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Mascara Monday: Too Faced Better Than False Lashes.

I was very intrigued by this new lash system from Too Faced called Better Than False Lashes. Of course, it promises big bold lashes, but in a different way as it uses actual lashes fibers in a multi-step system. I know there are a few fiber lash systems out there, and having never tried any makes this process new to me.

You get two tubes, which make up the 3 steps. One tube is the first step, called the Activating Base and Top Coat. The next tube is the Nylon Lash Fibers. You simply apply the base coat to the lashes, followed by the nylon fiber step, and then finish with another coat of the first product, which is now used as a top coat.

Basically, the first step is a mascara. Used alone, it gives nice length, separation and volume to the lashes. The next step, which I was nervous about because I wear contact lenses, is the fiber application. I was worried that I would get all these little fibers flying into my eyes, but I did not. The nylon fibers clung to the base coat and didn't budge. Phew!  I immediately noticed that I had a lot more lash to build upon, which was apparent when I applied the first product again, now the top coat. My lashes tripled in volume and even more length was added. I was so impressed!

For everyday, depending on the mascara, I use one to two coats. For an all out smokey eye look or night-time eye, I almost always use three coats of mascara and this system takes no more time than that. The difference is the end result when using Too Faced Better Than False Lashes because my lashes are the biggest and boldest that they have ever been without wearing actual falsies.

Too Faced Better Than False Lashes sells for $35.00 and is available right now at Sephora.

A press sample of the product featured may have been provided by brand or brand representative for editorial consideration. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links may have also been used in the post. Please see disclosure policy for complete information.

For all the latest beauty buzz, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Copyright © 2001 - 2013 Beautiful Makeup Search.

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Discussion: How could the NHS better embrace research?

Clinical research drives improvements in healthcare and leads to the development of more effective treatments for patients. The government has said it wants to encourage health research, recognising that - at a time when demand on the NHS is high and finances are strained - being innovative can help improve productivity.

However data suggests that clinical research is not always embedded in NHS 'core business'. A lack of funding, time, expertise and resources are perceived to be the main barriers to clinical research by health professionals.

In our next online discussion we will ask if the NHS is really embracing research and whether it could it do this better. How can the barriers be overcome and how can trusts be encouraged to embed research into their core business? Is research seen as an extra burden rather than something that is integral to improving patient care, and should NHS leaders try to change this perception? How do we build a research active NHS? We will also explore how research can help the NHS meet the challenges of the future.

Join our expert panel on Thursday 26 September between noon and 2pm when we'll be discussing these issues. If you have a question you'd like to ask the panel, you can email it to healthcare@theguardian.com. You can can also tweet us your questions at @GdnHealthcare.

• Stephen Smye, director of research and development at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS trust and director of the NIHR Comprehensive Clinical Research Network
• Sharmila Nebhrajani, chief executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities
• Sara Osborne, head of policy at Cancer Research UK
• Ben Bray, quality improvement fellow, Royal College of Physicians
• Emma Munro, trust lead research nurse, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS trust
• Brian Thomson, director of research and innovation at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS trust
• Catherine Elliott, director, clinical research interests Medical Research Council
• Saul Faust, active in infectious disease research at University Hospitals Southampton NHS foundation trust

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Bigger is Better: 6 Supersize Beauty Products to Buy Now.

When shopping for beauty products that you use often, bigger is better. Think of your favorite beauty products. If they are products that you really love and buy month after month, stock up by buying supersize. Not only will you save trips to the store, you will be saving money to boot.

Take my favorite Philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleanser as an example. I could purchase the 3oz. size for $10.00 ($3.33/oz), 8oz. size for $22.00 ($2.75/oz), 16 oz. for $33.00 ($2.06/oz), 24 oz. for $41.00 ($1.71/oz), or 32 oz. for $50.50 ($1.58/oz). Obviously, the best deal is to buy the largest size and pay less per ounce.

Here are my favorite supersize beauty products that are super beauty buys.

It Cosmetics Supersize Airbrush Silk Luminizer .49oz. - $44.54
This silk finishing powder that adds a soft, airbrushed glow to skin is infused with Vitamins A,C and E to help skin as it makes it look better.

h2o+ Raspberry Guava Shower and Bath Gel Jumbo 32oz. - $24.00
This invigorating body wash has little beads suspended throughout that are full of Vitamin E to nourish the skin as it washes it. It smells so good, just like fresh, ripe raspberries!

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream 12oz. - $39.00
A super thick, rich nourishing cream that works hard on even the driest of skin. I use this all over extra dry spots like feet and elbows for instant and soothing relief.

Kate Somerville ExfoliKate 5oz. - $175.00
If you want the results of a facial in a few minutes right in your home, this best seller does the trick better than any other. This scrub works by way of enzymes that slough away dead skin, unlike most scrubs that are harsh on the skin. It does so immediately and over time to give skin a super healthy glow.

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer 1.7oz. - $49.00
The best selling foundation primer, preps and primes skin by filling in pores and lines as it makes for a perfect base for makeup. Foundation just looks better and lasts longer when using.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser 32oz. - $50.50
My favorite cleanser and product I use each and every day, removes every trace of dirt, oil, makeup with just a very small amount. I have yet to find another cleanser that works as quickly and effectively on my face, while keeping it soft and smooth.

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Mascara Monday: Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara.

Too Faced launched a new mascara this fall and they are claiming that it is Better Than Sex. I'm not even going to go there, but this mascara does do pretty exciting things to me.

Let's first take a look at the tube. It is sleek and sexy in smooth pink. That is exciting, isn't it?

As for the kind of excitement I am really talking about, Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara lengthens, thickens and defines my lashes in a super black formula. And that is not all. This mascara adds gentle curl to the lashes with its hourglass shaped brush. It is similar to COVERGIRL Flamed Out Mascara, but in a more tame way. It has less of the hourglass curve that Flamed Out has, but still enough where it hugs the lash line and helps to form the curl. I really like the brush shape.

I really like the formula too. It is thick and really darkens lashes, but doesn't weigh them down. In wearing all day, I never experienced any flaking or smudging.

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara is available now for $23.00 at toofaced.com and Sephora.

A press sample of the product featured may have been provided by brand or brand representative for editorial consideration. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links may have also been used in the post. Please see disclosure policy for complete information.

For all the latest beauty buzz, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Copyright © 2001 - 2013 Beautiful Makeup Search.

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Friends and family test: is there a better way to find out views?

Meaningful, qualitative feedback from patients means spending time listening carefully to what they have to say.

The problem with most patient questionnaires is that they ask closed questions, requiring just a yes or no answer. This is also an issue with the government's friends and family test. What's the point of knowing that a patient wouldn't recommend your service to their friends and family if you don't know why?

Spiral Health's 40-bed rehabilitation unit in Blackpool has just been nominated for a Nursing Times award for our approach to patient care, the cornerstone of which is our unique approach to gathering patient feedback. We use an innovative system called Working Together for Change which gathers meaningful, qualitative feedback from patients and then allows them to decide their own priorities for change within our unit.

The system was originally developed as a tool to help people change public services from within. We're working with Helen Sanderson, a personalisation expert, to introduce it for the first time into a hospital setting. It's an eight-part process in which a group of people representing all stakeholders in our hospital community – managers, healthcare assistants, therapists, nurses and patients – gather together to analyse patient feedback and decide on action points. Our staff and patients have loved being involved, and it is interesting to hear feedback on problematic issues from so many different perspectives.

Before we start, we collect patient views by conducting friendly bedside interviews. Each patient is asked to talk to us about two things that are working, two things that are not working and two things that people would like to see if they came back to the unit again. The interviews are more of a chat than a formal process and we work hard to make patients feel at ease. We also remind them that negative feedback is as important as glowing praise. Older generations sometimes don't like to make a fuss, even if something is troubling them.

The issues raised vary hugely. In the beginning, we were surprised to hear that so many people were unhappy with our food. We also learned that some patients needed their exercise regimes to be explained more fully and that others were frustrated that bells weren't being answered on the wards. More recently we've learned that some patients would appreciate more quiet time away from the hubbub of the wards, while others feel there are too few activities to help pass the time.

Almost all the issues raised can be resolved. We've already made significant changes to our menu, personalised our exercise regimes and implemented a policy of zero-tolerance on unanswered bells. Over the past few months, I've also researched options for extra soft mattress toppers and arranged for wi-fi to be available. We have conducted a full run-through of the process twice in the last six months and plan to continue with the same frequency. Eighty per cent of our patients are now being interviewed during their stay and we aim to achieve 100% as soon as possible.

As we are determined to be open and honest about the feedback we receive – negative and positive – we have a display in our reception area that highlights issues raised and what we are working on.

Some people have said we are brave to invite criticism, but we feel strongly that if we are going to be truly patient-centred we must listen hard to them and learn from them. If we were just content to ask tick-box questions of our patients, would the results really be worth the paper they were written on?

Cheryl Swan is clinical director of Spiral Health

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Expanded role for pharmacists in Canada is an opportunity to offer better patient care

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 19 Aug 2013 - 9:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Expanded role for pharmacists in Canada is an opportunity to offer better patient care

The newly expanded role of pharmacists in Canada to help manage the health of patients can benefit both patients and physicians, according to an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

The article, written by a physician and a pharmacist, summarizes the opportunities for collaborative care and how physicians can work with pharmacists.

Pharmacists in Canada have recently been given broader responsibilities, including in some provinces, prescribing privileges, ability to order and interpret laboratory tests, and ability to vaccinate and inject medications. Pharmacists in other countries such as the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand are also increasingly involved in collaborative care arrangements.

There is strong evidence that pharmacists' care can benefit patients, especially in providing vaccines and managing high blood pressure, diabetes, heart failure, asthma and other conditions.

"As pharmacists more actively participate in medication management, physicians should be aware that in interprofessional models of care, every member of the team is accountable for the care he or she provides and is not to be held directly liable for the acts of others," write Dr. Cara Tannenbaum, Faculties of Medicine and Pharmacy, Université de Montréal and Dr. Ross Tsuyuki, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta.

Because more than 10% of visits to emergency departments are for drug-related problems, collaboration can help reduce the number of drug?"drug interactions and avoid visits to the emergency department. Pharmacists, who have specialized expertise in drug dosing, drug interactions, pharmacology and related areas, can help physicians manage safe prescribing in complex (often elderly) patients taking 5 or more drugs. They can also help in tapering patients off medications.

"Once established, collaborative care with pharmacists will likely yield tremendous benefits to both patients and physicians. The expanding scope of pharmacists' practice offers many opportunities to improve patient care. However, it is also an ongoing process that must be evaluated as regulated activities change, new pharmacists enter practice and scopes of activities continue to expand," the authors conclude.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our pharmacy / pharmacist section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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Insulin pumps 'better than injections' for type 1 diabetes

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Academic Journal
Main Category: Diabetes
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 19 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Insulin pumps 'better than injections' for type 1 diabetes

Researchers say that insulin pumps are more effective at controlling type 1 diabetes in children and cause fewer complications than insulin injections, having completed the longest and largest study of insulin pumps to date.

According to the researchers at the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Australia, the use of pump therapy has increased over the last 15 years, particularly in children.

Pump therapy involves having a catheter placed under the skin to deliver short-acting doses of insulin around the clock. The insulin pump delivers the dosage at two levels: at the basal rate, the normal level of blood insulin needed when a person with diabetes has not eaten or is asleep; and the bolus rate, the level of insulin needed when a diabetic eats.

The study, published in the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, analyzed 345 children with type 1 diabetes undergoing pump therapy, and the same number of children who treat their diabetes with injections.

All children were aged between 2 and 19-years-old and had a mean diabetes duration of 4.1 years at the start of pump therapy. The follow-up mean duration period for the children was 3.5 years.

Results of the analysis revealed that the use of insulin pumps reduced episodes of severe hypoglycemia - dangerously low blood glucose - from 14.7 events in every 100 patients a year, to 7.2 episodes.

Numbers of severe hypoglycemic events in children using insulin injections, meanwhile, went up over the same period, from 6.8 events in every 100 patients per year, to 10.2 episodes.

Additionally, the rate of admission for diabetic ketoacidosis was lower in children using pump therapy at 2.3 events per every 100 patients per year, compared with 4.7 events per every 100 patients per year using insulin injections.

Dr. Elizabeth Davis, an associate professor at the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, says the results of this study are strong due to its large population-based sample over a long period of time.

"This is the largest study of insulin pump use in children. It also has the longest follow-up period of any study of insulin pump therapy in children," she says.

Dr. Davis adds:

"Our data confirm that insulin pump therapy provides an improvement in glycemic control which is sustained for at least seven years.

Although this is not a randomized trial, it is 'real life' experience in a large population-based sample over a prolonged time period and, as such, provides important information."

In other research on insulin pumps, presented at the American Diabetes Association 73rd Scientific Sessions in Chicago this year, one model of insulin pump was found to reduce nocturnal hypoglycemia without affecting glycated hemoglobin levels.

The authors of this latest research note that of the children using pump therapy, 38 stopped the treatment during the course of the study.

They explain that some children may have stopped because they became tired of the extra attention taken to manage the pump. Children may also be concerned about its physical appearance.

Written by Honor Whiteman

Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our diabetes section for the latest news on this subject. Long-term outcome of insulin pump therapy in children with type 1 diabetes assessed in a large population-based case-control study; Stephanie Johnson, Matthew Cooper, Timothy Jones and Elizabeth Davis, Diabetologia, August 18, 2013. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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Whiteman, Honor. "Insulin pumps 'better than injections' for type 1 diabetes." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 19 Aug. 2013. Web.
19 Aug. 2013. APA

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Why some suffer and others are better able to cope with chronic stress

Main Category: Anxiety / Stress
Article Date: 19 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Why some suffer and others are better able to cope with chronic stress

New research at Rutgers University may help shed light on how and why nervous system changes occur and what causes some people to suffer from life-threatening anxiety disorders while others are better able to cope.

Maureen Barr, a professor in the Department of Genetics, and a team of researchers, found that the architectural structure of the six sensory brain cells in the roundworm, responsible for receiving information, undergo major changes and become much more elaborate when the worm is put into a high stress environment.

Scientists have known for some time that changes in the tree-like dendrite structures that connect neurons in the human brain and enable our thought processes to work properly can occur under extreme stress, alter brain cell development and result in anxiety disorders like depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder affecting millions of Americans each year.

What scientists don't understand for sure, Barr says, is the cause behind these molecular changes in the brain.

"This type of research provides us necessary clues that ultimately could lead to the development of drugs to help those suffering with severe anxiety disorders," Barr says.

In the study published in Current Biology, scientists at Rutgers have identified six sensory nerve cells in the tiny, transparent roundworm, known as the C. elegans and an enzyme called KPC-1/furin which triggers a chemical reaction in humans that is needed for essential life functions like blood-clotting.

While the enzyme also appears to play a role in the growth of tumors and the activation of several types of virus and diseases in humans, in the roundworm the enzyme enables its simple neurons to morph into new elaborately branched shapes when placed under adverse conditions.

Normally, this one-millimeter long worm develops from an embryo through four larval stages before molting into a reproductive adult. Put it under stressful conditions of overcrowding, starvation and high temperature and the worm transforms into an alternative larval stage known as the dauer that becomes so stress-resistant it can survive almost anything - including the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003 of which they were the only living things to survive.

"These worms that normally have a short life cycle turn into super worms when they go into the dauer stage and can live for months, although they are no longer able to reproduce," Barr says.

What is so interesting to Barr is that when a perceived threat is over, these tiny creatures and their IL2 neurons transform back to a normal lifespan and reproductive state like nothing had ever happened. Under a microscope, the complicated looking tree-like connectors that receive information are pruned back and the worm appears as it did before the trauma occurred.

This type of neural reaction differs in humans who can suffer from extreme anxiety months or even years after the traumatic event even though they are no longer in a threatening situation.

The ultimate goal, Barr says, is to determine how and why the nervous system responds to stress. By identifying molecular pathways that regulate neuronal remodeling, scientists may apply this knowledge to develop future therapeutics.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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University, Rutgers. "Why some suffer and others are better able to cope with chronic stress." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 19 Aug. 2013. Web.
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Study finds physicians need to better recognize use of herbal supplements while breastfeeding

Main Category: Complementary Medicine / Alternative Medicine
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 05 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Study finds physicians need to better recognize use of herbal supplements while breastfeeding

In an article published in this month's issue of Pediatrics In Review, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) stress the importance of physicians recognizing that many mothers use herbal supplements while breastfeeding in order to make accurate health assessments for both mother and child.

In the US, no existing regulatory guidelines set a standardized risk assessment of herbal supplement use during breastfeeding. Because of the highly limited number of studies on herb use during lactation, numerous resources have mixed reports and safety recommendations, making it confusing for both mother and clinician.

After completing a systematic review of human lactation and herbal medicine literature, the researchers found poor methodology in the few available studies and concluded that further research is needed to assess the prevalence, efficacy and safety of commonly used herbs during breastfeeding.

"It is important for physicians and clinicians to be more aware that mothers are using herbal supplements and how vital it is to ask the mothers, who are seeking a doctor's opinion when having trouble breastfeeding, about their use before making an assessment," said senior author Paula Gardiner, MD, MPH, assistant professor at BUSM and a physician of family medicine at Boston Medical Center.

Although there is little scientific evidence to support the efficacy or safety of herbal supplements, it is a common practice both nationally and internationally.

"The use of herbal supplements while breastfeeding is two-sided - there are benefits, but there are also safety concerns," she added. "About 18 percent of the US population use herbs and dietary supplements. We just want to make sure physicians and clinicians are aware of this prevalent use when communicating with breastfeeding mothers about their health."

Herbal remedies may be used to increase the milk supply, relieve engorgement, treat mastitis, or for other therapeutic uses unrelated to lactation.

"Since there is very limited research, it is difficult to develop accurate information on the safety and effectiveness of specific herbs during breastfeeding," said Gardiner. "It is crucial that more research is conducted in this area, including national prevalence studies and safety and efficacy studies."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our complementary medicine / alternative medicine section for the latest news on this subject.

Gardiner is supported by grant K07AT005463 from the National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine or the National Institutes of Health.

Boston University Medical Center

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'Study finds physicians need to better recognize use of herbal supplements while breastfeeding'

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One size doesn't fit all: Ethnic birth weight chart better for infant care

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Also Included In: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 03 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
One size doesn't fit all: Ethnic birth weight chart better for infant care

One size chart doesn't fit all when it comes to evaluating birth weight and health outcomes of newborns.

A new study, recently published online by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, shows ethnicity-specific birth weight charts are better at identifying newborns who are small for gestational age (SGA), a classification associated with hypothermia, hypoglycemia, infection and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit.

"When we expect Chinese, South Asian and Caucasian babies to be the same size at birth, we risk misclassifying small but healthy Chinese and South Asian babies as small for gestational age," says the study's lead author Gillian Hanley, a post-doctoral fellow with UBC's School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) and the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI).

Hanley and Patricia Janssen, an SPPH professor and CFRI scientist, examined data from more than 100,000 newborns in Washington state against two birth-weight standards: a population-based birth weight chart used by most hospitals and one that accounted for the ethnicity of the newborns, developed by Janssen in 2007.

"We found a considerable number of babies classified as small for gestational age by the conventional birth weight chart were actually healthy babies," says Hanley. "This leads to parental anxiety, unnecessary testing and increased health care costs."

"Developing and implementing ethnicity-based standards can help better direct attention to those babies who need it the most," Hanley adds.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our pediatrics / children's health section for the latest news on this subject.

Ethnicity-specific birth weight distributions improve identification of term newborns at risk for short-term morbidity, Gillian E. Hanley, PhD, Patricia A. Janssen, PhD, American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology published online 01 July 2013, doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2013.06.042

University of British Columbia

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3 Aug. 2013. APA

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'One size doesn't fit all: Ethnic birth weight chart better for infant care'

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All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam). We reserve the right to amend opinions where we deem necessary.

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Study finds physicians need to better recognize use of herbal supplements while breastfeeding

Main Category: Complementary Medicine / Alternative Medicine
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 05 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Study finds physicians need to better recognize use of herbal supplements while breastfeeding

In an article published in this month's issue of Pediatrics In Review, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) stress the importance of physicians recognizing that many mothers use herbal supplements while breastfeeding in order to make accurate health assessments for both mother and child.

In the US, no existing regulatory guidelines set a standardized risk assessment of herbal supplement use during breastfeeding. Because of the highly limited number of studies on herb use during lactation, numerous resources have mixed reports and safety recommendations, making it confusing for both mother and clinician.

After completing a systematic review of human lactation and herbal medicine literature, the researchers found poor methodology in the few available studies and concluded that further research is needed to assess the prevalence, efficacy and safety of commonly used herbs during breastfeeding.

"It is important for physicians and clinicians to be more aware that mothers are using herbal supplements and how vital it is to ask the mothers, who are seeking a doctor's opinion when having trouble breastfeeding, about their use before making an assessment," said senior author Paula Gardiner, MD, MPH, assistant professor at BUSM and a physician of family medicine at Boston Medical Center.

Although there is little scientific evidence to support the efficacy or safety of herbal supplements, it is a common practice both nationally and internationally.

"The use of herbal supplements while breastfeeding is two-sided - there are benefits, but there are also safety concerns," she added. "About 18 percent of the US population use herbs and dietary supplements. We just want to make sure physicians and clinicians are aware of this prevalent use when communicating with breastfeeding mothers about their health."

Herbal remedies may be used to increase the milk supply, relieve engorgement, treat mastitis, or for other therapeutic uses unrelated to lactation.

"Since there is very limited research, it is difficult to develop accurate information on the safety and effectiveness of specific herbs during breastfeeding," said Gardiner. "It is crucial that more research is conducted in this area, including national prevalence studies and safety and efficacy studies."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our complementary medicine / alternative medicine section for the latest news on this subject.

Gardiner is supported by grant K07AT005463 from the National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine or the National Institutes of Health.

Boston University Medical Center

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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Boston University Medical Center. "Study finds physicians need to better recognize use of herbal supplements while breastfeeding." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 5 Aug. 2013. Web.
5 Aug. 2013. APA

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'Study finds physicians need to better recognize use of herbal supplements while breastfeeding'

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Children who use gestures tend to perform better on cognitive tasks

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 30 Jul 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Children who use gestures tend to perform better on cognitive tasks

In the first study of its kind, SF State researchers have shown that younger children who use gestures outperform their peers in a problem-solving task.

The task itself is relatively simple -- sorting cards printed with colored shapes first by color, and then by shape. But the switch from color to shape can be tricky for children younger than 5, says Professor of Psychology Patricia Miller.

In a new study due to be published in the August, 2013 issue of Developmental Psychology, Miller and SF State graduate student Gina O'Neill found that young children who gesture are more likely to make the mental switch and group the shapes accurately.

In fact, gesturing seemed to trump age when it came to the sorting performance of the children, who ranged from 2 and a half years old to 5 years old. In the color versus shape task, as well as one that asked children to sort pictures based on size and spatial orientation, younger children who gestured often were more accurate in their choices than older children who gestured less. The children's gestures included rotating their hands to show the orientation of a card or using their hands to illustrate the image on the card, for example gesturing the shape of rabbits' ears for a card depicting a rabbit.

"Gina and I were surprised by the strength of the effect. Still, the findings are consistent with a growing body of research showing that mind and body work closely together in early cognitive development," Miller said.

"The findings are a reminder of how strong individual differences are among children of a particular age," she added. "Certain 3-year-olds look like typical 4-year-olds. This likely reflects an interaction of natural talent and particular experiences -- both nature and nurture, as usual."

There is a growing body of research that suggests gesturing may play a significant role in the processes that people use to solve a problem or achieve a goal. These processes include holding information in memory, keeping the brain from choosing a course too quickly and being flexible in adding new or different information to handle a task.

Studies have shown that gesturing can help older children learn new math concepts, for example. "Really, though, there is evidence that gesturing helps with difficult cognitive tasks at any age," Miller said. "Even we adults sometimes gesture when we're trying to organize our tax receipts or our closets. When our minds are overflowing we let our hands take on some of the cognitive load."

O'Neill and Miller observed the children's spontaneous gestures as they performed the tasks, as well as gestures they were encouraged to make to explain their sorting choices. Both kinds of gestures were counted in comparing high and low gesturing children.

Children who did a lot of gesturing did better at the sorting task than those who didn't gesture as much -- even when they did not use gesturing during the task itself, the researchers found. This makes it difficult to determine whether it's the gesturing itself that helps the children perform the task, or whether children who use a lot of gestures are simply at a more advanced cognitive level than their peers. It is a question that Miller hopes to answer in further studies.

Miller said there is "quite a bit of evidence now that gestures can help children think," perhaps by helping the brain keep track of relevant information or by helping the brain reflect on the possibilities contained within a task. "In my opinion, children shouldn't be discouraged from gesturing when they want to gesture during learning," she said. "Adults sometimes -- appropriately -- say to children, 'use your words,' but some children may think this applies to all situations."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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The study, "A Show of Hands: Relations between Young Children's Gesturing and Executive Function," will be published in the August, 2013 issue of the journal Developmental Psychology.

San Francisco State University

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Technique to create better anti-cancer agents, arthritis drugs, and more

Main Category: Lymphoma / Leukemia / Myeloma
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics;  Arthritis / Rheumatology
Article Date: 30 Jul 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Technique to create better anti-cancer agents, arthritis drugs, and more

Many drugs such as agents for cancer or autoimmune diseases have nasty side effects because while they kill disease-causing cells, they also affect healthy cells. Now a new study has demonstrated a technique for developing more targeted drugs, by using molecular "robots" to hone in on more specific populations of cells.

"This is a proof of concept study using human cells," said Sergei Rudchenko, Ph.D., director of flow cytometry at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City and a senior author of the study. "The next step is to conduct tests in a mouse model of leukemia." The study, a collaboration between researchers from HSS and Columbia University, is in Advance Online Publication on the website of Nature Nanotechnology.

All cells have many receptors on their cell surface. When antibodies or drugs bind to a receptor, a cell is triggered to perform a certain function or behave in a certain manner. Drugs can target disease-causing cells by binding to a receptor, but in some cases, disease-causing cells do not have unique receptors and therefore drugs also bind to healthy cells and cause "off-target" side effects.

Rituximab (Rituxan, Genentech), for example, is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia by docking on CD20 receptors of aberrant cells that are causing the diseases. However, certain immune cells also have CD20 receptors and thus the drug can interfere with a person's ability to mount a fight against infection.

In the new study, scientists have designed molecular robots that can identify multiple receptors on cell surfaces, thereby effectively labeling more specific subpopulations of cells. The molecular robots, called molecular automata, are composed of a mixture of antibodies and short strands of DNA. These short DNA strands, otherwise called oligonucleotides, can be manufactured by researchers in a laboratory with any user-specified sequence.

The researchers conducted their experiments using white blood cells. All white blood cells have CD45 receptors, but only subsets have other receptors such as CD20, CD3, and CD8. In one experiment, HSS researchers created three different molecular robots. Each one had an antibody component of either CD45, CD3 or CD8 and a DNA component. The DNA components of the robots were created to have a high affinity to the DNA components of another robot. DNA can be thought of as a double stranded helix that contains two strands of coded letters, and certain strands have a higher affinity to particular strands than others.

The researchers mixed human blood from healthy donors with their molecular robots. When a molecular robot carrying a CD45 antibody latched on to a CD45 receptor of a cell and a molecular robot carrying a CD3 antibody latched on to a different welcoming receptor of the same cell, the close proximity of the DNA strands from the two robots triggered a cascade reaction, where certain strands were ripped apart and more complementary strands joined together. The result was a unique, single strand of DNA that was displayed only on a cell that had these two receptors.

The addition of a molecular robot carrying a CD8 antibody docking on a cell that expressed CD45, CD3 and CD8 caused this strand to grow. The researchers also showed that the strand could be programmed to fluoresce when exposed to a solution. The robots can essentially label a subpopulation of cells allowing for more targeted therapy. The researchers say the use of increasing numbers of molecular robots will allow researchers to zero in on more and more specific subsets of cell populations. In computer programming language, the molecular robots are performing what is known as an "if yes, then proceed to X function."

"The automata trigger the growth of more strongly complementary oligonucleotides. The reactions occur fast. In about 15 minutes, we can label cells," said Maria Rudchenko, M.S., the first author of the paper and a research associate at Hospital for Special Surgery. In terms of clinical applications, researchers could either label cells that they want to target or cells they want to avoid.

"This is a proof of concept study that it works in human whole blood," said Dr. Rudchenko. "The next step is to test it in animals."

If molecular robots work in studies with mice and eventually human clinical trials, the researches say there are a wide range of possible clinical applications. For example, cancer patients could benefit from more targeted chemotherapeutics. Drugs for autoimmune diseases could be more specifically tailored to impact disease-causing autoimmune cells and not the immune cells that people need to fight infection.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our lymphoma / leukemia / myeloma section for the latest news on this subject.

The study was funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and the Lymphoma and Leukemia Foundation.

Other researchers involved with the study are Alesia Dechkovskaia from Hospital for Special Surgery, and Steven Taylor, Ph.D., Payal Pallavi, B.A., Safana Khan, Vincent Butler, M.D., and Milan Stojanovic, Ph.D., from Columbia University. Dr. Stojanovich is also a senior author.

Hospital for Special Surgery

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Optimists better at regulating stress

Main Category: Anxiety / Stress
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 25 Jul 2013 - 2:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Optimists better at regulating stress

It's no surprise that those who tend to see a rose's blooms before its thorns are also better at handling stress. But science has failed to reliably associate optimism with individuals' biological stress response - until now.

New research from Concordia University's Department of Psychology is deepening the understanding of how optimists and pessimists each handle stress by comparing them not to each other but to themselves. Results show that indeed the "stress hormone" cortisol tends to be more stable in those with more positive personalities.

The study, which was recently published in the American Psychological Association's Health Psychology journal, tracked 135 older adults (aged 60+) over six years, and involved collecting saliva samples five times a day to monitor cortisol levels. This age group was selected becauseolder adults often face a number of age-related stressors and their cortisol levels have been shown to increase.

Participants were asked to report on the level of stress they perceived in their day-to-day lives, and self-identify along a continuum as optimists or pessimists. Each person's stress levels were then measured against their own average. Measuring the stress levels against participants' own average provided a real-world picture of how individuals handle stress because individuals can become accustomed to the typical amount of stress in their lives.

Joelle Jobin, a PhD candidate in clinical psychology who co-authored the study with her supervisor Carsten Wrosch and Michael Scheier from Carnegie Mellon University, says "for some people, going to the grocery store on a Saturday morning can be very stressful, so that's why we asked people how often they felt stressed or overwhelmed during the day and compared people to their own averages, then analyzed their responses by looking at the stress levels over many days."

She also notes that pessimists tended to have a higher stress baseline than optimists, but also had trouble regulating their system when they go through particularly stressful situations. "On days where they experience higher than average stress, that's when we see that the pessimists' stress response is much elevated, and they have trouble bringing their cortisol levels back down. Optimists, by contrast, were protected in these circumstances," says Jobin.

While the study generally confirmed the researchers' hypotheses about the relation between optimism and stress, one surprising finding was that optimists who generally had more stressful lives secreted higher cortisol levels than expected shortly after they awoke (cortisol peaks just after waking and declines through the day). Jobin says there are several possible explanations, but also notes that the finding points to the difficulty of classifying these complex hormones as good or bad. "The problem with cortisol is that we call it "the stress hormone", but it's also our 'get up and do things' hormone, so we may secrete more if engaged and focused on what's happening."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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Associations Between Dispositional Optimism and Diurnal Cortisol in a Community Sample: When Stress Is Perceived as Higher Than Normal. Jobin, Joelle; Wrosch, Carsten; Scheier, Michael F. Health Psychology, May 13 , 2013, doi: 10.1037/a0032736

Further information on Carsten Wrosch.

Concordia University

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Understanding the strength of the mussels' underwater attachments could enable better glues and biomedical interfaces

Main Category: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 25 Jul 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Understanding the strength of the mussels' underwater attachments could enable better glues and biomedical interfaces

Unlike barnacles, which cement themselves tightly to the surfaces of rocks, piers or ships, the clamlike bivalves called mussels dangle more loosely from these surfaces, attached by a collection of fine filaments known as byssus threads. This approach lets the creatures drift further out into the water, where they can absorb nutrients - although in the process, it exposes them to the risk of being torn away by the force of crashing waves.

But that almost never happens.

Despite the outwardly thin and fragile appearance of these threads, it turns out that in the dynamic, sloshing environment of waves and currents they can withstand impact forces that are nine times greater than the forces exerted by stretching in only one direction.

The secret to these tiny natural bungee cords has now been unraveled by MIT research scientist Zhao Qin and professor of civil and environmental engineering Markus Buehler. Their findings appear this week in the journal Nature Communications.

Byssus threads, they found, are composed of a well-designed combination of soft, stretchy material on one end and much stiffer material on the other. Both materials, despite their different mechanical properties, are made of a protein closely related to collagen, a main constituent of skin, bone, cartilage and tendons.

The team combined computer modeling and laboratory tests on the threads. To carry out their experiments, they placed an underwater cage in Boston Harbor for three weeks, during which time mussels attached themselves to the surfaces of glass, ceramics, wood and clay in the cage. Back in the lab, the mussels, threads and substrates were mounted in a tensile machine designed to test their strength by pulling on them with controlled deformation and recording the applied force during deformation.

"Many researchers have studied mussel glue before," Qin says, referring to the sticky substance that anchors byssus threads to a surface. But the static strength of the glue, and of the thread itself, "is not sufficient to withstand the impact by waves," he says. It's only by measuring the system's performance in simulated wave conditions that he and Buehler could determine how it accomplishes its amazing tenacity.

"We figured there must be something else going on," says Buehler, who heads MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "The adhesive is strong, but it's not sufficient."

The distribution of stiffness along the threads is key, Qin and Buehler found, suggesting that the distribution of intrinsic material properties and the overall architecture of the mussel attachment are important.

The distribution of stiffness in the mussels' threads enables them to be subjected to very large impact forces from waves. About 80 percent of the length of the byssus threads is made of stiff material, while 20 percent is softer and stretchier. This precise ratio may be critical, the researchers found: The soft and stretchy portions of the threads attach to the mussel itself, while the stiffer portion attaches to the rock. "It turns out that the ... 20 percent of softer, more extensible material is critical for mussel adhesion," Qin says.

In their simulations, Qin and Buehler systematically tested other ratios of the material composition and found that the 80-20 ratio of stiff to soft leads to the smallest reaction force. Having more of the softer material increases the reaction force because the material cannot effectively slow down deformation. Moreover, having more stiff material in byssus threads has other advantages, as it prevents the mussels from being pulled too far out by waves, which "would make it easier to hit other objects" and be damaged, Qin says.

These findings, Qin and Buehler say, could help in the design of synthetic materials that share some of these properties. For example, surgical sutures used in blood vessels or intestines are subjected to pulsating or irregular flows of liquid; the use of materials that combine stiffness and stretchiness, as byssus threads do, might provide advantages. The researchers say there may also be applications for materials to attach instruments to buildings, or sensors to underwater vehicles or sensing equipment in extreme conditions.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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Written by David Chandler, MIT News Office

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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Better Hair in 60 Seconds: Quick & Easy Summer Updos

Updos always look put-together, yet they're some of the easiest hairstyles to create. Learn the simple how-to for sock buns, chignons, French twists and other popular styles (39 Photos)

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