The photographer caught this special moment, what a privilege to see!

 .

IT'S HARD TO SAY WHICH IS MORE AMAZING... THE ANIMALS OR THE PHOTOGRAPHY!!!

"Be who you are and say what you feel...

Because those that matter...

don't mind...
And those that mind....

don't matter."

Adolescents suffering from depression more likely to be bullied

 

A new study provides evidence that adolescents who suffer from depression are more likely to develop difficulty in peer relationships including being bullied at school.

It's often assumed that being bullied leads to psychological problems, such as depression, but the study doesn't support this line of thought.

"Often the assumption is that problematic peer relationships drive depression. We found that depression symptoms predicted negative peer relationships," said Karen Kochel, Arizona State University School of Social and Family Dynamics assistant research professor. "We examined the issue from both directions but found no evidence to suggest that peer relationships forecasted depression among this school-based sample of adolescents."

The new research is published in the journal Child Development. The article, Longitudinal Associations among Youths' Depressive Symptoms, Peer Victimization, and Low Peer Acceptance: An Interpersonal Process Perspective, was authored by: Arizona State University School of Social and Family Dynamics Professor Gary Ladd; Karen Kochel, who conducted the study for her dissertation; and Karen Rudolph of the University of Illinois.

Being depressed in fourth grade predicted peer victimization in fifth grade and difficulty with peer acceptance in sixth grade, according to the research.

The researchers examined data from 486 youths from fourth to sixth grade. Parents, teachers, peers and students themselves provided information through yearly surveys. Data was collected as part of a large-scale longitudinal study that began in 1992 and continued for nearly two decades.

"Adolescence is the time when we see depressive symptoms escalate, particularly in girls," Kochel said. This may be due to the onset of puberty or interpersonal challenges, such as emotionally demanding peer and romantic relationships, which are often experienced during adolescence.

Teachers and parents were asked to identify classic signs of depression – crying a lot, lack of energy, etc. - when determining which children suffered from the malady. They defined peer victimization as bullying that was manifested physically, verbally, or relationally, such as hitting someone, saying mean things, talking behind someone's back or picking on someone.

"Teachers, administrators and parents need to be aware of the signs and symptoms of depression and the possibility that depression is a risk factor for problematic peer relations," Kochel said.

Research shows that having positive peer relationships is crucial for adapting to certain aspects of life such as scholastic achievement and functioning in a healthy manner psychologically, Kochel said.

"If adolescent depression forecasts peer relationship problems, then recognizing depression is very important at this particular age. This is especially true given that social adjustment in adolescence appears to have implications for functioning throughout an individual's lifetime," Kochel said.

School may be the best place to observe and address adolescent signs of depression since students typically start spending more time with their friends and less with their parents as they become adolescents, according to the social scientists.

"We studied peer relationships within the school context. Parents tend not to observe these relationships," Kochel said. "Because depression has the potential to undermine the maturation of key developmental skills, such as establishing healthy peer relationships, it's important to be aware of the signs and symptoms of adolescent depression."

Provided by Arizona State University

"New study: Adolescents suffering from depression more likely to be bullied." February 8th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-adolescents-depression-bullied.html

 

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek

Is it ever ok to hug your doctor?

To hug or not to hug, that really is the question. We’ve all had those awkward moments. Should I go in for the hug? I’m not a hugger, what should I do? What about in the medical setting? Is it ever OK to hug your doctor?

There is something very unique about the patient/physician relationship. It’s a delicate relationship that can only thrive on open, trusted communication, yet there needs to be clear-set boundaries. This delicate balance often can result in some gray areas.

“Even in our current high-tech medicine age, it is clear that the relationship between the patient and caregiver is of therapeutic benefit. Still, professional boundaries need to be established. A simple matter such as hugging is complex because being a doctor or a nurse is a complex role that combines job skills and one’s very being,” said Mark Kuczewski, PhD, director of the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy, Loyola University Chicago.

A clinical setting can be a place of highly charged emotions. This is where life-and-death information is discussed and exchanged. Just being in this environment can have strong emotional implications and a patient may need reassurance, comfort and support.

Kuczewski said that when encountering these awkward moments, there are a few things to take into consideration.

First, context is key. Professional distance is important in the physician/patient relationship. If a doctor has an objective, neutral tone it creates a judgment-free environment where a patient feels free to discuss any topic.

“There are emotionally charged situations that can happen in a clinical setting. If a patient has developed a rapport with a caregiver, they may reach out for a sign of support such as a hug. If it seems natural and unforced, it may be helpful and probably of no real concern,” Kuczewski said.

Second, it is important that the person who initiates the hug is the less-powerful person.

“When people who are very ill come to see a physician, they are extremely vulnerable. They feel their health and well-being lies in the hands of this physician and they don’t want to offend him or her. This can make it hard for a patient to decline a hug for fear of it impacting their care,” Kuczewski said.

Still, at times the physician may be the less powerful person or just feel uncomfortable accepting a hug from a patient. In those instances Kuczewski recommends trying to inject a handshake before the person moves in for a hug. If caught early enough, both physician and patient will feel the professional boundaries have not been crossed, but there still has been a comforting connection.

“While it might seem awkward at the moment, setting such boundaries immediately is far less uncomfortable than having to dispel the patient’s misconceptions later on,” Kuczewski said.

He offers some additional ways physicians can still show concern for their patients without a hug. Doctors should:

Use body nonverbal cues that one is paying attention, such as leaning forward, facing the patient when talking and making eye contact.

Touch an elbow or forearm. This is less invasive than a hug.

Use verbal cues to show expressions of support such as, “We’re in this together,” if the patient is receiving bad news.

“What’s important is solidifying the patient/physician relationship, showing support in a non-threatening way,” Kuczewski said.

These situations are most difficult when the nature of the affection might be misunderstood by the patient or physician.

“When in doubt, substitute a handshake or other sign of support, and doubt early and often. Any time you question a hug, don’t do it. You can graciously and easily deflect the momentum toward a hug by extending a hand for a handshake or providing a comforting word,” Kuczewski said. “Still, in the right context and with the right people, a hug might be just what the doctor and the patient ordered. We don’t want to deny a patient or physician a moment that can bring healing."

Provided by Loyola University Health System

"Is it ever ok to hug your doctor?." February 8th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-doctor.html

 

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek

Flipping a light switch in the cell: Quantum dots used for targeted neural activation

Optically excited quantum dots in close proximity to a cell control the opening of ion channels. Credit: Lugo et al., University of Washington

By harnessing quantum dots—tiny light-emitting semiconductor particles a few billionths of a meter across—researchers at the University of Washington (UW) have developed a new and vastly more targeted way to stimulate neurons in the brain. Being able to switch neurons on and off and monitor how they communicate with one another is crucial for understanding—and, ultimately, treating—a host of brain disorders, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, and even psychiatric disorders such as severe depression. The research was published today in the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journalBiomedical Optics Express.

Doctors and researchers today commonly use electrodes—on the scalp or implanted within the brain—to deliver zaps of electricity to stimulate cells. Unfortunately, these electrodes activate huge swaths of neural territory, made up of thousands or even millions of cells, of many different types. That makes it impossible to tease out the behavior of any given cell, or even of particular cell types, to understand cellular communication and how it contributes to the disease process.

Ideally, nerve cells would be activated in a non-invasive way that is also highly targeted. A promising method for doing this is photostimulation—essentially, controlling cells with light. Recently, for example, a team of Stanford University researchers altered mammalian nerve cells to carry light-sensitive proteins from single-celled algae, allowing the scientists to rapidly flip the cells on and off, just with flashes of light. The problem with this process, however, is that the light-controlled cells must be genetically altered to perform their parlor trick.

Optically excited quantum dots in close proximity to a cell control the opening of ion channels. Credit: Image adapted fromJiang et al., Chem. Mater., 2006, 18 (20), pp 4845-4854.

An alternative, says the UW team, led by electrical engineer Lih Y. Lin and biophysicist Fred Rieke, is to use quantum dots—tiny semiconductor particles, just a few billionths of a meter across, that confine electrons within three spatial dimensions. When these otherwise trapped electrons are excited by electricity, they emit light, but at very precise wavelengths, determined both by the size of the quantum dot and the material from which it is made. Because of this specificity, quantum dots are being explored for a variety of applications, including in lasers, optical displays, solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and even medical imaging devices.

In the paper published today, Lin, Rieke and colleagues have extended the use of quantum dots to the targeted activation of cells. In laboratory experiments, the researchers cultured cells on quantum dot films, so that the cell membranes were in close proximity to the quantum-dot coated surfaces. The electrical behavior of individual cells was then measured as the cells were exposed to flashes of light of various wavelengths; the light excited electrons within the quantum dots, generating electrical fields that triggered spiking in the cells.

"We tried prostate cancer cells first because a colleague happened to have the cell line and experience with them, and they are resilient, which is an advantage for culturing on the quantum dot films," Lin says. "But eventually we want to use this technology to study the behavior of neurons, so we switched to cortical neurons after the initial success with the cancer cells."

The experiments, says Lin, show that "it is possible to excite neurons and other cells and control their activities remotely using light. This non-invasive method can provide flexibility in probing and controlling cells at different locations while minimizing undesirable effects."

"Many brain disorders are caused by imbalanced neural activity," Rieke adds, and so "techniques that allow manipulation of the activity of specific types of neurons could permit restoration of normal—balanced—activity levels"—including the restoration of function in retinas that have been compromised by various diseases. "The technique we describe provides an alternative tool for exciting neurons in a spatially and temporally controllable manner. This could aid both in understanding the normal activity patterns in neural circuits, by introducing perturbations and monitoring their effect, and how such manipulations could restore normal circuit activity."

So far, the technique has only been applied to cells cultured outside the body; to gain insight into disease processes and be clinically useful, it would need to be performed within living tissue. To do so, Lin says, "we need to modify the surface of the quantum dots so that they can target specific cells when injected into live animals." The dots also need to be non-toxic, unlike those used in the Biomedical Optics Express report, which often had detrimental effects on the cells to which they were attached. "One solution would be developing non-toxic quantum dots using silicon," Lin says.

More information: "Remote switching of cellular activity and cell signaling using light in conjunction with quantum dots (http://www.opticsi … =boe-3-3-447

 

)," Biomedical Optics Express, Vol. 3, Issue 3, pp. 447-454 (2012).

Provided by Optical Society of America

"Flipping a light switch in the cell: Quantum dots used for targeted neural activation." February 8th, 2012. http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-flipping-cell-quantum-dots-neural.html

 

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Robert Karl Stonjek

Brain Proteins May Be Key to Aging

Deterioration of long-lived proteins on the surface of neuronal nuclei in the brain could lead to age-related defects in nervous function.

By Bob Grant | 

Wikimedia Commons, PLoS Biology

Scientists have found that aptly named extremely long-lived proteins (ELLPs) in the brains of rats can persist for more than one year—a result that suggests the proteins, also found in human brains, last an entire lifetime. Most proteins only last a day or two before being recycled. The researchers reported their findings last week in Science

 

.

A team at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies made the discovery while studying ELLPs that are part of the nuclear pore complex (NPC), which is a transport channel that regulates the flow of molecules into or out of the nucleus in neurons. Because the persistent ELLPs are more likely to accumulate molecular damage, NPC function may eventually become compromised, allowing more toxins into the nucleus. This could result in alterations to DNA, subsequent changes in gene activity, and signs of cellular aging. “Most cells, but not neurons, combat functional deterioration of their protein components through the process of protein turnover, in which the potentially impaired parts of the proteins are replaced with new functional copies,” said senior author Martin Hetzer, of Salk’s Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, in a statement

 

. “Our results also suggest that nuclear pore deterioration might be a general aging mechanism leading to age-related defects in nuclear function, such as the loss of youthful gene expression programs.”

In addition to aging, the results may provide key clues to the development of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Source: TheScientist
http://the-scientist.com/2012/02/08/brain-proteins-may-be-key-to-aging/

 

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek

Physical activity yields feelings of excitement, enthusiasm

(Medical Xpress) -- People who are more physically active report greater levels of excitement and enthusiasm than people who are less physically active, according to Penn State researchers. People also are more likely to report feelings of excitement and enthusiasm on days when they are more physically active than usual.

"You don't have to be the fittest person who is exercising every day to receive the feel-good benefits of exercise," said David Conroy, professor of kinesiology. "It's a matter of taking it one day at a time, of trying to get your activity in, and then there's this feel-good reward afterwards."

Conroy added that it often is hard for people to commit to an exercise program because they tend to set long-term rather than short-term goals.

"When people set New Year's resolutions, they set them up to include the entire upcoming year, but that can be really overwhelming," he said. "Taking it one day at a time and savoring that feel-good effect at the end of the day might be one step to break it down and get those daily rewards for activity. Doing this could help people be a little more encouraged to stay active and keep up the program they started."

The researchers asked 190 university students to keep daily diaries of their lived experiences, including free-time physical activity and sleep quantity and quality, as well as their mental states, including perceived stress and feeling states. Participants were instructed to record only those episodes of physical activity that occurred for at least 15 minutes and to note whether the physical activity was mild, moderate or vigorous. Participants returned their diaries to the researchers at the end of each day for a total of eight days. The researchers published their results in the current issue of the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology.

According to Amanda Hyde, kinesiology graduate student, the team separated the participants' feeling states into four categories: pleasant-activated feelings exemplified by excitement and enthusiasm, pleasant-deactivated feelings exemplified by satisfaction and relaxation, unpleasant-activated feelings exemplified by anxiety and anger, and unpleasant-deactivated feelings exemplified by depression and sadness.

"We found that people who are more physically active have more pleasant-activated feelings than people who are less active, and we also found that people have more pleasant-activatedfeelings on days when they are more physically active than usual," said Hyde, who noted that the team was able to rule out alternative explanations for the pleasant-activated feelings, such as quality of sleep.

"Our results suggest that not only are there chronic benefits of physical activity, but there are discrete benefits as well. Doing more exercise than you typically do can give you a burst of pleasant-activated feelings. So today, if you want a boost, go do some moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise."

Conroy added that most previous studies have looked only at pleasant or unpleasant feelings and paid less attention to the notion of activation.

"Knowing that moderate and vigorous physical activity generates a pleasant-activated feeling, rather than just a pleasant feeling, might help to explain why physical activity is so much more effective for treating depression rather than anxiety," he said. "People dealing with anxious symptoms don't need an increase in activation. If anything, they might want to bring it down some. In the future, we plan to look more closely at the effects of physical activity on mental health symptoms."

Other authors on the paper include Aaron Pincus, professor of psychology, and Nilam Ram, assistant professor of human development and family studies and of psychology.

National Institute on Aging and the Penn State Social Science Research Institute funded this research.

Provided by Pennsylvania State University

"Physical activity yields feelings of excitement, enthusiasm." February 8th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-physical-yields-enthusiasm.html

 

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Robert Karl Stonjek

Stimulant treatment for ADHD not associated with increased risk of cardiac events in youth

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects 5-9% of youth and is frequently treated with stimulant medications, such as methylphenidate and amphetamine products. A recent safety communication from the US Food and Drug Administration advised that all patients undergoing ADHD treatment be monitored for changes in heart rate or blood pressure.

Amidst growing concern over the risks of stimulant use in youth, a study by Dr. Mark Olfson of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, and his colleagues, published in the February 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,assessed the risk of adverse cardiovascular events in children and adolescents without known heart conditions treated with stimulants for ADHD. It is one of the largest studies to date focusing primarily on youth while controlling for pre-existing cardiovascular risk factors.

As reported in the study, Olfson and colleagues examined claims records from a large privately insured population for associations between cardiovascular events in youth with ADHD and stimulant treatment. In total 171,126 privately insured youth aged 6-21 years without known pre-existing heart-related risk factors were followed throughout the study.

The study included patients who have previously received stimulant treatment, patients currently receiving stimulant treatment, and patients who began or ceased stimulant treatments during the study period. Olfson and colleagues assessed the various groups for incidents of severe cardiovascular events such as acute myocardial infarction, less severe cardiovascular events such as cardiac dysrhythmias, and cardiovascular symptoms such as tachycardia and palpitations. Analysis showed that cardiovascular events and symptoms were rare in this cohort and not associated with stimulant use.

This finding helps to allay concerns of adverse events in otherwise healthy young people receiving treatment for ADHD. Olfson and colleagues said of the results, "It is reassuring that in these young people, short-term stimulant treatment did not substantially increase the risk of cardiovascular events or symptoms."

More information: The article, "Stimulants and Cardiovascular Events in Youth With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder" by Mark Olfson, Cecilia Huang, Tobias Gerhard, Almut G. Winterstein, Stephen Crystal, Paul D. Allison, Steven C. Marcus (doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2011.11.008

 

) appears in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 51, Issue 2 (February 2012)

Provided by Elsevier

"Stimulant treatment for ADHD not associated with increased risk of cardiac events in youth." February 8th, 2012.http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-treatment-adhd-cardiac-events-youth.html

 

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Robert Karl Stonjek

Growing up on a farm directly affects regulation of the immune system

Immunological diseases, such as eczema and asthma, are on the increase in westernised society and represent a major challenge for 21st century medicine. A new study has shown, for the first time, that growing up on a farm directly affects the regulation of the immune system and causes a reduction in the immunological responses to food proteins.

The research, led by the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences, found that spending early life in a complex farm environment increased the number of regulatory T-lymphocytes, the cells that damp down the immune system and limit immune responses.

Dr Marie Lewis, Research Associate in Infection and Immunity at the School of Veterinary Sciences, who led the research, said: "Many large-scale epidemiological studies have suggested that growing up on a farm is linked to a reduced likelihood of developing allergic disease. However, until now, it has not been possible to demonstrate direct cause and effect: does the farm environment actively protect against allergies, or are allergy-prone families unlikely to live on farms?"

In the study, piglets were nursed by their mothers on a farm while their siblings spent their early life (from one day onwards) in an isolator unit under very hygienic conditions and were fed formula milk, therefore, reflecting the extremes of environment human babies are raised in.

The work was carried out in piglets as they are valuable translational models for humans since they share many aspects of physiology, metabolism, genetics and immunity.

The researchers demonstrated that compared to their brothers and sisters in the isolator, the farm-reared piglets had reduced overall numbers of T-lymphocytes, the immune cells which drive immune responses, in their intestinal tissues. Importantly, these dirty piglets also had significantly increased numbers of a subset of these cells, the regulatory T-lymphocytes, which pacify immune responses and limit inflammation.

This shift in the ratio of stimulatory and regulatory cells appeared to have functional effects since the farm-reared piglets also exhibited decreased antibody responses to novel food proteins when they were weaned.

Regulatory T-cells have been identified in many mammalian species, including humans, and appear to be universal regulators of immune systems and a reduction in their numbers is often associated with the development of allergies, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

Dr Marie Lewis explained: "At this point it is not clear exactly what caused the increased capacity for immune regulation in our farm-reared piglets. Our previous work suggests that intestinal bacteria play a pivotal role in the development of a competent immune system and these bacteria are obtained from the environment during early life."

The researchers suggest additional work is required to determine the extent to which other farm-associated factors, such as social and maternal interactions, aerial contaminants, antigens from bedding and early nutrition, contributed to the impact of the environment on increased local and systemic immune regulation.

Further clarification of the mechanisms underlying these interactions could lead to methods of intervention during infancy to prevent the development of immune diseases in later life.

More information: Direct experimental evidence that early-life farm environment influences regulation of immune responses, Marie C. Lewis, Charlotte F. Inman, Dilip Patel, Bettina Schmidt, Imke Mulder, Bevis Miller, Bhupinder P. Gill, John Pluske, Denise Kelly, Christopher R. Stokes & Michael Bailey, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, published online ahead of print 03 February 2012.

Provided by University of Bristol

"Growing up on a farm directly affects regulation of the immune system." February 8th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-farm-affects-immune.html

 

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Robert Karl Stonjek

Smartphone training helps people with memory impairment regain independence

The treatment for moderate-to-severe memory impairment could one day include a prescription for a smartphone.

Baycrest has published the strongest evidence yet that a smartphone training program, theory-driven and specifically designed for individuals with memory impairment, can result in "robust" improvements in day-to-day functioning, and boost independence and confidence levels.

The promising results appear online this week, ahead of print publication, in the international journal Neuropsychological Rehabilitation.

"The goal of our study was to demonstrate the generalizability of our training protocol to a larger number of individuals with moderate-to-severe memory impairment," said Dr. Eva Svoboda, a clinical neuropsychologist in the Neuropsychology and Cognitive Health Program at Baycrest, and lead author of the study.

"Our findings demonstrate that it is possible to harness powerful emerging technologies with brain science in an innovative way to give people with a range of memory deficits some of their independence back."

Memory impairment, particularly when it is severe, can impact virtually all aspects of everyday life. Individuals are unable to readily acquire new information making it difficult or impossible to keep appointments and stay on top of changing personal, social and occupational responsibilities.

Two decades ago, Baycrest pioneered a theory-driven training program that tapped into preserved implicit memory systems in people with amnesia to teach them to use assistive memory devices. Implicit or procedural memory is a type of memory that supports learning but does not require conscious executive control. Common examples of this type of memory include riding a bicycle or brushing one's teeth which doesn't require conscious remembering of where the procedure was learned in order to perform it.

Commercial technologies such as smartphones and other mobile electronic devices have immense potential for individuals with memory impairment as they offer high storage capacity, auditory and vibration alerts, rich multimedia capability and high user acceptability.

The Baycrest study involved 10 outpatients, 18 to 55 years of age, who had moderate-to-severe memory impairment, the result of non-neurodegenerative conditions including ruptured aneurysm, stroke, tumor, epilepsy, closed-head injury, or anoxia (insufficient oxygen to the brain) after a heart attack.

Participants completed two phases of training on either a smartphone or another personal digital assistant (PDA) device. Prior to the training, all participants reported difficulty in day-to-day functioning. Some required ongoing supervision and regular assistance from family members due to their forgetting to pay bills, take medications or attend appointments.

In the first phase, instructors from Baycrest's Memory Link program taught participants the basic functions of their device, using an errorless fading of cues training method that tapped into their preserved implicit /procedural memory. Each participant received several one-hour training sessions to learn calendaring skills such as inputting appointments and reminders.

In the second phase, participants took the device home to apply their newly-acquired calendaring skills in real-life situations. This included setting alarm reminders to take medications and attend future appointments, charging the device, and remembering to keep the device with them at all times. They also learned how to use other software functions, such as phone, contacts, and camera.

As part of the outcome measures, participants were given a schedule of 10 phone calls to complete over a two-week period at different times of the day – to closely approximate real life commitments. Family members who lived with participants kept a behavioural memory log of whether real-life tasks were successfully completed or not by their relative. Participants and family members completed a "memory mistakes" questionnaire which involved rating a list of common memory mistakes on a frequency-of-occurrence scale, ranging from "never" to "all the time".

Participants and family also completed two additional questionnaires. One measured confidence in the participant when dealing with various memory-demanding scenarios (e.g. dentist calls to change appointment dates). The other examined the participant's use of the device to support traveling back in time (e.g. searching activities and events from preceding days, weeks and months), traveling forward in time (e.g. planning ahead, entering future events and appointments), and technical ease of use of the device.

All 10 individuals showed "robust increases" in day-to-day memory functioning after taking the training, based on results from the functional and questionnaire-based measures. Participants continued to report benefit from smartphone and PDA use in short-term follow-up three to eight months later.

Provided by Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care

"Smartphone training helps people with memory impairment regain independence." February 8th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-smartphone-people-memory-impairment-regain.html

 

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek