, it’s worth thinking about what gives your life meaning.”

Read More:

Find out what kinds of things people say give their lives meaning.

Here’s an exercise for increasing meaningfulness

And a study finding that feeling you belong increases the sense of meaning.

The study was published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine (Cohen et al., 2015).

Link: http://www.spring.org.uk/2015/12/here-is-why-a-sense-of-purpose-in-life-is-important-for-health.php?utm_source=PsyBlog&utm_campaign=20bb99705f-WEEKLY_RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_MAILCHIMP&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_10ef814328-20bb99705f-213925841

IF by Rudyard Kipling

2015-12-24T01:03:00.001-08:00

Link: https://youtu.be/jNAlVeDMXrA

ADHD, Perseverance and Rudyard Kipling

2015-12-23T23:30:00.000-08:00

From some of what I';ve read, there are distinct differences or changes in how ADHD affects your life when you become an adult. I believe there are more frustrations when it effects your memory or you find yourself procrastinating or not being able to get a good night's sleep. When you're a kid you don't put pressure on yourself to get things done or to learn complex skills. As an adult it is on you to go to bed on time and all the habits that comprise a worthwhile existence. So when you have a condition that let's you waste time endlessly while forgetting you've got things to do, it creates obstacles to overcome.

What I read is you need to develop habits to keep yourself on track. Write 'to do lists' and refer to them frequently so you can keep to the course you set for yourself. My goals need to get back to a more 'normal' sleep pattern, keep up the walks around the block, use the bike more, manage my time on the computer, i.e., spend less time 'surfing the net' and generally get more balance with an emphasis on getting physically healthy -- is the best way for me to spend my limited energy.

If—

By Rudyard Kipling

(‘Brother Square-Toes’—Rewards and Fairies)

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Source: A Choice of Kipling's Verse (1943)

Link: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/175772#

.................................

Space chimp lived

2015-12-23T17:55:00.004-08:00

Daily Sanctuary

Ham the Chimp, also known as Ham the Astrochimp, was the first Hominidae to take a space flight. He was named after the Holloman Aerospace Medical Center in New Mexico. He was launched from Cape Canaveral on January 31, 1961 and returned to Earth unharmed except for a bruised nose.

Space chimp lived

Link: http://www.historyinorbit.com/175-fascinating-little-known-photos-of-the-past/37/?v=p

'NEW' Diagnostic Code in the International Classification of Diseases

2015-12-23T17:34:00.001-08:00

Cow bites and spacecraft injuries enliven new medical diagnostic codes

Bruce Bower

December 22, 2015

A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN Injuries at the library now have their very own diagnostic code in the latest revision of International Classification of Diseases used by physicians around the globe.

Aaron Amat/Shutterstock

Magazine issue: Vol. 188, No. 13, December 26, 2015, p. 4

The latest diagnostic coding system for physicians, the International Classification of Diseases – 10th revision, took effect in October.

With it came some curious new codes compiled in Medical Economics magazine.

Here is a selection of some hard-to-explain mishaps.

V91.35: Hit or struck by falling object due to accident to canoe or kayak

V96.00: Unspecified [hot air] balloon accident injuring occupant

Y92.241: Hurt at the library

V95.40: Unspecified spacecraft accident injuring occupant

V97.33: Sucked into jet engine

W55.21: Bitten by a cow

W56.22XA: Struck by orca, initial encounter

V91.07: Burn due to water skis on fire

Credit: All animations by James Provost

Link: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/cow-bites-and-spacecraft-injuries-enliven-new-medical-diagnostic-codes

from Science News

Warning signs for Dementia

2015-12-22T23:42:00.000-08:00

Many people thought that forgetting why you have walked into a room (39%) might be a sign, which could happen to anyone. For a person with dementia, it is not so much why they walked into a room that is troubling, but the room itself seeming unfamiliar.

Warning signs for Dementia

Seek medical advice if your memory loss is affecting daily life and especially if you:

struggle to remember recent events, although you can easily recall things that happened in the past
find it hard to follow conversations or programmes on TV
forget the names of friends or everyday objects
cannot recall things you have heard, seen or read
lose the thread of what you are saying
have problems thinking and reasoning
feel anxious, depressed or angry
feel confused even when in a familiar environment or get lost on familiar journeys
find that other people start to notice or comment on your memory loss

The risk of dementia increases with age with one-in-six of those over 80 having the degenerative disease. But it can strike even in middle-age.

Link: http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/common-topics/d.htm

Tips to Stay Smart, Sharp, and Focused

2015-12-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

Tips to Stay Smart, Sharp, and Focused

Your daily habits can have a big impact on your memory, focus, and mood. Here's what to do to help keep your mind sharp.

Use Your Brain

It's true: Use it or lose it. Stretching your brain keeps your mind sharp. People who are more active in mentally challenging activities are much less likely to get Alzheimer's disease. Try these:

Read a book.
Go to a lecture.
Listen to the radio.
Play a game.
Visit a museum.
Learn a second language.

Mix Things Up

Remember trying to talk backwards as a child? Researchers at Duke University created exercises they call "neurobics," which challenge your brain to think in new ways. Since your five senses are key to learning, use them to exercise your mind. If you're right-handed, try using your left hand. Drive to work by another route. Close your eyes and see if you can recognize food by taste.

Work Out to Stay Sharp

Exercise, especially the kind that gets your heart rate up like walking or swimming, has mental pluses, too. Although experts aren't sure why, physical activity might increase the blood supply to the brain and improve links between brain cells. Staying active can help memory, imagination, and even your ability to plan tasks.

A Healthy Diet Builds Brainpower

Do your brain a favor and choose foods that are good for your heart and waistline. Being obese in middle age makes you twice as likely to have dementia later on. High cholesterol and high blood pressure raise your chances, too. Try these easy tips:

Bake or grill foods instead of frying.
Cook with "good" fats like oils from nuts, seeds, and olives instead of cream, butter, and fats from meat.
Eat colorful fruits and veggies.

Watch What You Drink

You know that too many drinks can affect your judgment, speech, movement, and memory. But did you know alcohol can have long-term effects? Too much drinking over a long period of time can shrink the frontal lobes of your brain. And that damage can last forever, even if you quit drinking. A healthy amount is considered one drink a day for women and two for men.

Video Games Train Your Brain

Grab that joystick. Several studies found that playing video games stimulates the parts of the brain that control movement, memory, planning, and fine motor skills. Some experts say gaming only makes you better at gaming. The verdict may still be out, but why let kids have all the fun?

Music Helps Your Brain

Thank your mom for making you practice the piano. Playing an instrument early in life pays off in clearer thinking when you're older. Musical experience boosts mental functions that have nothing to do with music, such as memory and ability to plan. It also helps with greater hand coordination. Plus, it's fun -- and it's never too late to start.

Make Friends for Your Mind

Be a people person! Talking with others actually sharpens your brain, whether at work, at home, or out in your community. Studies show social activities improve your mind. So volunteer, sign up for a class, or call a friend.

Stay Calm

Too much stress can hurt your gray matter, which contains cells that store and process information. Here are some ways to chill:

Take deep breaths.
Find something that makes you laugh.
Listen to music.
Try yoga or meditation.
Find someone to talk to.

Sleep and the Brain

Get enough sleep before and after you learn something new. You need sleep on both ends. When you start out tired, it's hard to focus on things. And when you sleep afterward, your brain files away the new info so you can recall it later. A long night's rest is best for memory and your mood. Adults need 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

Memory Helpers

Everybody spaces out now and then. As you get older, you may not remember things as easily as you used to. That's a normal part of aging. Some helpful hints:

Write things down.
Use the calendar and reminder functions in your phone, even for simple things (Call Dad!).
Focus on one task at a time.
Learn new things one step at a time.

The Name Game

Have trouble recalling names? Always repeat a person's name while you're talking to them -- at least in your head, if not out loud. Or invent a funny image or rhyme that you link with their name. For example, think of Bob bobbing out in the ocean.

Link: http://www.webmd.com/brain/ss/slideshow-fit-brains?ecd=wnl_men_120115&ctr=wnl-men-120115_nsl-ld-stry_desc&mb=%2fYEUKcm5jBiihqPGg%2fPGD2dEpmNqbUHLAOXXq3hWp98%3d

Second Opinions on Costly Surgery

2015-10-29T11:39:00.001-07:00

The Startups That Give You a Second Opinion on Costly Surgery

Employers say double-checking doctors' orders can control medical costs
John Tozzi
August 20, 2015

Photograph: Getty Images

In the window before his kids wake up and he has to go to work, Dr. Gregory Gebauer helps people he's never met avoid needless surgery. That's when the Florida spine surgeon reads charts and examines MRI or X-ray scans referred to him through a company called Grand Rounds, a San Francisco startup that promises to save employers money and help their workers find better care. He often finds that patients have been given an inaccurate diagnosis or recommended for an operation unlikely to help them. "There’s certainly a time and place for surgery, but usually, at least in my practice, I recommend other things before jumping to surgery," says Gebauer, who has reviewed more than 50 cases from patients across the U.S.

The full-time orthopedic surgeon is one of an army of expert doctors who moonlight remotely for Grand Rounds, which has raised $106 million in venture capital, including a $55 million round announced today. The four-year-old company, which takes its name from the term for expert presentations doctors give to their colleagues, has signed such clients as Comcast, Costco, and Jamba Juice. About 60 percent of large employers plan to offer tools like second-opinion services or other advice to help patients make medical decisions in 2016, up from 48 percent this year, according to a survey of 140 large companies by the National Business Group on Health. Grand Rounds Chief Executive Owen Tripp says about two-thirds of all its reviews lead to changes in diagnosis or treatment. The number "still shocks me,” Tripp says. "Most of the frontline care we deliver today is either inadequate or ineffective."

Grand Rounds and its competition—companies such as Best Doctors, 2nd.MD, and Accolade—are trying to help employers deal with a problem that plagues American health care: wild deviations in care among different providers and regions. For example, patients in Bradenton, Fla., get a controversial spinal fusion surgery for lower-back problems almost 14 times more frequently than patients in Bangor, Me., according to data from the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, which tracks disparities in care.

That kind of variation is at least partly responsible for America’s outsize medical costs, which are higher per capita than anywhere else. It’s some combination of errors, differences in professional judgement, and a payment system that often creates incentives for doctors to prescribe treatments most lucrative for them. "There is a tremendous amount of misdiagnosis that goes on," says Lewis Levy, chief quality officer at Best Doctors, which contracts with 50,000 physicians to do remote second opinions for clients. The doctors are recommended by peers as leaders in their field.

Second-opinion services allow employers to take a softer approach than enforcing strict rules requiring workers to get permission before seeking costly treatments. Most companies that offer services like Grand Rounds and Best Doctors make them voluntary, and though there may be incentives to get a medical decision reviewed, workers can usually skip the second opinion or ignore it if they disagree. That makes the services seem less coercive than restrictive HMO rules. It also means companies sometimes struggle to get workers to use them. "One of the biggest knocks on this is no matter how much you communicate this, at the time the employee needs this, they may not remember that that service is available to them," says Shari Davidson, vice president of health-care cost and delivery at the National Business Group on Health, a nonprofit alliance of large employers.

A group of Pittsburgh-area school districts that buy health care together through the Allegheny County Schools Health Insurance Consortium began using Grand Rounds this spring. Outreach through mailings, a quarterly magazine, and direct prompts from Grand Rounds based on peoples’ medical claims have gotten 15 people to use the second-opinion service so far, says Jan Klein, the group’s trustee chairman. "We can’t force it on people," she says. "Well, we could. But we don’t."

At least one employee avoided a surgery after the expert reviewer "said absolutely not a good thing to do, not justified, no research that this operation will help this person," Klein says. Though she expects the service to save money, Klein says getting people the proper diagnosis and treatment is more important. "Sometimes their costs are more than it would have been under the wrong diagnosis," she says, "but they would have been treated for the wrong thing."

Correction: Corrects number of people who have used the second-opinion service through the Allegheny County Schools Health Insurance Consortium

health care
Health
Florida
Venture Capital

Fear Not, Science will save Mankind from aging.

2015-10-29T11:33:00.000-07:00

A Ray of Hope for Reversing Degenerative Blindness

Image Credit: Jenn Turner. Flickr.com

A new, engineered light-activated protein holds promise for restoring sight to millions of people blinded by progressive degeneration of light-sensing cells in the outer retina. As reported in research published by PLOS Biology, the method is the first to overcome the obstacles of low light sensitivity and incompatibility with normal signaling mechanisms that exist with other genetic approaches to restore function in these cells.

Sonja Kleinlogel’s team at the University of Bern engineered a protein that responds to daylight and subsequently activates a signaling pathway in healthy cells in the inner retina that normally don’t respond to light. The chimeric protein includes components of the photopigment melanopsin and the glutamate receptor mGluR5.

The researchers say their approach meets several criteria for a potential gene therapy for patients with photoreceptor degeneration. In mice, it restores light sensitivity at environmental light levels; it is physiologically compatible with no toxic or immunogenic side effects; and with the current state of intravitreal injection, it is a minimally invasive and safe technology.

With a globally aging population, the availability of new approaches to treat diseases associated with aging is increasingly important.

Congratulations to PLOS Biology corresponding author, Sonja Kleinlogel, whose discovery forming the basis of this research article received the 2013 Euretina Science & Medicine Innovation Award.

Read More:
Restoring vision with a new optogenetic tool

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Focusing the Brain on Better Vision

2015-10-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

CreditSophia Martineck

Focusing the Brain on Better Vision
By JAN HOFFMAN APRIL 6, 2015 5:16 PM April 6, 2015

As adults age, vision deteriorates. One common type of decline is in contrast sensitivity, the ability to distinguish gradations of light to dark, making it possible to discern where one object ends and another begins.

When an older adult descends a flight of stairs, for example, she may not tell the edge of one step from the next, so she stumbles. At night, an older driver may squint to see the edge of white road stripes on blacktop. Caught in the glare of headlights, he swerves.

But new research suggests that contrast sensitivity can be improved with brain-training exercises. In a study published last month in Psychological Science, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, and Brown University showed that after just five sessions of behavioral exercises, the vision of 16 people in their 60s and 70s significantly improved.

After the training, the adults could make out edges far better. And when given a standard eye chart, a task that differed from the one they were trained on, they could correctly identify more letters.

“There’s an idea out there that everything falls apart as we get older, but even older brains are growing new cells,” said Allison B. Sekuler, a professor of psychology, neuroscience and behavior at McMaster University in Ontario, who was not involved in the new study. “You can teach an older brain new tricks.”

The training improved contrast sensitivity in 16 young adults in the study as well, although the older subjects showed greater gains. That is partly because the younger ones, college students, already had reasonably healthy vision and there was not as much room for improvement.

Before the training, the vision of each adult, young and older, was assessed. The exercises were fine-tuned at the beginning for each individual so researchers could measure improvements, said Dr.G. John Andersen, the project’s senior adviser and a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside.

During each session, the subjects watched 750 striped images that were rapidly presented on a computer screen with subtle changes in the visual “noise” surrounding them — like snow on a television. The viewer indicated whether the images were rotating clockwise or counterclockwise. The subject would hear a beep for every correct response.

Each session took an hour and a half. The exercises were taxing, although the subjects took frequent breaks. But after five sessions, the subjects had learned to home in more precisely on the images and to filter out the distracting visual noise. After the training, the older adults performed as well as those 40 years younger, before their own training.

The older participants were also better able to make out letters on an eye chart at reading distance, although not one 10 feet away. The younger students were better able to see the distant eye chart, but not the closer one.

“We think that a behavioral intervention where learning is going on changes brain structure in older adults,” Dr. Andersen said.

In the absence of a disease like glaucoma or changes in the retina and optic nerve, contrast sensitivity is processed by the brain’s visual cortex. This study suggests that certain areas of the brain can be strengthened. “It means the visual system has a high degree of plasticity, even in old age,” Dr. Andersen said.

Dr. Andersen and his colleagues, including Denton DeLoss, a graduate student and the paper’s lead author, say they do not know how long the effects of this modest intervention will last. But an earlier study in which older adults received training to sharpen their ability to discern texture showed that the improvement was sustained for at least three months.

Dr. Andersen said that as people aged, the random firing of neurons in the brain’s visual system increased, creating a kind of internal noise. At the same time, the aging brain struggles harder with external visual noise, such as snowflakes in a blizzard that obscure words on a road sign.

The latest study’s exercises were designed to train adults to filter such external visual noise so they could better discern edges of contrast. “It’s possible that the brain might simultaneously have been trained to reduce internalized noise,” Dr. Andersen said.

Researchers are increasingly focused on perceptual learning, the brain’s ability to discriminate among stimuli — training the ear, for example, to distinguish between Shostakovich and Bartok, or the palate to discern a cabernet sauvignon from a pinot noir. There is also much research on the aging brain. But until now, few scientists have thought to examine the possibilities for improving perceptual learning in older adults.

“These researchers are leading the charge,” Dr. Sekuler said.

For more fitness, food and wellness news, “like” our Facebook page.

A version of this article appears in print on 04/07/2015, on page D5 of theNewYork edition with the headline: Focusing the Brain on Better Vision.

AGING, BODY, BRAIN, ELDERLY, EYES AND EYESIGHT

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A free mobile app for the popular Scientific 7-Minute Workout and the new Advanced 7-Minute Workout.

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The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test” measures ability to understand others’ emotional states.

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MDR Tuberculosis

2015-10-29T09:44:00.002-07:00

The White House has a plan to combat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, but it may never get funded.

Lauren Weber The Morning Email Editor,

The Huffington Post

Posted: 10/23/2015

"Tuberculosis is the disease we thought HIV would be in the '80s. A disease you could get and die from that was aerosolized and spread through the air," Eric Goosby, the U.N. special envoy on tuberculosis, said at a United Nations Foundation briefing in July. "With TB, you can get it standing in a line when you go to the grocery store or standing in line for the movies."

The highly infectious bacteria that cause TB spread in tiny droplets of saliva and mucous that are expelled when an infected person coughs. They can float in the air for hours.

About one-third of the world's population is infected with tuberculosis. The lucky ones have strong enough immune systems to wall off the TB bacteria, forcing it to lie dormant. The unlucky ones -- about 10 percent of those infected -- come down with a wracking cough, overwhelming weakness, weight loss and persistent fatigue.

If left untreated, two-thirds of people with active TB die. It is the No. 2 single-agent infectious killer in the world (behind HIV/AIDS), according to the World Health Organization, and the No. 1 killer of those infected with HIV/AIDS.

Read more: http://www.stumbleupon.com/to/stumble/stumblethru:huffingtonpost.com

Symptoms of Living

Monte Carlo

Qualities of a thoughtful life.

Robert Schumann - Piano Quintet, Op.44 (Grimaud, Capuçon, Shoji, Tomte, ...

Robert Schumann - Piano Quintet, Op.44 (Grimaud,Capuçon, Shoji, Tomte, Maisky)

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License: Standard YouTube License

Created using YouTube Video Editor

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Mindful Awareness

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center

Mindfulness is making the news these days. It has been depicted in the media primarily as a tool to hone attention, to cultivate sensory awareness, and to keep us in the present moment.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can help prevent recurrence of depression.

The Science and Practise of Happiness

Music

Category

License

A sense of purpose in life

IF by Rudyard Kipling

ADHD, Perseverance and Rudyard Kipling

If—

Space chimp lived

Link: http://www.historyinorbit.com/175-fascinating-little-known-photos-of-the-past/37/?v=p

'NEW' Diagnostic Code in the International Classification of Diseases

V91.35: Hit or struck by falling object due to accident to canoe or kayak

V96.00: Unspecified [hot air] balloon accident injuring occupant

Y92.241: Hurt at the library

V95.40: Unspecified spacecraft accident injuring occupant

V97.33: Sucked into jet engine

W55.21: Bitten by a cow

W56.22XA: Struck by orca, initial encounter

V91.07: Burn due to water skis on fire

Link: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/cow-bites-and-spacecraft-injuries-enliven-new-medical-diagnostic-codes

from Science News

Warning signs for Dementia

Warning signs for Dementia

Tips to Stay Smart, Sharp, and Focused

Tips to Stay Smart, Sharp, and Focused

Use Your Brain

Mix Things Up

Work Out to Stay Sharp

A Healthy Diet Builds Brainpower

Watch What You Drink

Video Games Train Your Brain

Music Helps Your Brain

Make Friends for Your Mind

Stay Calm

Sleep and the Brain

Memory Helpers

The Name Game

Link: http://www.webmd.com/brain/ss/slideshow-fit-brains?ecd=wnl_men_120115&ctr=wnl-men-120115_nsl-ld-stry_desc&mb=%2fYEUKcm5jBiihqPGg%2fPGD2dEpmNqbUHLAOXXq3hWp98%3d

Second Opinions on Costly Surgery

Fear Not, Science will save Mankind from aging.

Focusing the Brain on Better Vision

MDR Tuberculosis

The White House has a plan to combat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, but it may never get funded.

Robert Schumann - Piano Quintet, Op.44 (Grimaud,
Capuçon, Shoji, Tomte, Maisky)