Online Pornography, Its Effects, the Way Out

Online Pornography's Effects, and a New Way to Fight Them - WSJ.com: " . . . Countless studies connect porn with a new and negative attitude to intimate relationships, and neurological imaging confirms it. Susan Fiske, professor of psychology at Princeton University, used MRI scans in 2010 to analyze men watching porn. Afterward, brain activity revealed, they looked at women more as objects than as people. The new DSM-5 will add the diagnosis "Hypersexual Disorder," which includes compulsive pornography use. Repetitive viewing of pornography resets neural pathways, creating the need for a type and level of stimulation not satiable in real life. The user is thrilled, then doomed. But the evolutionary plasticity of our mind makes this damage reversible. In "The Brain That Changes Itself," psychiatrist Norman Doidge writes about patients who overused porn and were able to quit, cold turkey, and change their brains back. They just had to stop watching it. Completely. . . ." (read more at link above)

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How to Slow Down, Simply Be Present in Life

The Work/Life Balancing Act: " . . . So, how do we slow down? The answer is insanely obvious...we simply be present in life. Some days, something as simple as having a cup of coffee becomes a juggling act of replying to emails and surfing the web. Give yourself permission to do less and think more.  What if you don't get to the 10 things on your to-do list? What if you just got to the one that made the most impact on your life for that one day? I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal about how to come up with a great idea. It was filled with great suggestions but the one that made the most sense is Be Present in Life. If you're not busy running around trying to pack more into your day and you just slow down, you might find a great idea is right under your nose.  If we really want better work life balance, we are going to need to trade super-productiveness for sanity. That's hard to remember some days. But after decades of trying to be super mom, I'm finally focusing on sanity." (read more at link above)

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Evaluate and Reevaluate the culture and society in which you live

Everyone's responsibility to evaluate, and reevaluate, the culture and society in which we live --

'Hey bitch' someone yelled out a car window. It's what I've come to expect | Natalie Sharif | Comment is free | theguardian.com: " . . . The constant criticism, intimidation and manipulation wore away at my sense of self and my ability to trust my own perceptions. I was afraid of what I was becoming. Only with the help of friends was I able to realize the effects of his emotional and verbal abuse. As a global community, everyone – regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or personal beliefs – has the responsibility to reevaluate the culture and society in which we reside. We so easily use or accept slurs and stereotypes and then allow ourselves (often unconsciously) to believe them to be true. No matter how strong we are, we must acknowledge that the things we see, hear, and say on a regular basis do have an effect on us. I never expected to be in a relationship that was so damaging. "I am strong", I thought. I am a college educated woman who was raised knowing how to stand up for myself. But abuse does not come with a flashing neon sign and, through the years, we become complacent with our surroundings. To be honest, I wanted to shout expletives at those guys in the car. I want my ex to feel what it is like to be stripped of his sense of self, to wake up one morning and not even know who he is. But in a universal context, how would this behavior be beneficial to those who are not able to walk away? It isn't. All I – and all anyone else – can do is stand firmly against everyday belittlement. We no longer have the option to sit idly by. Ignoring the present will only allow the abuse, violence, and inequity to persist and intensify." (read more at the link above)

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Alligators Grow New Teeth, Why Not Humans?

Alligators Can Grow New Teeth, So Why Not Humans? - US News and World Report: "Though the understanding necessary to make regenerative medicine a possibility in humans is still far off, Chuong says that one day scientists will be able to inject hormones or molecules that will cause humans to grow new teeth. "We have to understand the molecular pathway involved," he says . . . Chuong says that the DNA of humans contains the genetic material necessary to grown teeth and even regenerate other parts of the body, but that code isn't "turned on." Regeneration is relatively common in the animal kingdom—certain types of salamanders can regenerate limbs, lobsters and stone crabs can grow new claws, starfish can grown new appendages and many types of predators, including sharks and alligators, can regenerate teeth. (read more at link above)

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Replace a Dental Crown?

Ask Well: Replacing a Dental Crown - NYTimes.com: "Patients should be aware that dental professionals are financially motivated to replace restorations. Also, some dentists, especially younger ones, prefer the appearance of white restorations, rather than gold crowns, which are typically used on back teeth in patients who favor crown longevity over aesthetics. Replacing a crown is not just a matter of cost. Every time a dentist puts in a crown or a filling, “some damage is done to the pulp,” Dr. Donovan said, so some teeth that were crowned may eventually require a root canal. Restorations also take away tooth structure, increasing the risk of fracture." (read more at link above)

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Patient chooses to be taken off life support

Paralyzed hunter chooses to be taken off life support - CBS News: "Tim Bowers got to decide for himself whether he wanted to live or die. When the avid outdoorsman was badly hurt Saturday in a hunting accident, doctors said he would be paralyzed and could be on a ventilator for life. His family had a unique request: Could he be brought out of sedation to hear his prognosis and decide what he wanted to do? Doctors said yes, and Bowers chose to take no extra measures to stay alive. He died Sunday, hours after his breathing tube was removed. "We just asked him, 'Do you want this?' And he shook his head emphatically no," his sister, Jenny Shultz, said of her brother, who was often found hunting, camping or helping his father on his northeastern Indiana farm. The 32-year-old was deer hunting when he fell 16 feet from a tree and suffered a severe spinal injury that paralyzed him from the shoulders down. Doctors thought he might never breathe on his own again. Courts have long upheld the rights of patients to refuse life support. But Bowers' case was unusual because it's often family members or surrogates, not the patient, who make end-of-life decisions. . . . " (read more at link above)

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Nap to Manage Fatigue in Nonstop World

Manage Fatigue in a Nonstop World With a Nap - NYTimes.com: " . . . For all but the tiniest minority – perhaps 2 or 3 percent – “enough” means seven to eight hours. Almost no one can sleep fewer than five hours and feel fully rested, but we don’t necessarily recognize that limitation. Many among us are so chronically sleep deprived that we’ve lost the connection to what it feels like to be fully rested – and how much more that would make possible in our lives. But a growing body of research suggests that even short naps can be a powerful and highly efficient way to temporarily compensate for an inadequate night’s sleep, specifically in the hours following the nap. The exception is among those who are already severely sleep deprived. . . ." (read more at link above)

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Big Talker Obama Lied -- Millions of People Are Losing Their Insurance Under Obamacare

Yes, People Are Losing Their Insurance Under Obamacare - Businessweek: "How big a deal is this? Politically, it’s awful for Obama. The promise to let people keep their doctors and health plans was one of his biggest talking points when he sold the health law to Americans. The line underplayed how Obamacare’s many moving parts would affect the health insurance market, with some unforeseen consequences for consumers. People are getting letters from their insurance companies saying their old plan is ending just as the healthcare.gov marketplace, where they theoretically could shop for new plans, is limping along. The situation angers and confuses ordinary consumers . . . ."

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Hidden cameras to monitor care homes

This will soon be mandated everywhere -- to end elder abuse --

Plan to use hidden cameras to monitor care homes | Society | The Guardian: Hidden cameras could be used to monitor the services provided by care homes under plans being considered by the health and social carewatchdog in England. Other ideas include the use of so-called mystery shoppers who would pose as customers of care homes in order to test the quality of service provided. The proposals were unveiled by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which said it would hold discussions over "the potential use of hidden surveillance". The CQC's new chief inspector of adult social care, Andrea Sutcliffe, outlined her priorities in a document published ahead of a public consultation next spring, part of a process of changing the way the watchdog monitors providers. . ."

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Consumer Reports says ‘Stay Away From HealthCare.gov'

Consumer Reports: ‘Stay Away From HealthCare.gov' | National Review Online: "Consumer Reports, which publishes reviews of consumer products and services, advised its readers to avoid the federal health-care exchange “for at least another month if you can.” “Hopefully that will be long enough for its software vendors to clean up the mess they’ve made,” the magazine said, having tested the site themselves over the course of the past three weeks. . . ."

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Doctors are not Sherlock, Have You Consulted Watson?

IBM's Watson is better at diagnosing cancer than human doctors (Wired UK): " . . . The first stages of a planned wider deployment, IBM's business agreement with the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and American private healthcare company Wellpoint will see Watson available for rent to any hospital or clinic that wants to get its opinion on matters relating to oncology. Not only that, but it'll suggest the most affordable way of paying for it in America's excessively-complex healthcare market. The hope is it will improve diagnoses while reducing their costs at the same time. . . ."

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Misdiagnosis, Doctors Making Bad Decisions

Why We Make Bad Decisions - NYTimes.com: " . . . Physicians do get things wrong, remarkably often. Studies have shown that up to one in five patients are misdiagnosed. In the United States and Canada it is estimated that 50,000 hospital deaths each year could have been prevented if the real cause of illness had been correctly identified. . . ." (more at link above)

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