Day: 09/07/2015

Neuroanatomical Correlates of Religiosity and SpiritualityA Study in Adults at High and Low Familial Risk for DepressionReligiosity and Spirituality CorrelatesReligiosity and Spirituality Correlates

Posted by

0


Importance  We previously reported a 90% decreased risk in major depression, assessed prospectively, in adult offspring of depressed probands who reported that religion or spirituality was highly important to them. Frequency of church attendance was not significantly related to depression risk. Our previous brain imaging findings in adult offspring in these high-risk families also revealed large expanses of cortical thinning across the lateral surface of the right cerebral hemisphere.

Objective  To determine whether high-risk adults who reported high importance of religion or spirituality had thicker cortices than those who reported moderate or low importance of religion or spirituality and whether this effect varied by family risk status.

Design, Setting, and Participants  Longitudinal, retrospective cohort, familial study of 103 adults (aged 18-54 years) who were the second- or third-generation offspring of depressed (high familial risk) or nondepressed (low familiar risk) probands (first generation). Religious or spiritual importance and church attendance were assessed at 2 time points during 5 years, and cortical thickness was measured on anatomical images of the brain acquired with magnetic resonance imaging at the second time point.

Main Outcomes and Measures  Cortical thickness in the parietal regions by risk status.

Results  Importance of religion or spirituality, but not frequency of attendance, was associated with thicker cortices in the left and right parietal and occipital regions, the mesial frontal lobe of the right hemisphere, and the cuneus and precuneus in the left hemisphere, independent of familial risk. In addition, the effects of importance on cortical thickness were significantly stronger in the high-risk than in the low-risk group, particularly along the mesial wall of the left hemisphere, in the same region where we previously reported a significant thinner cortex associated with a familial risk of developing depressive illness. We note that these findings are correlational and therefore do not prove a causal association between importance and cortical thickness.

Conclusions and Relevance  A thicker cortex associated with a high importance of religion or spirituality may confer resilience to the development of depressive illness in individuals at high familial risk for major depression, possibly by expanding a cortical reserve that counters to some extent the vulnerability that cortical thinning poses for developing familial depressive illness.

We previously reported a 90% decreased risk, assessed prospectively for 10 years, of developing major depressive disorder (MDD) in adult offspring of depressed probands (high familial risk [HR]) who said that religion or spirituality was highly important to them.1 Attendance at religious services and religious denomination did not decrease the risk of MDD. Among the same participants in our 25-year, longitudinal, multigenerational study of MDD who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we identified large expanses of cortical thinning across the lateral surface of the right cerebral hemisphere and mesial wall of the left hemisphere in adult offspring of the HR group.2 These findings led us to explore whether the regions where cortical thinning was located in the HR adults would be thicker in those who report a high personal importance of religion or spirituality and whether these findings would be significantly more prominent in persons at HR compared with low familial risk (LR) for MDD. A relatively thicker cortex in these regions could potentially account for the protection against depression that religion or spirituality seem to afford. (For ease of reading, we will refer to the personal importance of religion or spirituality simply as importance.)

Numerous studies have found an inverse association between religiosity and depression, and additional studies have attempted to identify a neurobiological basis for religious and spiritual experiences.3– 9 In healthy individuals, for example, transcranial magnetic stimulation of the temporoparietal regions evoked feelings of sensed presence.10 A study11 on older adults using structural MRI prospectively associated born-again status, life-changing religious experiences, and Catholicism with subsequent greater atrophy in the hippocampus. Several functional neuroimaging studies2,12– 15 of healthy adults using functional MRI and single-photon emission computed tomography revealed that the intensity of self-evoked religious experiences during MRI was associated with increased blood flow in various subregions of the prefrontal and parietal cortices. These neurobiological correlates of religious and spiritual experiences, however, have yet to be investigated in terms of the risk and protective benefits that they confer for MDD.

In the present study, we followed adults for more than 30 years adults were at either HR or LR for MDD, during which time the participants self-reported importance and frequency of attendance at services and were assessed for symptoms of depression. We assessed the associations of importance with measures of cortical thickness measured on MRIs of the brain acquired at the 25-year follow-up. In addition to reporting thinner cortices in HR adults that averaged nearly 30% across the lateral surface of the right hemisphere and mesial wall of the left, we also previously reported that thinner cortices in the HR group were state independent (ie, a thinner cortex was independent of whether participants were ever depressed and therefore was likely an endophenotype for MDD) and that the cortical thickness mediated the associations of familial risk for MDD with inattention and difficulty recalling social stimuli, cognitive disturbances that in turn were associated with increased symptoms of anxiety and depression.2,15

We therefore hypothesized that adults with self-reported high importance compared with those with low or moderate importance would have thicker cortices in brain regions, which was previously identified as an endophenotype for familial MDD. Because we have previously found that the effects of religious importance in protecting against MDD are greater in HR compared with LR adults, we further hypothesized that the HR compared with the LR participants would have larger expanses of the brain in which cortical thickness correlated positively with religious importance.

How To Quit Smoking Naturally And Clean Your Lungs

Posted by

0


How To Quit Smoking Naturally And Clean Your Lungs

Are you one of the millions of smokers in America who’s looking to quit? Then I’ve got some news for you: there are 13 different herbs that are known to be able to help you quit smoking. However, there are important steps to take before starting your journey.

Number 1: Switch to an organic additive-free brand of tobacco. Most cigarettes contain all kinds of chemicals that keep you smoking them. Nicotine is just one of the addictive chemicals added to cigarettes to make them almost impossible to walk away from.

Number 2: Don’t try patches, gums, or other pharmaceuticals. They may be able to help for a little while, and may even get you past that last “need” – but they are expensive, and have many side effects.

Having gastrointestinal pain and respiratory problems are some of the reasons you should quit smoking. The patches, gums, and other “smoking aids” should have a warning because of the severity of their side effects.

In the UK, Champix–an anti-smoking drug pushed by Pfizer–was the cause for 80 deaths from 2006 to 2011. Half were suicide. Champix and Chantix seem to be the same drug (varenicline) but are marketed differently. Why? Probably because Champix was the cause of 80 deaths.

So get off the pharmaceuticals and read this list of healthy alternatives to anti-smoking aids. All of these are herbs, and they are best used as teas, but they can also be found in tablet form or as a liquid extract. These herbs are known to help with the physical and mental stress linke with quitting smoking.

13 Quit – Smoking Herbs :

Lobelia

Lobelia can help you in 3 ways: it will calm your mind, relax your body, and make the taste of cigarettes really unpleasant to your mouth.

St. John’s wort

St. John’s wort is one of the best known herbs for promoting a healthy mindset – very necessary for the cravings you experience when you quit smoking.

Korean ginseng

Korean ginseng will help you relieve stress and achieve balance between the body’s systems – perfect for nicotine withdrawals. It will also help stimulate and energize your body.

Peppermint

Peppermint will relax your digestive system, help control bile, acid reflux, and other common quitting problems like anxiety, tension, and headaches.

Blue vervain

This herb is a natural tranquilizer, and can help you with the insomnia that might be a result from quitting smoking.

Hyssop

Hyssop can clear mucus congestion, anxiety, and hysteria associated with withdrawal.

Black cohosh

This sedative will help put irritability, nervousness, and restlessness to sleep, without any side effects.

Motherwort

This herb induces tranquility by alleviating anxiety.

Catnip

Catnip will help you with indigestion and upset stomach, and it will ease and soothe other withdrawal symptoms.

Oat straw or oat seed

This herb will help you beat stress, exhaustion, and nervous debility linked with depression and quitting smoking.

Skullcap

Skullcap will help your brain release endorphins, which your body will crave for after you’ve deprived it from nicotine. This herb relaxes nervous tension while reviving the nervous system.

Slippery elm

Slippery elm will draw out the impurities and toxins and help purify your lungs and your entire body.

Valerian

This is a known sedative and natural muscle relaxant, which helps with anxiety, insomnia, and stress.

Can vitamin C supplement replace your daily morning walk?

Posted by

0


Researchers have found that taking Vitamin C supplements daily can have similar cardiovascular benefits as regular exercise in overweight and obese adults. 

If you are too lazy to wake up for your morning walk, results of a new study may cheer you up.

Researchers have found that taking Vitamin C supplements daily can have similar cardiovascular benefits as regular exercise in overweight and obese adults.

The blood vessels of overweight and obese adults have elevated activity of the small vessel-constricting protein called Endothelin (ET)-1.

Because of the high ET-1 activity, these vessels are more prone to constricting, becoming less responsive to blood flow demand and increasing risk of developing vascular disease.

Exercise has been shown to reduce ET-1 activity but incorporating an exercise regimen into a daily routine can be challenging.

  • Vitamin C, Vitamin C pills, sources of Vitamin C, morning walks, Vitamin C benefits, benefits of morning walk, Endothelin (ET)-1, ET-1, vascular disease, cardiovascular benefits, walking, obese, overweight, vitamin C, vitamin supplements, exercise, blood vessels
 

This study, conducted at University of Colorado, Boulder in the US, examined whether vitamin C supplements, which have been reported to improve vessel function, can also lower ET-1 activity.

The researchers found that daily supplementation of Vitamin C (500 mg/day) reduced ET-1-related vessel constriction as much as walking for exercise did.

Vitamin C supplementation represents an effective lifestyle strategy for reducing ET-1-mediated vessel constriction in overweight and obese adults, the researchers wrote.

The findings were presented at the 14th International Conference on Endothelin: Physiology, Pathophysiology and Therapeutics in Savannah, Georgia, US.

– See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/can-vitamin-c-supplement-replace-morning-walk/#sthash.YBbM5Ozk.dpuf

Scientists have created a natural mosquito repellant that’s as effective as DEET.

Posted by

0


Scientists have created a natural mosquito repellant that’s as effective as DEET.

Australian researchers have found a new way to create a safe, natural mosquito repellant from native essential oils, using the processing power of the Sun. Early trials show that it’s at least as effective as the controversial insecticide DEET, which is currently the most widely used chemical insect repellant.

The product offers a much-needed alternative to reliably protect against mosquitoes, and the diseases they spread, and could have a huge impact in rural and developing regions. “Our ultimate goal is to manufacture a fragrant insect-repellent with pharmaceutical activity using only environmentally friendly (‘green’) conditions,” lead researcher Michael Oelgemoller told ScienceAlert over email.

The unique part about the repellant is the methodology that’s used to make it, which relies entirely on sunlight. Created by scientists at James Cook University in northern Queensland, the process uses solar technology to transform local essential oils into commodity materials, which can then be used in insect repellants or other pharmaceutical and fragrance products.

The best part is that the method is incredibly simple and cheap, and can be performed almost anywhere. “The chemical transformation solely uses water, a household acid (available at any supermarket) and solar heat,” says Oelgemoller. “Isolation is possible by steam distillation, a technology used excessively in the essential oil industry.”

The new repellant is processed from the oil of an Australian tree, and trials so far have shown that it’s as effective at warding off mosquitoes and sandflies as DEET.

“DEET has become highly controversial, is an irritant, has unpleasant odours, and has been linked to health concerns including brain damage in children,” Oelgemoller explains. “DEET is also produced from non-sustainable sources such as petrochemicals using harmful chemicals.”

While natural repellants such as tea tree oil are a popular alternative, they’re not as effective and require constant reapplication. Oelgemoller hopes that their alternative offers the best of both worlds, by throwing mosquitoes off the scent naturally. “It is believed that the repellent masks the ‘attracting’ odours that humans emit so that mosquitos are unable to locate their target,” Oelgemoller explains.

The team is now looking for investors to help commercialise their product. The ultimate goal is to find a way to cheaply upscale the manufacturing of the repellant so that it can help protect the millions of people in the world who are vulnerable to mosquito-borne diseases.

“Our technology will allow easy integration of a novel and high-value product – a powerful insect repellent – using existing equipment within the essential oil industry,” says Oelgemoller. “It can also be used in undeveloped countries in the tropical region, for example Papua New Guinea, where insect-borne diseases are endemic.”

Scientists have developed a “highly effective” motion sickness treatment.

Posted by

0


It could soon be safe for people with sea sickness to go back on the water, thanks to a new treatment that uses electrical currents to help calm down your brain’s response to too much motion.

The treatment involves attaching electrodes to your head, which then painlessly stimulate your brain using gentle electrical currents. Right now this requires a portable machine, but in the future researchers hope to downsize the whole thing into a mobile app, with electrodes that plug into the headphone jack.

“We are confident that within five to 10 years people will be able to walk into the chemist and buy an anti-seasickness device,” lead researcher Qadeer Arshad from University College London in the UK said in a press release. “It may be something like a tens machine that is used for back pain. We hope it might even integrate with a mobile phone, which would be able to deliver the small amount of electricity required via the headphone jack. In either case, you would temporarily attach small electrodes to your scalp before travelling – on a cross channel ferry, for example.”

Scientists have been struggling for decades to find a way to effectively treat motion sickness, a condition that describes the symptoms of severe nausea, cold sweats, and dizziness that plague people when they travel by boats, plane, car, or any other moving vehicles.

One of the main obstacles is that scientists still don’t really understand what causes the condition. The best explanation we have is that the brain receives confusing messages from our eyes and ears while we’re moving, and somehow that triggers the symptoms which plague so many people.

And while we now have several effective drugs to treat the condition, the best available also come with side effects such as drowsiness, which isn’t ideal for people who need to work on boats or planes.

The new treatment instead uses electrical currents to stimulate the region of the brain responsible for processing motion signals, with the aim of dampening its responses. This is the same technique that’s been found to be effective at boosting concentration, aiding memory, and even making people more creative.

The team tested the technique out on 20 adults who already had motion sickness. All of them had electrodes attached to their head for 15 minutes before being strapped into a moving chair designed to trigger motion sickness – but only half of them were actually given the treatment, the rest experienced a placebo.

At the end of their motion sickness chair ride, those who’d been given the proper treatment all experienced less nausea and recovered more quickly than the placebo group (who we can’t help but feel bad for). The results have been published in Neurology.

“We are really excited about the potential of this new treatment to provide an effective measure to prevent motion sickness with no apparent side effects,” said Michael Gresty, a world leader on motion sickness from University College London who collaborated on the study. “The benefits that we saw are very close to the effects we see with the best travel sickness medications available.”

We can’t even begin to imagine how awesome it would be to be able to enjoy boat trips and long car rides without nausea, simply by plugging a few electrodes into our iPhones before travel. Bring it on.

This giant floating farm could produce almost 10 tonnes of food each year.

Posted by

0


Fruits, vegetables and fish!

 

Architects in Spain have designed a three-storey floating farm that would help produce nearly 10 tonnes of extra food for Earth’s growing population each year, without taking up any land or fresh water.

The solar-powered farm would include massive hydroponic farms, watered by desalinated seawater, and a fish farm below, making the entire system self-sustaining and capable of producing most items in a healthy diet.

Of course, the farm is still very much conceptual and no prototype has been made just yet, so it’s hard to know how successful their plans would be when put into practice. But the blueprint is based on existing technology, so there’s no reason why it couldn’t be built.

“This is not science fiction. It is a serious and viable solution,” the architect team behind the concept at Forward Thinking Architecture write on their site. “It is not meant to ‘solve’ all of humanity’s hunger problems or to replace existing traditional agriculture; this is not the idea at all. The driver behind the project is to open a new initiative which can be complementary and compatible with other existing production methods in order to help reduce food risk associated problems in different areas of the globe.”

This isn’t the first time a floating farm has been proposed – last year a separate group of Spanish architects proposed a taller version of a floating farm, and inJapan and India engineers are building floating solar farms to harness electricity.

What’s different about this design is that it contains its own mini-ecosystem that, in theory, would be capable of producing all of the following items:

SFF VEGETABLES FISH FTA 1340 c

According to the plans, the top level of the farm would be covered in solar panels and skylights, to allow sunlight to be harvested for electricity, and also to filter through to the plants below.

The second level would contain the hydroponic vegetables and crops. The waste products from these crops would be used to feed the fish in the level below, and the waste from these fish would then be used to fertilise the crops, creating a self-sustaining system.

Forward Thinking Architecture predict that the farm would be able to produce 1.7 tonnes of fish annually and 8.1 tonnes of fruit and vegetables.

SFF 1 1340 c

Altogether the farm would take up a massive 200 m by 350 m area, or 204,000 square metres – which on land would be pretty impractical, but on the ocean wouldn’t be much of a problem given the vast amount of space available.

The farm would also contain wind turbines and wave energy converters, to make the most of the natural energy available to it. And there would be a desalination plant and an on-board slaughterhouse and processing and packaging area, so that products could be sent straight to shops or consumers, reducing the food miles and carbon footprint of each product.

What’s even better is that the farm is mostly automatic, using sensor systems to regulate watering processes and position itself in the most efficient spot each day.

SFF 2 1340 c

Obviously there are some big hurdles to overcome with any type of structure of this kind – the biggest we can think of is the tumultuous nature of Earth’s oceans. We currently struggle to keep wave energy generators safe from storm surges, so it would be hard to find safe spots to moor these beauties.

But with an abundance of harbours and lakes around the world, it wouldn’t be impossible. And even though this is all just a pipe dream for now, if we could find a way to grow food sustainably in currently unused areas, it would be a big step towards feeding the soon-to-be 7.5 billion mouths on Earth.