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Editor's note: The following essay is part of a new department in the Mind & Body blog called "Gotta Have Faith," where Utne readers of all faiths and spiritual persuasions are invited to share their perspectives on religion and spirituality in a civil and respectful forum. If you'd like to submit a post to this blog, please contact Christian Williams.
I'm a Minnesota farm boy who studied physics (PhD U of MN, 1969) so he could teach. I began my journey as a hard nosed physics professor, with many an unhappy student. By 1979 my wife had left and I was frantic for new pathways. Then I spotted a campus poster which offered marine biology experience at an old US spy base in the Bahamas. I investigated and found dormitories, lab space, rickety vans, and a kitchen staff who could make peanut butter sandwiches. It could work.
As an old scuba diver I knew that such an experience could be life changing for these farm kids. I did my best to promote the trip. Alas, I could not persuade a single soul to spend their Christmas vacation in the middle of an ocean. No way, Jose. After three weeks of coaxing and haranguing, I slunk home after work, prepared Mac 'n Cheese for my 5th grader son, and went to my bedroom to change. With little hope and much desperation , I sat on the bed and "laid it out" to the Source I now call The Folks Upstairs, "This can mean major growth for my students, but I cannot do it by myself. I Need Your Help!"
Deeply discouraged, I returned to the kitchen to serve our evening meal. Then it happened: I'd scarcely begun to shovel in my supper when the phone rang. April and her friend Gwen were on board! I expressed deep thanks and replaced the phone.Then it rang again, and again. Within an hour I had the core group of students who would join me on the adventure. With it came the gentle "whap upside the head" realization that I was allowed to follow my own star, sans interference. At the same time, Assistance was "on call" when I was forced to ask for help. Score one for Spiritual Guidance. BTW: The trip was a great success!
Fast forwarding 20 years: I was nearing retirement age for my teaching career and again seeking new directions. Daughter Charly and I chose to attend a beekeeping class at a Minnesota university. We found seats at the venue and waited patiently for "Dr. Maria", the eminent bee researcher who was to teach the class. She arrived, visibly haggard. "I just cannot conduct the class. I'm feeling dreadfully ill. My assistant will teach today, and perhaps I will feel better tomorrow." As she turned and left, the hopes of the group sagged, for she was respected and loved for her inspirational talks to our local bee organizations. As the class was beginning soon, I left Charly at our seats and hurried to pay my tuition. By chance I passed by Dr. Maria's open office door; she sat there, looking like Death warmed over. While I'd had no training as a healer, I knocked timidly at her door and said, "Maria, I'd like to try to help you...". She slowly turned and smiled weakly.
Maria sat quietly while I stood behind her. I was guided to place my hands prayerfully on either side of her head. After two minutes, I seemed led to remove them. She turned to me, astounded, "What did you DO?" I hadn't the slightest notion, for I'd had no training in healing work. I quickly left and paid my fees. When I returned to the auditorium, Maria was already there, goin' like a house afire, the chalkboard rapidly filling with bee genetics. After only minutes, she was once again in top form. Score another for Spiritual Guidance.
I was inspired by the unexpected healing success, but unsure of this newfound skill. Could an old physics professor morph into a healer? I enrolled to train with Mietek Wirkus, a well known Polish energy healer who had been well studied by energy researchers at the Menninger Clinic, then of Topeka, KS.
The first clients came slowly, luckily for me. I could treat their minor aches and pains. And I learned the meaning of the word "practice", for in the beginning I was NOT very good at this healing thing. During the next fourteen years, my classes, clients, colleagues, even the internet would teach me. At the same time, the issues to which I seemed Led became more complex. I gradually became aware that I was being manipulated, in the best sense of that word, again by The Folks Upstairs. The Process was benevolent, for I never seemed to be presented with a healing problem until I was prepared to deal with it. Our first cancer patient came to us five years after our doors opened. Lisa, our first brain cancer patient, appeared in year thirteen. Cases that were similar seemed to come in groups of three.
More manipulation followed: Seeking more expertise, I placed a small ad in the Tracy, MN paper (population 2200), the place of my birth and the chosen locus for the work. A Chinese man called, whose English was limited. I understood only two words: Qigong Master. Qigong masters are highly regarded for their healing skills. Master Wu was taught qigong as a 10 year old in China, and his some 35 years of healing experience were to become invaluable to our group.
Located in an area of low population density, we slowly expanded our service area. Tom was a West River South Dakota rancher whose spinal cord injury from a rollover had given him wheels and an electric motor. I'd repaired electrical cables when doing physics, and thought, "How hard can it be to fix a spinal cord?"
Tom lived 300 miles west, and travel was difficult for him. I had learned the basics of "distance energy healing" from Mietek Wirkus -- it much resembled the offering of a Sunday morning prayer for a loved one in a faraway hospital. When I suggested it, Tom said he'd get back to me after he'd checked things out. His Source accepted the idea, and Tom and I began to work together, he on his small ranch near Phillip and I in our Minnesota farm home. I visualized working on his body as though it were laid out before me. Below is the unedited record of his email after our first distance work:
"The date is 12/30/99 My concept of what transpired between Chuck and myself. The first noticeable sign was a tingling in my right calf then up to my thigh (I don't have feeling below my nipples) In order I can't remember. My left leg had the same sensation twice. My groin felt a strong sensation two times. If it would of been a little stronger it would have been uncomfortable. This morning prior to Chuck's work, my shoulders and neck ached. After the treatment they seem to be relaxed. Conclusion: I seem to feel some of what you're sending my way (from 300 miles away). It's wild. Gotta go, excuse my grammar. TOM"
Although Tom is still in his chair, he became more functional, and can now access the kitchen when he needs a beer or a sandwich. I'm still trying to figure out how he could have felt something in a part of his body long divorced from sensations because of his rollover accident.
In fourteen years, we've served clients in thirty states. Sometimes we use "EFT", a tool which uses light finger tapping on energy points instead of the sharp needles of acupuncture. EFT is excellent for resolving emotional issues, even heavy ones such as PTSD. It works well by phone.
We average about a 50/50 mix of patients who have physical issues and those that seem mostly emotional. When a patient presents a physical problem, it's likely that an emotional issue will walk in alongside it. After we've cleared the emotional aspects, the physical issue is more easily dealt with.
Over the years we've added to our services, with chelation, herbals, hyperthermia, hypnosis, massage, naturopathy, nutrition, Tai chi and yoga. Whole food diets assist the healing of chronic conditions such as cancer, MS, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, as can herbals such as Protandim.
Do our patients live longer? Not necessarily, but they do seem to live better. Sometimes what's most important is to simply listen. Appointments can run an hour or more; goodbye hugs are always offered and usually accepted.
Our patients expect to pay "out of pocket", or by donation, for health insurance seldom covers what we do. (I've been paid in garden vegetables, frozen chickens, pasta sauce and a ceremonial sword.) We may be patients' last refuge, after even well known Minnesota clinics have done their best. Patients come, "when nothing else works".
Do we have a huge cash flow? No, but we pay our bills and try to charge fairly. If a patient feels financially squeezed, we work it out. Helping To Heal welcomes you with free parking, gentle music, and no traffic lights for thirty miles.
(With thanks to my son Pete for his editing assistance)
Photo by Fotolia/mykeyruna
The affects of climate change can be harmful to the earth—and your mind.
Climate change clearly alters physical landscapes; once abundant fields turn barren in times of drought while large chunks of ice have been documented breaking off glaciers and dramatically splashing into the sea.
But considering the disturbances climate change can have on the mind is much more abstract. That hasn't stopped a few researchers from beginning to assess the affects climate change has on mental health. Much of the findings are thanks to psychiatric epidemiologist Helen Berry of the University of Canberra in Australia, who has looked at how farmers and youth have dealt with consequences stemming from climate change. Not surprisingly Berry found that, "What happens from a psychological point of view is people get knocked down. Whenever people are knocked down, they have to get up again and start over. And the more that happens, the more difficult it is to keep getting up."
However research into the emerging field is an uphill battle for a variety of reasons. Aside from the fact that there are still people out there who don't believe climate change is occurring, for those who do, linking it to mental distress is tricky. There are a number of factors ranging from someone's predisposition to depression to what people are used to in terms of climate—while farmers experiencing a drought will be negatively affected, those in urban areas may enjoy rainless days. Additionally, securing funding for research hasn't been easy. Most funders want to see quantifiable results which aren't always possible in mental health studies, let alone research that's tied to the complicated matter of climate change, which Berry suspects will need to be conducted on a very long-term basis.
Regardless, the field is making some inroads and with that comes an expanded vocabulary. Glenn Albrecht is a professor in environmental studies at the University of Newcastle, also in Australia, who has coined solastalgia defined as "the homesickness when you're still at home and your home environment is changing around you in ways that you find negative, and that you have very little power over." Other terms include endemophilia (the love people feel for what's special about where they're from or live) and soliphilia (a positive state that is a result of collaboration and healing). In fact soliphilia may be the best antidote for solastalgia; Berry has found that when people work together on environmental activities like restoring a garden, their anxiety decreases.
In the U.S., the American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica recently teamed up and produced a report entitled "Beyond Storms and Droughts: The Psychological Impacts of Climate Change" which cites consequences such as PTSD and depression. It concludes that vulnerable groups such as those living under the poverty line will likely experience more climate related stress. The report also urges people and communities to prepare for the impact of climate change; by strengthening social ties, integrating mental health awareness with disaster preparedness, and getting organizations to work together, some of the negative ramifications can be assuaged.
Image by Eduardo Mueses, licensed under Creative Commons.
Editor's note: The following essay is part of a new department in the Mind & Body blog called "Gotta Have Faith," where Utne readers of all faiths and spiritual persuasions are invited to share their perspectives on religion and spirituality in a civil and respectful forum. If you'd like to submit a post to this blog, please contact Christian Williams.
While in a meeting, a newspaper editor, after learning that I practiced spiritual-based healing, said, "Since Christian Science is weird, it ... "
The editor stopped mid-sentence, looked at me, and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say weird. I'm so sorry."
After the editor apologized several more times, I said, "Forget about it. It's okay," and we went back to our pleasant discussion.
The editor's "Weird" comment reminded me of '73. In 1973, I was in Brad Shearer's kitchen. Brad and I attended high school together. He was a star football player who went on to play for the Texas Longhornsand the Chicago Bears.
While in Brad's kitchen, I watched as he took a large glass measuring cup and cracked eight eggs into it. After whipping the eggs, he opened the door of a small machine, placed the measuring cup inside, closed the door, and turned a dial. A minute or so later, he opened the door, took out the cup, and began eating the eggs with a fork. Weird!
Weird, because in '73 I had never heard of, much less, seen a microwave oven. How did those eggs cook in just a minute?
Just as the microwave seemed weird to me in '73, the thought of providing prayer for illness or pain can seem the same to you when you first encounter it. However, both are effective. Both utilize laws. The microwave transforms food. Spiritual treatments can transform people. Both accomplish this from the inside out.
The microwave oven cooks by a completely different method than a conventional oven. It uses radio waves. The waves are absorbed by the food's water, fats and sugars. As they are absorbed, the waves convert into atomic motion—heat. This heat cooks the food.
Just so, spiritual treatments heal by transforming thought. Heats it up, so to speak. The cold/dark fears of materialistic thinking, which cause difficulties, melt and vanish allowing our natural strength, balance, and health to be experienced.
As radical as it sounds, we live in a mental world and the body is thought manifest. Simply put, just as a sad thought causes tears, thought touches every aspect of our being. As thought is spiritually transformed, the body expresses greater health.
Those looking into how Jesus healed so effectively are discovering life to be controlled by divine laws, and health to be governed spiritually. Weird to some. Wonderfully important to many.
Researches at the Danish Pain Research Center, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark, recently revealed the findings from their study on prayer. They discovered that "prayer reduced pain intensity by thirty-four percent and pain unpleasantness by thirty-eight percent for religious participants, but not for non-religious participants." The study shows that prayerful expectations can contribute to better health outcomes.
Studying the effectiveness of prayer is not easy. The reason? Just as not all medications are the same, not all prayers are the same.
Neither are people who pray entirely the same. It would be difficult to grasp the complete driving ability of the 2014 Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe if the test-drivers were fifteen-year-olds from your neighborhood driver education class. Just so, each test subject during a study of prayer's ability may not be spiritually prepared to apply the full might of divine power.
There is much to be learned about the impact prayer-based healing can have on humanity. However, from what I have witnessed, spiritual practices are gaining momentum.
I use a microwave daily. I rely on prayer as a first choice for healing. Each has become a natural thing to do.
Keith Wommack is a syndicated columnist, Christian Science practitioner and teacher, husband, and step-dad. He has been described as a spiritual spur (since every horse needs a little nudge now and then). Keith's columns originate at his website.
Photo courtesy Zach Alexander, licensed under Creative Commons
For some people, environmental implications figure into one of life's biggest decisions—whether or not to have a child.
According to philosopher and poet Henry David Thoreau, "One is not born into the world to do everything, but to do something." While the idea of making the world a better place is subjective; the salient point in Thoreau's statement is to do something.
Everyday choices add up to a cumulative impact on the environment; actions such as recycling, using cloth grocery bags, or purchasing items made from sustainable resources that do not further threaten the habitats of animals in the wild. For example, choosing a candy bar made by a company concerned about orangutan conservation and deforestation due to non sustainable palm oil production in Indonesia and Malaysia can mean the difference between extinction and preservation of these charismatic primates. With education and awareness, we understand how seemingly small, everyday choices add up to big impact.
Bigger choices we face include: purchasing energy efficient appliances or fuel-efficient cars, taking public transportation, or planting trees that will cleanse the air of pollutants for years to come. For some people, environmental implications figure into one of life's biggest decisions —whether or not to have a child.
An article written by Grist's Senior Editor Lisa Hymas encouraged people to feel good about their choice to opt out of parenthood, thereby reducing their carbon footprint. The more goods we consume, the larger our carbon footprint. Not everyone who opts out of parenthood does so for environmental reasons. Whatever the reason, Hymas and countless other nonparents have something in common —they are targets. Targets of judgment and assumptions about what kind of people they are and the lives they are living. While the parenthood decision applies to both women and men, societal pressure is greatest for women whose lives continue to be viewed through the lens of motherhood. Women's lives have undergone a complete overhaul in the past few decades; however, something very fundamental has not changed. There are still widely-held assumptions that all women desire motherhood—or that they "should" desire it—and those women who do not want motherhood are viewed as selfish or dysfunctional.
The 1960s and '70s were a hotbed of environmental issues and consciousness-raising. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, released in 1962, caused a public outcry that led to the eventual banning of the pesticide DDT (1972) and the passing of the Endangered Species Act (1973). Paul Ehrlich founded the organization, Zero Population Growth, in 1968, an organization whose mission it was to communicate about the Earth's finite resources. Amidst the controversy, in 1969, Stephanie Mills garnered national media attention when she declared in her college graduation commencement speech that she was "saddened" to announce that the best choice she could make to protect the environment was to not have children. Fast forward to 2010 and Lisa Hymas's statement that she is "delighted" to say that the best thing she can do for the planet is to not have children. When contrasting those two statements, one might think that U.S. culture has evolved tremendously in four decades with regard to attitudes and assumptions about women's reproductive choices; however, my research proves otherwise. While conducting interviews with 200 women across the U.S. (mothers and women who are not moms), I heard the following statements from women without children:
• From a 51-year-old woman: "When I was in my 20s, my grandfather said to me, 'You better hurry up and get married; you don't want to end up like your aunt!'" (Referring to her single, older, childless aunt whom this woman adored.)
• From a 21-year-old woman: "My grandpa asked me, 'Where's your ring? You can't wait around forever!' and I thought, can I finish college first?"
As a mother of three, I am acutely aware of the assumptions my teenage daughter faces. Ten years ago, I read Madelyn Cain's book, The Childless Revolution, with a haunting interview. Quoting a woman Cain called "Donna," who found she was infertile and could not become a mother, Donna said, "If I cannot become a mother, I may as well be dead." During my interviews, I found a real-life example of Cain's "Donna;" someone I've known my whole life, who expressed, "When I couldn't get pregnant, I remember thinking—what's life all about then?" For years, I have envisioned my own daughter's future and considered, "What if my daughter does not want to be a mother someday? What if she's unable to become a mom (through biology or circumstance)? Is there a way to protect her from the assumptions that bombard women from all manner of sources? My quest to answer these questions resulted in a book I've written (to be published later this year), The Female Assumption: The Impact on Women's Lives when Motherhood is Viewed as a Mandate.
During my interviews/surveys with mothers, I heard a very high level of assumptions that their daughters will follow in their footsteps and become moms someday. One can assert that these assumptions are supported by statistics in a country where fertility rates are still very high despite a decline over the past few decades. What was alarming about my research was that 42 percent of the mothers I surveyed said that, if they heard their daughters voice ambivalence or disinterest in motherhood, that they would "urge them" toward motherhood by making statements such as, "Motherhood is an experience not to be missed," "I never knew love until I became a mother," and, "If she doesn't become a mom, that means I can never become a grandmother." Another 10 percent of the mothers said that they would sit their daughters down and question them about their disinterest in motherhood. For this group of mothers, I wondered, if they would ask "Why not?" would they also ask "Why?" if their daughters expressed their interest in motherhood? The answer lies in the assumptions one holds about females' lives.
Among the women I interviewed who are not mothers, a majority of them grew up assuming that they would have children someday. Most of them struggled with external forces in order to preserve their inner selves; and said that they felt (or currently feel) that the pressure to become moms came from those closest to them. One woman commented, "As a teenager, I remember feeling sad when people told me I'd have kids someday." Another woman commented, "My family and friends were always pushing me toward motherhood; I found new friends and disassociated with family ... problem solved."
The reality is that an increasing number of women are choosing not to pursue motherhood and they are quite happy; except for the cajoling, intrusive, and sometimes caustic, comments they hear because they are not moms. Some women want to devote their lives to other goals; such as a woman I spoke to who said, "I want to be a hero," when speaking about being a teacher for kids living in high-poverty, inner-city areas. She said, "These kids need great teachers." Other women do not feel the maternal drive that our culture correlates with femininity. For example, one woman expressed, "I never felt drawn to motherhood; I am who I am."
A high-profile woman who was never drawn to motherhood is Christine Walker, spouse of Robert Walker, President of the Population Institute. In an exclusive interview with Mrs. Walker for my book, she said that she had a "terrific childhood" (debunking the myth that a woman who doesn't want to be a mother had a dysfunctional childhood); but that she didn't like the "noise, crying, and clean-up" associated with childrearing. In Robert Walker's words, "My wife and I chose to be 'childfree' long before the term was invented ... we like children, but we did not like them enough to take on the commitment of raising them." According to Christine, "My husband and I are very close, I'm very fulfilled within my own self, we have no regrets." Robert and Christine have been married almost four decades.
Not pursuing motherhood does not necessarily equate to denouncing it; however, this can be the perception. Whatever reason a woman has for opting out of motherhood, whether the decision is related to the environment, her own goals, or her likes/dislikes, must she justify her reason to those around her? Is it fair to judge a female's character based upon her choice or ability to become a mom? A woman's right to choose her own path to authenticity has been hard-won by strong females throughout history. Female activists and writers, dating back to the 1700s, have expressed ambivalence about motherhood. But, according to Stephanie Mills, "the discussion keeps disappearing."
As a culture, we must ask ourselves, why are women's voices suppressed or disregarded in the 21st century? Borrowing from biology, we call the forces that keep alive certain cultural morés "replicators." For example, the cultural moré that "children are the ultimate celebration of life" is kept alive by society's replicators. There are many magnificent ways to celebrate life; and many have nothing to do with children. Another cultural moré is that children fill a void in a previously-unfulfilled life. Again, there are a significant number of ways to live a fulfilled, happy life, to the exclusion of raising one's own child.
As a mother of three, I am realistic enough to talk about the sacrifices of motherhood in a way that the majority of mothers do not. This does not dilute the love I feel for my children, nor does it hint at regret. My goal for my research and my book is to highlight the injustice of judging women on the basis of their choice to be mothers; and to highlight the need for all of society to update the scripts that are used with females ... rather than saying, "When you have children ..." instead say, "If you have children ..." There are many scripts that need updating when speaking to females about their lives—scripts that reflect more sensitivity and less judgment. My husband and I are raising our daughter to know that all we expect of her is to become a kind and self-sufficient human being. Beyond that, her choices are her own.
I advocate for each person who comes into contact with females, whether at home, school, or in the workplace, to use sensitivity when speaking about motherhood. Not all women desire it; their reasons for opting out of motherhood are as varied as the women themselves; and their reasons are no one's business but their own.
Photo courtesy Sergio Vassio Photography, licensed under Creative Commons
What if there was a way to reduce the risk of many major diseases at the same time as helping improve your overall health, decreasing your weight and boosting your energy? And what if this treatment was simple to do and took only a few minutes each week?
Wait, it gets even better! What if this could be accomplished with no special equipment or training and it would cost absolutely nothing. You could do it any time and place you want--in fact, the vast majority of us have been doing it since the age of two.
Well, this health breakthrough actually exists. Taking a walk (or rolling on a bike or in wheelchair) for 30 minutes a day will cut your chances of dementia, depression, anxiety, diabetes, colon cancer, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and osteoporosis by at least 40 percent, according to a surge of recent medical research.
If more people adopted this easy habit, the United States alone could save as much as $100 billion a year in health care costs. And there's growing recognition that our kids would do better in school, our neighborhoods would become friendlier and we'd all more happy. It's the best way to enjoy the pleasure of public places, and to strengthen the spirit of the commons in your community.
Growing numbers of people are ready to embrace the benefits of walking. Going for a walk is already Americans' favorite activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and we walk six percent more on average than a decade ago. Walkable communities--where schools, shops and entertainment can be easily reached on foot--are a red-hot real estate trend. A new coalition of more than 500 local advocacy groups, America Walks, is pushing to make walking more convenient and safe across the country.
A national movement to promote walking was launched last year at the Walking Summit in Washington, DC, attended by more than 400 people from 41 states and 235 organizations, ranging from AARP and the NAACP to Marriott Inc. and the Sioux Falls (SD) Health Department.
The public clearly understands that walking is good for them and their families. A national survey commissioned by Kaiser Permanente found that 94 percent of Americans believe walking is good for our health, 91 percent believe it helps us lose weight and 85 percent that it reduces depression.
Americans will get even more encouragement to take a stroll this year when the US Surgeon General's office releases an official Call to Action on Walking and Walkability, which highlights the mounting medical evidence that walking is one of the best ways to prevent disease and stay healthy. Yet the CDC reports that 52 percent of all Americans still don't meet the CDC's recommended minimum for physical activity: 30 minutes a day five days a week for adults, and one hour a day for kids.
To change this situation, more than two dozen leaders of the emerging walking movement gathered this spring in Washington, DC to work on a compelling message to encourage more Americans to walk.
The meeting--sponsored by Every Body Walk!, a collaborative of more than 100 organizations representing health care, business, government and citizen organizations--featured Jonah Berger, a Wharton School marketing professor who wrote the bestseller Contagious: Why Things Catch On.
"Everybody knows they should walk, so why aren't they?" Berger asked, raising the question of how do we overcome barriers, both physical and psychological, that stop people from getting on their feet?
The public opinion survey sponsored by Kaiser Permanente (which powers the Every Body Walk! Collaborative and convened the Walking Summit) listed people's most common reasons for not walking:
*Few places within walking distance of my home: 40 percent
*Don't have time: 39 percent
*Don't have the energy: 36 percent
*Lack of sidewalks or speeding traffic: 25 percent
*No one to walk with: 25 percent
*Crime in my neighborhood: 13 percent
Here's a compilation of ideas to overcome these barriers coming out of the walking strategy meeting:
-Emphasize how the benefits of walking go beyond health
You'll enjoy more vitality and energy. You'll experience less stress and anxiety. You'll look better and feel more creative. You'll have more fun.
-Identify yourself as a regular walker
Literally, talk your walk. Tell people why you love it.
-Remember walkers are athletes too
There's nothing pedestrian about walking 5K or10K. Some communities host walking marathons and half-marathons.
-Encourage people to start their day with a walk
They'll feel invigorated all day, which reinforces the message that walking refreshes and energizes you.
-Suggest replacing driving to the gym with walks around the neighborhood
Save time and money while getting to know your neighbors.
-Wear Gold Shoe Laces
The African-American women's walking organization Girl Trek, outfits members with gold shoelaces for their walking shoes to reveal themselves as regular walkers.
-Call on the Power of Art
Public art on the theme of walking serves as a reminder to take a stroll. Artists design crosswalks, trail signs and gateways to walking paths that capture people's imaginations.
-Enlist high-profile local figures to schedule regular public walks.
People will don their sneakers for the chance to walk with a public official, athlete, entertainer or physician.
How to Encourage Others to Walk
-Plan a walk with friends & family
Suggest a walk first and then maybe a meal or drink or movie or round of cards
- Walk Every Wednesday
Around the country, people are organizing walks every Wednesday. (#WalkingWednesday on twitter).
-Suggest a Walking Meeting
Energize that afternoon discussion by doing it on foot. Do your next phone meeting standing up.
-Organize a Walking Club
Like a book club, but with water bottles instead of novels.
-Turn Your Coffee Break into a Stroll
Recruit co-workers for a refreshing trot out on the sidewalk or around the campus.
-Issue a Walking Challenge
Try some friendly competition by seeing who's the first to walk a hundred miles. North Shore-Long Island Jewish Hospital sponsored a contest encouraging its employees to walk the distance from New York to Paris, with some winning a free trip to the French capital.
-Establish a Black Belt for Walkers
Many of us are drawn to compete with ourselves. Create awards for people hoofing it a half-hour for 365 days straight or striding the distance of the earth's equator (24,901 miles).
-Post Signs Around Town Listing the Walking Times to Popular Destinations
Walk Raleigh, a fledgling group in Raleigh, North Carolina, hung up 27 handmade signs around downtown that became so popular the city posted their own official versions.
-Mark a Definite Walking Route
A walk after dinner is an enduring custom in Mediterranean and Latin American countries. Italians call it a passeggiata. People generally follow the same route through the heart of town, making it a social occasion as much as exercise regimen.
-Tell everyone: "If they can walk in LA, we can do it here."
Famous for auto-cracy, Los Angeles actually harbors many walkers and hosts the Big Parade, an "epic public walk" that covers 40 miles and 100 public stairways over two days accompanied by food, music and art. Every town could create its own walking parade or festival.
Jay Walljasper writes, speaks, edits and consults about how to improve community life. He is author of The Great Neighborhood Book and All That We Share: A Field Guide to the Commons. Hiswebsite www.JayWalljasper.com
Tapping into the healing effect of the placebo.
Western medicine has long viewed the placebo effect as a nuisance, getting in the way of knowing whether a drug is actually effective. But in the past couple of decades a few doctors—perhaps most notably Andrew Weil—have come to the defense of the placebo effect, calling it a low cost, effective method of healing with no toxic side effects.
"I think the placebo response is the greatest ally that a practitioner has," Dr. Weil has said. "The best kind of medicine is that which elicits the maximum placebo response with a minimum direct impact on the physical body." Now, reports Joseph Dispenza for Spirituality & Health (March/April 2014, article not online) researchers are investigating just how to do that.
A 2010 study led by Harvard's Ted Kaptchuk found that placebos can work even when people know they're taking a placebo. In the study, 40 people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) received a bottle clearly labeled "Placebo Pills." They were told the placebos had previously calmed other patients' IBS symptoms through a self-healing process. The other half received nothing, serving as the control group. Three weeks later, the experimental group reported twice as much relief as those who hadn't received any treatment—a rate comparable to the best IBS drugs currently available.
How did it happen? It's basically a self-fulfilling prophecy. By taking the placebo—and believing in its effectiveness—we are able to unlock a mind-body connection that triggers the body to heal itself. While the placebo effect certainly needs much more research, one thing is clear: The power of intention, mind, and body is greater than we've allowed ourselves to think.
Image by formatbrain, licensed under Creative Commons.
Turns out anyone can cultivate empathic skills—even psychopaths.
How do we make life meaningful? That question is at the core of a growing multidisciplinary movement focused on empathy, compassion, gratitude, and how to invite them into our daily lives. At the close of 2013, a crew at Greater Good—the online magazine of UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center—culled and summarized the findings of ten notable happiness studies published last year. "The Top 10 Insights from the 'Science of a Meaningful Life' in 2013" originally appeared at Greater Good. This is part ten of ten (part nine).
In daily life, calling someone a "psychopath" or a "sociopath" is a way of saying that the person is beyond redemption. Are they?
When neuroscientist James Fallon accidentally discovered that his brain resembled that of a psychopath—showing less activity in areas of the frontal lobe linked to empathy—he was confused. After all, Fallon was a happily married man, with a career and good relationships with colleagues. How could he be beyond redemption?
Additional genetic tests revealed "high-risk alleles for aggression, violence, and low empathy." What was going on? Fallon decided he was a "pro-social psychopath," someone whose genetic and neurological inheritance makes it hard for him to feel empathy, but who was gifted with a good upbringing and environment—good enough to overcome latent psychopathic tendencies.
This self-description found support in a study published this year by Swiss and German researchers, which showed education levels and "social desirability" seemed to improve empathy in diagnosed psychopaths. Another new study found that empathy deficits don't necessarily lead to aggression.
It seems that psychopaths can be taught to feel empathy and compassion, though they have a disability that makes developing those skills difficult. When a team of researchers looked at the brain activity of psychopathic criminals in the Netherlands, for example, they discovered the predictable empathic deficits. But they also found that it made a difference in their brains to simply ask the criminals to empathize with others—hinting that empathy may be repressed rather than missing entirely in people classified as psychopaths. For some, at least, it may help a great deal to lift that repression.
Psychopathy remains an intractable mental illness and social problem—this year's studies of treatment did not reveal a magic bullet that would turn psychopaths into angels. But we can take heart in the fact that if they can develop empathic skills, anyone can.
Image by Sean MacEntee, licensed under Creative Commons.
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When I was a kid, I remember sharing some sardines with my Grandpa while we watched Wild, Wild West on TV. I figured if he was eating them they must be okay. I realized later in life that he paired his sardines with alcohol, which I admit is a nice combo. It was always pretty dark, which also helped, so I couldn't really see what I was eating. All that led me on the path of enjoying sardines, which are incredibly good for you. As you mull over a sardine purchase in your future, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1) They're not as contaminated with pollutants such as mercury and PCBs as other fish because they're small and unfortunately for the sardine, on the bottom of the food chan.
2) They promote hair growth and shine. They help with cancer prevention, help keep your heart healthy and boost your immune system.
3) They are packed with calcium and vitamin D, something very few of us get enough of in the Winter.
4) And they're loaded with vitamin B12, B2, B6 and Omega 3.
Choose sardines packed in olive oil when you can and try not to spill on your shirt or pants. They do smell like sardines, after all!

subset: commoncrawl


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Sign up for Yardbarker's daily Top 10 newsletter, the Morning Bark! Customize to get news on your favorite sports and teams.
Found October 07, 2013 on This Given Sunday:
PLAYERS: Matt Schaub, Jason Garrett, Knowshon Moreno, Tony Romo, D.J. Williams, Thomas Morstead
TEAMS: Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints
TEAMS: Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints
It's as though they're becoming smarter as the season wears on. This was easily the least stupid week thus far in 2013. Thank goodness for the NFC East. The stupidest pick six, considering the circumstances I hate to pile on Matt Schaub, but when you've become a pick six goat this season, I don't know how you throw this pass on the very first series against the San Francisco defense... The stupidest promotional idea Not hating on the cause, but I think we have quite enough pink to get the point across. The flags caused confusion, which is why the NFL is scrapping them next week. A player's pink towel fell off. They thought it was a penalty flag. That's just one of the dozen reasons this idea is stupid. @nfl — Andrew Luck (@FauxAndyLuck) October 6, 2013 The stupidest last-second coaching decision On my Bleacher Report blog, I elaborate on why Jason Garrett botched the final chance Dallas had to beat the Broncos when he didn't make...
Original Story: http://www.bloguin.com/thisgivensunda...
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Hi everyone,
I had a cassette audio book back in the early 1980's called (I think) Johnny Tomorow.
I can vaguely recollect that it was about a young boy who lived on the moon and had no friends so he used the stations artificial matter creator to make toys.
I used to love listening to this when I was a little boy, but I can't for the life of me remember the exact title...
I'm 99.9% sure Tom Baker narrated it.
Does this ring any bells??


text:
As I was playing in our backyard with my daughters the other day, I noticed something watching us. Something big. Something I'm not used to seeing in my backyard. This creature stood almost two-feet off the ground. I grabbed my phone to snap a picture. This is the best I got.
I've already ruled out it being a turkey vulture or giant pigeon. My best guess is some sort of hawk or an eagle. The next shot I got was it flying away.
C'mon birders, help me out. Let me know if you can shed some light on this for me. Feel free to comment below or hit me on Twitter, @cade1037 .


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Police Chief Chester Logan says there is no evidence of shots fired during the international fireworks show in downtown Detroit Monday night despite eyewitness accounts that led hundreds of people to flee Hart Plaza.
"As far as we know, there wasn't a shooting," Logan tells Fox 2 reporter Roop Raj.
Police did say at least one injury was reported when part of the crowd watching the display over the Detroit River fled Monday night, about 10 minutes into the 55th Annual Ford Fireworks Presented by Target event.
At about 10:15 p.m., Fox 2 reporter Erika Erickson said she saw hundreds of people running away from Hart Plaza near Woodward and Jefferson screaming that somebody was shooting.
Witnesses said they heard two shots fired between Griswold and Woodward on Jefferson.
Logan says he walked the area last night and saw no evidence of these shootings.
Police sources, however, tell Fox 2's Charlie LeDuff there were six non-fatal shootings in the city Monday, including a 12-year-old who was shot during an argument near Owen and Woodward in the city's Boston-Edison neighborhood. None of these reported shootings occurred in or near Hart Plaza.
Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the city and across the river in Windsor, Ontario, to view the fireworks.The show celebrates the July 4 U.S. Independence Day and Canada Day on July 1.- The Associated Press contributed to this report
KMSP-TV11358 Viking DriveEden Prairie, MN 55344
Phone: (952) 944-9999Fax: (952) 942-0455


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New Trastuzumab Regimen Lessens Cardiac Side Effects
A Finnish study on therapies for early breast cancer reports lower cardiac side effects among women who received a shorter than standard course of treatment with trastuzumab (Herceptin), according to a study published in the February 23 New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
To date, trastuzumab has been associated with heart failure among 1.7 to 4.1 percent of women taking the drug, and 10 percent of patients taking the drug have experienced substantial decreases in heart function.
The Finland Herceptin study administered trastuzumab to 116 women with HER2-positive tumors "before other cardiotoxic therapies and concomitantly with potentially synergistic chemotherapy for only 9 weeks to test the hypothesis that such a schedule would limit cardiotoxicity and maintain efficacy." This is different from previously published adjuvant studies in which anthracycline was given prior to trastuzumab. The patients were compared against a control group of 116 HER2-positive patients who received chemotherapy alone for 9 weeks without the addition of trastuzumab. Read more
Guest Update by Dr. John E. Niederhuber
Angiogenesis Initiative Fueling Collaboration
One of the most exciting new frontiers in cancer research is the increased focus on the tumor microenvironment. A major focus of this work is on the role of angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels to provide nutrients and oxygen to sustain the earliest development of a primary cancer or a metastasis. It was approximately 25 years ago that Dr. Judah Folkman first theorized in the pages of the NEJM that tumors needed to grow new blood vessels to fuel their development. Just 2 years ago, bevacizumab (Avastin) became the first agent specifically developed as an angiogenesis inhibitor to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in cancer patients to treat metastatic colorectal cancer.
Other FDA-approved anticancer agents - including bortezomib (Velcade) for the treatment of multiple myeloma and sunitinib (Sutent), which was approved just last month for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors - also have demonstrated the ability to inhibit angiogenesis. In addition, a number of new angiogenesis inhibitors are in development, including several in late-stage clinical trials, and researchers are finding that some already approved chemotherapy drugs, when used more frequently at doses far lower than standard cytotoxic regimens, target the tumor vasculature. Read more
New Trastuzumab Regimen Lessens Cardiac Side Effects
A Finnish study on therapies for early breast cancer reports lower cardiac side effects among women who received a shorter than standard course of treatment with trastuzumab (Herceptin), according to a study published in the February 23 New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
To date, trastuzumab has been associated with heart failure among 1.7 to 4.1 percent of women taking the drug, and 10 percent of patients taking the drug have experienced substantial decreases in heart function.
The Finland Herceptin study administered trastuzumab to 116 women with HER2-positive tumors "before other cardiotoxic therapies and concomitantly with potentially synergistic chemotherapy for only 9 weeks to test the hypothesis that such a schedule would limit cardiotoxicity and maintain efficacy." This is different from previously published adjuvant studies in which anthracycline was given prior to trastuzumab. The patients were compared against a control group of 116 HER2-positive patients who received chemotherapy alone for 9 weeks without the addition of trastuzumab.
The trastuzumab group had better 3-year recurrence-free survival (89 versus 78 percent for the control group), the researchers report. None of the women who were treated with trastuzumab at the same time as the other chemotherapy had cardiac failure and, unexpectedly, these women had fewer decreases in heart function than the control group, they added.
"Our results indicate that a 9-week period of trastuzumab administration is effective in women with HER2/neu-positive breast cancer," note the researchers, led by Dr. Heikki Joensuu of Helsinki University Central Hospital. "Regimens in which only a few cycles of trastuzumab are administered concurrently with chemotherapy reduce the number of patient visits and may be more cost effective than regimens that require administration over a period of 12 to 24 months. In addition, such regimens may result in few cardiac adverse effects."
The Finnish study also compared docetaxel against vinorelbine in 1,010 breast cancer patients, including a subgroup of 232 HER2 patients. Docetaxel was found to have better recurrence-free survival than vinorelbine (91 versus 86 percent); however, docetaxel had more adverse effects than vinorelbine.
In an NEJM editorial, Harvard Medical School Professor Dr. Kenneth R. Chien comments on the findings in the HER2 arms of the study. He notes, "A longstanding question is whether it is possible to delineate the biologic pathways that link trastuzumab to the onset of cardiotoxic effects, so as to reveal approaches to the design of drugs that would dissociate the beneficial effects from the adverse ones." Dr. Chien says the Finnish study indicates "that the risk of heart failure associated with trastuzumab was negated because cardiac stress signals had not been activated" by the shortened course of anthracycline chemotherapy.
The study demonstrates that trastuzumab "can be given in therapeutically active doses with negligible cardiac side effects," Chien continues. "But whether a similar result might hold in larger numbers of patients or in women with preexisting heart disease is now a pressing question."
Dr. Sandra M. Swain, senior principal investigator in NCI's Medical Oncology Branch, also stressed the need for the Finnish study's findings to be confirmed "in a randomized trial in which a larger number of HER2-positive patients are evaluated." Nonetheless, she added, "It's a very interesting, well-designed study, and it's exciting because of the potential to give a short course of trastuzumab therapy with improved efficacy over chemotherapy alone and without creating cardiotoxicity."
The Finnish researchers acknowledged that the "small size of this subgroup and the short duration of the follow-up are limitations of the study." The optimal duration of adjuvant trastuzumab therapy is not known and may be clarified only in further randomized trials, the researchers add.
By Bill Robinson
Guest Update by Dr. John E. Niederhuber
Angiogenesis Initiative Fueling Collaboration
One of the most exciting new frontiers in cancer research is the increased focus on the tumor microenvironment. A major focus of this work is on the role of angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels to provide nutrients and oxygen to sustain the earliest development of a primary cancer or a metastasis. It was approximately 25 years ago that Dr. Judah Folkman first theorized in the pages of the NEJM that tumors needed to grow new blood vessels to fuel their development. Just 2 years ago, bevacizumab (Avastin) became the first agent specifically developed as an angiogenesis inhibitor to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in cancer patients to treat metastatic colorectal cancer.
Other FDA-approved anticancer agents - including bortezomib (Velcade) for the treatment of multiple myeloma and sunitinib (Sutent), which was approved just last month for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors - also have demonstrated the ability to inhibit angiogenesis. In addition, a number of new angiogenesis inhibitors are in development, including several in late-stage clinical trials, and researchers are finding that some already approved chemotherapy drugs, when used more frequently at doses far lower than standard cytotoxic regimens, target the tumor vasculature.
A number of common disease conditions are, as Dr. Folkman put it, angiogenesis dependent, including macular degeneration, atherosclerosis, diabetic retinopathy, and many others. That recognition brought together representatives from five NIH institutes and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to launch the Trans-Institute Angiogenesis Research Program (TARP) in February 2004.
Just last week, its leaders, which include Dr. Steve Libutti of the Surgery Branch of the NCI Center for Cancer Research (CCR), provided a status report to the directors of all the National Institutes of Health (NIH) institutes and centers. The directors were excited about what they heard, and additional institute leaders indicated their desire to formally join TARP.
The TARP group sponsored a workshop in the spring of 2004 that led to a number of important recommendations, several of which have already been acted upon. In addition to a number of new, crossdisciplinary research collaborations among both extramural and intramural researchers, several new Requests for Applications have been released, including one sponsored by JDRF that has produced approximately 50 awards.
In addition, the NCI intramural program has committed space and resources to establish an angiogenesis core facility that will help validate and develop assays and reagents used in angiogenesis research, as well as develop new assays. A TARP Web site has been established to provide information about funding opportunities for vascular biology and angiogenesis-related research, resources for investigators, educational opportunities, and much more.
In 1990, 198 angiogenesis-related papers were published in peer-reviewed journals. Last year, more than 4,100 were published, and that number will only increase. TARP has the tremendous potential to improve the quality and effectiveness of research in this field by helping to bring together vascular biology and angiogenesis researchers from different disease disciplines; establishing more effective ways for exchanging information, resources, and data; identifying areas of research that may benefit from more intensive study; and helping to train the next generation of researchers. TARP members are beginning to plan the next workshop to discuss state-of-the-art preclinical and clinical research on angiogenesis and vascular biology, and to promote interdisciplinary interactions. It is anticipated that this will be an annual meeting that includes NIH scientists and representatives from academia and industry.
According to one estimate, more than 500 million people stand to benefit from anti- or pro-angiogenesis treatments in the coming decades. Viewed in that light, it's easy to see why there is so much enthusiasm about and interest in this area of investigation. Its promise is great, and our duty is to fund the best science, encourage collaboration, and leverage our resources to fulfill that promise.
Inhalers Tested in Lung Cancer Prevention Trial
The need to prevent lung cancer in a growing population of former smokers has led researchers to test inhalers as a means of delivering drugs directly to the lungs, a strategy that has proven to be safe and effective for treating chronic asthma.
By directing medication straight to the lungs, inhalers limit side effects in other parts of the body. The method also allows for lower doses than are needed when pills are used.
"Inhalation is the preferred route for doing chemoprevention in lung cancer at this time," says Dr. Stephen Lam, a senior scientist in the Department of Cancer Imaging at the BC Cancer Research Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"Inhaled medication is easy to use, and there are fewer side effects when drugs are delivered directly into an organ rather than administered systemically," Dr. Lam adds.
Several years ago, Dr. Lam led a phase II lung cancer prevention clinical trial involving smokers who took inhaled budesonide for 6 months. The drug had no effect on the growth of bronchial lesions or the prevention of new lesions, the trial found.
Through the use of imaging tools known as spiral CT scans, however, the researchers observed that the drug may have affected small nodules in the peripheral lungs, some of which might have been precancerous growths.
Based on this observation, a new lung cancer prevention trial testing inhaled budesonide will begin soon in Italy. The phase II trial, led by the European Institute of Oncology, will be enrolling individuals who are already receiving annual spiral CTs as part of a larger lung cancer screening trial.
The researchers will focus on individuals who, after the second annual CT scan, have persistent lung nodules that appear not to be malignant but may be precursors to lung adenocarcinomas, according to Dr. Eva Szabo of NCI's Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP), which is sponsoring the trial.
These individuals will be treated for 1 year with either budesonide or a placebo. The study will assess the efficacy of inhaled budesonide, and a larger trial will be planned if the results are positive. In addition, the researchers will focus on safety.
Safety is critical because the drug would be used by individuals who are at risk for cancer but who are also in apparent good health. "The challenge in making cancer prevention part of routine health care is to ensure long-term safety," says Dr. Szabo.
When people start taking a drug to prevent cancer, in all likelihood they will need to take it for an extended period of time. If the side effects diminish quality of life, or if there is an increase in other diseases due to the drug, the drug will not be taken.
An advantage of targeted delivery, then, is that healthy tissues are largely spared and the overall toxicity is reduced, much in the way that targeted cancer therapies attack mutant cells, sparing the others.
"Low toxicity is critical to getting chemoprevention to the public because, after all, real people have to take the drugs," says Dr. Szabo. "If a treatment to prevent cancer leads to another life-threatening condition, like heart disease, then you haven't made much progress."
Once a person stops smoking, the risk of lung cancer does not continue to increase, but neither does it go away. Cancer prevention for lung cancer attempts to intervene in the early and potentially treatable stages of a lengthy disease process.
The preclinical evidence that inhaled budesonide might be effective during the early stages of the process has come largely from research in mice, led by Dr. Vernon Steele of NCI's DCP.
Dr. Steele and his colleagues have shown that glucocorticoids, which include budesonide, were nearly 90 percent effective in preventing lung adenomas in mice. These results were the basis for the clinical trial led by Dr. Lam.
"There are different forms of lung cancer, and we think a combination of drugs that has multiple targets is likely to be the best strategy for chemoprevention," says Dr. Steele, adding, "It is difficult to predict what kind of lung cancer a person is going to get."
In humans, aerosols can be delivered either as a liquid or a very fine powder. "Engineers have come up with devices for both kinds of delivery, and we're trying to identify and develop the drugs to put in them," says Dr. Steele.
By Edward R. Winstead
New Virus Found in Some Men with Prostate Cancer
The researchers used a DNA ViroChip, which holds the genetic sequences of approximately 1,000 viruses - all known viruses of humans, animals, and plants - to screen prostate tumor samples from 86 men who underwent surgical resection of their tumors. They compared infection with the XMRV virus between men with mutations in both copies of the gene HPC1, which encodes the virus-fighting protein RNaseL, with men with one or both normal copies of the gene. Previous research had shown that mutations in HPC1 correlated with a higher risk of prostate cancer. In those studies, the presence of the virus also correlated strongly with mutations in HPC1: 45 percent of men with two mutated copies of HPC1 harbored the XMRV virus, compared with 1.5 percent of men with one or no mutated copies of HPC1. The virus was found to be actively expressing proteins within the prostate cells, not lying dormant.
It is not yet known if the virus plays a role in the development of prostate cancer. In a press release accompanying their presentation, lead investigator Dr. Eric Klein explained that previous studies had suggested an infectious origin for some types of prostate cancer: "The hypothesis is that infection leads to chronic inflammation of the prostate, which ultimately leads to cancer." Dr. Klein and his collaborators are currently working on an experimental design to examine whether XMRV does play a causative role in prostate carcinogenesis.
Tobacco Use Among Young People Is Rising Worldwide
The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) has found that tobacco use is on the rise among young people worldwide, in a report published online February 17 in the Lancet.
GYTS, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), surveyed approximately 750,000 students aged 13 to 15 years from 131 countries, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank about tobacco use, the leading cause of several cancers and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Results showed that overall, nearly 9 percent of students were current smokers and 11 percent were current users of tobacco products other than cigarettes. The GYTS also found that more than 30 percent of students in every region of the world were exposed to secondhand smoke at home, while more than 45 percent were exposed to secondhand smoke in public places.
Dr. Charles Warren, of CDC's Office of Smoking and Health, commented that the GYTS findings suggest that the effect of tobacco use on worldwide deaths could be far greater than expected. He added that current warnings of a doubling of the death toll to 10 million deaths per year by 2020 could be a conservative estimate. A Lancet editorial stated that unless the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control signatories fully commit to enhancing their tobacco control and prevention efforts, the myriad achievements of these initiatives will be lost.
According to another article in the same issue of Lancet, one of the largest developing countries facing this alarming trend is India, where increased tobacco use among young people in urban areas is expected to result in a substantial burden of disease and health care expenditures.
The recent NCI-funded study was conducted by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Project Mobilizing Youth for Tobacco-Related Initiatives in India. The researchers surveyed over 11,600 students in sixth and eighth grades in 32 schools in Delhi and Chennai. A key finding was that students in sixth grade were two to four times more likely to use tobacco than those in eighth grade, and that psychosocial risk factors for tobacco were also greater in the younger students. As the authors note, "These findings might indicate the initial wave of a large increase in tobacco use in India, which is alarming and warrants confirmation and early intervention in young students."
New NSAID Reverses Ovarian Cancer Cell Resistance to Cisplatin
A new study indicates that NCX-4016, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) derived from aspirin, has cytotoxic effects in ovarian cancer cells and can reverse acquired resistance to cisplatin. The results were published in the February 23 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
NCX-4016 is being studied for a number of indications, including colon cancer prevention.
One proposed mechanism behind cisplatin resistance is an increase in the level of thiols - sulfur analogs of alcohols - within the cancer cells, which can inactivate platinum compounds. The release of nitrous oxide (NO) by compounds such as NCX-4016 is stimulated by high levels of cellular thiols. NO can then react with thiols in cytotoxic pathways. The investigators hypothesized that NCX-4016 not only would be toxic to ovarian cancer cells when administered alone, but also would decrease the thiol content in the cells through reactions with NO and resensitize the cells to cisplatin.
After identifying ovarian cancer cell lines as cisplatin sensitive (CS) or cisplatin resistant (CR), and confirming that NCX-4016 releases NO in vitro, the investigators exposed CS and CR cells to NCX-4016 and performed cell-survival assays. NCX-4016 alone caused cell death in both CS and CR lines; the magnitude of the effect depended on dose and exposure time.
When the investigators treated both CS and CR cell lines with cisplatin, the drug caused a significant reduction in colony formation in CS cells but not CR cells, as expected. Treatment with NCX-4016 before exposure to cisplatin caused significantly greater cell death in both CS and CR cells than treatment with cisplatin or NCX-4016 alone. Examination of the thiol content of CS and CR cells revealed that CR cells had approximately 75 percent more glutathione than CS cells, and that the levels of this thiol were substantially reduced by treatment with NCX-4016.
These results suggest "a dual role for NCX-4016 in CR cells," state the investigators, as it provides both an antiproliferative effect and thiol depletion. "The thiol depletion creates an opportunity for cisplatin for further cell killing."
Preventing Bone Fractures in Prostate Cancer Patients
Name of the Trial
Principal Investigator
Why This Trial Is Important
This study will evaluate the ability of zoledronic acid (Zometa), one of a family of drugs known as bisphosphonates, to prevent bone complications when administered at the same time as or shortly following androgen deprivation therapy. Currently, zoledronic acid is given to prostate cancer patients after androgen deprivation has stopped working.
"We know that zoledronic acid inhibits bone resorption and that it reduces problems such as fractures, spinal column compression, and pain associated with bone metastases after androgen deprivation therapy has failed," said Dr. Smith. "The question this trial intends to answer is whether giving zoledronic acid to patients earlier, while they are still responding to androgen deprivation therapy, will result in improved outcomes."
Who Can Join This Trial
Study Sites and Contact Information
An archive of "Featured Clinical Trial" columns is available at http://cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/ft-all-featured-trials.
TRWG Convenes National Roundtable
TRWG conducted a review of NCI's current investments in TR and shared early analyses, which suggested that more than $1.5 billion went to fuel TR in FY 2004, with funds distributed across most divisions and programs. "Clearly," noted Dr. Hawk, "communication, coordination, and collaboration - within and beyond NCI - are essential to realize the full potential of NCI's TR portfolio."
In breakout discussions, the roundtable analyzed TR from three perspectives: translational pathways to clinical goals, populations that researchers hope to benefit, and crosscutting themes. Participating were representatives from academia, the pharmaceutical and device industries, advocacy organizations, major cancer research organizations, federal agencies, and British scientists who recently led a similar effort in the United Kingdom. These discussions will be the basis for draft recommendations to be released for public comment in the spring.
Researchers Discuss Biomarker Discovery at Annual U.S.-Japan Meeting
Rodriguez Joins Proteomics Technologies Program
Dr. Rodriguez has led several programs in biological standards development at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including protein detection and measurement platforms. He earned his doctorate in cell and molecular biology from Boston University and holds an M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins University School of Business and Management.
At NCI, Dr. Rodriguez will facilitate the implementation of the clinical proteomic technologies initiatives that seek to develop and assess proteomic technology platforms for cancer research.
TCGA Biospecimen Core Resource RFP Is Issued
NCI has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to identify a contractor to build the Biospecimen Core Resource. NCI expects to hold a preproposal conference for potential applicants on March 16. Questions about this RFP should be submitted by e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.com or by fax to 301-228-4037.
SHCC Minority-Based Community Clinical Oncology Program
P.I.: Dr. Howard A. Zaren; Associate P.I.: Dr. Keith A. Dookeran • Administrator: Erika K. Radeke • 1900 W. Polk, Room 449, Chicago, IL 60612 (312) 864-5204 • www.minoritycancer.org
Community Characteristics
Enrollment and Outreach Activities
Staff members provide emotional support and health education for patients and their families. They also provide access to screening and early diagnosis activities, help with navigation through complex medical systems with support for many languages, and support and advocacy for cancer survivors. Because many patients do not have primary care physicians, SHCC MBCCOP staff assist them with referrals to primary care physicians, social workers, and other specialty medical providers.
Other Key Facts
SHCC MBCCOP has created an Investigator Network Web site to help disseminate protocol information to investigators. Web site information includes protocol status, IRB and research base correspondence, protocol amendments, meeting minutes, and upcoming events and conferences.


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Blue-Eyed Girl Portrait
Blue-Eyed Girl Portrait
This cute little blue-eyed girl is posing just inside an open garage door. This is one of the easiest (and inexpensive) lighting methods for great results. Stand the subject just inside an opening (behind the direct sunlight) and shoot away.
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HoursMap Home
Fifth Third Bank
Fifth Third Bank
Greenwood, IN Hours and Location
Category: Banks
Hours street map for all businesses nearby.
As of: 1:35 pm (EDT) Wed Sep 17, 2014.
Fifth Third Bank Hours
|9:00am - 6:00pm
|9:00am - 6:00pm
|9:00am - 6:00pm
|9:00am - 6:00pm
|9:00am - 6:00pm
|9:00am - 2:00pm
|Hours extracted from website:
"Lobby: M-F 9-6; SA 9-2"
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. As of September 30, 2010, the Company had $112 billion in assets and operated 16 affiliates with 1,309 full-service Banking Centers, including 101 Bank Mart® locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 2,390 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Investment Advisors. Fifth Third also has a 49% interest in Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of September 30, 2010, had $190 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $26 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® National Global Select Market under the symbol "FITB...more
801 W Smith Valley RdPhone: (317)881-8667Driving Directions
801 W Smith Valley Rd
Greenwood, IN 46142
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Dot is Green if Fifth Third Bank is currently open and Red if currently closed.
As of: 1:35 pm (EDT) Wed Sep 17, 2014. [Change]
As of: 1:35 pm (EDT) Wed Sep 17, 2014. [Change]


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San Francisco Opera
Buy tickets now to the exciting 92nd season! From new productions of Norma and La Bohème to Berlioz's thrilling The Trojans, an epic season awaits you!
See directions, parking options, hotels and restaurants, and other attractions near the Opera House.
Watch season announcements, interviews, and opera excerpts.
Watch San Francisco Opera productions in HD at your local movie theaters.
Listen to San Francisco Opera from the comfort of your own home.
Browse our performance archive from 1923 to present by title, conductor, cast and more.
Browse Archives
For Adults
Lectures, workshops, and more.
For Teachers
Classroom materials for teaching opera to your students.
For Students
School programs, conservatory, and student dress rehearsals.
For Families
Family workshops and more.
Making a gift online is fast, easy, and secure. Use our online form and add your contribution to your shopping cart.
David Gockley
General Director
Nicola Luisotti
Music Director
Download resources for the media, such as press releases and high resolution images.
Go to Press Room
San Francisco Opera
301 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 861-4008
All contact info
Can you plan a San Francisco Opera season?
That was the question posed to participants in our Overture Workshop on March 11, "Behind the Curtain: Planning a San Francisco Opera Season." After a lively discussion with Kip Cranna, Director of Musical Administration and Jen Good, Associate Director of Production and Head of Staging, we passed the baton to the audience: it was their turn to decide which operas would comprise a season.
San Francisco Opera


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Add a lovely touch to your child's room with this cute Peppa Pig Maxi Sticker, a great way to bring a final touch to the room.
*Free delivery over £50 refers to home delivery orders placed on diy.com only. Charges refer to the value of goods being delivered and excludes delivery from stores or services. Excludes bulk delivery.
B&Q accepts the above cards and also offers a range of in-store financial services. Learn more
Buy online, return in store. Terms and conditions apply
Have a question or a problem, chat to our support team now.contact B&Q
© B&Q 2014 - Terms & Conditions


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FlexArm Repair
This FlexArm Repair tool will make joint rebuilding in the field as simple as it gets. This in fact is the same tool that we use in house to rebuild joints. The repair tool is easy to use with two open end wrenches or sockets.
Large Rod End Repair Tool
Regular Price: $28.99
Special Price: $27.54
Trackbar/Medium Rod End Field Repair Tool
Regular Price: $27.99
Special Price: $26.59


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Meet Mohamed Morsi, the current president of Egypt whose government is supported by the radical Muslim Brotherhood. This is the Mohamed Morsi who, in the not too distant past, referred to Jews as "descendants of apes and pigs," and to President Barak Obama as a liar.
This Morsi, who replaced a much more moderate and U.S.-friendly Hosni Mubarak, leads a government which can at best be described as unstable and at worst as a government which allies itself with the most radical groups in the Middle East.Subscribe to Read!


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Allie's Q & A
Who's your favorite sports team, and why?
MN Vikings... Adrian Peterson... Need I say more?
What's your favorite movie quote?
Housekeeping, you want me fluff pillow? --- Actually anything from Tommy Boy.
What's your favorite video game, and could you kick our butts at it?
DDR---- I'm a pretty good dancer....
Piercings/Tattoos (How many? Where?)
1 tattoo - wrist, 4 piercings- ears
What's the most embarrassing song on your iPod?
Summer Girls- LFO
What's the most memorable pick-up line you've ever heard?
DUDE (putting out his arm) Here, feel this material. Nice? Me (touching his shirt sleeve) Yeah, nice?... ha DUDE That's boyfriend material.
What's the worst job you've ever had?
Any internship---- working for zero pay should be illegal....
What's the most dangerous thing you've ever done?
It's 4AM after a crazy night out – what are we eating?
Egg whites... Never can be too health conscious.... Eat right, look great.
What's the strangest thing in your fridge right now?
..... lemon juice WITH cayenne pepper and maple syrup... Master Cleanse... Don't try it at home.
What's the naughtiest thing you've ever done in public?
Sex with my boyfriend on my professor's desk after hours....
What do you feel sexiest wearing?
Sports bra and lulu lemon shorts.


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Hi everyone! September to me means the start of fall....even though it is still in the 90's around here :(- I still think Fall, so your word art this month is an apple theme! Simply download, create, upload to the gallery, and link back here!! If you do all that you will receive a posting bonus at the end of the month....easy right??? Ok, ready- set- go :) Can't wait to see your layouts this month!
download here


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Pictures: Maryland obituaries
See past obituaries in the Baltimore Sun here.
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A powerful cold front moving in from the west spawned at least one tornado, prompted numerous weather warnings, and delivered heavy rain and flooding as it moved into Georgia on Wednesday.
11:30 P.M. UPDATE --The line of storms is east of Augusta and nearly out of Georgia as the cold air begins to move in. Temperatures should be in the mid-30s by Thursday morning, according to FOX 5 Storm Team chief meteorologist Ken Cook.
Winds could gust up to 40 mph tonight, Ken says. Secure loose items around your home to prevent them from blowing away.
A Flood Warning remains in effect for Forsyth, Fulton and Gordon counties.
9:35 P.M. UPDATE -- A boil-water advisory has been posted for Adairsville.
Fannin County Schools will be closed on Thursday. Click here for a list of closings.
As of 9 p.m., Georgia Power said there were 15,484 homes statewide without power. About 4,400 of those were in northwest Georgia; 3,900 were in the east; 3,000 in the south; 16,00 in central Georgia and 500 in metro Atlanta.
Georgia's electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) reported 11,000 customers without power in the western and northern parts of the state as of 7 p.m. Georgia EMC said its crews reported significant damage to hundreds of utility poles, transformers and power lines.
Most of the power was expected to be restored late Wednesday, but some customers in extreme north Georgia may be without power for one or two days, Georgia EMC said.
7:30 P.M. UPDATE --The Georgia Department of Transportation has issued the following update about road closures and flooding issues related to today's storms:
- SR 60 in Fannin County, between Mile Posts 23 & 24 (North of SR 515)—waiting for power lines to clear
- SR 15 in Oconee County at Mile Post 11.07 in Watkinsville, two lanes closed due to slow moving water.
Flooding issues:
- Fulton County, I-285 EB entrance ramp from Riverside Drive is blocked due to flooding
- Fulton County, I-75 NB at Moores Mill Road, left lanes flooded due to slow moving water
- Fulton County, SR 166 WB, west of Delowe Drive, slow moving water
- Fulton County, SR 166@ Stanton Road, one lane closed on ramp
- Fulton County, I-20 WB at Langhorn Street, flooding in the area
- Newton County, I-20 EB at Almon Road, left lane flooded
- Greene County, I-20 EB, east of Mile Post 135, one lane blocked due to fallen tree
- Jackson county, flooding on SR 11 at MP 7, just south of SR 129.
6:30 P.M. UPDATE -- The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Warning for Big Creek near Cumming until further notice. According to the NWS, the flood stage is 6 feet. It should reach 7 feet later tonight. That could result in covering the area under the Georgia 400 Highway and McFarland Road will be covered with around two feet of water, the NWS said.
A Wind Advisory and Flood Watch has been issued for numerous counties.
5:40 P.M. UPDATE -- FOX 5 Storm Team chief meteorologist Ken Cook says that threat of severe weather is over in the metro Atlanta area. He said that all counties from the metro area should be clear of a tornado watch by 6:30 p.m.
Ken said that strong winds could continue through the evening. That, combined with the ground softened by the rain, could cause some trees to fall.
Possible flooding also remains a concern in some areas, particularly between Big Creek near Alpharetta and Cumming, as well as Crooked Creek between Gwinnett County and Fulton. Also, Hiawassee and the Nottely River in the north Georgia area could see overflowing banks.
5:20 P.M. UPDATE -- The Georgia Department of Transportation is urging drivers to avoid the roads as much as possible on Wednesday following a strong storm system.
GDOT officials report the following road closures:
* SR 60 in Fannin County, between Mile Posts 23 & 24 (North of SR 515)—waiting for power lines to clear;
* SR 140 in Adairsville, Bartow County
According to GDOT, the following roads have reported flooding issues:
DeKalb County: I-285 SB at Ponce De Leon -- flooding in lane four (on the right)
Fulton County: I-85 SB ramp at Camp Creek Parkway -- ramp closed due to flooding
Fulton County: SR 166 WB, west of Delowe Drive -- slow moving water
Jackson County: flooding on SR 11 at mile post 7, just south of SR 129
4:45 P.M. UPDATE -- Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has declared a State of Emergency in Bartow and Gordon Counties as a result of the storm.
FOX 5 Storm Team chief meteorologist Ken Cook says that the rain should continue in the metro Atlanta area for the next two or three hours. Areas in northwest Georgia should receive 2 to 3 inches of rain total, prompting a flood watch in many counties.
4:35 P.M. UPDATE -- The National Weather Service has updated the current tornado watch to remove some counties. The current watch is in effect until 8 p.m. and includes the following Georgia counties: Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clark, Clay, Colquitt, Crawford, Crisp, Decatur, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Elbert, Franklin, Grady, Greene, Habersham, Hancock, Hart, Houston, Jackson, Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Lee, Macon, Madison, Marion, Miller, Mitchell, Monroe, Morgan, Muscogee, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam, Quitman, Rabun, Randolph, Schley, Seminole, Stephens, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taliaferro, Taylor, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Turner, Twiggs, Upson, Walton, Webster, Wilcox, Wilkes, Wilkinson, and Worth.
4:30 P.M. UPDATE -- Georgia Department of Transportation officials report that there is flooding on Interstate 75 northbound south of Moores Mill Road. The HOV lane and two left lanes (of four) have been blocked. It is expected to be cleared around 5:15 p.m.
Also, flooding is reported on I-85 south at Camp Creek Parkway. All exit lanes are blocked. It is expected to be cleared around 5 p.m., according to GDOT officials.
4:15 P.M. UPDATE -- Georgia Power said that about 10,200 customers statewide are without power. Of those, 5,600 power outages were in northwest Georgia. Click here for up-to-date information from Georgia Power.
4:10 P.M. UPDATE -- Brittany McAplin of George Emergency Management Agency said that in addition to the reported tornado in Adairsville, significant damage has also been reported in Gordon County.
At least 50 homes were impacted in the Farmville and Sonoraville. McAplin said there were reports of eight injuries, including two critically. Search and rescue efforts were ongoing, she said.
McAplin confirmed that one person had been killed in Adairsville and nine people were injured.
3:45 P.M. UPDATE -- The storm system is making its way across the metro Atlanta. FOX 5 Storm Team chief meteorologist Ken Cook said the storm was moving east around 70 mph. A tornado warning remains in effect in Upson County until 4 p.m., while most of the area remains under a tornado watch until 8 p.m. A flood watch is also in effect for many counties.
Some school and church services have canceled activities and services. Click here for an updated list.
PREVIOUS UPDATES -- Officials in Bartow County say a tornado touched down in Adairsville, near city hall at around 11:00 a.m. Several buildings have been destroyed, and there are reports of five people trapped in a building. There are also reports of overturned cars at a McDonald's in the town. One person has reportedly been killed and nine people were reportedly injured.
Also in Bartow County, authorities report two accidents, one involving a tractor trailer truck, have shut down all north and south bound lanes on Interstate 75. It is not known if the accidents are weather related.
In Gilmer County, trees are reported to be on power lines on the Highway 515 connector near Highway 52 East. Trees have also been reported down on several roads in the county.
Several homes in Calhoun along Dews Ponds Road have been damaged by falling trees, and flooding is reported in some areas.
The FAA is reporting that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is experiencing gate hold and departure delays ranging from 30 to 45 minutes. Arriving flights from several destinations are experiencing delays from 30 minutes to nearly 2 hours.
These delays could get longer as the severe weather continues. To check flight times and delays, click here.
A tornado watch is in effect for some areas of north Georgia and portions of central Georgia until 8 p.m. A tornado watch means weather conditions are favorable for tornadoes to form.
A High Wind Warning is in effect through 6 p.m. Wednesday for several counties in northeast Georgia. Winds speeds in those counties could be 30 to 40 mph and gusting as high as 50 mph. Many areas could see anywhere from 1 to 2 inches of rain, with some mountain areas possibly seeing up to 3 inches, according to meteorologist Joanne Feldman.
A Flood Warning is in effect for several counties in north and northeast Georgia through Wednesday evening.
For the latest weather alerts from the FOX 5 Storm Team, click here!
The system should move out of the state by Wednesday evening as temperatures drop for the weekend.
Stay with the FOX 5 Storm Team for details on this developing weather situation, and follow us on Twitter @FOX5StormTeamfor the latest updates!
Don't forget to download the FREE FOX 5 Storm Team app! It's available for iPhone, iPad and Android. Click here for more details.
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Each season, experts, athletes and ambassadors are enlisted to put the new Sweaty Betty line through rigorous trials, tests and training sessions to ensure each piece delivers maximum performance.
the test:
the verdict:
After an energising practice of twists, backbends and balancing postures, the Sweaty Betty team were reliably informed that each pair of yoga bottoms provided 100% coverage without sacrificing comfort.
the vision:
A strong, controlled practice is about feeling secure and confident. With this in mind, the perfect yoga leggings should remain completely opaque from downward dog to cobra.
Flowing through a series of asanas and inversions, a qualified yoga instructor tested the comfort and opacity of each pair of opaque yoga bottoms from the Autumn Winter 2014 collection. Tested pieces included the Dynamic Leggings, Prana leggings, Salabasana Reversible Capris and Chandrasana leggings.
the fear:
For a dancer lowering into the splits or doing a split-leap in mid-air, ending up with torn bottoms is not an option.
the test:
The new line of dancewear was pushed to the limit. Putting the range through its (very graceful) paces, the test included splits against the wall, in the air, on the ground, upside down and inside out; stretching the fabric every way possible to ensure it neither rips nor restricts the dancer's movement.
the verdict:
The ultimate dance kit that withstood the dancers splits test, allowing for freedom of movement and style.
the test:
the result:
Chlorine worshippers and triathletes in training met at the pool with swim caps and goggles in hand, ready to put the latest Sweaty Betty swimwear through the ultimate wearer trail test.
Garment technologist Fiona assembled a group and instructed them on what to do. The trial began dive after dive, lap after lap, minute after minute, the team critiqued the products to the smallest detail.
More lengths, more dives, more feedback, more notes. This is the life of a Garment Tech and this is how Sweaty Betty ensures swimwear fits perfectly and performs to the highest level.
the challenge:
Swimwear that can withstand any test in the water.
the challenge:
the test:
the result:
For yoga, having a fully covered bust and securely-fitted top that stays in place throughout the class is essential to a strong and confident practice.
Flowing from urdhva muko savasanah (upward facing dog) to salamba sirsasana (supported headstand), a class of yogis put three yoga camis from the Autumn Winter 2014 collection, through an advanced series of asanas and inversions to test whether the tops ride up or reveal the chest during practice. The tested camis were the Mukha, Namaska and Utthita.
All three yoga camis stayed in place throughout the practice, with the high necklines and secure fits providing full coverage, comfort and support.