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Some performance characteristics of aspen-kenaf composite boards.
This study investigated some of the important properties of aspen-kenaf boards made from a combination of commercial liquid and powder phenol-formaldehyde adhesives with commercial oriented strandboard (OSB). The specific gravity of these boards varied from 0.68 to 0.75. Amount of kenaf, direction of flakes, resin content, and density significantly affected the modulus of rupture (MOR) and the modulus of elasticity (MOE) values of aspen-kenaf boards. Boards with 25 percent kenaf and 75 percent aspen produced MOR and MOE values comparable to commercial OSB. Percentage of kenaf and resin levels were significant factors influencing the internal bond (IB) strength and surface hardness when compared to commercial OSB. The 25 percent kenaf and 75 percent aspen boards produced IB values that could meet the required CSA standard. Aspen-kenaf boards obtained lower values for linear expansion. Lower percentage of kenaf flakes and higher resin content controlled thickness swelling in the 24-hour water-soak test. The 100 percent kenaf boards showed higher thickness swelling; however, boards with 25 percent kenaf and 75 percent aspen flakes recorded thickness swelling of 15 percent or less.
The preservation of forests and increasing environmental awareness has focused research on the exploration of new renewable fibrous resources. Kenaf has been identified in many previous studies as a viable non-wood plant source of industrial fiber for the pulp and paper industry (Bagby et al. 1975). More recent studies have focused on the potential of kenaf for the manufacture of composition boards (Maldas and Kokta 1995). Kenaf is a non-wood fiber plant. It grows to a height of 12 to 18 feet and attains 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter in 120 to 150 days. On ovendry basis, the outer bast fibers account for about one-third of the stem mass and pithy core accounts for the remainder. Various kenaf-based products like thermoplastic composites for automobiles, packaging, and construction material are currently being tested in the market. Kenaf core particles have been found to be feasible raw materials for the manufacture of low-density insulation board panels similar to acoustic composite boards (Sellers et al. 1994). In the last two decades, research on kenaf has resulted in limited production of hardboard, medium density board, and particleboard (Chow et al. 1993, English et al. 1996). Results indicate that particle boards of various thickness and density can be made using kenaf or by mixing kenaf with other materials.
This study explores the potential suitability of kenaf as a non-wood material for waferboard/oriented strandboard (OSB). Kenaf flakes were mixed with traditional aspen flakes at different rations to make OSB. Both physical and mechanical properties of these boards were measured in the laboratory to find the appropriate ratio of kenaf flakes that can replace aspen flakes without compromising quality and strength of these boards.
Materials and methods
The general laboratory manufacturing process of aspen-kenaf board is shown in Figure 1. It is closely related to the procedure used in manufacturing commercial OSB. Commercial-grade aspen flakes were mixed with laboratory-manufactured kenaf flakes to produce the experimental test boards. Air-dried kenaf stem material was cut into 3-inch-long pieces and soaked in water for 18 hours. This helped the raw materials to attain the optimal softness required to flake them to a thickness that matched aspen flakes. The flaker used was a disc-type flaking machine. Kenaf flakes plugged the flaker several times. Later these flakes were dried to a moisture content (MC) of 5 to 7 percent and passed through a sieve to remove any impurities or small particles. The average length and thickness of kenaf flakes was 2.633 inches and 0.039 inches, respectively. The aspen average flake dimensions were 3.646 inches in length and 0.0278 inches in thickness. The ratio of bast to core fiber in the kenaf stem was around 35:65 on a dry weight basis.
The experimental design for the production of composition panels from aspen and kenaf flakes is shown in Table 1. There were five different ratios of aspen to kenaf flakes: 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100. Board composition was either homogenous with no orientation of flakes in the boards or 3-layered OSB. The 3-layered boards included parallel and perpendicular directions based on flake orientation on the surface. Two resin levels of 4 and 6 percent were applied. Resin type included equal amounts of both powdered and liquid phenol-formaldehyde. Target density levels were 42 pcf and 46 pcf.
Resin and wax were applied in a rotating drum blender fitted with a pneumatic spray gun. After the application of 2 percent wax, liquid resin was applied and then powdered resin was spread on these flakes uniformly. Two different kinds of liquid resins were used for core and face layers in the composition boards. Two laboratory flake alignment devices were constructed using a series of parallel metal fins to keep the flakes in alignment until they were aligned and deposited on the mat. The mat for the OSB was obtained by rotating the device at 90 degrees for each layer. The final MC of the mat after resin application varied from 8 percent for pure aspen boards to 12 percent in pure kenaf boards. An oil-heated hydraulic hot-press was used for pressing the mat. The mat was laid on aluminum platens. The maximum press pressure was 522 psi to 555 psi (3.6 MPa to 3.8 MPa), depending on board density. The press temperature was maintained at about 400[degrees]F (204[degrees]C). The press closure time (compaction time) was between 90 and 120 seconds depending on density and the amount of kenaf in the boards. The total press time varied from 10 minutes for 4 percent resin content to 12 minutes for 6 percent resin content. All panels were pressed to a nominal thickness of 0.435 inch (11.1 mm). Standard test methods for evaluating properties of wood-based fibers and particle panels materials were used (ASTM 1996). Conditioned samples were cut into specimens for mechanical and physical property testing in accordance with methods described in ASTM D1037-96a. A factorial analysis was conducted through the use of split-plot design to determine the effects of the treatment combinations and their interactions on properties of boards. There were six replications for each treatment. The properties included modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), internal bond (IB), thickness swell (TS), linear expansion (LE), and hardness.
Results of some physical properties of the boards are shown in Table 2. MC during the board manufacturing process played a key role in determining press time. Initially boards made of 100 percent kenaf showed blisters in the board center so the press time was increased to 12 minutes to overcome this problem. The higher the kenaf content, the longer the press time, because kenaf flakes picked up moisture quickly from the humid environment. MC of the conditioned boards after pressing varied from 11.96 in 100 percent kenaf boards to 6.52 in 100 percent aspen boards. The results discussed in this paper are for aspen-kenaf composition boards made with 6 percent resin content and a target density of 46 pcf. Boards made with 4 percent resin content and 42 pcf density were weaker in strength properties and demonstrated higher TS and LE. Table 3 shows the factorial analysis for the various properties measured in this study.
Bending MOR and MOE
MOR and MOE values are shown in Figures 2 and 3, respectively. The results of the analysis of variance conducted on the effects of the different factors and their interactions showed that the amount of kenaf, the resin content, and the type of board significantly affected both MOR and MOE values. The interaction effects did not significantly contribute to the bending properties. Further, it was observed that values for MOR and MOE increased as the content of aspen flakes increased in the boards. Overall, 3-layered boards with a parallel direction of flakes on the surface showed better MOR and MOE values as compared to the homogenous type. Interestingly, both 3-layered with a parallel direction of flakes on the surface and homogenous boards with 50 percent or less kenaf gave an acceptable MOR value for building materials standards (SBA 1998). The amount of kenaf, board type, and the direction of flakes were highly significant in influencing the resultant value of MOE. Resin content did not show much impact on the MOE values. MOE values of boards increased with the increase in the amount of aspen flakes. The boards with 25 percent kenaf and 75 percent aspen produced MOE values comparable to 100 percent aspen; overall, the 3-layered boards exhibited higher MOE values than homogenous boards. The 3-layered boards with 75 percent kenaf and 25 percent aspen with flakes oriented in a parallel direction to the length produced MOE values higher than standards as specified by SBA (1998).
Internal bond
The main factors, kenaf and resin content, significantly affected the IB strength. Kenaf content levels showed a linear relationship to IB strength values. Figure 4 shows the mean and coefficient of variation values for IB. The IB strength increased as the content of aspen flakes increased in the boards. Overall, 3-layered boards obtained slightly higher average IB strength values as compared to the homogenous type. However, 100 percent kenaf homogenous boards produced higher IB values than kenaf 3-layered boards. The 6 percent resin content produced higher IB values than the 4 percent resin. Boards with 50 to 75 percent kenaf flakes exhibited IB values of 30 to 45.5 psi, which is below the OSB minimum standard. Only 3-layered boards with 25 percent kenaf, 75 percent aspen, 6 percent resin, and 46 pcf density gave satisfactory results that met the standard requirements (SBA 1998).
Thickness swell
Analysis of variance showed that both main factors, kenaf and resin content, controlled the TS and water absorption properties in aspen-kenaf boards. The amount of kenaf was highly significant for TS in the boards. Figure 5 shows the mean and coefficient of variation values for TS by aspen-kenaf boards. As the kenaf ratio dropped, so did the TS. Boards made with 6 percent resin, 46 pcf, and 25 to 50 percent kenaf and aspen flakes experienced lower values for TS. The TS values for boards made with 75 percent, 50 percent, and 25 percent kenaf were far lower than the required standard value for OSB (SBA 1998).
Linear expansion
In this study, no main factors and their interactions contributed to LE; however, kenaf, resin, and board density controlled LE values. The LE of aspen-kenaf boards ranged from 0.03 to 0.13 percent, which was substantially below the recommended standards set for OSBs. Higher average values for LE were noticed in 3-layered 100 percent kenaf. LE values decreased as the amount of kenaf decreased and aspen increased. On the contrary, homogenous boards showed lower LE than 3-layered boards. Kenaf flakes consisting of bark and a considerable core region might have influenced LE.
Face hardness
The hardness of aspen-kenaf boards was affected by the amount of kenaf, density, and their interaction. Hardness of these boards increased as the content of aspen flakes increased in the boards. Resin content and board types did not show any effect on hardness. The hardness values for 100 percent kenaf and 100 percent homogenous boards was 515 and 1,004 pounds, respectively. Boards with 25 to 75 percent kenaf flakes exhibited lower hardness values. The 3-layered and homogenous boards with 75 percent aspen, 25 percent kenaf, 46 pcf density, and 6 percent resin showed hardness close to commercial OSB.
Kenaf fibers carry strong potential as an alternative fibrous material for making fiberboards, composition panels, and also as reinforcing fibers in wood-plastic composites. Kenaf fibers show strong affinity to moisture, therefore, either fiber treatment or a long press time is required. Bending properties such as MOR and MOE improve as the kenaf content decreases. Properties like IB. TS, and hardness of the boards improved with lower levels of kenaf flakes. Overall, boards made with 25 percent kenaf and 75 percent aspen flakes and 6 percent resin exhibited board property values comparable to 100 percent aspen boards and also met or exceeded SBA standards.
Table 1.--Experimental design for production of composition panels from aspen and kenaf flakes. (a) Aspen-kenaf ratios (5) Aspen Kenaf Type(2) Resin(2) Density(2) --------(%)-------- (%) (pcf) 0 100 Homogenous 4 42 25 75 OSB 6 46 50 50 -- -- -- 75 25 -- -- -- 100 0 -- -- -- (a) Total treatments = 40. Table 2.--Physical properties of aspen-kenaf boards. Type of board Density Thickness Specific gravity (pcf) (in.) 100% kenaf 42 0.428 0.68 46 0.449 0.73 75% kenaf, 25% aspen 42 0.436 0.73 46 0.431 0.75 50% kenaf, 50% aspen 42 0.421 0.74 46 0.449 0.75 25% kenaf, 75% aspen 42 0.427 0.71 46 0.439 0.75 100% aspen 42 0.426 0.72 46 0.440 0.74 Type of board Moisture content (%) 100% kenaf 11.96 10.91 75% kenaf, 25% aspen 7.54 6.55 50% kenaf, 50% aspen 6.61 6.64 25% kenaf, 75% aspen 7.29 6.40 100% aspen 6.61 6.52 Figure 2.--Modulus of rupture. MOR (psi) Homogenous OSB(Per) OSB (Par) 100% kenaf (29.4) (9.4) (11.8) 75% kenaf+25%Aspen (16.8) (27.1) (7.6) 50% kenaf+50%Aspen (24.1) (5.4) (11.1) 25% kenaf+75%Aspen (21.1) (9.3) (6.0) 100%Aspen (9.2) (13.2) (9.3) Per = Flakes Oriented in perpendicular direction to length to test sample. Par = Flakes Oriented in parallel direction to length of test sample. C.V.(%) = Values in parenthesis are coefficient of variation. Minimum OSB value of MOR required by CSA 0437 Standard is 4200 Psi (Parallel) and 1800 Psi (Perpendicular). Note: Table made from bar graph. Table 3.--Factorial analysis of aspen-kenaf composition boards. (a) Independent variables MOR MOE IB TS LE Kenaf content S** S** S** S** NS Resin content NS NS S* S* NS Kenaf x resin NS NS -- NS NS Density NS NS NS NS NS Board type S* S NS NS NS Face direction (type) S* S -- -- NS (a) S** = highly significant at 1 percent level: S* = significant at 5 percent level: NS = not significant at 5 percent level. Figure 3.--Modulus of elasticity. MOE (x1,000 psi) HoMogenous OSB (per) OSB (par) 100% Kenaf (14.2) (13.9) (24.0) 75% Kenaf+25%Aspen (9.0) (16.7) (11.4) 50% Kenaf+50%Aspen (21.3) (14.2) (0.1) 25% Kenaf+75%Aspen (34.2) (24.5) (16.2) 100% Aspen (8.7) (15.7) (7.2) Minimum OSB value of MOE required by CSA 0437 standard is 800,000 psi (parallel) and 225,000 psi (perpendicular). Note: Table made from bar graph. Figure 4.--Internal bond strength. Internal Bond (psi) Homogenous OSB 100% Kenaf (9.7) (21.13) 75% Kenaf+25%Aspen (11.8) (4.7) 50% Kenaf+50%Aspen (18.0) (12.6) 25% Kenaf+75%Aspen (25.0) (14.1) 100%Aspen (13.2) (18.5) All Values are average of two samples Minimum OSB value for internal bond required by CSA 0437 standard is 50 psi. Note: Table made from bar graph. Figure 5.--Thickness Swell. Thickness Swelling(%) Homogenous OSB 100% Kenaf (30.1) (3.7) 75% Kenaf+25%Aspen (31.4) (22.7) 50% Kenaf+75%Aspen (27.2) (8.7) 25% Kenaf+75%Aspen (11.7) (23.6) 100%Aspen (9.3) (11.3) Minimum OSB value for internal bond required by CSA 0437 standard is 15%. Note: Table made from bar graph. Figure 6.--Linear expansion. LE(%) Homogenous OSB 100% Kenaf (0.0) (14.6) 75% Kenaf+25%Aspen (10.0) (5.2) 50% Kenaf+50%Aspen (28.3) (15.1) 25% Kenaf+75%Aspen (26.0) (13.6) 100%Aspen (24.7) (13.7) Minimum OSB value for internal bond required by CSA 0437 standard is 0.35% (parallel). Note: Table made from bar graph. Figure 7.--Hardness. Hardness (lbs) Homogenous OSB 100% Kenaf (22.5) (7.8) 75% Kenaf+25%Aspen (26.8) (17.1) 50% Kenaf+50%Aspen (14.9) (13.8) 25% Kenaf+75%Aspen (17.2) (9.1) 100%Aspen (28.4) (1.8) Note: Table made from bar graph.
Literature cited
American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM), 1996. Standard test methods for evaluating properties of wood-base fiber and particle panel materials ASTM D 1037-96a, ASTM. West Conshohocken, PA.
Bagby, M.O., R.L. Cunningham, and T.F. Clark, 1975, Kenaf pulp - soda vs. sulphate, Tappi J. 58(7):121-123.
Chow, P., M.O. Bagby, and J.A. Youngquist, 1993. Furniture panels made from kenaf stalks, wood waste, and selected crop fiber residues. In: Proc. of the 5th Inter. Kenaf Conference. California State Univ. at Fresno, Fresno, CA.
Maldas, D. and B.V. Kokta, 1995. Composite molded products based on recycled thermoplastic and waste cellulosics, II. Kenaf fiber-recycled PE composites, J. of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 14(5):458-470.
English, B., P. Chow, and D.S. Bajwa, 1996. Processing of plant fibers into composites. In: Paper and Composites from Agro-Based Resources. Chapter 8, CRC. Lewis Publishers. CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL. pp. 269-299.
Sellers, T., D.J. Miller, and M.J. Fuller, 1994. Kenaf core as a board raw material, Bull, 1011. Mississippi Agri, and Forestry Experiment Sta., Starkville, MS. pp. 28-29.
Structural Board Association (SBA), 1998. OSB Performance by Design. Table 1, CSA 0437 and PS-2-92. SBA, Toronto, ON, Canada, 6 pp.
The authors are, respectively, Research Scientist, Masonite International Corp., Coates Technical Center, W. Chicago, IL 60185; and Professor, Natural Resource and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801. This material is based upon work supported by the USDA Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service under Project 1-6-54092 and Hatch 65-389 at the University of Illinois; and the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research. State of Illinois Project 00E-052-1. Acknowledgement should also be given to Georgia Pacific Resin Company for providing resin and wax in this research. This paper was received for publication in December 2001. Article No. 9412.
Dilpreet S. Bajwa *
Poo Chow *
* Forest Products Society Member.
[C]Forest Products Society 2003.
Forest Prod. J. 53(10):30-35.
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Cruise from Singapore
Hi there..
any chance of finding a cabin mate for a 3-4 day cruise to either malacca or phuket from Singapore departing from May 7? Have only heard ot Star Cruises so far..any others?
I am 23 single straight female from NZ would like female companion. I'm after fun and relaxation but not the loud type.
Hope to hear from you.
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October 1st is a big day for me as it's the official release date for Catching Moondrops! Don't forget to grab your copy!
It's also the deadline for entering the Christian Writers Guild's Operation First Novel contest, and you all know how worthwhile I think it is to enter. Don't miss out! You never know what might happen!
At Bluebonnet Lake by Amanda Cabot
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Picture this: Good-girl Betty meets motorcycle bad-boy Jimmy at a candy store, where he's obviously buying candy cigarettes. He turns around and smiles at her. You get the picture? (Who knew that candy stores were such popular pick-up joints in 1964?) But is she really going out with him? Yep, the next thing you know, she takes Jimmy's ring, wraps her legs 'round those velvet rims, and straps her hands 'cross his engines (no, wait; that's another song about an outcast luring a chick to his Harley). Anyway, Daddy tells her to ditch the biker. Alas, the sad, misunderstood Jimmy drives off into the sunset to crash and burn. Oh, the drama, the poignancy, the sound effects! How we all longed for a Jimmy who would self-destruct for us! Yes, folks, I'm talking about the Shangri-Las' doomed-love classic "Leader of the Pack," which hit the #1 spot on the Billboard charts 50 years ago today.
The Leader of the 'Doomed Love' Singles
Giving Thanks — To the Forces that Fueled Rock-n-Roll
Today, as I give thanks for all the people, events and opportunities that have enriched my life, I would also like to acknowledge my gratitude for the cosmic forces that came together in the 20th century to create the music that saved my soul: rock and roll. I am thankful…
Hey Jimi: Where Ya Going with that Guitar in Your Hand?
Cutting your teeth…honing your skills…paying your dues…(and, my favorite)…making your bones.Whatever you want to call it, Jimi Hendrix did it all in the days prior to achieving eternal super stardom as the greatest rock guitarist of all time. He played for years in backup bands for such American artists as Little Richard, Sam Cooke, the Isley Brothers and Joey Dee and the Starlighters. He also spent an evening playing backup for English crooner Engelbert Humperdinck and once toured with The Monkees as an opening act. Perhaps more than any other musician in rock history, Jimi Hendrix loved to play. It didn't matter what, where, when, or with whom.
The Beatles' "White Album" – In Need of a Damn Good Whacking?
If you could whittle down The Beatles' double "White Album" to a single-disc LP, which songs would you include (or toss)? Today, this album is considered iconic among fans and critics. Yet, upon its release, many critics considered the songs somewhat mediocre and purposeless. I played this album till it was nearly grooveless, but when it comes to critical analysis, I believe its content could have used "a damn good whacking," to borrow a line from George Harrison's song "Piggies" (a tune I'd cut, by the way).
Let the Jukebox Keep on Playing
December 19, 1980: That was the last time I dropped a quarter into a jukebox and had the pleasure of hearing THREE songs. I'm thinking they were "Brass in Pocket," "Emotional Rescue" and "Romeo's Tune." Why would I recollect those kinds of details? Because they relate to a memorable first date, that's why. In my heyday, jukeboxes and romance went together like woofers and tweeters. On this date in 1889, the world's first jukebox was installed at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco. The majestic music boxes would go on to provide the soundtrack to many a 20th century romantic rendezvous.
Drinking That Rock-n-Roll Kool-Aid with Stevie Van Zandt
"Turn the station to Letterman. That guy you like, the one who wears the do-rag, is on the show." That's my mom calling to tell me that Steven Van Zandt is sitting in the guest seat talking to Dave. Good ol' mom…always keeping me abreast of rock star sightings. She may not have remembered the name of that head-wrapped wonder, but she knows I've been infatuated with him for years – as far back as April 12, 1976, when I saw him at my first-ever rock concert. "Who's the sharpie?" I wondered, as I watched this nattily-dressed guy play guitar on stage with his boss Bruce Springsteen at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, PA. I hadn't seen his picture on any of Bruce's albums. I didn't even know his name. But I knew at that moment that we were going to be soul mates.
VD is for Everybody — And Other Scary Facts I Learned from Watching PSAs
Ten-year-old kids shouldn't be worrying about the after-effects of unprotected sex, mind-altering drugs, and adult unemployment, but thanks to several artful public service announcements (PSAs) that aired on network television in the early 70s, I once considered pre-booking a room in a nunnery!
Art from an Evil Canvas: The Berlin Wall
"The Iron Curtain." That was a term I heard often as a kid growing up in the Cold War '60s. What exactly was this metallic barrier, and who or what was behind it, I wondered. Little did I know that British Prime Minster Winston Churchill had coined the term to refer to the invisible, ideological barrier that separated the free world from the Communist world. But in time, I came to realize that an actual curtain really did exist – one made of concrete. It was called the Berlin Wall, and it held much fascination for me. When I first set foot in the German capital in 1993, my first order of business was a trip to the famous Checkpoint Charlie area to buy up as much memorabilia as I could: from silly touristy things – like a tiny chunk of the demolished wall, encased in plastic, to books detailing the history of the barrier and the incredible stories of East Germans who carried out elaborate schemes to scale or burrow under the wall. But my favorite souvenir is a book that features the incredible amateur graffiti that once adorned the western side of the wall, as well as the more professional paintings that cover the structure's few remaining remnants. The most famous image of all is known as "The Kiss."
Tolerance, Hairdo Envy, and Bad First Dates: Lessons Learned from Frankie & His Bride
Ah, you always remember your first time. There I was, in a dimly lit room…body tense and trembling under crisp sheets…heartbeat wild in anticipation…breaths short and shallow…spellbound by my first glimpse of something big, scary, and invasive…a spectacle that would excite me for the rest of my life: the 1935 classic, "The Bride of Frankenstein." This cinematic masterpiece introduced me to societal rejection, unrequited love, mob mentality, and the tortured soul of the outcast. It's the grandest monster flick of all time.
José Feliciano: Singing Out, in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave
I generally consider someone a true artist if he or she has the courage to produce straight-from-the-soul work that is so provocative it's likely to offend the masses, incite controversy, and, ideally, inspire people to open their minds and question long-held beliefs. When you think of such artists, Puerto Rican singer/songwriter José Feliciano doesn't immediately spring to mind. Yet, he made an artistic statement 46 years ago this month that was viewed with such contention that it nearly ended his career. His offense? He performed a soulful, Latin jazz version of "The Star Spangled Banner" to kick off the fifth game of the 1968 World Series, a matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers in the Motor City.


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Annual Press Audit: Front Page Pharma
For many in the industry, it felt like pharma was hardly ever out of the news this year—and the news was mostly bad. That feeling wasn't all in your head, as this year's Audit of Media Coverage of Ethical Issues in the Pharmaceutical Industry confirms. Coverage of legal and ethical issues related to pharma increased sharply; the newspapers in the study pool published more than twice as many front-page and editorial-page stories on these topics than they did in last year's study.
Some key findings:
Processing the News
The audit was sponsored by the Arrupe Center for Business Ethics at Saint Joseph's University and is the second of its type.
(For last year's results, see "Good News, Bad News" in the April 2005 issue of Pharmaceutical Executive.) The purpose of the audit was to shed light on the following questions:
Once the pool of articles was established, the team examined four factors:
Issues discussed For each article, we identified and categorized the relevant legal and ethical issues discussed. Fifty articles covered two or more issues and were counted under all relevant categories. [REFER]
Headline We categorized each headline as positive, negative, or neutral toward the industry. For example, "Despite Vow, Drug Makers Still Withhold Data" (New York Times, May 31, 2005, page A1) was clearly classified as a negative headline, while "Drug Ads Let Patients Participate in Care" (USA Today, June 15, 2005, page 10A) was labeled positive.
Story body We also analyzed each complete article to determine whether it took a positive, negative, or neutral position toward the pharmaceutical industry. For example, any article that called for restrictions or a prohibition on DTC advertising—a position that the industry opposes—was deemed negative. In contrast, an article claiming that DTC advertising resulted in more informed patients was designated as positive, given the industry's stance on the issue.
Balance Regardless of the dominant position taken by the article, we also looked to see if the articles included the opposing point of view. When an explicit statement about an opposing view was included in the article—even if the two sides did not receive equal coverage—we concluded that the article covered both sides. When no mention of the opposing view was presented, the article was labeled as one-sided.
Hot Button Issues
The chart on page 58, "Frequency Analysis of Ethical Issues," shows which topics the articles covered, and how many articles were devoted to each topic. The results are striking in that 114 articles focused on drug safety, an issue that hardly registered on the radar screen last year. This finding reflects the Vioxx (rofecoxib) and related stories that dominated the headlines and newspaper coverage in 2005. (The word "Vioxx" appeared in 25 headlines.) High drug prices and concerns about differential pricing, the runaway number-one issue last year, was a distant second this year with 54 articles. Disclosure of clinical-trial data and manufacturing processes was a hot topic this year and last, ranking second in frequency last year and fourth this year. Importation/reimportation of drugs from Canada and other countries dropped from third on the list last year to sixth this year. Clinical study design and sponsorship concerns and marketing and sales incentives to healthcare providers moved into the top five list this year, coming in third and fifth place, respectively.
As for the slant of the articles, several important points emerged as we compared this year's results with last year's:
Headlines were more likely to be neutral. Last year only about one-quarter of headlines were neutral, while 57 percent were negative and 18 percent were positive. This year, there were fewer positive headlines (9 percent) and fewer negative (44 percent), while the neutral headlines nearly doubled to 47 percent. (See "Which Side Are You On?" above.)
The articles were more negative (and positive) than the headlines. This was the case last year, as well. Compared with the headline analysis, the full-text articles yielded more positives, more negatives, and fewer neutrals. The headlines were more neutral toward the industry—mostly because they were more general. Although the percentage of favorable articles was greater than the percentage of favorable headlines (19.2 percent compared with 9.2 percent), the same relationship held true with articles critical of the industry (where 43.9 percent of the headlines were negative and 60.1 percent of the articles).
The front page was just as negative as the editorial page. It might be reasonable to expect that the editorial page would have a higher percentage of both positive and negative articles, because that's the part of the newspaper devoted to opinions. In fact, though, the percentage of negative stories was the same on the front page and the editorial page: 60 percent. There were more positive stories on the editorial page (23 percent compared with 15 on the front page) and more neutral articles on the front page (25 percent compared with 17 percent on the editorial page).
Does that show that news stories are biased? Possibly, but it also reflects a reality of the news business and the way reporters regard "news hooks": When a story like Vioxx breaks, additional sources will emerge to add their accusations—in the case of Vioxx, that the company knew about the problems with the product, that it covered up its knowledge, that it had concealed data, that it had falsified a journal article, and so forth. Each new accusation tends to be treated as a separate, newsworthy event. And each of those stories will tend to register as negative.
The coverage was more balanced this year than last. Although most headlines and articles did not support the positions of the industry, the coverage did acknowledge pharma's point of view in 83 percent of the articles. This figure increased from last year when 78 percent of the articles mentioned both sides of the disputed issue.
PhRMA Issues
The other chart on page 58, "Consolidation of Issues on PhRMA Web site," shows how this year's audit compared with the issues highlighted on the PhRMA site in December 2005. Similar to last year, several of the issues identified by the audit were not included in PhRMA's list. For example, three of the top five issues in the audit—drug safety, data disclosure, and marketing and sales incentives used by pharma—were not part of the PhRMA list. Other topics that received significant newspaper coverage but did not appear on PhRMA's list were developing countries (for example, efforts to provide access to patients in developing countries), new drug treatment/research, and issues related to vaccines (for example, bird flu and shortages of vaccines).
On the positive side of the ledger, PhRMA's list included drug prices, issues related to clinical study design (under R&D), reimportation, and DTC advertising. These four issues were discussed in 39 percent of the articles in the audit. This represents significant overlap between the issues PhRMA identified and those that were uncovered in the audit. The glaring omission to PhRMA's list is drug safety, which was discussed in more than 42 percent of the articles. Other issues identified by PhRMA—such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the courts—were covered by the newspapers, but in most cases, the articles mentioning them were categorized by our researchers in other areas, such as drug pricing.
Implications for Pharma and PhRMA
Again this year, findings of this study have several key implications for the pharmaceutical industry and for PhRMA. Press coverage both follows and leads public sentiment. It identifies issues that have emerged in the recent past—but it also helps shape how people think about issues moving forward. With that in mind, here are some areas for pharmaceutical companies to consider, based on this year's coverage:
Drug safety and data disclosure Articles on drug safety dominated the nation's top newspapers, undoubtedly tied to allegations and court proceedings about Vioxx, Bextra (valdecoxib), and related drugs. These allegations represent additional examples of the risk of product liability for the pharmaceutical industry. The "calculated" risk of developing a new drug from a large number of development compounds is a known risk, which companies choose to accept (10 to 15 years and an average of $800 million to bring a new medicine to market). At this time, however, product liability can be considered an "uncalculated" risk with profit-consuming and stock-devaluing implications. To cite just one example, Wyeth's involvement in the diet drug cocktail known as fen-phen (fenfluramine, phentermine, dexfenfluramine) cost the company and its stakeholders billions of dollars.
If ever there was a time to introduce an impeccable standard, such as Six Sigma, to clinical data collection and post-approval monitoring, it is now. Pharma can consider this an opportunity and work with FDA for more efficient ways to achieve data reporting. This has the potential to not only help prevent future drug liability crises in our litigious climate, but also improve healthcare delivery consistent with the goals of PhRMA's chairman—better access, affordability, information, and education
Drug prices/Medicare Although it was a distant second to drug safety, there is still sensitivity about the cost of prescription medicines. As mentioned earlier, the new Medicare Drug Benefit received very little coverage as an ethical issue, primarily because it is seen as a vehicle to alleviate a financial problem for many seniors. The complexity of the new program, however, presents an opportunity for pharma to provide patient assistance and understanding of the potential benefits and use of the program. Information on PhRMA's Web site, and programs such as the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, provide an excellent starting point.
Negotiations with Medicare, Medicaid and other payers/providers Pharma companies need to be prepared for a new level of price negotiations with the federal government, because Medicare can become their largest customer, depending on the company's product line. Even more competitive negotiations among all companies with drugs on state Medicaid formularies may be the result. Hopefully, these negotiations will not require resolution in the courts by PhRMA as it has had to intervene on behalf of the millions of patients trying to gain access to pharma drugs.
Finally, it is also interesting to see issues become more prominent and merit enough attention to be monitored as a potential impact on business in 2006. These are issues related to vaccines (for those companies with vaccine-production capability), NIH Ethics Rule (for all companies working with NIH) and Right to Life/Contraception (for negotiations with pharmacy providers and certain pharmacy buying organizations).
We recognize the tangible commitment made to healthcare by pharma companies—including R&D expenditures of $33.2 billion by PhRMA member companies, which represents almost 18 percent of domestic sales and is more than the amount sent by NIH and the international pharmaceutical industry combined (based on 2003 financials). That's an important commitment—and one that makes it essential that the industry address the ethical issues and achieve more favorable media coverage.
The authors wish to thank research assistants Meghan Kelly, Sarah Poole, and Camille Siochi, and business librarian Cynthia Slater for their contributions to this article.
Stephen J. Porth, PhD, is a fellow of the Arrupe Center for Business Ethics and professor at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia. He can be
reached at firstname.lastname@example.com
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Jon Hamm Struggled With Depression Following Parents' Deaths
"I was ... unmoored by that. I struggled with chronic depression. I was in bad shape," he told UK's Guardian. Hamm, who was just 20 at the time, had become an orphan; his mother had died of stomach cancer when he was only 10.
Hamm battled the chronic depression, relying on antidepressants and therapy to beat the illness. He continued his studies at the University of Texas and "was very fortunate to have really good friends in my life whose parents sort of rallied."
"I did do therapy and antidepressants for a brief period, which helped me. Which is what therapy does: it gives you another perspective when you are so lost in your own spiral, your own bullsh**t. It helps," Hamm said. "Antidepressants help! If you can change your brain chemistry enough to think: 'I want to get up in the morning; I don't want to sleep until four in the afternoon. I want to get up and go do my sh** and go to work and ...' Reset the auto-meter, kick-start the engine!"
Now, he's at the top of his career, playing Don Draper in 'Mad Men,' co-starring in the number one movie in the country, 'The Town,' and holding tight to his 12-year relationship with girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt.
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- Wednesday 22 SeptemberBy Apostate
Glad that it's all working out well for ya,JH. How about taking it one step further by finally making an honest woman out of Jennifer? Just a thought.
- Wednesday 22 SeptemberBy Messa
Maybe....just maybe SHE'S the one that doesn't want to get married. I know, unreal that a woman wouldn't want to get married, right? And, why on earth wouldn't she be an "honest woman" now? In case you hadn't noticed it, unlike Don Draper, we aren't actually living in the 1960's. Lastly, it's none of our business whether they ever get married or not. Just a thought.
- Wednesday 22 SeptemberBy gsx99limited
Now this make sense... He has depression that must be why he thinks all the tea-party members are racists.
- Wednesday 22 SeptemberBy Messa
No, he thinks all the tea-party members are racists because they are.
- Wednesday 22 SeptemberBy May BeHigh Rank Vote downVote upReport this
The tea party people are racist!!! They're all just republicans in disguise
- Wednesday 22 SeptemberBy WTF
Ok show me proof that they are racist you moran really show me proof. Not what some moran has said that they are racist
- Wednesday 22 SeptemberBy Lita
Well, WTF, I can show that you are an idiot in your response to May Be because you can't spell MORON, you moron.
- Wednesday 22 SeptemberBy Amy
I am so tired of reading articles about this guy. This is the second story today.At least he's not talking about racists and porn star reality actors. Why is anything he says interesting to the public? He just needs to stick with acting and looking pretty.
- Thursday 23 SeptemberBy charlie
I couldn't agree more. This guy has no clue about the real world. He just mouth's off about stuff he knows nothing about and I know it's sad to lose a parent but he was 20 at the time and he calls himself an orphan? Maybe he should go to africa or New Orleans and see what a real orphan looks like. What a douche. He should stick to his one dimensional characters and his bad acting and keep his mouth shut. Hey what if regular people pegged all Hollywood Liberals as racist?
- Thursday 23 SeptemberBy reena
Maybe you are hearing/reading about him because he is finally being recognized as in actor in a hit show?!? Ever watch him on Mad Men? Outstanding actor! It seems you idiots can't keep his politics out of your posts...not one mention of politics in the above article, why must you bring it into conversation?? Just because he shared his views on Bill Maher - which is a POLITICAL show - doesn't mean you need to bring it up here. I enjoy watching him act, hell, I just enjoy watching him. If he wants to share with us, his depression from the loss of his parents, I am interested, I respect him as an actor and a person.
- Friday 24 SeptemberBy reenaHigh Rank Vote downVote upReport this
and one more thing...obviously charlie hasn't lost both of his parents. as a person who lost both of my parents, within 5 months of each other, during my 20's - we are referred to as orphans and I felt like one. Just because I was a bit older, doesn't change the fact that I've lost two of the most important people in my life who were supposed to be there for me to give me guidance and unconditional love and support. You lose a part of yourself when you lose a parent and to lose them both, you feel a bit lost. there are several books on the subject and they too, refer to people like me and Jon Hamm, as adult orphans. You may not like this guy and that is fine, but it's pretty petty to bash him over the subject of him being an orphan.
- Thursday 23 SeptemberBy georgeLow Ranked Vote downVote upReport this
Ok, that explains his rant on the Bill Maher show..This guys still depressed and needs help!! Now hes got the wows me,ive had a hard life crap. Please, this guys such an elitist its not going to be long before he brings a great show down with his idiotic rants. Save Mad Men, replace this idiot.
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I have searched the web for examples of such cake, without success. Has anyone ever made a cake like this? Any ideas how to approach it?: cover each half separately, use an airbrush?
I was asked to make a 3-tier cake - half black, half blue or red
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There'd be a number of different ways.
One way is to use buttercream and first pipe the join where the two colors meet first and get it smooothy smooth then continue piping to cover the cakes or apply the rest with a spatula and then smooth. Because you get the best chance to keep that two color edge clean and even. I'd use an open coupler to pipe it.
Or apply fondant on each half overlapping the join slightly and then take scissors and cut through both colors and then remove the excess and snoothy smooth ithe seam down pretty.
I'm assuming you want the seam to be all smooth and seamless in appearance. If not just apply whatever icing and pipe over the seam or apply pearls there or whatever you'd like to cover it.
Sorry--I was using a library PC and was getting close to the early closing time. I have now reconfigured my new PC at home and can read at leisure.
I would advise the customers to stick to pale blue if possible, or else a cake covered in white with blue and black trims. That comes across as being more appetizing. Not to mention, easier for you to put together.
If you have to cover in two colours, then you cover about 3/4 of both sides with a complete overlap. Then you take a craft knife and gently cut through both layers so that the seams butt perfectly.
Or you could airbrush, using a mask to prevent spatters.
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I'd use two colors of fondant, because that much food coloring of black and blue is going to be nasty to eat.
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Chapter 13. Memory, Learning, and Development
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|By Brian Bienkowski and Environmental Health News Babies born to mothers with high levels of perchlorate during their first trimester are more likely to have lower IQs later in life, according to a new study. The research is the first to link pregnant women's perchlorate levels to their babies' brain development. It adds to evidence that the drinking water contaminant may disrupt thyroid hormones that are crucial for proper brain development. Perchlorate, which is both naturally occurring and manmade, is used in rocket fuel, fireworks and fertilizers. It has been found in 4 percent of U.S. public water systems serving an estimated 5 to 17 million people, largely near military bases and defense contractors in the U.S. West, particularly around Las Vegas and in Southern California. "We would not recommend action on perchlorate levels from this study alone, although our report highlights a pressing need for larger studies of perchlorate levels from the general pregnant population and those with undetected hypothyroidism," the authors from the United Kingdom, Italy and Boston wrote in the study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. The Environmental Protection Agency for decades has debated setting a national drinking water standard for perchlorate. The agency in 2011 announced it would start developing a standard, reversing an earlier decision. In the meantime, two states, California and Massachusetts, have set their own standards. © 2014 Scientific American
Keyword: Development of the Brain; Aggression
Link ID: 20143 - Posted: 10.01.2014
Wild marmosets in the Brazilian forest can learn quite successfully from video demonstrations featuring other marmosets, Austrian scientists have reported, showing not only that marmosets are even better learners than previously known, but that video can be used successfully in experiments in the wild. Tina Gunhold, a cognitive biologist at the University of Vienna, had worked with a population of marmoset monkeys in a bit of Brazilian forest before this particular experiment. The forest is not wilderness. It lies near some apartment complexes, and the marmosets are somewhat used to human beings. But the monkeys are wild, and each extended family group has its own foraging territory. Dr. Gunhold and her colleagues reported in the journal Biology Letters this month that they had tested 12 family groups, setting up a series of video monitors, each with a kind of complicated box that they called an "artificial fruit." All the boxes contained food. Six of the monitors showed just an unchanging image of a marmoset near a similar box. Three of them showed a marmoset opening the box by pulling a drawer, and three others a marmoset lifting a lid to get at the food. Marmosets are very territorial and would not tolerate a strange individual on their turf, but the image of a strange marmoset on video didn't seem to bother them. Individual marmosets "differed in their reactions to the video," Dr. Gunhold said. "Some were more shy, some more bold. The younger ones were more attracted to the video, perhaps because of greater curiosity." © 2014 The New York Times Company
Keyword: Learning & Memory; Aggression
Link ID: 20138 - Posted: 09.30.2014
By David Z. Hambrick, Fernanda Ferreira, and John M. Henderson A decade ago, Magnus Carlsen, who at the time was only 13 years old, created a sensation in the chess world when he defeated former world champion Anatoly Karpov at a chess tournament in Reykjavik, Iceland, and the next day played then-top-rated Garry Kasparov—who is widely regarded as the best chess player of all time—to a draw. Carlsen's subsequent rise to chess stardom was meteoric: grandmaster status later in 2004; a share of first place in the Norwegian Chess Championship in 2006; youngest player ever to reach World No. 1 in 2010; and highest-rated player in history in 2012. What explains this sort of spectacular success? What makes someone rise to the top in music, games, sports, business, or science? This question is the subject of one of psychology's oldest debates. In the late 1800s, Francis Galton—founder of the scientific study of intelligence and a cousin of Charles Darwin—analyzed the genealogical records of hundreds of scholars, artists, musicians, and other professionals and found that greatness tends to run in families. For example, he counted more than 20 eminent musicians in the Bach family. (Johann Sebastian was just the most famous.) Galton concluded that experts are "born." Nearly half a century later, the behaviorist John Watson countered that experts are "made" when he famously guaranteed that he could take any infant at random and "train him to become any type of specialist [he] might select—doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents." One player needed 22 times more deliberate practice than another player to become a master. © 2014 The Slate Group LLC.
Keyword: Learning & Memory
Link ID: 20136 - Posted: 09.30.2014
By Gary Stix If it's good for the heart, it could also be good for the neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, cells that make up the main items on the brain's parts list. The heart-brain adage comes from epidemiological studies that show that people with cardiovascular risk factors such as high-blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels, may be more at risk for Alzheimer's and other dementias. This connection between heart and brain has also led to some disappointments: clinical trials of lipid-lowering statins have not helped patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's, although epidemiological studies suggest that long-term use of the drugs may help prevent Alzheimer's and other dementias. The link between head and heart is still being pursued because new Alzheimer's drugs have failed time and again. One approach that is now drawing some interest looks at the set of proteins that carry around fats in the brain. These lipoproteins could potentially act as molecular sponges that mop up the amyloid-beta peptide that clogs up connections among brain cells in Alzheimer's. One of these proteins—Apolipoprotein J, also known as clusterin—intrigues researchers because of the way it interacts with amyloid-beta and the status of its gene as a risk factor for Alzheimer's. A researcher from the University of Minnesota, Ling Li, recently presented preliminary work at the Alzheimer's Disease Drug Discovery Foundation annual meeting that showed that, at least in a lab dish, a molecule made up of a group of amino acids from APOJ is capable of protecting against the toxicity of the amyloid-beta peptide. It also quelled inflammation and promoted the health of synapses—the junctions where one brain cell encounters another. Earlier work by another group showed that the peptide prevented the development of lesions in the blood vessels of animals.
Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 20135 - Posted: 09.30.2014
by Elijah Wolfson @elijahwolfson The class was the most difficult of the fall 2013 semester, and J.D. Leadam had missed all but one lecture. His grandfather's health had worsened, and he left San Jose State, where he was studying for a degree in business, to return home to Los Angeles to help out. Before he knew it, midterm exams had almost arrived. At this point, Leadam had, for a while, been playing around with transcranial direct-current stimulation, or tDCS, an experimental treatment for all sorts of health issues that, at its most basic, involves running a very weak electric current through the brain. When he first came across tDCS, Leadam was immediately intrigued but thought, "There's no way I'm gonna put electrodes on my head. It's just not going to happen." After extensive research, though, he changed his mind. He looked into buying a device online, but there wasn't much available — just one extremely expensive machine and then a bare-bones $40 device that didn't even have a switch. So he dug around online and figured he could build one himself. He bought all the pieces he needed and put it together. He tried it a few times, but didn't notice much, so he put it aside. But now, with the test looming, he picked it back up. The professor had written a book, and Leadam knew all the information he'd be tested on was written in its pages. "But I'm an auditory learner," he said, "so I knew it wouldn't work to just read it." He strapped on the device, turned it on and read the chapters. "Nothing," he thought. But when he got to the classroom and put pen to paper, he had a revelation. "I could remember concepts down to the exact paragraphs in the textbook," Leadam said. "I actually ended up getting an A on the test. I couldn't believe it."
Keyword: Learning & Memory
Link ID: 20130 - Posted: 09.29.2014
By Smitha Mundasad Health reporter, BBC News A spice commonly found in curries may boost the brain's ability to heal itself, according to a report in the journal Stem Cell Research and Therapy. The German study suggests a compound found in turmeric could encourage the growth of nerve cells thought to be part of the brain's repair kit. Scientists say this work, based in rats, may pave the way for future drugs for strokes and Alzheimer's disease. But they say more trials are needed to see whether this applies to humans. Researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Julich, Germany, studied the effects of aromatic-turmerone - a compound found naturally in turmeric. Rats were injected with the compound and their brains were then scanned. Particular parts of the brain, known to be involved in nerve cell growth, were seen to be more active after the aromatic-turmerone infusion. Scientists say the compound may encourage a proliferation of brain cells. In a separate part of the trial, researchers bathed rodent neural stem cells (NSCs) in different concentrations of aromatic-tumerone extract. NSCs have the ability to transform into any type of brain cell and scientists suggest they could have a role in repair after damage or disease. Dr Maria Adele Rueger, who was part of the research team, said: "In humans and higher developed animals their abilities do not seem to be sufficient to repair the brain but in fish and smaller animals they seem to work well." Picture of the spice turmeric Turmeric belongs to the same plant family as ginger BBC © 2014
Keyword: Alzheimers; Aggression
Link ID: 20119 - Posted: 09.27.2014
By Dick Miller, CBC News Dan Campbell felt the bullets whiz past his head. The tracer rounds zipped between his legs. It was his first firefight as a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan. "I was completely frightened and scared like I'd never been before in my life," he says. As the attack continued, the sights, sounds and smells started to form memories inside his brain. The fear he felt released the hormone norepinephrine, and in the complex chemistry of the brain, the memories of the battle became associated with the fear. 'I think one day, hopefully in the not-too-distant future, we will be able to delete a memory.'- Dr. Sheena Josselyn, senior scientist, Hospital For Sick Children Research Institute Six years later, a sight or sound such as a firecracker or car backfiring can remind him of that night in 2008. The fear comes back and he relives rather than remembers the moments. "It can be hard. Physically, you know, there's the tapping foot, my heart beating," he says. Like so many soldiers and victims of assault or people who have experienced horrific accidents, Campbell was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. Now a newspaper reporter in Yellowknife, Campbell thinks one day he may get therapy. But for now he is working on his own to control the fear and anger the memories bring. © CBC 2014
Keyword: Stress; Aggression
Link ID: 20111 - Posted: 09.24.2014
by Sarah Zielinski Chimps may be cute and have mannerisms similar to humans, but they are wild animals. A new study finds that chimps raised as pets or entertainers have behavioral problems as adults. There are plenty of good reasons why chimpanzees should not be pets or performers, no matter how cute or humanlike they appear: They are wild animals. They can be violent with each other. And they can be violent toward humans — even humans that have a long history with the chimp. Plus, there's evidence that seeing an adorable chimp dressed up like a miniature human actually makes us care less about the plight of their species. Now comes evidence that the way that chimps are raised to become pets or entertainers — taking them away from other chimps at a young age and putting them in the care of humans, who may or may not feed and care for them properly — has long-term, negative effects on their behavior. "We now add empirical evidence of the potentially negative welfare effects on the chimpanzees themselves as important considerations in the discussion of privately owned chimpanzees," Hani Freeman and Stephen Ross of the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago write September 23 in PeerJ. Freeman and Ross compiled life history and behavioral data on 60 captive chimps living in zoos. Some of the animals had always lived in zoos and grew up in groups of chimpanzees. Six were raised solely by humans and were later placed in zoos after they became too big or too old for their owners to care for them. Others had a more mixed background. © Society for Science & the Public 2000 - 2014
Keyword: Development of the Brain; Aggression
Link ID: 20109 - Posted: 09.24.2014
Jia You In the future, a nurse could determine whether a baby is likely to develop a reading disorder simply by attaching a few electrodes to its scalp and watching its brain waves respond to human speech. Such is the scenario suggested by a new study, which finds a potential biological indicator of how well preschool children perceive rhythm, an ability linked to language development. "It's really impressive to work with children this young, who are not often looked at," says Aniruddh Patel, a cognitive neuroscientist at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, who was not involved with the research. Spoken language consists of sound waves occurring over multiple timescales. A syllable, for example, takes place over a quarter of a second, while a sentence unfolds over a few seconds. To make sense of this complex auditory information, humans use rhythmic cues such as stress and pause to discern words and syllables. Adults and school-aged children with reading disorders, however, struggle to pick up on these rhythmic patterns. Scientists estimate that dyslexia and other reading disabilities plague about 5% to 10% of the population. Detecting such impairments early could lead to more effective intervention, but observing telltale signs in younger children who have not learned to read has proven a challenge. So biologist Nina Kraus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and her colleagues looked for automatic brain responses that can track language development in preschoolers, who have not learned to read. © 2014 American Association for the Advancement of Science
Keyword: Dyslexia; Aggression
Link ID: 20105 - Posted: 09.23.2014
|By Melinda Wenner Moyer Autism is primarily a disorder of the brain, but research suggests that as many as nine out of 10 individuals with the condition also suffer from gastrointestinal problems such as inflammatory bowel disease and "leaky gut." The latter condition occurs when the intestines become excessively permeable and leak their contents into the bloodstream. Scientists have long wondered whether the composition of bacteria in the intestines, known as the gut microbiome, might be abnormal in people with autism and drive some of these symptoms. Now a spate of new studies supports this notion and suggests that restoring proper microbial balance could alleviate some of the disorder's behavioral symptoms. At the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology held in May in Boston, researchers at Arizona State University reported the results of an experiment in which they measured the levels of various microbial by-products in the feces of children with autism and compared them with those found in healthy children. The levels of 50 of these substances, they found, significantly differed between the two groups. And in a 2013 study published in PLOS ONE, Italian researchers reported that, compared with healthy kids, those with autism had altered levels of several intestinal bacterial species, including fewer Bifidobacterium, a group known to promote good intestinal health. One open question is whether these microbial differences drive the development of the condition or are instead a consequence of it. A study published in December 2013 in Cell supports the former idea. When researchers at the California Institute of Technology incited autismlike symptoms in mice using an established paradigm that involved infecting their mothers with a viruslike molecule during pregnancy, they found that after birth, the mice had altered gut bacteria compared with healthy mice. © 2014 Scientific American,
Keyword: Autism
Link ID: 20104 - Posted: 09.23.2014
By Melissa Dahl Recently, I was visiting my family in Seattle, and we were doing that thing families do: retelling old stories. As we talked, a common theme emerged. My brother hardly remembered anything from our childhood, even the stories in which he was the star player. (That time he fell down the basement steps and needed stitches in the ER? Nope. That panicky afternoon when we all thought he'd disappeared, only to discover he'd been hiding in his room, and then fell asleep? Nothing.) "Boys never remember anything," my mom huffed. She's right. Researchers are finding some preliminary evidence that women are indeed better at recalling memories, especially autobiographical ones. Girls and women tend to recall these memories faster and with more specific details, and some studies have demonstrated that these memories tend to be more accurate, too, when compared to those of boys and men. And there's an explanation for this: It could come down to the way parents talk to their daughters, as compared to their sons, when the children are developing memory skills. To understand this apparent gender divide in recalling memories, it helps to start with early childhood—specifically, ages 2 to 6. Whether you knew it or not, during these years, you learned how to form memories, and researchers believe this happens mostly through conversations with others, primarily our parents. These conversations teach us how to tell our own stories, essentially; when a mother asks her child for more details about something that happened that day in school, for example, she is implicitly communicating that these extra details are essential parts to the story. © 2014 The Slate Group LLC
Keyword: Learning & Memory; Aggression
Link ID: 20100 - Posted: 09.22.2014
By Maria Konnikova At the turn of the twentieth century, Ivan Pavlov conducted the experiments that turned his last name into an adjective. By playing a sound just before he presented dogs with a snack, he taught them to salivate upon hearing the tone alone, even when no food was offered. That type of learning is now called classical—or Pavlovian—conditioning. Less well known is an experiment that Pavlov was conducting at around the same time: when some unfortunate canines heard the same sound, they were given acid. Just as their luckier counterparts had learned to salivate at the noise, these animals would respond by doing everything in their power to get the imagined acid out of their mouths, each "shaking its head violently, opening its mouth and making movements with its tongue." For many years, Pavlov's classical conditioning findings overshadowed the darker version of the same discovery, but, in the nineteen-eighties, the New York University neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux revived the technique to study the fear reflex in rats. LeDoux first taught the rats to associate a certain tone with an electric shock so that they froze upon hearing the tone alone. In essence, the rat had formed a new memory—that the tone signifies pain. He then blunted that memory by playing the tone repeatedly without following it with a shock. After multiple shock-less tones, the animals ceased to be afraid. Now a new generation of researchers is trying to figure out the next logical step: re-creating the same effects within the brain, without deploying a single tone or shock. Is memory formation now understood well enough that memories can be implanted and then removed absent the environmental stimulus?
Keyword: Learning & Memory; Aggression
Link ID: 20097 - Posted: 09.19.2014
By Filipa Ioannou Per the Associated Press, the Food and Drug Administration is considering a ban on electric-shock devices that are used to punish unwanted behavior by patients with autism and other developmental disabilities. If it comes as a surprise to you that any involuntary electric shocks are administered to autism patients in the United States, that's because the devices are only used at one facility in the country—the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton, Mass. The school has been a target of media attention in the past; in 2012, video leaked of 18-year-old patient Andre McCollins being restrained face-down and shocked 31 times. McCollins' mother sued the center, and the lawsuit was settled outside of court. Rotenberg must get a court's approval to begin administering skin shocks to a student. The center uses a graduated electronic decelerator, or GED, that is attached to the arms or legs. If the student acts aggressively – head-banging, throwing furniture, attacking someone – then a center worker can press a button to activate the electrode, delivering a two-second shock to the skin. The amount of pain generated by the device is a contentious subject. The Rotenberg Center's Glenda Crookes compared the sensation to "a bee sting" in comments to CBS News, and some Rotenberg parents are strong proponents of the device. But a U.N. official in 2010 said the shocks constituted "torture." An FDA report also addresses the widely held belief that autistic individuals have a high pain threshold, pointing out the possibility that "not all children with ASD express their pain in the same way as a 'neurotypical child' would (e.g., cry, moan, seek comfort, etc.), which may lead to misinterpretation by caregivers and medical professionals that patients are insensitive or to an incorrect belief that the child is not in pain." © 2014 The Slate Group LLC.
Keyword: Autism; Aggression
Link ID: 20090 - Posted: 09.18.2014
By Megan Allison Diagnoses of Attention Hyperactivity Disorder are on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculated that by 2011, 11 percent of children had been diagnosed with ADHD, and 6.1 percent of all US children were taking an ADHD medication. But could a solution be as simple as exercise? A study published this month in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology found that aerobic activity sessions before school helped children with ADHD with their moods and attention spans. The study involved a group of just over 200 students in kindergarten through second grade at schools in Indiana and Vermont. For 12 weeks, the students did 31 minutes of physical activity. The control group participated in classroom activities during this time. Although the results showed that all students showed improvement, authors noted that the exercise especially helped kids with ADHD. "It benefits all the kids, but I definitely see where it helps the kids with ADHD a lot," said Jill Fritz, a fourth-grade teacher in Jacksonville, Fla. in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "It really helps them get back on track and get focused." In the Boston area, Dr. Sarah Sparrow Benes, Program Director of Physical and Health Education Programs at Boston University, teaches elementary and special educators how to use movement as a strategy in their classroom for learning. She finds that all students can benefit from exercise.
Keyword: ADHD; Aggression
Link ID: 20083 - Posted: 09.17.2014
By Elizabeth Pennisi "What's for dinner?" The words roll off the tongue without even thinking about it—for adults, at least. But how do humans learn to speak as children? Now, a new study in mice shows how a gene, called FOXP2, implicated in a language disorder may have changed between humans and chimps to make learning to speak possible—or at least a little easier. As a uniquely human trait, language has long baffled evolutionary biologists. Not until FOXP2 was linked to a genetic disorder that caused problems in forming words could they even begin to study language's roots in our genes. Soon after that discovery, a team at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, discovered that just two bases, the letters that make up DNA, distinguished the human and chimp versions of FOXP2. To try to determine how those changes influenced the gene's function, that group put the human version of the gene in mice. In 2009, they observed that these "humanized" mice produced more frequent and complex alarm calls, suggesting the human mutations may have been involved in the evolution of more complex speech. Another study showed that humanized mice have different activity in the part of the brain called the striatum, which is involved in learning, among other tasks. But the details of how the human FOXP2 mutations might affect real-world learning remained murky. To solve the mystery, the Max Planck researchers sent graduate student Christiane Schreiweis to work with Ann Graybiel, a neuroscientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. She's an expert in testing mouse smarts by seeing how quickly they can learn to find rewards in mazes. © 2014 American Association for the Advancement of Science
Keyword: Learning & Memory; Aggression
Link ID: 20081 - Posted: 09.16.2014
By Linda Searing THE QUESTION Benzodiazepines such as Valium, Xanax and Ativan, widely prescribed to relieve anxiety and alleviate insomnia, are known to affect memory and cognition in the short term. Might they also have a more serious, longer-term effect on the brain? THIS STUDY analyzed data on 8,990 adults older than 66, including 1,796 with Alzheimer's disease. In a five-to-10-year span before the start of the study, 3,767 of the participants (52 percent) had taken benzodiazepines. Overall, those who had taken the drugs were 51 percent more likely to have Alzheimer's than were those who had never taken benzodiazepines. The longer people took the drugs, the greater their risk for Alzheimer's. Those who took the drugs for less than 90 days had essentially the same risk as those who never took them. But risk nearly doubled for people who took them for longer than six months. Risk also was greater for longer-acting vs. shorter-acting benzodiazepines. WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? Adults, especially older people, who take benzodiazepines. The drugs have a calming effect on the body and work quickly, unlike antidepressants, which can take weeks to have an effect. The American Geriatrics Society lists benzodiazepines as inappropriate for treating older people for insomnia or agitation because of their negative effect on cognition seen in that age group and an increased likelihood of falls and accidents. However, some recent estimates note that roughly half of older adults take benzodiazepines. CAVEATS Some study participants may have been prescribed benzodiazepines to treat early symptoms of unrecognized dementia, which can include depression, anxiety and sleep disorders; the study authors noted that use of the drugs "might be an early marker of a condition associated with an increased risk of dementia and not the cause."
Keyword: Alzheimers; Aggression
Link ID: 20079 - Posted: 09.16.2014
By ANDREW POLLACK New York State's attorney general filed an antitrust lawsuit on Monday seeking to stop a pharmaceutical company from forcing patients with Alzheimer's disease to switch to a new version of a widely used drug. The lawsuit contends that the switch is designed to blunt competition from low-priced generic versions of the medication. Forest Laboratories, now owned by Actavis, announced in February that it would stop selling the existing tablet form of the drug, Namenda, in favor of new extended-release capsules called Namenda XR that can be taken once a day instead of twice. While the company said that patients preferred the newer drug, it has made little secret of its desire to switch all patients to the newer form, which has a longer patent life, before the old tablets face generic competition in July. The strategy would make it much harder for the generics to gain traction. The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, says the step is an illegal attempt by Forest to maintain its monopoly even after its patent expires. "A drug company manipulating vulnerable patients and forcing physicians to alter treatment plans unnecessarily, simply to protect corporate profits, is unethical and illegal," the attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, said in a statement. A spokesman for Actavis said the company did not comment on pending litigation as a matter of policy. The company said that the once-a-day drug had "significant advantages" for patients and their caregivers. The lawsuit argues that the benefit of switching is not very great. It says the company decided to force the switch because it feared that not enough patients would switch voluntarily. © 2014 The New York Times Company
Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 20078 - Posted: 09.16.2014
by Michael Slezak It's one of the biggest mysteries of Alzheimer's. The disease is associated with the formation of protein plaques in the brain, but why is it that some people with plaques seem not to have the disease? Research suggests that some people's brains are able to reorganise during the early stages of Alzheimer's, delaying the appearance of initial symptoms. The plaques in question are small mounds of a protein called beta-amyloid, and are found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. Whether these plaques are a cause of the disease has been hotly debated. One reason for doubt is the appearance of plaques in many older people who have no symptoms Movie Cameraof dementia at all. Using fMRI to measure changes in blood flow around the brain, William Jagust from the University of California in Berkley and colleagues compared brain function in three groups of people without symptoms of dementia: 22 young people, 16 older people with beta-amyloid plaques and 33 older people without the plaques. He asked each of them to memorise a photographed scene while inside the machine. Jagust found that older people with plaques had increased blood flow – which means stronger activation of that brain area – in the regions of the brain that are usually activated during memory formation, compared with the older people who did not have plaques. The team then analysed whether this extra brain activation might be helping to compensate for the plaques. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.
Keyword: Alzheimers; Aggression
Link ID: 20075 - Posted: 09.15.2014
by Simon Makin Talking in your sleep might be annoying, but listening may yet prove useful. Researchers have shown that sleeping brains not only recognise words, but can also categorise them and respond in a previously defined way. This could one day help us learn more efficiently. Sleep appears to render most of us dead to the world, our senses temporarily suspended, but sleep researchers know this is a misleading impression. For instance, a study published in 2012 showed that sleeping people can learn to associate specific sounds and smells. Other work has demonstrated that presenting sounds or smells during sleep boosts performance on memory tasks – providing the sensory cues were also present during the initial learning. Now it seems the capabilities of sleeping brains stretch even further. A team led by Sid Kouider from the Ecole Normale Supérieur in Paris trained 18 volunteers to classify spoken words as either animal or object by pressing buttons with their right or left hand. Brain activity was recorded using EEG, allowing the researchers to measure the telltale spikes in activity that indicate the volunteers were preparing to move one of their hands. Since each hand is controlled by the motor cortex on the opposite side of the brain, these brainwaves can be matched to the intended hand just by looking at which side of the motor cortex is active. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.
Keyword: Sleep; Aggression
Link ID: 20066 - Posted: 09.12.2014
David Cyranoski A Japanese patient with a debilitating eye disease is about to become the first person to be treated with induced pluripotent stem cells, which have generated enthusiastic expectations and earned their inventor a Nobel Prize. A health-ministry committee has vetted researchers' safety tests and cleared the team to begin the experimental procedure. Masayo Takahashi, an ophthalmologist at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) in Kobe, has been using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to prepare a treatment for age-related macular degeneration. Unlike embryonic stem cells, iPS cells are produced from adult cells, so they can be genetically tailored to each recipient. They are capable of becoming any cell type in the body, and have the potential to treat a wide range of diseases. The CDB trial will be the first opportunity for the technology to prove its clinical value. In age-related macular degeneration, extra blood vessels form in the eye, destabilizing a supportive base layer of the retina known as the retinal pigment epithelium. This results in the loss of the light-sensitive photoreceptors that are anchored in the epithelium, and often leads to blindness. Takahashi took skin cells from people with the disease and converted them to iPS cells. She then coaxed these cells to become retinal pigment epithelium cells, and then to grow into thin sheets that can be transplanted to the damaged retina. Takahashi and her collaborators have shown in monkey studies1 that iPS cells generated from the recipients' own cells do not provoke an immune reaction that causes them to be rejected. There have been concerns that iPS cells could cause tumours, but Takahashi's team has found that to be unlikely in mice2 and monkeys1. © 2014 Nature Publishing Group
Keyword: Vision; Aggression
Link ID: 20065 - Posted: 09.12.2014


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Weekly summer reading programming appropriate for children from 3rd-5th grade. Read more about Friday Fun and Games
Tweens, relax with popcorn and lemonade and enjoy a movie at the library! Read more about Tween Movie Day
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Urgup Inn Cave Hotel
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Rest day in Cappadocia
... a mud mask. Next, they led us (5 women) into the sauna for 15 minutes. No one came for us, so around 15 minutes, I led the way to a large room with showers, stall with sinks and a large pool. It seemed like they said we should walk the mud off, so, again, I led the way to the mud removal. I was the first one into the main room. Ok, here is where you must let go of your modesty! There was one woman already there and I was directed to remove ...
Cave dwellers
Maybe I'll go in reverse, as this place is so awesome and exciting it's worth doing first. We arrived here late afternoon, early evening and were shown to our rooms - we were all pretty amazed by the beautiful rooms and stunning views of the "fairy chimneys" that form the landscape of Cappadoccia. We are staying in a cave hotel which would once have been private dwellings carved into the stone. The bathroom is huge and has a spa bath and ...
From underground, overground to up, up and away.
... we headed to Goreme Open air museum. This ancient town is where all the buildings were carved into the cliffs. It was made by the Christians as they fled their homes in other parts of the Roman world under threat of death. There are numerous homes and kitchens and churches all in the rocks. Each church is richly decorated and is known by the depictions inside. There's the serpent church, the apple church, the mother church and so on. Each place has been painted in ...
Cappadocia-Land of Beautiful Horses
... with legs wide apart.We reached the path proper and lo, there was a little tea "shack", cushioned benches and all, so we had apple tea, cookies and peanuts. Our kind new friend ordered Nescaf� and tucked into the peanuts on offer.He obviously knew the owner, another elderly man, with one tooth. I think it brightened up his day to have some customers. He came over with a bag in his hand and announced, "ladies and gentlemen, a quiz! When you get a question correct, you get ...
... common room, no one knew, then as we went to leave, the old guy on the couch followed us out and went up to reception. Strange. But we got checked in, and went straight to our beds (which they had to make up while we waited, as it was so early) and got almost an hours snooze in before we had to get up again! According to our itinerary, we were being picked up from our hostel for a tour of Cappadocia, but when no one came, I asked a lady who was working, and in the very little English ...


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LED Lighting Driver Evaluation Board
April 11, 2012 // Texas Instruments // 0 commentsDownload White Paper 4Mo
The TPS92310 EVM-8W evaluation module is a constant current output LED driver supporting 5W to 8W applications. The design focuses on applications that require small form factor and minimal number of external components. The module can work with AC line input from 90 to 132VRMS or 180 to 264VRMS and supplying 350mA current into a single string of LEDs, typically 6-7 LEDs in series.
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Coming after the solid third quarter results that produced higher operating margins and improving cash flow, Freescale Semiconductor's CEO Gregg Lowe had every reason to be chipper and lively when EE Times ...
Filter WizardCheck out the Filter Wizard Series of articles by Filter Guru Kendall Castor-Perry which provide invaluable practical Analog Design guidelines.
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This month, Cherry is giving away five of its Energy Harvesting Evaluation kits, worth over 266 Euros each, for EETimes Europe's readers to win. Cherry's energy harvesting technology benefit mostly applications where a complex wire assembly and/or batteries would be inappropriate.
The required RF-energy is created by the mechanical actuation of the switch and the data is transmitted wirelessly using RF-technology. The technology is very easy to install, fit and forget, with two standardised package versions for industrial applications: a rocker switch for actuation by hand and a snap-action switch for mechanical actuation.MORE INFO AND LAST MONTH' WINNERS...
Design centers
December 15, 2011 | Texas instruments | 222901974
Unique Ser/Des technology supports encrypted video and audio content with full duplex bi-directional control channel over a single wire interface.


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Category:Wisconsin state court judges
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The next time you hope to get lucky, have some avocado. As far back as 200 B.C., the ancient Mayans and Aztecs ate the fruit to enhance sexual desirability. But there are plenty of other reasons to eat it, including a dose of lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that protect your vision; good-for-you monounsaturated fat, which keeps your heart healthy; and fiber to fill you up so you feel satisfied. And guacamole isn't the only way to enjoy it—add these ideas from Brenda Cusick, a California-based avocado rancher and supplier whose goods can be found at AvocadoDiva.com.
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