SAN MARCOS Carmen Westerberg, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Texas State University, has received one of four 2020 Memory and Cognitve Disorders (MCD) Awards from the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience.

Westerberg shares the award with her collaborator, Ken Paller, a professor in the Department of Psychology at Northwestern University. The $300,000 MCD grant will support the teams research study, Does Superior Sleep Physiology Contribute to Superior Memory Function? Implications for Counteracting Forgetting.

The researchers hope to gain insight into the process of forgetting by studying the sleep physiology of people who almost never forget.

These individuals, who have a condition called highly superior autobiographical memory, or HSAM, can effortlessly remember the minute details of every day of their lives with equal clarity, whether it happened last week or 20 years ago.

By comparison, most humans can remember the same amount of detail as those with HSAM for some weeks, but beyond that they recall only highly significant moments in detail.

Sleep physiology is proposed as one possible difference between those with HSAM and those without.

Sleep is known to play an important role in memory consolidation and a detailed human study of the brain activity during sleep of HSAM and control individuals will record, compare and analyze the patterns of slow oscillations (linked to memory consolidation), sleep spindles (also connected to consolidation, and recorded at high levels in HSAM individuals) and the ways in which they co-occur.

A second study will feature an easy-to-use headband that will allow subjects to measure both sleep and memory data at home over a one-month period, to determine if enhanced sleep physiology over multiple nights contributes to superior memory.

By guiding the reactivation of memories that are not autobiographical in nature with sound cues presented during sleep, the study will help reveal whether enhanced sleep physiology in HSAM individuals can enhance memory for non-autobiographical memories as well.

Westerberg and Paller said that learning how highly superior memory works might help uncover patterns in those suffering from degraded memory function caused by afflictions such as Alzheimers disease.

Deeper understanding could give rise to new treatments for those conditions.

The MCD Awards support innovative research by U.S. scientists who are studying neurological and psychiatric diseases, especially those related to memory and cognition.

The awards encourage collaboration between basic and clinical neuroscience to translate laboratory discoveries about the brain and nervous system into diagnoses and therapies to improve human health.

We are thrilled to select some of the best scientists and their work in the country this year, said Ming Guo, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the awards committee and professor in neurology and pharmacology at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. These scientists are addressing questions related to how general anesthesia and sleep impact memory, and how memory works at the basic level. Together, we aim to understand the underlying neurobiology of memory and brain disorders that one day will translate into cures of some of the most devastating brain disorders that afflict millions of people in the world.

The awards are inspired by the interests of William L. McKnight, who founded the McKnight Foundation in 1953 and wanted to support research on diseases affecting memory.

His daughter, Virginia McKnight Binger, and the McKnight Foundation board established the McKnight neuroscience program in his honor in 1977.

For more information, visit http://www.mcknight.org.

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Memory And Cognitive Disorders Award To Help Texas State Researchers Explore Link Between Sleep, Memory - San Marcos Corridor News

Professional sport is full of stories of elite athletes choking emotionally and mentally under the pressure of competition. One famous example is golfer Greg Norman, who was leading the 1994 US Masters by six strokes at the beginning of the final round, but then lost by five strokes to Nick Faldo. And England football teams are well known for their struggles in penalty shoot outs.

But the occasion I remember most vividly was watching the late, great Jana Novotna facing Steffi Graf in the 1993 Wimbledon final. Having dominated the match, and leading the final set 4-1, Novotna served a double fault. After this simple error, Novotnas match fell apart, and she ended up quickly losing the set 6-4. It was as if someone had flipped a switch, turning her from elite professional into nervous club player.

Many of us who have played a sport can sympathise with the phenomenon of choking. And as a sports psychologist, I am interested in what happens mentally during those crucial moments before catastrophic drops in performance. Understanding the processes and factors involved could allow us to develop ways to help athletes avoid choking, or regain control after it takes hold.

Researchers have shown how performance anxiety can be split into a mental (cognitive) component, represented by worry (I am worried that I may not perform as well as I can) and self-focused attention (I am conscious of every movement I make), and a physiological anxiety represented by arousal (fast heart rate) and tension (feeling on edge).

The ability to respond positively to anxiety reflects the level of control the athlete feels they have over a given situation, and their own response (I believe I have the resources to meet this challenge). This perception of control is important, because it reflects whether athletes see the situation as a threat or a challenge, which ultimately might change the way they perform.

Many anxiety interventions focus on ways in which we can control our physiology to ensure that athletes keep a cool head. The simplest of all relaxation strategies is slow diaphragmatic breathing, similar to that used in meditation and yoga. We now know that breathing in this way can have a number of benefits.

The most obvious benefit is the immediate effect upon our physiology. If you feel yourself becoming stressed, you will notice how your heart rate increases and your breathing becomes more shallow and sporadic. Concentrating on your breathing and aiming to slow it down will reduce your heart rate and make you feel more calm and in control.

This type of breathing allows us to hijack the bodys natural blood pressure regulation system and to increase our heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is the varying interval in our heart rate, where an increase is reflective of a greater capacity to deal with stress.

This is because our heart is required to adapt appropriately and quickly to environmental demands (from a state of rest to a fight response, say), in order to drive other physiological systems such as the delivery of oxygen to the muscles. If your heart can go from slow to fast and back again quickly, you are more adaptable to the demands you may face, moment by moment.

In our work with elite athletes, we use a technique called HRV biofeedback. For this, we ask athletes to pace their breathing at around six breaths per minute, while providing visual feedback of the effect this has on the heart.

This breathing rate automatically results in a synchronisation between breathing and heart rate, such that our heart rate increases on inhaling, and decreases on exhaling. This coherence, technically known as respiratory sinus arrhythmia, naturally increases heart rate variability, while decreasing blood pressure and lowering our average heart rate.

Our aim in using HRV biofeedback is to teach athletes to control their breathing without a visual guide. Then, when they feel under pressure, they have a go-to intervention which helps them return to their ideal performance state. It also allows them to focus on what is important in the environment and in their mind positive, logical, helpful and controllable thinking.

Our athletes have found this technique helpful, both preparing for, and during competition, and we are beginning to use it in very specific contexts such as the taper period in elite swimming. The taper period is the final training phase (two to three weeks) before an important competition such as the Olympics, where athletes reduce the volume of training they are doing. This a period of emotional turmoil for swimmers and we are looking at how we can address this with HRV biofeedback.

But the benefits of HRV biofeedback are not reserved for elite athletes. Modern life is stressful for everyone, with many sources of hassle at work and home. Evidence indicates that adopting a regular, long-term schedule of breathing practice at around six breaths per minute for 10 minutes every day could help improve the bodys ability to manage stress.

Simple breathing pacer apps on smartphones, or cheap heart rate monitors, can be used to practice becoming more aware of your breathing, and controlling your heart rate. In times of pressure and amid the stresses of modern life, anyone can breathe to win.

More:
How controlled breathing helps elite athletes and you can benefit from it too - The Conversation UK

From the study of meteorite fragments that have fallen to Earth, scientists have confirmed that bacteria can not only survive the harsh conditions of space but can transport biological material between planets. Because of how common meteorite impacts were when life emerged on Earth (ca. 4 billion years ago), scientists have been pondering whether they may have delivered the necessary ingredients for life to thrive.

In a recent study, an international team led by astrobiologist Tetyana Milojevic from the University of Vienna examined a specific type of ancient bacteria that are known to thrive on extraterrestrial meteorites. By examining a meteorite that contained traces of this bacteria, the team determined that these bacteria prefer to feed on meteors a find which could provide insight into how life emerged on Earth.

The study, which recently appeared in Scientific Reports (a publication maintained by the journal Nature), was led by astrobiologist Tetyana Milojevic of the University of Vienna. For years, she and other members of the Extremophiles/Space Biochemistry Group have been investigating the meteorite-associated growth physiology of the single-celled metallophilic bacteria known as Metallosphaera sedula.

To break it down, Metallosphaera sedula are part of a family known as lithotrophs, bacteria that derive their energy from inorganic sources. Research into their physiological processes could provide insight into how extraterrestrial materials could have been deposited on Earth billions of years ago, which could have provided a steady supply of nutrients and energy for emerging microorganisms.

For the sake of their study, the team examined strains of this bacteria that were found on a meteorite retrieved on Earth. The meteorite in question, Northwest Africa 1172 (NWA 1172), is a multimetallic object that was discovered near the town of Erfoud, Morocco, in 2000. What they found was that this bacteria rapidly colonized the meteors material, far faster than it would minerals found on Earth. As Milojevic explained:

Meteorite-fitness seems to be more beneficial for this ancient microorganism than a diet on terrestrial mineral sources. NWA 1172 is a multimetallic material, which may provide much more trace metals to facilitate metabolic activity and microbial growth. Moreover, the porosity of NWA 1172 might also reflect the superior growth rate of M. sedula.

Milojevic and her colleagues determined this by examining how the microbes trafficked iron oxide molecules into their cells and monitored how their oxidation state changed over time. This was done by combining multiple analytical spectroscopy techniques with transmission electron microscopy, which provided nanometer-scale resolution and revealed telltale biogeochemical fingerprints on the meteor.

These fingerprints revealed that M. sedula thrived on the meteors metallic constituents. As Milojevic concluded:

Our investigations validate the ability of M. sedula to perform the biotransformation of meteorite minerals, unravel microbial fingerprints left on meteorite material, and provide the next step towards an understanding of meteorite biogeochemistry.

The study of lithotrophs that thrive on extraterrestrial objects could help astronomers answer key questions about how and where life emerged in our Solar System. It could also reveal whether or not these objects, and the bacteria that they deposited on Earth over time, played an important role in the evolution of life.

For some time, scientists have theorized that life (or the basic ingredients thereof) are distributed throughout the Universe by meteors, comets, and asteroids. Who knows? Perhaps life on Earth (and possibly throughout the cosmos) owes its existence to extreme bacteria that turn inorganic elements into food for organics.

Further Reading: University of Vienna, Nature

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A Microorganism With a Taste for Meteorites Could Help us Understand the Formation of Life on Earth - Universe Today

PROSPECT The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that health care fields will add more jobs about 1.9 million than any other field over a 10-year period from 2018 to 2028.

To help students interested in health care careers take advantage of that expected growth, Region 16 officials have created two new learning pathways at Woodland Regional High School to give students a leg up when they graduate.

Starting in the fall of 2020, certified nursing assistant (CNA) and health sciences pathways will be available for students at the high school. The pathways lay out specific courses related to health sciences for students to take, and students who successfully complete the requirements will earn a diploma of distinction from Woodland. The requirements to complete the pathways are in addition to and inclusive of the schools overall graduation requirements.

Woodland Principal Kurt Ogren said data collected from the high schools internship program over the past five years showed that many students are interested in careers within the medical, dental, veterinary and nursing fields. Students also voiced their overwhelming support for the pathways in a survey last fall, he said.

This is a pathway and program of study that aligns to the workforce needs both in the state of Connecticut and nationally, Ogren said.

The required courses in the two pathways are similar, but the end results of the pathways are different.

The culmination of the CNA pathway will be a certified nursing assistant course taught at Woodland by an instructor from Naugatuck Valley Community College. The program also arranges for students to take the state exam, at no cost to them, to earn their CNA certification.

Students will have the opportunity, given they complete the CNA certification, to get a job as a CNA, said Michele Raynor, director of curriculum, instruction and assessments for Region 16.

The CNA course is a full-year class that includes classroom work and clinical experience in the field. Region 16, which oversees public schools in Beacon Falls and Prospect, contracted with Naugatuck Valley Community College to run the course starting in the fall of 2020.

Raynor said the course, including the instructor and supplies, costs about $48,000. She said the district is looking to offset the cost of the program through grants.

Raynor said the CNA course will be limited to 20 students, who will be chosen through an application process, and seniors will be given priority.

The Region 16 Board of Education approved the course at its Nov. 20 meeting.

What I like about this is that kids can come out of this job-ready. I heard that and I said, This is more of the kind of things we should be doing, said board Chairman Robert Hiscox at the meeting.

The requirements of the CNA pathway also include a minimum of three credits in math, three credits in science including biology, and antinomy and physiology and half a credit each in health and safety, wellness and prevention, and psychology or sociology.

The CNA pathway is designed for students to be career-ready when they graduate. The health sciences pathways is geared more for students interested in going on to college to pursue careers in medical fields.

Ultimately, students in this pathway will complete an internship or work experience, likely in a medical office or nursing home, their senior year.

The pathway also requires students complete a minimum of four credits in math, four credits in science including biology, chemistry, and antinomy and physiology and half a credit each in health and safety, wellness and prevention, and psychology or sociology.

The pathways are open to all students, but students will have to go through an application process, Raynor said. Upperclassmen accepted into the pathways next year can complete required courses in the pathways concurrently with the CNA course and internship experience.

The creation of health care pathways comes after the region implemented two STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning pathways for Woodland students this school year. The computer science and engineering learning pathway is designed for students interested in aspects of STEM such as coding. The construction, manufacturing and technology learning pathway is for students more interested in the building aspect.

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Woodland to offer CNA, health sciences learning pathways - My Citizens News

Youre supposed to be adults here

The professor is an Orthodox priest and he obviously has a better sense of humor than the progressive inquisition.

The College Fix reports:

Physiology instructor booted from chiropractic college after ridiculing diversity

This summer, it took a priest to get a small chiropractic and health sciences college out of joint.

On August 8, adjunct professor Steven Salaris was escorted off Logan University near St. Louis, Mo. At the time, Salaris, 54, said he was unsure what he had done to earn his forcible removal from the private campus with just a week to go before his students took their final exams for a summer school course.

Was it the joke he made in class about sex being a good cure for a headache, a campus diversity play he criticized on Twitter, the fact that he is a white male? If you ask Salaris, hell tell you it might have been a combination of all of the above.

The problems for Salaris, an Orthodox Christian priest, began earlier in the year when two female students told him some students were uncomfortable with a few jokes he had made in physiology class

It was meant to be humorous a joke, Salaris told The College Fix via phone.

Youre supposed to be adults here, Salaris said he had told his students

When the Student Affairs office got wind that Salaris had made this comment to several friends (he said he was joking), he said he was once again called to Ignatovs office. Salaris said when he refused to confirm or deny he had said it, Ignatov told him his contract would not be renewed in the fall. Salaris said he already knew the decision had been made to replace him, although Ignatov would not confirm it.

Yet in August, Salaris found himself being escorted off campus by a security guard after he ridiculed a campus play that the administration advertised to students as an interactive presentation that shares thought provoking values of both diversity and inclusion. The play, The Defamation Experience, was meant to broaden students views and interactions with others, exploring how race, religion, class, and gender intersect and clash.

The rest is here:
Professor Escorted Off Campus for Ridiculing Play About Diversity and Inclusion - legal Insurrection

ADA Edward S. Potkanowicz, associate professor of exercise physiology at Ohio Northern University, was recently invited by the editor of Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise to provide a commentary on driver science manuscripts published in the most recent issue.

Driver science, a term coined by Potkanowicz, is the scientific examination of driver-athletes physiological responses to the environment of the cockpit, from which data-based recommendations can be made to improve driver safety, tolerance and performance.

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Ohio Northern faculty member invited to provide commentary on driver science manuscripts - LimaOhio.com

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Kinn's The Medical Assistant. An Applied Learning Approach. Edition No. 14" book has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

More than any other product on the market, the most successful Medical Assistants begin their careers with Kinn. Trusted for more than 60 years, Kinn's The Medical Assistant: An Applied Learning Approach, 14th Edition, teaches you real-world administrative and clinical skills essential for a career in the modern medical office - always with a focus on application through unfolding case scenarios, critical thinking questions, procedure videos, and interactive exercises.

The reorganized 14th edition includes expanded content on medical office accounts, collections, banking, and practice management as well as a new chapter reviewing medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, and pathology. With an easy-to-read format and a full continuum of separately sold adaptive learning solutions, real-world simulations, EHR documentation experience, and HESI remediation and assessment - you'll learn the leading skills to prepare for certification and a successful career in the dynamic and growing Medical Assisting profession!

Key Topics Covered:

PART 1 - Introduction to Medical Assisting 1.The Professional Medical Assistant and the Healthcare Team 2.Therapeutic Communication 3.Legal Principles 4.Healthcare Laws 5.Healthcare Ethics

PART 2 - Fundamentals of Ambulatory Care Administration 6.Technology 7.Written Communication 8.Telephone Techniques 9.Scheduling Appointments and Patient Processing 10.Health Records 11.Daily Operations and Safety

PART 3 -Coding and Medical Billing 12.Health Insurance Essentials 13.Diagnostic Coding Essentials 14.Procedural Coding Essentials 15.Medical Billing and Reimbursement Essentials

PART 4 - Advanced Ambulatory Care Administration 16.Patient Accounts and Practice Management 17.Advanced Roles in Administration

PART 5 - Fundamentals of Clinical Medical Assisting 18.NEW! Introduction to Anatomy and Medical Terminology 19.Infection Control 20.Vital Signs 21.Physical Examination 22.Patient Coaching 23.Nutrition and Health Promotion 24.Surgical Supplies and Instruments 25.Assisting with Surgical Procedures 26.Principles of Electrocardiography 27.Medical Emergencies

PART 6 - Assisting with Medications 28.Principles of Pharmacology 29.Pharmacology Math 30.Administering Medications

PART 7 - Assisting with Medical Specialties 31.Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology 32.Dermatology 33.Allergy and Infectious Disease 34.Gastroenterology 35.Orthopedics and Rheumatology 36.Neurology 37.Behavioral Health 38.Endocrinology 39.Cardiology 40.Pulmonology 41.Urology and Male Reproduction 42.Obstetrics and Gynecology 43.Pediatrics 44.Geriatrics

PART 8 - Assisting with Clinical Laboratory Procedures 45.Introduction to the Clinical Laboratory 46.Urinalysis 47.Blood Collection 48.Analysis of Blood 49.Microbiology and Immunology

PART 9 - Job Seeking 50.Skills and Strategies Glossary Index

Authors

Niedzwiecki, Brigitte Medical Assistant Program Director & Instructor, Chippewa Valley Technical College, Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Pepper, Julie Medical Assistant Instructor, Chippewa Valley Technical College, Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Weaver, P. Ann Medical Assistant Instructor, Chippewa Valley Technical College, Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

For more information about this book visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/pdp5kt

Read the rest here:
The Most Successful Assistants Begin their Careers with Kinn - Kinn's The Medical Assistant. An Applied Learning Approach. Edition No. 14 -...

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 6, 2019--

The Brenner and Rectors The Kidney, 2-Volume Set. Edition No. 11 book has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.coms offering.

Put the worlds most well-known kidney reference to work in your practice with the 11th Edition of Brenner & Rectors The Kidney. This two-volume masterwork provides expert, well-illustrated information on everything from basic science and pathophysiology to clinical best practices. Addressing current issues such as new therapies for cardiorenal syndrome, the increased importance of supportive or palliative care in advanced chronic kidney disease, increasing live kidney donation in transplants, and emerging discoveries in stem cell and kidney regeneration, this revised edition prepares you for any clinical challenge you may encounter.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Embryology of the Kidney

2. Anatomy of the Kidney

3. The Renal Circulations and Glomerular Ultrafiltration

4. Glomerular Cell Biology

5. Metabolic Basis of Solute Transport

6. Transport of Sodium, Chloride, and Potassium

7. The Regulation of Calcium, Magnesium, and Phosphate Excretion by the Kidney

8. Renal Handling of Organic Solutes

9. Renal Acidification Mechanisms

10. Urine Concentration and Dilution and The Cell Biology of Vasopressin Action

11. Vasoactive Molecules and the Kidney

12. Aldosterone and Mineralocorticoid Receptors: Renal and Extrarenal Roles

13. Arachidonic Acid Metabolites and the Kidney

14. Disorders of Sodium Balance

15. Disorders of Water Balance

16. Disorders of Acid-Base Balance

17. Disorders of Potassium Balance

18. Disorders of Calcium, Magnesium, and Phosphate Balance

19. Epidemiology of Kidney Disease

20. Risk Prediction in Chronic Kidney Disease

21. Developmental Programming of Blood Pressure and Renal Function

22. Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Aging Kidney

23. Clinical Approach and Laboratory Assessment of the patient with kidney disease

24. Interpretation of Electrolyte and Acid-Base Parameters in Blood and Urine

25. Diagnostic Kidney Imaging

26. The Kidney Biopsy

27. Biomarkers in Acute and Chronic Kidney Diseases

28. Pathophysiology of Acute Kidney Injury

29. Prevention and Management of Acute Kidney Injury

30. Pathophysiology of Proteinuria

31. Primary Glomerular Disease

32. Secondary Glomerular Disease

33. Overview of Therapy for Glomerular Disease

34. Thrombotic Microangiopathy and Microvascular Disease

35. Tubulointerstitial Diseases

36. Urinary Tract Infection in Adults

37. Urinary Tract Obstruction

38. Urinary Stone Disease

39. Diabetic Nephropathy

40. Cardiorenal Syndromes

41. Kidney Cancer

42. Onco-Nephrology: Kidney Disease in Patients with Cancer

43. Inherited Disorders of the Glomerulus

44. Inherited Disorders of the Renal Tubule

45. Cystic Diseases of the Kidney

46. Primary and Secondary Hypertension

47. Renovascular Hypertension and Ischemic Nephropathy

48. Pregnancy and Kidney Disease

49. Antihypertensive Therapy

50. Diuretics

51. Mechanisms of Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease

52. The Pathophysiology of Uremia

53. Chronic Kidney Disease-Mineral Bone Disorder

54. Cardiovascular Aspects of Kidney Disease

55. Hematologic Aspects of Kidney Disease

56. Endocrine Aspects of Chronic Kidney Disease

57. Neurologic Aspects of Kidney Disease

58. Dermatologic Conditions in Kidney Disease

59. Staging and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease

60. Dietary Approaches to Kidney Diseases

61. Drug Dosing Considerations in Patients with Acute Kidney Injury and Chronic Kidney Disease

62. Supportive Care in Advanced Kidney Disease

63. Hemodialysis

64. Peritoneal Dialysis

65. Critical Care Nephrology

66. Plasmapheresis

67. Elimination Enhancement of Poisons

68. Interventional Nephrology

69. Transplantation Immunobiology

70. Clinical Management of the Adult Kidney Transplant Recipient

71. Considerations in Live Kidney Donation

72. Diseases of the Kidney and Urinary Tract in Children

73. Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Disorders in Children

74. Renal Replacement Therapy (Dialysis and Transplantation) in Pediatric End-Stage Kidney Disease

75. Global Challenges and Initiatives in Kidney Health

76. Latin America

77. Africa

78. Near and Middle East

79. Indian Subcontinent

80. Far East

81. Oceania Region

82. Ethical Dilemmas Facing Nephrology: Past, Present, and Future

83. Health Disparities in Nephrology

84. Care of the Older Adult with Chronic Kidney Disease

85. Stem Cells, Kidney Regeneration, Gene and Cell Therapy in Nephrology

Authors

Yu, Alan S. L. Harry Statland and Solon Summerfield Professor of Medicine, Director, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension and the Kidney Institute, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas.

Chertow, Glenn M. Norman S. Coplon/ Satellite Healthcare, Professor of Medicine, Chief, Division of Nephrology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Palo Alto, California, USA.

Luyckx, Valerie Affiliate Lecturer, Renal Division, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, Institute of Biomedical Ethics and the History of Medicine

University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Marsden, Philip A. Professor of Medicine, Elisabeth Hofmann Chair in Translational Research, Oreopoulos-Baxter Division Director of Nephrology; Vice Chair Research, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Skorecki, Karl Annie Chutick Professor and Chair in Medicine (Nephrology), Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Director of Medical and Research Development, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.

Taal, Maarten W. Professor of Medicine, Division of Medical Sciences and Graduate Entry Medicine, University of Nottingham; Honorary Consultant Nephrologist, Department of Renal Medicine, Royal Derby Hospital, Derby, United Kingdom.

For more information about this book visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/klnzw8

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191206005135/en/

CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com

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Brenner and Rector's The Kidney, 2-Volume Set. Edition No. 11 - ResearchAndMarkets.com - Associated Press

Have you ever told a lie? Did you ever think youd get caught? Do you believe other people can tell if you are lying? Do you believe that a computerized machine that measures changes in an individuals respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, and perspiration in response to questions proposed by another human, can determine a persons truthfulness? Do you think we all might have something to gain by finding out about this exact, or not so exact, science?

The machine accredited with these properties, the polygraph, from the Greek meaning many writings, was invented in 1902, improved in 1921, and evolved from a manual or analogue instrument, to an electrically enhanced system, to a computerized digital system.

According to Erika Thiel, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Director 5 of the American Polygraph Association (APA): The polygraph is a measurement of psychophysiological data. This means there are components that are placed on a persons body that measure the biological responses to a persons thoughts/emotions/distortions towards a question. When a persons body responds to the questions that the examiner designs to help the client pass their test, then the person is considered to be telling the truth. When a persons body responds more to the questions about the relevant topic they came to be tested on then they are considered to not fully be telling the truth. Ultimately, we are looking to see if the person has told us all the information necessary to pass their test.

The components that Thiel references are rubber tubes wrapped around the waist and chest to measure respiration, a cuff on the upper arm to monitor blood pressure and heart rate, and tabs on the fingers to monitor perspiration. As polygraphers pose questions based on a pretest interview, their subjects responses, logged into a computer, are recorded and displayed as swiggling lines across a computer monitor. Early polygraphs would ultimately generate this information printed on long, rectangular paper charts.

The polygrapher asks a series of questions. These questions are referred to as 1) Irrelevant Questions to more or less establish a baseline: Is your name John Doe?; 2) Relevant [or what I call hot] Questions: Did you take the $50,000?; and, very often, 3) Control Questions: Have you ever taken any money from anywhere in your lifetime? to compare the difference in the responses between the Relevant and Control questions and see if the interviewee might be of the nature to be involved in the subject of the Relevant questions.

After the polygraph reviews the test results, a person may be said to have 1) passed the polygraph meaning they have been truthful 2) failed the polygraph meaning they have lied or 3) had a test that was determined inconclusive meaning that the results could not determine truth or deception.

According to Thiel, Some of the main types of tests are post-conviction sex offender testing, criminal investigation type testing, pre-employment type testing, community safety type testing (such as domestic violence or drug use), and tests that are done as disputes between family/friends. The entities are broken into three sections- Private Examiners, Government Examiners and Law Enforcement Examiners.

So, is this instrument capable of accurately measuring truth? Some polygraph practitioners have told us that polygraph test results are often contingent on the accuracy of the examiner. They expressed that the test cannot be beat, but the examiner may be.

Yes if you have a properly trained examiner utilizing a validated technique, then the polygraph can be a valuable instrument in the detection of deception, says Joseph P. Buckley III, forensic interviewer, polygrapher, and president of John E. Reid and Associates, Chicago.

Thiel comments: The polygraph will never be 100% accurate due to human error; however, research shows that the polygraph can have a confidence interval in the 80s to 90s depending on test type.

The Internet displays a plethora of information about beating the polygraph. Some say if you elevate the components (the respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, and perspiration) by doing something like stepping on a tack in your shoe, biting your tongue, squeezing your butt, or thinking of a positive distraction when being asked the control and irrelevant [more mundane] questions, the response to the relevant [or hot] questions, would not be as significant. Advice from the pros, many of those responsible for pre-employment polygraphs, is dont even think of it! An experienced polygraphed will know what you are doing!

A quick and dirty random survey of individuals, age 23-35, concluded that all had some concept of what a polygraph was, stating it was a lie detector, as depicted on television or in the movies. Over the decades those shady polygraph scenarios have popped up in crime capers, spy thrillers, gumshoe escapades and docudramas.

In 1948, Leonarde Keeler, who was responsible for adding the galvanometer, a device to measure the skins electrical response, to an early version of the polygraph, played himself in the classic noir movie, Call Northside 777. James Stewart starred in this historic piece based on the real-life efforts of Chicago Times reporter James McGuire to clear Joe Majczek, a Chicago man who had spent 11 years in a Joliet prison for the murder of a police officer.

More recently, theres the comic scene in Meet The Parents where Robert DeNiro questions a very nervous Ben Stiller, hooked up to a polygraph, on a variety of topics including whether he ate undercooked, a little rare, roast beef for dinner. In The Politician the polygraph examiner blurts outright, Shes telling the truth! during the examination. Then theres the scene in the movie Nothing But The Truth where Erica Van Doren (Vera Farmiga) is given a lie detector test because the CIA suspects that she leaked her own identity. Director Rod Lurie brought in a real life polygrapher for the scene. The once popular Australian-American science entertainment television program Myth Busters did a segment questioning as to whether it was possible to beat the box.

So has the actual polygraph machine changed much over the decades?

Thiel comments, The polygraph instrument itself has not changed all too much throughout history. There have been more components added, but the basic components used have ultimately been around from the beginning. The technology has improved by changing from manual testing to computer testing and there has been more research done on test technique and scoring method. As we move on throughout the years we get better at understanding the ways thoughts impact our biological reactions but since the human brain has not changed, the polygraph itself has not had massive changes.

Buckley adds, The primary change in the polygraph instrumentation over the last several decades has been the incorporation of a computer algorithm to read/interpret the physiological data recored by the instrument (respiration, bold pressure and the Galvanic Skin Response), which then provides the examiner with an assessment (via a numerical score) as to whether or not the subject is being deceptive. There are ongoing efforts to research whether other physiological data that might be helpful in the detection of deception, such as brainwaves, but no commercial instrument has been developed to incorporate any additional physiological responses.

Some question whether the computerized polygraph is a more accurate means of detecting lies than the former analogue system? Buckley has this to say: In my opinion it is not, because there are too many variables that can affect a persons physiology. When you consider such evidence as DNA, fingerprints, ballistics, etc., there are some objective criteria to examine, but with the polygraph technique you are measuring physiological responses that are influenced by the subjects emotional state. For example, a subject who is legitimately angry can show the same physiological changes (as recorded by the polygraph instrument) as a person who is being deceptive there is no way that a computer algorithm can make that distinction, but a trained examiner can. The examiner is an essential element in the polygraph process to assess the variables that can influence the recordings.

So, at the end of the day, or the end of the article, are you still not sure what you think about the polygraph? Makes sense. Guess the only sure deal is knowing the value of truthfulness and the consequences of practicing its alternative:

People think that a liar gains a victory over his victim. What Ive learned is that a lie is an act of self-abdication, because one surrenders ones reality to the person to whom one lies, making that person ones master, condemning oneself from then on to faking the sort of reality that persons view requires to be fakedThe man who lies to the world, is the worlds slave from then onThere are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all. Ayn Rand

Excerpt from:
Off The Beaten Path: To Tell The Truth - Journal & Topics Newspapers Online

There are certain living organisms that feed on inorganic materials for their survival, and one among them is chemolithotrophic microorganisms. Now, a study conducted into the physiological process of these organisms living on meteorites is apparently providing new insights into the food habits of microorganisms during early earth. Scientists who took part in this study believe that microorganisms might have used extraterrestrial materials as a source of food in the ancient past, and it might have helped them to survive.

Living and interacting on extraterrestrial meteorite

During the study, researchers led by Tetyana Milojevic, an astrobiologist at the University of Vienna tried to explore the physiology and metal-microbial interface of the metallophilic archaeon Metallosphaera sedula, living in a meteorite named Northwest Africa 1172 (NWA 1172).

The research helped to find valuable information which will help to explore the putative extraterrestrial bioinorganic chemistry that was present in the solar system. During the study, researchers also found that Metallosphaera sedulla colonize the extraterrestrial material much faster than the minerals of terrestrial origin.

"Meteorite-fitness seems to be more beneficial for this ancient microorganism than a diet on terrestrial mineral sources. NWA 1172 is a multimetallic material, which may provide much more trace metals to facilitate metabolic activity and microbial growth. Moreover, the porosity of NWA 1172 might also reflect the superior growth rate of M. sedula," said Milojevic in a recent statement.

A better understanding of microbial biogeochemistry

As a part of their research, scientists analyzed the trafficking of meteorite inorganic constituents into a microbial cell and later investigated iron redox behavior. Using analytical spectroscopy techniques with transmission electron microscopy, researchers found the biogeochemical fingerprints left by these microbes on the meteorite.

"Our investigations validate the ability of M. sedula to perform the biotransformation of meteorite minerals, unravel microbial fingerprints left on meteorite material, and provide the next step towards an understanding of meteorite biogeochemistry," added Milojevic.

Meteorite sowed life on earth

A few days back, another study conducted by a team of international researchers including experts at NASA had discovered a sugar molecule named ribose in two meteorites.

Interestingly, ribose is a vital ingredient of RNA, and it has made many space scientists believe that space bodies like asteroids and meteors might have brought life to the earth.

Go here to read the rest:
Microorganisms that eat meteorite could shed light on early earth living conditions - International Business Times, Singapore Edition