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Human Behavior

Consumer Expectations for Autonomous Vehicles Focus on Safety and Utility – Business Wire

LIVONIA, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Escalent, a top human behavior and analytics firm, today released proprietary research exploring the future of the relationship between drivers and their cars in the wake of broad autonomous vehicle (AV) adoption. Friend, Servant or Evil Twin: Forging a Positive Driver-Car Relationship with Self-Driving Vehicles offers AV technology developers a new look at consumer attitudes regarding the idealized autonomous experience, from comfort with various levels of AV-enabled experiences to expectations regarding the likely winners of the AV adoption race.

While the study confirms drivers wariness with ceding control to AV technology, nearly two in five respondents (43% in Europe, 37% in the United States) express comfort with low-speed self-driving cars in ideal conditions, such as Teslas Smart Summon. However, that willingness drops to 20%35% for autonomous driving at higher speeds and less-than-ideal-conditions. Like the development cycle for AV technologies, consumers are likely to exhibit incremental shifts in attitudes over time, with seeing self-driving cars on the road in daily situations playing a key role in increased trust and comfort.

Manufacturers biggest challenge is understanding the expectations drivers have for their daily use of AVs and aligning marketing of such vehicles to those needs. Over half of consumers (52%) envision a service-oriented relationship with AVs, categorizing future self-driving vehicles as personal assistants or servants. Consumers over the age of 60 share an even more skeptical and less humanized view of future interactions with an AV-enabled vehicle. By contrast, the highly tech savvy under-30 age group demonstrates a more optimistic and personalized view of its use of AVs, with responses reflecting much higher rates for friendship and guardianship.

AV manufacturers have not yet captured the imagination of consumers to envision a future with a self-driving car that enhances the driving experience beyond the traditional, functional role of a vehicle, said Paul Hartley, managing director of Escalents technology group. It is paramount for AV developers to engage a nuanced and iterative adoption process to build consumer trust, comfort and excitement for AV technology.

Furthermore, a significant percentage of consumers trust and look to big tech developers to win the race to develop fully autonomous vehicles. While a majority of respondents in the United States and Europe expect traditional and specialist automakers to make slow, steady strides in AV development, 27% of Americans predict hardware or software tech firms will be most successful. By comparison, 18% of Europeans surveyed see tech developers as the companies most likely to put AVs on their roads.

To learn more about the impact software will have on AV adoption and to read the full paper, visit: https://landing.escalent.co/download-friend-servant-or-evil-twin-forging-a-positive-driver-car-relationship-with-self-driving-vehicles

About the Study

This paper references data from two Escalent studies.

In one, Escalent interviewed a sample of 1,012 consumers from Germany, Spain and the UK aged 18 and up between June 25 and July 9, 2019. Respondents were recruited from the Full Circle opt-in online panel of European adults and interviewed online. The data were weighted by age, gender and census region to match the demographics of the European population.

In the other, Escalent interviewed a US-based sample of 1,000 consumers aged 18 and up in May 2019. Respondents were recruited from the Dynata and Ipsos panels of US adults and interviewed online. Quotas were put in place to achieve a sample of age, gender, income and ethnicity that matches the demographics of the US population.

Due to their opt-in nature, these online panels (like most others) do not yield a random probability sample of the target population. As such, it is not possible to compute a margin of error or to statistically quantify the accuracy of projections. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.

About Escalent

Escalent is a top human behavior and analytics firm specializing in industries facing disruption and business transformation. As catalysts of progress for more than 40 years, we tell stories that transform data and insight into a profound understanding of what drives human beings. And we help businesses turn those drivers into actions that build brands, enhance customer experiences and inspire product innovation. Visit escalent.co to see how we are helping shape the brands that are reshaping the world.

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Consumer Expectations for Autonomous Vehicles Focus on Safety and Utility - Business Wire

Human Behavior

Ask the Expert: Avoiding ticks and preventing tick-borne diseases – MSUToday

June 17, 2020

Jean Tsao is an associate professor in theDepartment of Fisheries and Wildlifein theCollege of Agriculture and Natural Resources. She and her colleagues developed a mobile health app,The Tick App, that informs users how human behavior affects tick bites. Tsao answers questions on ticks and tick-borne disease prevention.

Q:How can people avoid tick bites while enjoying the outdoors? Is there any proper attire or bug spray to use?

A: There are generallythree principleswith various options to carry out: avoid tick habitat; use an EPA-approved repellant following the manufacturers instructions (most of the ones approved for mosquitoes are approved for ticks; just check the label; it will say); conduct thorough tick checks.

I would do it when youre recreating/working in tick habitat,before you get back in your car check yourselves as well as yourpets and then do another through check when you take a shower/bath within two hours of coming back from recreating/working in tick habitat.

There is one more thing you can do to reduce any loose blacklegged ticks from later finding you/others/your pets: Put your clothes that you wore directly into the dryer for ten minutes on high heat to kill ticks.

Q:What should we do if we find a tick on us? Whats the proper removal process?

Dont panic!Carefully grab it with tweezers at the point closest to your skin to remove it. Then, take a clear photo and submit it to The Tick App so the team can identify the species.

Afterwards, put the tick in a plastic bag labeled with the date and geographic location where you think you may have contacted it; then, store it in your freezer.

If you start feeling ill, go to a doctor and show them your tick. The species and degree of swelling can help with diagnosis and treatment.

Q: What are telltale signs of Lyme disease or other tick-borne illnesses?

A:Not being a medical worker, Im not comfortable answering this question, so I suggest looking to the links on theCDC website. But, I would comment that my impression is that many people who have tick-borne illnesses experience general flu-like symptoms fever, malaise, achiness, which is why they might be difficult to diagnose as a particulartick-borne disease.

Q: Why/how do ticks and tick bites lead to Lyme disease?

A: People can become infected with the agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, if they are bitten by an infected tick.

There are three stages of ticks that look for a host so that they can get a blood meal: the larva (baby), nymph (teenager) and the adult female (adult). The larva needs a blood meal in order to become a nymph; the nymph needs a blood meal in order to become an adult; and an adult female needs a blood meal in order to lay eggs. The adult male doesnt feed so does not need a blood meal.

The larva hatches uninfected so its through the bloodmeal from an infected host, that it acquires Lyme disease bacteria. Then when it molts to become a nymph, the bacteria survive the developmental process and the new nymph that emerges carries the bacteria in its gut. When the flat, infected nymph finds a host and feeds, the bacteria in the gut multiply then they break out of the gut, swim through the hemocoel of the tick (where the ticks blood bathes its organs), invades the salivary glands, and then gets injected into the host.

This is why it is so important to try to find and remove ticks as soon as possible. Even if the tick has attached, if its < 36 hours of feeding, youre very unlikely to become infected. If the tick has fed > 72 hours, youre much more likely to become infected and experience signs of disease.

Q: What are the chances of getting Lyme disease from a tick, and what are the chances of being bitten at all?

A:Not all tick species transmit the Lyme disease pathogen.Your chances of getting Lyme disease from a tick depends geographically. More than95% of cases of Lyme disease in the U.S. are caused by the blacklegged ticks distributed among the states in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and North Central regions.

In these regions, ~20-30% of blacklegged nymphs are infected and ~40-60% of adult females are infected.But, as stated above, even if an infected tick bites you, if you can remove it before it has fed > 36 hours, your chances of becoming sick are very low.

Q:What time of day are they most active? Where do they often hide?

A:These ticks are active day and night if its warm enough, but if it becomes too dry, they become less active. Ticks are prone to dessication, and so if its dry, they hunker down below the leaf litter, where its more moist, and re-hydrate and conserve energy.

Research from the 80s suggests that adult and nymphal ticks were the most active during their study, which was from 6 a.m. 9 p.m., but most active from 6 a.m. - noon. But the fact that you can find blacklegged larvae and nymphs on wildlife that are nocturnal, diurnal and crepuscular tells you that the ticks are active all the time.

The American dog tick is a tick that is can be found in woods, but can survive and do well in grassy areas, too. Lone star ticks also are more associated with wooded areas, but they can be found in areas outside woods.

Q:How can people create a tick-free zone around a camping area or campsite? And subsequently how can people avoid bringing them back home?

A:Knowing that ticks are associated with leaf litter and vegetation, I would recommend people to place their campsite in a more open area within the designated campsite not right up against the vegetation.

It wont be tick free, but at least for blacklegged ticks, they do not tend to crawl out from the vegetation towards people.

And, just as one can treat clothes and shoes, one can also treat camping gear with permethrin, which will prevent you from bringing ticks home. Permethrin can stun and/or kill ticks on contact and so if they get on clothes/gear, they will fall off, and potentially die.

But, one should always inspect their gear before packing up everything regardless if you use permethrin.

For more information about ticks, visitCDC.gov.

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Ask the Expert: Avoiding ticks and preventing tick-borne diseases - MSUToday

Human Behavior

Gut bacteria may modify behavior in worms, influencing eating habits – National Institutes of Health

News Release

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

NIH-funded study suggests microbiome may influence neural circuit activity.

Gut bacteria are tiny but may play an outsized role not only in the host animals digestive health, but in their overall well-being. According to a new study in Nature, specific gut bacteria in the worm may modify the animals behavior, directing its eating decisions. The research was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.

We keep finding surprising roles for gut bacteria that go beyond the stomach, said Robert Riddle, Ph.D., program director at the NIHs National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), which supported the study. Here, the gut bacteria are influencing how the animal senses its environment and causing it to move toward an external source of the same bacteria. The gut bacteria are literally making their species tastier to the animal.

Researchers at Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, led by Michael ODonnell, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow and first author of the paper, and Piali Sengupta, Ph.D., professor of biology and senior author of the study, were interested in seeing whether it was possible for gut bacteria to control a host animals behavior. The group investigated the effects of gut bacteria on how worms, called C. elegans, sniff out and choose their next meal.

Bacteria are the worms primary food. In this study, the researchers measured how worms fed different strains of bacteria reacted to octanol, a large alcohol molecule secreted by some bacteria, which worms normally avoid when it is present at high concentrations.

Dr. ODonnell and his colleagues discovered that worms grown on Providencia alcalifaciens (JUb39) were less likely to avoid octanol compared to animals grown on other bacteria. Curiously, they found that live JUb39 bacteria were present in the gut of the worms that moved toward octanol, suggesting that the behavior may be determined in part by a substance produced by these bacteria.

Next, the researchers wanted to know how the bacteria exerted control over the worms.

We were able to connect the dots, all the way from microbe to behavior, and determine the entire pathway that could be involved in this process, said Dr. ODonnell.

The brain chemical tyramine may play an important role in this response. In the worms, tyramine is transformed into the chemical octopamine, which targets a receptor on sensory neurons that controls avoidance behavior. The results of this study suggested that tyramine produced by bacteria increased levels of octopamine, which made the worms more tolerant of octanol by suppressing the avoidance of octanol that is driven by these neurons.

Using other behavioral tests, the researchers found that genetically engineering worms so that they did not produce tyramine did not affect suppression of octanol avoidance when the worms were grown on JUb39. This suggests that tyramine made by the bacteria may be able to compensate for the endogenous tyramine missing in those animals.

Additional experiments indicated that worms grown on JUb39 preferred eating that type of bacteria over other bacterial food sources. Tyramine produced by the bacteria was also found to be required for this decision.

In this way, the bacteria can take control over the host animals sensory decision-making process, which affects their responses to odors and may influence food choices said Dr. Sengupta.

Future studies will identify additional brain chemicals produced by bacteria that may be involved in changing other worm behaviors. In addition, it is unknown whether specific combinations of bacterial strains present in the gut will result in different responses to environmental cues. Although worms and mammals share many of the same genes and biochemical processes, it is not known whether similar pathways and outcomes exist in higher order animals.

This study was supported by NINDS (NS007292 and NS101702); the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (DC013711); the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (GM088290, GM131877, and GM122463); and the National Science Foundation (IOS 1655118).

For more information, please visit:ninds.nih.gov

This press release describes a basic research finding. Basic research increases our understanding of human behavior and biology, which is foundational to advancing new and better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. Science is an unpredictable and incremental process each research advance builds on past discoveries, often in unexpected ways. Most clinical advances would not be possible without the knowledge of fundamental basic research.

The NINDS (http://www.ninds.nih.gov) is the nations leading funder of research on the brain and nervous system.The mission of NINDS is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIHTurning Discovery Into Health

MP ODonnell et al. Modulation of olfactory behavior by a gut bacteria-produced neurotransmitter. Nature, 2020.

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Gut bacteria may modify behavior in worms, influencing eating habits - National Institutes of Health

Human Behavior

OPINION: Everyone should take more than COMM 101 – Argonaut

Fundamentals of Oral Communication,more commonly calledCOMM 101,is taken by undergraduate studentsat the University of Idaho as apart of the general education curriculum.Although only one communications course is requiredto graduate,it is a good idea to explore other communications coursesUIoffers.

The university offers many communications courses for students, whichcan help relationships and interactions with others. Communication iscrucialto humanlife, so why not learn more aboutit?

COMM 101 isan important part of the universitys teachings, preparing students for communication in the workplace and speaking in front of an audience.The course gives students experience preparing slides, brainstorming ideas and speaking while learning about presenting skills.

While teaching students some communication skills is important,COMM101 doesnt do justiceto the communication field and, yes, I amsaying this because Im a communications major.

Learning more about communication has made me more introspective about what others mean when they say and do things. Communication is an untapped resource everyone can take advantage of.Coursesin the fieldhave made a difference in my life andholdpotentialto do sofor othersopen to learning.

There is something fascinating about human behavior. Learning about how we and others act canshow us new perspectives. This can be started by delving into more communications classes.

Communicationisnt just about what we say.Oral communication is only the tip of thecommunicationiceberg. When people think about communication,they think of speech, and thats what I thoughtbefore I started taking moreclasses.

Communication has more depth than what we learn in courses. Over 50%ofhumancommunication is non-verbal. Thisdoesnt include just body language. Non-verbal is all communication that isnt saidthis can be pitch, physical spaceand even odor.

COMM 101 only offerssome briefbasics of speech and oral communication.

Communication isa big factor in our everyday lives.Because it isso woven into oureverydaylives, it is vital to learn more about it.

UI teaches courses likeinterpersonalcommunication, conflict management, non-verbalcommunicationand more.Taking these courses will help make a well-rounded college experience and perspective on how we communicate.

Communication can be applied to any major. Manyclasses require COMM 101,which is already fulfilled by the general education curriculum.

UI alsooffers fun, non-conventional classes,like the dark side of communication. There is a class for everyone.

Courses can be found at the university schedule website.Someare offered online,if going out poses concernforCOVID-19. Communication is abroad, interesting subjectswhichoffers something for everything.Work, relationships andeveryday life can be better understood by acknowledging and learning skills communication courses have to offer.

Take a lookat what the university has to offer and sign up for some communication courses outside of COMM 101.

Emily Pearce can be reached atarg-opinion@uidaho.eduor on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce

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OPINION: Everyone should take more than COMM 101 - Argonaut

Human Behavior

How Colorado is getting the reopening right – Politico

With Leah Nylen and Alice Miranda Ollstein

Editors Note: POLITICO Pulse is a free version of POLITICO Pro Health Care's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the days biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.

Colorado has so far sidestepped the coronavirus surges hitting its neighbors, despite being one of the earlier states to begin reopening.

House lawmakers will be required to wear masks during committee hearings under new guidance issued by the Capitols attending physician.

The heads of several gig economy companies are calling on Congress to create a one-time special enrollment period.

A message from PhRMA:

Americas biopharmaceutical companies are sharing their knowledge and resources more than ever before to speed up the development of new medicines to fight COVID-19. Theyre working with doctors and hospitals on over 1,100 clinical trials. Because science is how we get back to normal. More.

WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE where NBA players trying to safely resume the season are going to Disney World but, according to the leagues very detailed handbook, their pets will not be joining them.

PULSEs inbox is always pet friendly: send pics and tips to [emailprotected] and [emailprotected].

HOW COLORADO IS GETTING THE REOPENING RIGHT Colorado raised some eyebrows when it became the first Democratic-run state to start lifting its lockdown but a few weeks later, the state is sticking out for all the right reasons.

Colorado has so far avoided the Covid-19 resurgence rippling across the West, thanks in large part to its measured reopening strategy and residents who have largely followed public health officials advice, POLITICOs Dan Goldberg reports.

The states go-slow approach appears to be succeeding. Gov. Jared Polis began reopening the economy in April, but has progressed slowly since then a marked contrast to states like Arizona that sped through their early phases.

Colorado also benefited from its relatively young, healthy population. The state is the least obese in the nation, meaning fewer people have health conditions that make them especially susceptible to the virus. And some health experts think early outbreaks may have scared Coloradans into following recommendations around mask wearing and social distancing.

Polis is still counseling vigilance. Colorado is averaging about 150 new infections a day and new clusters in surrounding states raise the odds of a resurgence. The minute human behavior lapses, this will surge back, Polis said Monday.

CAPITOL DOC ESCALATES HOUSES MASK DEBATE House lawmakers will be required to wear face coverings during committee hearings under new guidance issued by the Capitol physician late on Tuesday.

The change follows complaints from Democrats that several Republicans were not wearing masks in a hearing last week, and a couple days after Rep. Tom Rice disclosed hed contracted Covid-19. Rice had been on the House floor without a mask in late May.

The guidance bars members who refuse to wear a mask. Individual entry will be denied to those House of Representatives limited enclosed spaces where face coverings are required but not used by the individual, Brian Monahan, the Capitol physician, wrote.

A senior Democratic aide told POLITICOs Heather Caygle that the requirement will be enforced by the Sergeant at Arms and that committee chairs will have the option not to recognize lawmakers who fail to follow the rules.

The first test will come today. President Donald Trump and other White House officials have flaunted their own CDCs recommendations that people wear face coverings to prevent coronavirus transmission an attitude many in the GOP have copied and thats helped turn the refusal to wear a mask into a political statement.

The House will have its first opportunity to enforce the new guidance this morning during a Judiciary Committee markup of Democrats police reform bill, H.R. 7120 (116).

FIRST IN PULSE: GIG ECONOMY CEOs CALL FOR SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD The leaders of firms like Postmates, Instacart and DoorDash are asking Congress to create a one-time sign-up period that lasts for at least eight weeks, in a letter shared first with PULSE.

Obama veterans Andy Slavitt, Bob Kocher, Zeke Emanuel and Aneesh Chopra also signed on to the letter. The ideas separately received support from AHIP, but the Trump administration rejected the concept of re-opening HealthCare.gov for sign-ups earlier this year.

As many as 27 million people could be at risk of losing their job-based health insurance given the recent surge in unemployment, per a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis in May. Thats created urgency to get legislation into the next congressional stimulus package.

Its something that I think needs to happen, said Noah Lang, CEO of Stride Health, whos leading the letter to congressional leaders and the Senate HELP committee. Lang noted that states like California that run their own insurance exchanges have already opened Covid-19 special enrollment periods. But if youre in a state that relies on the federally facilitated marketplace, you dont have the same liberty, Lang said.

Lang also said that Stride which serves as an ACA broker is seeing five times the enrollment that it normally would at this time of year, driven by states that set up special enrollment periods.

The number one enrollment reason is Covid-19, he said.

COVID-19 IS KILLING YOUNGER MINORITIES AT DISPROPORTIONATE RATES Black Americans aged 35-44 are dying from coronavirus at nine times the rate of whites a figure that offers the starkest evidence yet of the pandemics disproportionate toll on communities of color.

In a new working paper, Harvard researchers analyzing mortality rates by race/ethnic group and age found massive disparities among younger minority populations when compared to their white counterparts.

Black coronavirus patients 25 to 34 years old had a mortality rate 7.3 times higher than whites. For Latinos in the same age range, the rate was 5.5 times that of whites. The researchers found similar results among Native Americans, where those 25-34 had a rate 7.3 times higher than whites, and those aged 35-44 died at rates more than 8 times higher.

That translates to more than 45,000 years of life lost for black Americans, and 48,204 for Latinos figures that compare to an estimated 33,446 for white coronavirus patients.

SUMMER SNAFU: DC TOSSES COVID TESTS AFTER HEAT EXPOSURE Washington, D.C., threw out just over 400 coronavirus tests collected from a pair of free testing sites last week because the samples were unable to be processed due to heat exposure, the city confirmed to POLITICOs Alice Miranda Ollstein.

The sites were located at Judiciary Square between Capitol Hill and downtown D.C. and across the river in Anacostia. The city will let affected residents cut the line and get re-tested today and Thursday in Judiciary Square, but Anacostia wont have extra hours.

A spokesperson for Washingtons health department said its adding more refrigeration at each testing site to make sure more tests arent compromised in the future.

FIRST IN PULSE: DOJS SILENCE ON TEVA LEADS TO QUESTIONS A progressive watchdog group is raising questions about whether Teva Pharmaceuticals donations of a potential Covid-19 treatment affected discussions with the Justice Department about resolving a criminal probe into generic drug price-fixing.

In a letter to Attorney General Bill Barr on Tuesday, Accountable.US urged the DOJ to reveal whether the White House or other political actors have played a role in its negotiations with Teva, POLITICO's Leah Nylen writes. The Israeli drugmaker has been under investigation by U.S. antitrust prosecutors who allege the company conspired with rivals to fix prices on commonly used drugs, though DOJ has yet to announce charges or a settlement with the company.

Teva was among several drugmakers to donate doses of hydroxychloroquine, a drug President Donald Trump touted as a treatment for Covid-19 but which has shown no clinical benefit. The FDA this week pulled the drug's emergency use authorization.

FIRST IN PULSE: HOSPITAL GROUP SEEKS CHANGES TO EMERGENCY LOAN PROGRAM The Federation of American Hospitals is lobbying Congress to revamp the terms of a Medicare advance payment program, warning that facilities could face steep losses if lawmakers dont intervene before August.

The trade group representing for-profit hospitals launched a website focused on the issue today, highlighting the risk that providers that borrowed money early in the crisis could soon be forced to begin repayment through a garnishing of their Medicare reimbursement even though the pandemic has yet to subside.

FAH is asking Congress to push back the repayment start date into 2021 and waive or limit the interest rate attached to the loans, among a series of other tweaks aimed at easing the potential pressure on hospitals finances.

FDA PULLS ANTIBODY TESTS EMERGENCY AUTHORIZATION The agency is citing accuracy concerns in revoking the emergency use authorization for an antibody test made by Chembio, POLITICOs David Lim reports.

That makes it the first coronavirus test of any type to lose its EUA, a decision that came after an independent evaluation found it had a higher than expected rate of false results.

A message from PhRMA:

Americas biopharmaceutical companies are sharing their knowledge and resources more than ever before to speed up the development of new medicines to fight COVID-19. Theyre working with doctors and hospitals on over 1,100 clinical trials.

And theres no slowing down. Americas biopharmaceutical companies will continue working day and night until they beat coronavirus. Because science is how we get back to normal.

See how biopharmaceutical companies are working together to get people what they need during this pandemic.

Wisconsin is seeking permission to offer federal pandemic aid to laid off workers with disabilities an abrupt reversal from its repeated denials of those seeking the benefits, Bram Sable-Smith reports for Wisconsin Watch.

Montgomery, Ala.s city council voted down an ordinance mandating mask wearing despite doctors warnings the areas hospitals could soon be overrun, the Montgomery Advertisers Brad Harper writes.

There is growing consensus around how people tend to catch Covid-19, the Wall Street Journals Daniela Hernandez, Sarah Toy and Betsy McKay report.

One coronavirus transmission risk thats received less attention to date, the New York Times Knvul Sheikh writes: the toilet plume.

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How Colorado is getting the reopening right - Politico

Human Behavior

No, Things Still Aren’t ‘Back to Normal’ With the Coronavirus Pandemic – Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

In recent weeks, many local governments have relaxed restrictions related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, rolling back stay-at-home orders and allowing businesses and restaurants to slowly reopen.

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services.Policy

While many are still following CDC guidelines like social distancing and wearing masks in public to fight the spread of the virus, recent headlines have put a spotlight on packed patios and crowded bars and restaurants where those precautions arent being heeded as closely.

Its an understandably difficult balance to achieve: the need to remain vigilant about the virus while seeking out a feeling of normalcy. But normalcy is relative in the middle of a pandemic and while there is more flexibility about what we can do and where we can go, that doesnt mean we can disregard the risks associated with COVID-19.

In fact, the death toll from COVID-19 recently surpassed 100,000 in the United States and several states have experienced a spike in new cases in recent weeks as re-openings commenced.

Its a really tough spot, says pulmonary and critical care physician Joseph Khabbaza, MD.

Even though active cases may be trending down or at a plateau, reopening is probably going to lead to at least a slight rise in cases, he says. But there are also significant consequences to keeping the economy shut down which include non-COVID-19-related health consequences: losing your job, your health insurance, and your ability to feed your family.

Dr. Khabbaza shared his insight as to how we can navigate this measured reopening by remaining cautious and adapting to a new coronavirus reality.

While healthcare providers and researchers are constantly learning new things about the coronavirus, one thing that has stayed consistent is how it spreads and how we can protect ourselves from spreading it to others.

If you put three simple measures in place, youre going to make it hard for that virus to get transmitted while youre out, Dr. Khabbaza points out. Wearing a mask when youre around other people minimizes the amount of droplets you deposit in your immediate environment if you sneeze, cough, or simply speaking.

Its mostly through close, sustained contacts, even just 10 to 15 minutes, that youre most at risk, he says. If youre keeping your distance, youre less likely to acquire an infection from being near somebody who is infected. And if you frequently wash your hands and youre aware of not touching your face, its going to be very hard to get infected.

But dropping your guard can still lead to infection and, worse, spreading the infection to friends and family you come in contact with.

As cities and states have rolled back restrictions, many people rushed to gather in large groups and celebrate despite these ongoing concerns. But the danger remains and its not just about exposing yourself to the virus; theres also the risk of taking it with you to your loved ones.

Weve seen a lot of cringe-worthy photos lately of crowded pools and other gatherings, Dr. Khabbaza says, and theres definitely a risk there. A person could be doing everything perfectly, protecting themselves against the virus but then a part of their small social circle or family member goes into a higher risk setting like that and brings the virus home, increasing a risk of pre-symptomatically spreading it without being aware.

Thats why its so important to still maintain limited close contact with a small social circle, he says, so you always know where everybody has been. If somebody has been in a higher risk setting in your social circle, its probably best to take a week or two break from being close with them just to make sure no symptoms develop in that time, he says.

Even though the expelled respiratory droplets that can spread the coronavirus are usually heavy enough to fall to the ground after travelling several feet, its still possible for the virus to be spread via an airborne route.

As an example, Dr. Khabbaza points to a well-known case from Washington state where, during a choir practice, just 1 symptomatic person was able to infect 52 out of 60 other people.

Just the act of singing produces a lot of smaller droplets and those can float about in the air for a bit, he explains. If youre singing around someone long enough whos making these smaller droplets, its possible to have enough viral particles transmitted to your upper respiratory tract to cause infection.

He likens this to being in close contact with someone in a crowded restaurant or bar, too. There are settings when youre up close to people and if someone is speaking loudly, that creates the potential that youre going to be breathing those droplets in the air or them directly reaching your eyes. Its a closer, sustained contact with somebody whos constantly generating particles that allows the opportunity for direct transmission.

While new cases in the United States have plateaued and even climbed slightly in recent weeks, Dr. Khabbaza is optimistic that a bigger second wave, whether fueled by more re-openings or a seasonal wave, will be mitigated somewhat by the precautions that have been taken already and remain in place.

He admits there are too many variables to be able to accurately predict what might happen in the coming months. Im optimistic but its very hard to predict. In models, trying to predict how human behavior or large numbers of people can affect things tends to not be very accurate. There are just too many variables.

Still, as businesses particularly restaurants reopen, theyre implementing new rules about the number of people allowed in at one time, cleaning and disinfecting their premises and addressing physical distance concerns. And while the risk remains, even this new way of doing business could mitigate new cases at least as long as most people continue to follow the social distancing guidelines.

The new normal is very far from the old one, Dr. Khabbaza says. Things are so different than they were before the first outbreak and the changes that a majority of places put in place could help blunt the number of cases.

When the virus first really hit, no one was thinking about sanitizing their hands, how many times they touched their face, about being in crowded spaces or the importance of wearing a mask, he adds. But if we keep these habits up, hopefully any second wave will be of a lower magnitude.

While there certainly have been instances in which people havent practiced what wed consider ideal social distancing, Dr. Khabbaza is optimistic about the way most of the country has adopted the preferred guidelines.

When you go to the grocery store, most people are wearing masks and carts are being sanitized regularly, he says. I think its a minority of people that feel its nothing to worry about or nothing more than the cold or flu. That does have the potential to infect others who are doing their part, but most people do seem to be taking this seriously.

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No, Things Still Aren't 'Back to Normal' With the Coronavirus Pandemic - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

Human Behavior

Secret Societies: On the Road to Revival? – The Great Courses Daily News

By Richerd Spence, Ph.D., University of IdahoRebirth of E Clampus Vitus

Clampers werent just drunken hell-raisers, but also came to the aid of sick and injured miners, as well as widows and orphans. As the mining towns played out in the late 1800s, so did the Clampers. By the 1920s, the society had basically ceased to exist but in 1931, a San Francisco lawyer and amateur historian named Carl Wheat decided to revive the order. He kept the drinking while adding a new purpose: historical preservation. Thus, E Clampus Vitus was reborn, and still exists. While the revived Clampers were somewhat more respectable than their predecessors, they preserved a taste for pranks.

In 1936, some of the brothers concocted a brass plate, buried, and then pretended to discover. The plate purported to prove the arrival of English privateer, Sir Francis Drake in California in 1579, and that Drake claimed the place for Queen Elizabeth I. For 40 years, the plate was taken as authentic.

The tendency of Clampers to play jokes and make-up tall tales meant that the origin of the society was impossible to determine. He believed to have started in West Virginia by a man named Ephraim Bee who acted on the instructions of the emperor of China. Others linked the Clampers to a New Orleans lampoon society called the Sons of Malta. But the Sons of Malta didnt come into being until after the Clampers appeared. Mysterious and uncertain origins were commonplace among secret societies.

Learn more about the history of the smaller secret societies.

Southern California, in the present day, and the icon of American popular culture, Disneyland, around 2015, something new appeared at the park. Among the visitors, some noticed roaming groups in matching jackets with matching emblems. The denim sleeveless cuts were dead-ringers for those worn by Hells Angels and other biker gangs and the jackets bore patches proclaiming the groups name, and the wearers status. But those werent bikers but social clubs formed by devoted Disney fans and given names like the Big Bad Wolves and the White Rabbits.

It started as harmless fun and the social clubs grew, some attracting 50 or more members. They visited the park together, but the general public began to feel uneasy, even intimidated. Stories of social clubbers behaving aggressively towards other guests began to spread. Unease increased when some clubs started packing lines to take over rides for their exclusive use. Club rivalries emerged and what started out as good-natured competition grew tense as some started taking things seriously. Members of one club were accused of trying to shake down a charity promoter. There were incidents of verbal, even physical confrontations between rival clubs.

This is a transcript from the video series Secret Societies. Watch it now, on The Great Courses Plus.

Secret societies, ranging from the semi-mythical to the deadly serious to almost comical had plenty in common. Whatever their purpose, each was selective, internally secretive, and offered their members some sort of special status. Like most secret societies, they were also a kind of artificial family as the practice of members calling one another brother or sister was common. Secret societies were not an aberration in human behavior but were a normal, universal part of it.

Being in a fraternity or sorority in college, meant a person was in a secret society. They had almost infinite variety. Among the Ona people, membership was based on gender and the purpose was to gain power and control for which Ona men were willing to kill their own mothers. The Dolcinians believed that they had a direct pipeline to the divine. The followers of Fra Dolcino were an example of something else, as well, a secret society seen only through the eyes of its enemies.

Learn more about the Freemasons who inspired and influenced many societies.

The Clampers showed how a society could form in opposition to and in imitation of another group. They also demonstrated the common confusion about where, and when, a society originated. In addition, the Clampers showed the tendency of societies to disappear and reappear. The Disney clubs showed the continued appeal of selectivity, special status, and a unifying devotion to something. They also showed how societies could spontaneously evolve, and arouse suspicion and hostility among outsiders.

Learn more about all-female gang in the London underworld.

Secret societies in all their variety had a real history because theres a common belief that history is a known quantity recorded in a book, which is not completely true. The vast majority of human experience, everything that people have said and done, has been lost. History is an effort to reconstruct the past, from the few facts that survive, giving room for interpretation and speculation. Real history is incomplete, contradictory, and argumentative and when secrecy is mixed, things get messy.

Social clubs started with harmless fun, attracting 50 or more members. Gradually, club rivalries emerged and what started out as good-natured competition grew as a strong rivalry.

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Human Behavior

We are Ramily: Cornell’s alumni coaches discuss the meaning of team – Cornell College News

Women's Basketball Coach Brent Brase '90

By Lisa Gray Giurato | June 15, 2020

In 1979 the Pittsburgh Pirates won the National League East division title, the National League pennant, and the World Series. And through it all, they listened to one song over and over again, Sister Sledges disco hit We Are Family.

When Cornell Report writer Lisa Gray Giurato sat down with Cornells three alumni coachesWomens Basketball Coach Brent Brase 90, Softball Coach Jackie Serneck 14, and Wrestling Coach Brenton Hamm 15she wondered if their idea of a team was a lot like the Pirates or if they had a different perspective.

Gray Giurato: What does team mean to you?

Hamm: The first thing that comes to mind is team family. You care about each other. Its not about yourself, but what can I do to help my teammates perform at their best. I have team dinners at my house; my wifes there and my dogs there and we talk non-wrestling. You develop relationships. Maybe you coach a student for a year and you have them over to your house, and now your relationship is twice as strong. I think team and I think family and that we are all focused on the same goal.

Gray Giurato: That transcends beyond playing a game.

Brase: Thats hard to do. To tap into individuals and ask them to put themselves aside when you want high achieving individuals but you do it for the common team goal. For me to be happy for you when youre achieving what I want to achieve, and Ive got to fully support you. To have that environment where all these roles, which are obviously so important, to focus on the team, that familythey have to celebrate it.

Sernek: I read something the other day and I think it hits home and touches on this point. From the perspective of a coach, we create a team atmosphere and what we do is 25% teaching a skill to the students and three-quarters of our time is spent building relationships and teaching them respect, responsibility, and accountability. They can have that after college and that is more rewarding than anything. We have a unique community here that I didnt have at other schools. Coaches here are more involved in each others programs.

Brase: Absolutely. And thats one of the really neat things that Cornell athletics has, is that were really close as staff. In fact, Ive had assistants go to other colleges and thats the first thing that they tell me.

Hamm: Why do you think that is?

Sernek: At other schools, I felt like everybody was so involved in their sports. I was in Division I for a couple of years and they were just worried about winning. You didnt really mingle with other sports. There was never any extra connection there.

Brase: The same thing that can impact a team, coaches arent immune to it either, and thats human emotionjealousy. That impacts coaches and why coaches do or dont speak with each other or why youre helpful or why youre not helpful. Its hard for coaches if your program is struggling to be supportive of other programs. Thats just human behavior.

Gray Giurato: Oh, thats a good point. In a way, its like siblings. If you feel like your big brother is getting all the attention and youre like, look at me!

Hamm (laughing): You dont want them to be successful!

Gray Giurato: What do you think leads all of you to be the counterpoint to that norm? Sports teams equal competitiveness and rivalry, but youre not like that amongst each other.

Sernek: There is a sense of community here, not only as an athletic department. Im from Chicago and I remember my first day walking down Main Street in Mount Vernon when somebody said hello to me. Where Im from, you dont talk to anyone you dont know and later when Id go home and visit my parents, I would say hello to passing strangers, and my mom would say, I can tell youve been in Iowa.

Everyone in the room laughs.

Gray Giurato: What do you hope for your student-athletes?

Brase: A lot of personal growth, lifelong friendships and memories, and that theyre going to be successful in life. If theyre successful, our program is successful.

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We are Ramily: Cornell's alumni coaches discuss the meaning of team - Cornell College News

Human Behavior

What Does the Love Hormone Do? It’s Complicated – Weizmann Institute of Science

During the pandemic lockdown, as couples have been forced to spend days and weeks in one anothers company, some have found their love renewed while others are on their way to divorce court. Oxytocin, a peptide produced in the brain, is complicated in that way: a neuromodulator, it may bring hearts together or it can help induce aggression. That conclusion arises from unique research led by Weizmann Institute of Science researchers in which mice living in semi-natural conditions had their oxytocin producing brain cells manipulated in a highly precise manner. The findings, which were published todayin Neuron, could shed new light on efforts to use oxytocin to treat a variety of psychiatric conditions, from social anxiety and autism to schizophrenia.

Much of what we know about the actions of neuromodulators like oxytocin comes from behavioral studies of lab animals in standard lab conditions. These conditions are strictly controlled and artificial, in part so that researchers can limit the number of variables affecting behavior. But a number of recent studies suggest that the actions of a mouse in a semi-natural environment can teach us much more about natural behavior, especially when we mean to apply those findings to humans.

Prof. Alon Chens lab group in the Institutes Neurobiology Department have created an experimental setup that enables them to observe mice in something approaching their natural living conditions an environment enriched with stimuli they can explore and their activity is monitored day and night with cameras and analyzed computationally. The present study, which has been ongoing for the past eight years, was led by research students Sergey Anpilov and Noa Eren, and Staff Scientist Dr. Yair Shemesh in Prof. Chens lab group. The innovation in this experiment, however, was to incorporate optogenetics a method that enables researchers to turn specific neurons in the brain on or off using light. To create an optogenetic setup that would enable the team to study mice that were behaving naturally, the group developed a compact, lightweight, wireless device with which the scientists could activate nerve cells by remote control. With the help of optogenetics expert Prof. Ofer Yizhar of the same department, the group introduced a protein previously developed by Yizhar into the oxytocin-producing brain cells in the mice. When light from the wireless device touched those neurons, they became more sensitized to input from the other brain cells in their network.

Our first goal, says Anpilov, was to reach that sweet spot of experimental setups in which we track behavior in a natural environment, without relinquishing the ability to ask pointed scientific questions about brain functions.

Shemesh adds that, the classical experimental setup is not only lacking in stimuli, the measurements tend to span mere minutes, while we had the capacity to track social dynamics in a group over the course of days.

Delving into the role of oxytocin was sort of a test drive for the experimental system. It had been believed that this hormone mediates pro-social behavior. But findings have been conflicting, and some have proposed another hypothesis, termed social salience stating that oxytocin might be involved in amplifying the perception of diverse social cues, which could then result in pro-social or antagonistic behaviors, depending on such factors as individual character and their environment.

If we want to understand the complexities of behavior, we need to study behavior in a complex environment

To test the social salience hypothesis, the team used mice in which they could gently activate the oxytocin-producing cells in the hypothalamus, placing them first in the enriched, semi-natural lab environments. To compare, they repeated the experiment with mice placed in the standard, sterile lab setups.

In the semi-natural environment, the mice at first displayed heightened interest in one another, but this was soon accompanied by a rise in aggressive behavior. In contrast, increasing oxytocin production in the mice in classical lab conditions resulted in reduced aggression. In an all-male, natural social setting, we would expect to see belligerent behavior as they compete for territory or food, says Anpilov. That is, the social conditions are conducive to competition and aggression. In the standard lab setup, a different social situation leads to a different effect for the oxytocin.

If the love hormone is more likely a social hormone, what does that mean for its pharmaceutical applications? Oxytocin is involved, as previous experiments have shown, in such social behaviors as making eye contact or feelings of closeness, says Eren, but our work shows it does not improve sociability across the board. Its effects depend on both context and personality. This implies that if oxytocin is to be used therapeutically, a much more nuanced view is needed in research: If we want to understand the complexities of behavior, we need to study behavior in a complex environment. Only then can we begin to translate our findings to human behavior, she says.

Participating in this research were scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich, including research students Asaf Benjamin and Stoyo Karamihalev, staff scientist Dr. Julien Dine and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Oren Forkosh of the Chen lab; Prof. Shlomo Wagner and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Hala Harony-Nicolas of Haifa University; Prof. Inga Neumann and research student Vinicius Oliveira of Regensburg University, Germany; and electrical engineer Avi Dagan.

Prof. Alon Chens research is supported by the Ruhman Family Laboratory for Research in the Neurobiology of Stress; the Perlman Family Foundation, Founded by Louis L. and Anita M. Perlman; the Fondation Adelis; Bruno Licht; and Sonia T. Marschak. Prof. Chen is the incumbent of the Vera and John Schwartz Professorial Chair in Neurobiology.

Prof. Ofer Yizhars research is supported by the Ilse Katz Institute for Material Sciences and Magnetic Resonance Research; the Adelis Brain Research Award; and Paul and Lucie Schwartz, Georges and Vera Gersen Laboratory.

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What Does the Love Hormone Do? It's Complicated - Weizmann Institute of Science

Genetics

Genetics and Pharmacology | YourHub – The Know

Ever had a bad experience with a prescription?

Ever thought it was an allergic reaction to a medication?

In 2017 I had a significant abdominal surgery that required me to take pain medication, anti-inflammatories, and antibiotics. The surgery was supposed to help with a significant abdominal umbilical hernia. It occurred on a Wednesday, and by Monday, I was having a significant reaction to the pain medication, where my FACE went NUMB. Talk about scary.

Leading up to the surgery, I had taken part in 2 appointments where I discussed previous bad reactions to the pain medication and talked about my concerns. They told me it was a necessary evil in this case so that I could sleep. The morning of surgery, after long discussion with the anesthesiologist, He asked if I had testing done to look at my response to different drugs. At that time, I didnt even know that was a thing that could be done.

The news media and medical media lately has talked a lot about epigenetics and epigenomics and we are starting to hear about pharmacogenetics. Pharmacogenetics can be done through DNA testing to specifically look at your genetics and how they might react to specific types of drugs. They can allow for better dosing, better drug choice so there is less guess work, and overall better outcomes. Pharmacogenetics can also help in looking at how some people may become addicted and others not to things like marijuana, which the Prop 64 group in Colorado would have us believe is not possible.

Pharmacogenetics can also let us know when it might be time to change a drug, because the epigenetics/epigenomics, or the environmental factors that cause the genes to change may have been affected over long-term use of specific drugs. These drugs can be related to addiction treatment, pain management, mental health disorders (bipolar, schizophrenia, depression), autoimmune logical drugs including chemotherapy.

Along the line of epigenetics/epigenomics, there is a specific testing that can be done that supports your DNA sections. It looks at what will optimally support your health, and with that information we can create a supplement that is SPECIFIC to you. Repeating the test about 6 months after initial testing and consuming of those supplements is recommended due to the changes you could potentially make. Then every year.

Why would you need a DNA-specific supplement? Colorado has one of the highest levels of radiation exposure in the continental U.S. Specifically, we have a lot of naturally occurring uranium and radon. Both of those are known carcinogens. Also, think about how much and what type of sunscreen you apply every year in Colorado while enjoying the outdoor lifestyle you love. Chemical barriers are more likely to interact with the radiation from the sun to create mutation of cells. It starts at the skin level, but quickly spreads to the body as the skin is an organ that ABSORBS things you put on it.

If you have questions about how DNA testing can improve your health, life and longevity, dont hesitate to reach out!

References:

*https://dnalife.academy/dna-health/

*Recent developments in genetic/genomic medicine, Rachel H. Horton and Anneke M. Lucassen, Clin Sci (Lond). 2019 Mar 15; 133(5): 697708.Published online 2019 Mar 5. Prepublished online 2019 Feb 27. doi: 10.1042/CS20180436

*Pharmacogenomics in the treatment of mood disorders: Strategies and Opportunities for personalized psychiatry; Azmeraw T. Amare,1 Klaus Oliver Schubert,1,2 and Bernhard T. Baune1; EPMA J. 2017 Sep; 8(3): 211227.Published online 2017 Sep 5. doi: 10.1007/s13167-017-0112-8*Future Trends in the Pharmacogenomics of Brain Disorders and Dementia: Influence of APOE and CYP2D6 Variants; Ramn Cacabelos,1,2,* Luca Fernndez-Novoa,1,2 Roco Martnez-Bouza,1,2 Adam McKay,1,2 Juan C. Carril,1,2 Valter Lombardi,1,2 Lola Corzo,1,2 Ivn Carrera,1,2 Ivn Tellado,1,2 Laura Nebril,1,2 Margarita Alcaraz,1,2 Susana Rodrguez,1,2 ngela Casas,1,2 Vernica Couceiro,1,2 and Antn lvarez1,2Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2010 Oct; 3(10): 30403100.Published online 2010 Sep 29. doi: 10.3390/ph3103040*Some observations on the role of environment and genetics in behaviour of wild and domestic forms of Sus scrofa (European wild boars and domestic pigs)S Robert, J Dancosse, A Dallaire Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 1987 Elsevier

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Genetics and Pharmacology | YourHub - The Know