October 16, 2007, 7:43 PM CT

Some Athletic Men May Risk Low Bone Density

As per the National Osteoporosis Foundation, osteoporosis affects more than 2 million men in the United States and nearly 12 million more have osteopenia-clinically significant low bone density that is less severe than osteoporosis. Now, a new study from the University of Missouri-Columbia has observed that men engaging predominantly in low-impact forms of exercise have an increased occurence rate of osteopenia-a condition resulting in two times the risk of bone fracture.

"Unfortunately, some individuals who believe they are doing everything right in terms of their health might be surprised and upset by our finding," said Pamela Hinton, an associate professor of nutritional sciences in MU's College of Human Environmental Sciences, who co-authored the study. "We believe, however, that these results will ultimately serve as education and motivation for these people".

Hinton said the effects of osteopenia can be mitigated by integration of weight-bearing activities into the lifestyle of active individuals. Studies in pre- and post-menopausal women suggest that bone mineral density will increase 2 percent to 3 percent after six months of resistance training three times per week. Small changes in bone density translate into much larger changes in bone strength-a 1 percent increase in bone density reduces the risk of fracture by up to 5 percent......... Posted by: Jim      Read more         Source

October 16, 2007, 7:15 PM CT

Cuba at a crossroads

An analysis of the potential relationship of Cuba and United States tourism interests by Sergei Khrushchev and two coauthors, reported in the November 2007 issue of the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, suggests that the U.S. hospitality industry can begin to help bridge the economic gap between Cuba and the United States.

As the son of the former Russian premier, Khrushchev has the unusual position of living in the U.S. but having dealt with both the Cuban people and Fidel Castro. Together with his coauthors, Tony L. Henthorne, Ph.D. and Michael S. LaTour, Ph.D., the article explains their personal experiences and their recent qualitative research in Cuba. The authors found a deep distrust between the people of the two countries, while, at the same time, U.S. dollars are desired in the Cuban economy. The authors contend that, if the current embargo was lifted, U.S. hospitality industry sponsored research could be a way for the U.S. to get its foot in the door in Cuba, while dispelling some of the distrust of America.

We see a historic opportunity for profitable investment in a new Cuba, write the authors. Not only can the U.S. hospitality industry participate in shaping that new Cuba, in partnership with locals, but we contend that now is the time to advance prescriptive, forward-thinking insight designed to shift the thinking of the U.S. business community about Cuba and, in so doing, shift the thinking of the Cuban government, businesses, and people about their neighbors to the north......... Posted by: Tom      Read more         Source

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:34:20 GMT

Home Schooled

Home Schooled is a comics series by American artist Ash Jackson.
Co-writing by Silas Jackson.
The Presurfer will feature a Home Schooled cartoon every Monday. This is an absolute exclusive cooperation between The Presurfer and Ash Jackson.

Home Schooled is more or less a reflection of the wacky and occasionally interesting adventures of the artist, Ash Jackson, himself, with the aid of his friends, family, and other cohorts.

Title: You've Got Mail! Posted by: Gerard      Read more     Source

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 21:33:01 GMT

Steve's Vintage Color TV Page

Color television in the United States has a most interesting history. Several systems were proposed and one, the incompatible CBS field sequential system, was actually in use, for a short time, in 1951 before proving impractical.

The ultimate winner in this contentious race to bring practical color television to the American home was the RCA/NTSC compatible color system. Steve Dichter's Vintage Color TV Page is all about that shakey start and the vain attempt of the industry to market color television, in the mid 1950's, to a viewing public already awash and pretty satisfied with black and white TV.

(via Everlasting Blort) Posted by: Gerard      Read more     Source

October 10, 2007, 7:10 PM CT

Assessing health risks from chemicals

Determining how thousands of chemicals found in the environment may be interacting with the genes in your body to cause disease is becoming easier because of a new field of science called toxicogenomics. A new report issued today by the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) recognizes the importance of toxicogenomics in predicting effects on human health and recommends the integration of toxicogenomics into regulatory decision making. The NAS report was commissioned by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a leader in the development of toxicogenomic technologies.

Toxicogenomic technologies provide tools to better understand the mechanisms through which environmental agents initiate and advance disease processes. They can also provide important information to help identify individuals that are more susceptible to disease risks posed by certain environmental agents than the general population.

Using toxicogenomic technologies will open the door for public health decision makers who need to decide in a timely and accurate manner what chemicals are safe and which ones are not, says Christopher Portier, Ph.D., Associate Director, NIEHS and Director, Office of Risk Assessment Research......... Posted by: Sarah      Read more         Source

October 10, 2007, 5:51 PM CT

Expensive trainers are a waste of money

Expensive trainers are not worth the money, finds a small study published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Cheap and moderately priced running shoes are just as good, if not better, in terms of cushioning impact and overall comfort, it concludes.

The research findings are based on a comparison of nine pairs of trainers, bought from three different manufacturers, in three different price ranges. The cheapest pairs were priced at 40 to 45, with the moderate range costing 60 to 65. The three most expensive pairs cost 70 to 75.

The 43 participants were not told how much any of the shoes cost.

Plantar pressure - the force produced by the impact of the sole hitting the ground - was recorded in eight different areas of the sole, using a special device (Pedar) attached to the shoes.

Different models performed differently for different areas of the foot. But, overall, there were no major differences among the shoes, irrespective of brand or price.

In fact, plantar pressure was lower in the cheap to moderately priced shoes, eventhough this difference was not statistically significant.

Runners were also asked to rate the comfort of the shoes from least to most comfortable imaginable, using a validated graded scale......... Posted by: Jim      Read more         Source

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:07:12 GMT

Why Your Campaigns Fail

At some point in time, you might have thought about failure. Well, that's healthy. I also do that every once in a while. Failures make people strong. But they can also turn strong people into weaklings. But you won't allow them, will you?

"A failure establishes only this, that our determination to succeed was not strong enough," says John Christian Bovee. I agree. You don't quit that easy. You have to put up a good fight.

Take SEO. If you are a quitter, you'll never gonna yield good SEO rankings and immense web traffic. But why is it that you can count those precious few who excel in web search engine optimization?

When I discuss things with fellow SEO enthusiasts, I observe that failure one of the favorite topics. Oh yeah, SEO is no rocket science. It needs exacting know-how and motivation to keep going.

SEO campaigns need utmost care and attention to achieve success. Keyword optimization is where most SEO campaigns start. It is also where most enthusiasts fail. As such, it is always a clever idea to begin small and build your way up. Whether you are into money or information keywords, the thing is to achieve focus.

SEO is an ever-changing industry. So what I do is to optimize different keywords under one topic. But you must have a knack in deciphering good from bad keywords. Otherwise, you'll end up picking up the wrong keywords. Posted by: noel      Read more     Source

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:58:51 GMT

LinkedIn Adds Photos

Profile photos are a must in this day and age of social networking sites. LinkedIn is now going to allow it's users to add a photo to their profile. Don't worry, they're not turning into MySpace. They just want to allow their users to be able to see who they're talking to.

Finally! I mean, don't you want to see what people look like when you meet with them, even online? I do, as do a lot of people. That's why sites like Facebook are so popular, photos. Without photos you're just chatting with a faceless person on the other side of your computer screen.

Now instead of talking to the faceless, you'll be able to chat and communicate with real people, and see who you're talking to. Posted by: Linda Roeder      Read more     Source

October 8, 2007, 8:54 AM CT

Taser study results suggest devices are safe

A nationwide study examining the safety of Tasers used by law enforcement agencies suggests the devices are safe, causing a low occurrence of serious injuries.

This study is the first large, independent study of injuries linked to Tasers. It is the first injury epidemiology study to review every Taser deployment and to reliably assess the overall risk and severity of injuries in real world conditions, said William Bozeman, M.D., the lead investigator and an emergency medicine specialist at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The injury rate is low and most injuries appear to be minor. These results support the safety of the devices.

Bozeman will present the study results at the American College of Emergency Physicians Research Forum in Seattle, Wash., Oct. 8. In a review of nearly 1,000 cases, 99.7 per cent of those subjected to a Taser had mild injuries, such as scrapes and bruises, or none at all. Only three subjects (0.3%) suffered injuries severe enough to need hospital admission. Two had head injuries suffered in falls after Taser use. A third subject was admitted to a hospital two days after arrest with a medical condition of unclear relationship to the Taser. Two subjects died, but autopsy reports indicate that neither death was correlation to the Taser. Earlier partial results involving 597 cases were reported in the recent issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine......... Posted by: Tom      Read more         Source

October 4, 2007, 9:36 PM CT

Starting university may be hazardous to your health

Moving away from home and adapting to a new social environment are just two of the a number of challenges that new students face as they enter university. An innovative new study conducted at the University of Alberta has observed that these challenges can actually have a negative effect on a student's health.

The scientists observed that female students who lived away from home were three times more likely to report symptoms of binge eating in comparison to those students living with parents during their first year of university studies.

Also, students who felt dissatisfied with their bodies were three times as likely to report symptoms of binge eating when entering their first year of studies.

"Few studies have explored the links between the challenges linked to the transition of entering university and eating problems," says Erin Barker, who conducted the research while completing her PhD at the University of Alberta and current professor at Wisconsins Beloit College.

One-hundred-and-one (101) full-time female first-year students at a large North American university completed a web-based daily checklist of health behaviors (i.e. sleeping, eating, exercise, alcohol use) for 14 consecutive days over one of four two-week periods in the first three months of fall term. Variables studied included binge eating symptoms, body dissatisfaction, living away from home and number of class hours per week......... Posted by: Tom      Read more         Source