All posts by medical

Biochemistry

Ceapro Inc. Receives Research License from Health Canada Controlled Substances and Cannabis BranchPioneering the second wave of medical cannabis…

EDMONTON, Alberta, Feb. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ceapro Inc.(TSX-V: CZO; OTCQX:CRPOF) (Ceapro or the Company), a growth-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of active ingredients for healthcare and cosmetic industries, today announced it has received special authorization from Health Canada to initiate a research program entitled Impregnation of Water-Soluble Biopolymers with Cannabis Extracts Using the Pressurized Gas eXpanded (PGX) Technology and Formulation of Solid Cannabinoid Delivery Systems: Oral Thin Films and Transdermal Patches.

Formulation studies will be conducted at Ceapros premises in Edmonton while bioavailability and pharmacokinetics studies will be performed by a Montreal-based licensed partner.

This is a significant moment in Ceapros history. We have been working for the last three years on the development of unique delivery systems using our disruptive PGX technology for multiple applications, commentedGilles Gagnon, M.Sc., MBA, President and CEO of Ceapro. Today, given the growing body of evidence that the potential for cannabis lies with its medicinal properties and given that the low oral bioavailability of cannabinoids has prompted the development of various methods of administration, we are confident that our unique PGX technology might be a solution to overcome absorption limitations or improve current marketed formulations. By utilizing our PGX technology, we believe we will be able to create a formulation that brings cannabis in a faster to the blood the better way with the lowest dose that will provide the most benefits to the patients, as well as offer the best side effect profile.

Our Juvente line of products will also be assessed as a way to deeply deliver cannabinoids to the skin for pain management, for alleviation of anxiety and sleep disorders to name a few applications. Additionally, we have developed sublingual thin films, dermal patches and creams using polymeric carriers that should suit that purpose. Of particular interest, we hope that the use of our formulated dermal patches will be efficacious as an alternate form of treatment to help alleviate dependency on other hard drugs that we are currently witnessing in this era of opioid crisis. We are committed to developing these formulations for medical use only for the benefits of patients and all while creating value to our shareholders, concluded Mr. Gagnon.

About Ceapro Inc.

Ceapro Inc. is a Canadian biotechnology company involved in the development of proprietary extraction technology and the application of this technology to the production of extracts and active ingredients from oats and other renewable plant resources. Ceapro adds further value to its extracts by supporting their use in cosmeceutical, nutraceutical, and therapeutics products for humans and animals. The Company has a broad range of expertise in natural product chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, immunology and process engineering. These skills merge in the fields of active ingredients, biopharmaceuticals and drug-delivery solutions. For more information on Ceapro, please visit the Companys website at http://www.ceapro.com.

For more information contact:

Jenene ThomasJTC TeamInvestor Relations and Corporate Communications AdvisorT (US): +1 (833) 475-8247E: czo@jtcir.com

Issuer:

Gilles R. Gagnon, M.Sc., MBAPresident & CEOT: 780-421-4555

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Continue reading here:
Ceapro Inc. Receives Research License from Health Canada Controlled Substances and Cannabis BranchPioneering the second wave of medical cannabis...

Biochemistry

President of the Aikid Dojo says learning the martial art is a lifetime pursuit – Ke Alakai

Photo by Ho Yin Li

The Frinkazan Aikid Dojo opened last Spring 2019, but it only became a club this Winter Semester 2020. Aikid is a martial art different from others because they aim for the offender and the defender to be unharmed. The president of the Aikid Dojo, Indra Luo, said Aikid puts an emphasis on spirituality, psychology and mental health.

The Aikid Association of America (AAA) describes the martial art as a comprehensive system of throwing, joint-locking, striking, and pinning techniques, coupled with training in traditional Japanese weapons such as the sword, staff, and knife. The AAA also notes Aikido as non-lethal, non-disruptive, non-competitive [which leads to] harmony with ourselves and with our world.

Starting the Laie Dojo

Luo, a biochemistry sophomore from Indonesia, said he has been practicing aikid for 15 years. One of the reasons he came to BYUHawaii was there was an Aikid Club. He said he was disappointed when he discovered the club had been shut down because there was no membership and there was no one qualified to start the club. Luo started the club this Winter Semester 2020, but the dojo has been in functioning since Spring 2019.

A cultural anthropology sophomore from the Philippines, Abish Tarrobago, joined the dojo before it became a club. She said they had to form a group to practice and found space in the Dance Studio. If the Dance Studio was not available, [they practiced] in the grass areas or in the racquetball place.

Luo said he originally disliked aikid. However, he changed his mind after he learned aikid puts emphasis on spirituality, psychology, and mental health. One thing that keeps me wanting to learn is its emphasis that you have to be a good person, even when they hurt you. That thought keeps me drawn to it. He also wanted future club members to be patient as learning aikid is a lifetime pursuit.

What Tarrobago said she likes about the martial art is that it wasnt too physical. Its easy for women to do it so we felt it was the martial art that is for us.

Tarrobago is progressing through the belt system in aikid. Im a yellow belt right now and it took me two months to do techniques. We do regular practices so we can achieve more. You dont just hit people, you have to prioritize what will hurt the least, and that goes the same with school and life in general.

It doesnt just help us physically, but helps us with relationships and life in general.

Other self-defense practice opportunities

EunBi Cho, a psychology senior from Korea, and Cindy Castro, a health and human performance junior from Taiwan, were glad there was an Aikid Club so other students could have the opportunity to protect themselves. Cho explained she took the self-defense class. She was glad women were in the self-defense class learning to protect themselves.

Castro said she took the self-defense class by Jared Pere. If I had more time [I would go]. According to Castro, in the self-defense class by Pere, He would go through a ton of techniques and you would forget it. With a club, you can meet more continuously and have friends to practice with.

She worried people may use these techniques to make fun of Asian cultures. I would say I hope those who are not Asian can be more respectful. She hopes people will know the origin of the martial arts they participate in. Be aware and dont say it is Asian altogether.

Origins

Morihei Ueshiba created Aikid in the early 20th century, according to the AAA. On the AAA website, Ueshiba is quoted, To injure an opponent is to injure yourself. To control aggression without inflicting injury is the art of peace. Progress comes to those who train and train. Reliance on secret techniques will get you nowhere.

AAA said of Ueshiba, Aikid was a path of self-development. He believed it could be a means for anyone, of any nation, to follow the same path. Aikid is shugyo: an intense physical and spiritual training to perfect human character and develop wisdom.

Go here to see the original:
President of the Aikid Dojo says learning the martial art is a lifetime pursuit - Ke Alakai

Cell Biology

Breakthrough in Stem Cell Research: First Image of Niche Environment | Newsroom – UC Merced University News

By Lorena Anderson, UC Merced

Professor Joel Spencer and his lab have made a huge breakthrough in stem cell research.

Professor Joel Spencer was a rising star in college soccer and now he is an emerging scientist in the world of biomedical engineering, capturing for the first time an image of a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) within the bone marrow of a living organism.

Everyone knew black holes existed, but it took until last year to directly capture an image of one due to the complexity of their environment, Spencer said. Its analogous with stem cells in the bone marrow. Until now, our understanding of HSCs has been limited by the inability to directly visualize them in their native environment until now.

This work brings an advancement that will open doors to understanding how these cells work which may lead to better therapeutics for hematologic disorders including cancer.

Understanding how HSCs interact within their local environments might help researchers understand how cancers use this same environment in the bone marrow to evade treatment.

Spencer studied biological sciences at UC Irvine where he was the captain of the mens Division 1 soccer team. He initially planned to pursue a career in professional soccer until faculty mentors opened doors for research and introduced Spencer to biophotonics the science that deals with the interactions of light with biological matter.

UC faculty were a big part of my research experience; they became mentors and friends, Spencer said. My first foray into research was as a lab tech, and that is where I met people who were doing biomedical imaging, and it just caught my wonder.

An image of a stem cell in its natural niche

Spencer left his native California to earn his Ph.D. in bioengineering at Tufts University in Boston and took a postdoctoral research position in the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. In Boston, he learned about live-animal imaging and his wonder became a passion.

Now his emphasis is on biomedical optics: building new microscopes and new imaging techniques to visualize and study biological molecules, cells and tissue in their natural niches in living, fully intact small animals.

I work at the interface of engineering and biology. My lab is seeking to answer biological questions that were impossible until the advancements in technology we have seen in the past couple decades, he said. You need to be able to peer inside an organ inside a live animal and see whats happening as it happens.

Based on work conducted at UC Merced and in Boston, he and his collaborators including his grad student Negar Tehrani visualized stem cells inside the bone marrow of live, intact mice.

He and his collaborators have a new paper published in the journal Nature detailing the work they conducted to study HSCs in their native environment in the bone marrow.

We can see how the cells behave in their native niches and how they respond to injuries or stresses which seems to be connected to the constant process of bone remodeling, Tehrani said. Researchers have been trying to answer questions that have gone unanswered for lack of technology, and they have turned to engineering to solve those puzzles.

Its important for researchers to understand the mechanics of stem cells because of the cells potential to regenerate and repair damaged tissue.

Spencer, left, and students from his lab

Spencer returned to California three years ago, joining the Department of Bioengineering in the School of Engineering at UC Merced. Hes also an affiliate of the Health Sciences Research Institute and the NSF CREST Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Machines . This is his third paper in Nature, but the first stemming from work conducted in his current lab.

He didnt come to UC Merced just because he loves biology Spencer also joined the campus because of the students.

Now Im back in the UC system Im a homegrown UC student whos now faculty, Spencer said. As a student within the system I was able to participate in myriad opportunities, including mentorships that advanced my career. Now I try to encourage graduate and undergrad students to follow their dreams. I love being able to give them opportunities its something I really want to do for the next generation.

See the article here:
Breakthrough in Stem Cell Research: First Image of Niche Environment | Newsroom - UC Merced University News

Cell Biology

Why Are Bat Viruses So Deadly? Answers to the Question Raised by Coronavirus Outbreak – SciTechDaily

The Australian black flying fox is a reservoir of Hendra virus, which can be transmitted to horses and sometimes humans. Credit: Linfa Wang, Duke University

Its no coincidence that some of the worst viral disease outbreaks in recent years SARS, MERS, Ebola, Marburg and likely the newly arrived 2019-nCoV virus originated in bats.

A new University of California, Berkeley, study finds that bats fierce immune response to viruses could drive viruses to replicate faster, so that when they jump to mammals with average immune systems, such as humans, the viruses wreak deadly havoc.

Some bats including those known to be the original source of human infections have been shown to host immune systems that are perpetually primed to mount defenses against viruses. Viral infection in these bats leads to a swift response that walls the virus out of cells. While this may protect the bats from getting infected with high viral loads, it encourages these viruses to reproduce more quickly within a host before a defense can be mounted.

This makes bats a unique reservoir of rapidly reproducing and highly transmissible viruses. While the bats can tolerate viruses like these, when these bat viruses then move into animals that lack a fast-response immune system, the viruses quickly overwhelm their new hosts, leading to high fatality rates.

Some bats are able to mount this robust antiviral response, but also balance it with an anti-inflammation response, said Cara Brook, a postdoctoral Miller Fellow at UC Berkeley and the first author of the study. Our immune system would generate widespread inflammation if attempting this same antiviral strategy. But bats appear uniquely suited to avoiding the threat of immunopathology.

The researchers note that disrupting bat habitat appears to stress the animals and makes them shed even more virus in their saliva, urine and feces that can infect other animals.

The Egyptian fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus, is a host to the Marburg virus, which can infect monkeys and cross over into humans to cause a deadly hemorrhagic fever. Credit: Victor Corman

Heightened environmental threats to bats may add to the threat of zoonosis, said Brook, who works with a bat monitoring program funded by DARPA (the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) that is currently underway in Madagascar, Bangladesh, Ghana and Australia. The project, Bat One Health, explores the link between loss of bat habitat and the spillover of bat viruses into other animals and humans.

The bottom line is that bats are potentially special when it comes to hosting viruses, said Mike Boots, a disease ecologist and UC Berkeley professor of integrative biology. It is not random that a lot of these viruses are coming from bats. Bats are not even that closely related to us, so we would not expect them to host many human viruses. But this work demonstrates how bat immune systems could drive the virulence that overcomes this.

The new study by Brook, Boots and their colleagues was published this month in the journal eLife.

Boots and UC Berkeley colleague Wayne Getz are among 23 Chinese and American co-authors of a paper published recently in the journal EcoHealth that argues for better collaboration between U.S. and Chinese scientists who are focused on disease ecology and emerging infections.

As the only flying mammal, bats elevate their metabolic rates in flight to a level that doubles that achieved by similarly sized rodents when running.

Generally, vigorous physical activity and high metabolic rates lead to higher tissue damage due to an accumulation of reactive molecules, primarily free radicals. But to enable flight, bats seem to have developed physiological mechanisms to efficiently mop up these destructive molecules.

This has the side benefit of efficiently mopping up damaging molecules produced by inflammation of any cause, which may explain bats uniquely long lifespans. Smaller animals with faster heart rates and metabolism typically have shorter lifespans than larger animals with slower heartbeats and slower metabolism, presumably because high metabolism leads to more destructive free radicals. But bats are unique in having far longer lifespans than other mammals of the same size: Some bats can live 40 years, whereas a rodent of the same size may live two years.

This rapid tamping down of inflammation may also have another perk: tamping down inflammation related to antiviral immune response. One key trick of many bats immune systems is the hair-trigger release of a signaling molecule called interferon-alpha, which tells other cells to man the battle stations before a virus invades.

As shown in this model of viral infection (click to view animated GIF), when green monkey (Vero) cells are invaded by a virus, they quickly succumb because they have no interferon response. Susceptible cells (green pixels) are rapidly exposed, infected and killed (purple). Credit: Cara Brook / UC Berkeley

Brook was curious how bats rapid immune response affects the evolution of the viruses they host, so she conducted experiments on cultured cells from two bats and, as a control, one monkey. One bat, the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus), a natural host of Marburg virus, requires a direct viral attack before transcribing its interferon-alpha gene to flood the body with interferon. This technique is slightly slower than that of the Australian black flying fox (Pteropus alecto), a reservoir of Hendra virus, which is primed to fight virus infections with interferon-alpha RNA that is transcribed and ready to turn into protein. The African green monkey (Vero) cell line does not produce interferon at all.

When challenged by viruses mimicking Ebola and Marburg, the different responses of these cell lines were striking. While the green monkey cell line was rapidly overwhelmed and killed by the viruses, a subset of the rousette bat cells successfully walled themselves off from viral infection, thanks to interferon early warning.

In the Australian black flying fox cells, the immune response was even more successful, with the viral infection slowed substantially over that in the rousette cell line. In addition, these bat interferon responses seemed to allow the infections to last longer.

Think of viruses on a cell monolayer like a fire burning through a forest. Some of the communities cells have emergency blankets, and the fire washes through without harming them, but at the end of the day you still have smoldering coals in the system there are still some viral cells, Brook said. The surviving communities of cells can reproduce, providing new targets for the the virus and setting up a smoldering infection that persists across the bats lifespan.

Brook and Boots created a simple model of the bats immune systems to recreate their experiments in a computer.

This suggests that having a really robust interferon system would help these viruses persist within the host, Brook said. When you have a higher immune response, you get these cells that are protected from infection, so the virus can actually ramp up its replication rate without causing damage to its host. But when it spills over into something like a human, we dont have those same sorts of antiviral mechanism, and we could experience a lot of pathology.

The researchers noted that many of the bat viruses jump to humans through an animal intermediary. SARS got to humans through the Asian palm civet; MERS via camels; Ebola via gorillas and chimpanzees; Nipah via pigs; Hendra via horses and Marburg through African green monkeys. Nonetheless, these viruses still remain extremely virulent and deadly upon making the final jump into humans.

In a model of viral infection (click to view animated GIF), when cells of the Australian black flying fox are invaded by a virus, some quickly wall themselves off from infection, having been forewarned by a rapid release of interferon from dying cells. This allows the cells to survive longer, but increases the number of infectious cells (red). Credit: Cara Brook / UC Berkeley

Brook and Boots are designing a more formal model of disease evolution within bats in order to better understand virus spillover into other animals and humans.

It is really important to understand the trajectory of an infection in order to be able to predict emergence and spread and transmission, Brook said.

References:

Accelerated viral dynamics in bat cell lines, with implications for zoonotic emergence by Cara E Brook Is a corresponding author , Mike Boots, Kartik Chandran, Andrew P Dobson, Christian Drosten, Andrea L Graham, Bryan T Grenfell, Marcel A Mller, Melinda Ng, Lin-Fa Wang and Anieke van Leeuwen, 3 February 2020, eLife.DOI: 10.7554/eLife.48401

Accelerated viral dynamics in bat cell lines, with implications for zoonotic emergence by Cara E Brook Is a corresponding author , Mike Boots, Kartik Chandran, Andrew P Dobson, Christian Drosten, Andrea L Graham, Bryan T Grenfell, Marcel A Mller, Melinda Ng, Lin-Fa Wang and Anieke van Leeuwen, 3 February 2020, eLife.DOI: 10.7554/eLife.48401

Other co-authors of the eLife paper are Kartik Chandran and Melinda Ng of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City; Andrew Dobson, Andrea Graham, Bryan Grenfell and Anieke van Leeuwen of Princeton University in New Jersey; Christian Drosten and Marcel Muller of Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany; and Lin-Fa Wang of Duke University-National University of Singapore Medical School.

The work was funded by a National Science Foundation fellowship, the Miller Institute for Basic Research at UC Berkeley and a grant from the National Institutes of Health (R01 AI134824).

Read the rest here:
Why Are Bat Viruses So Deadly? Answers to the Question Raised by Coronavirus Outbreak - SciTechDaily

Cell Biology

Sphere Fluidics Expands Commercial Operations to Increase Supply of Pico-Surf Surfactant for Droplet Microfluidics – BioSpace

Feb. 13, 2020 09:18 UTC

CAMBRIDGE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sphere Fluidics, a company commercializing single cell analysis systems underpinned by its patented picodroplet technology, today announced investment in the production and supply of its proprietary biocompatible surfactant, Pico-Surf, for reliable and highly stable droplet generation and processing. Sphere Fluidics will expand operations to meet demand for large-scale commercial supply of its high-performing surfactant for use in a wide range of microfluidic application workflows.

Pico-Surf is a high-quality and animal-origin-free biocompatible surfactant optimized to support the formation of aqueous solution-in-oil picodroplets. Sphere Fluidics aims to increase production of Pico-Surf by three-fold in 2020, whilst maintaining its industry-leading standards, through significant investment of resources in manufacture and quality control processes, and workforce. As part of Sphere Fluidics range of specialist chemicals, Pico-Surf is designed to work effectively and flexibly across a broad range of microfluidic systems, including the Companys proprietary single cell analysis platforms and applications, such as molecular biology assays, cell secretion assays and cell growth studies.

The unique and patented molecular structure of Pico-Surf stabilizes droplets, and retains and protects their cellular and molecular contents over a wide range of temperatures and biological conditions, helping to ensure high cell viability for improved assay performance. Droplets generated using Pico-Surf show low end point interfacial tension and critical micelle concentration in comparison to other commercially available surfactants. The purity and quality of the surfactant also enables a more efficient droplet sorting process at low voltage. The ready-to-use surfactant is available in large batches or made-to-order with ensured lot-to-lot consistency.

Dr. Marian Rehak, Vice President of Research and Development, Sphere Fluidics, said: We are enthused by the increased demand for Pico-Surf, and eager to mobilize its production to meet demand. Whilst doing so, we will ensure its very high quality control standards are maintained, meaning researchers can continue rely on Pico-Surf to create droplets that are stable and reproducible.

Rob Treanor, Director of Operations, Sphere Fluidics, commented: Sphere Fluidics world-leading expertise in picodroplet technology has enabled the development of an ever-growing range of high-performing patented consumables, vital for the successful use of microfluidic systems. All our consumable products have been designed to be platform-agnostic, so they work effectively with a number of microfluidic systems.

For further information on Pico-Surf, please visit: https://spherefluidics.com/specialist-chemicals/

For further information about Sphere Fluidics full range of consumables for microfluidics systems, please visit: https://spherefluidics.com/products/consumables/

Follow Sphere Fluidics on Twitter @SphereFluidics and LinkedIn @Sphere Fluidics Limited.

For a high-resolution image please contact Zyme Communications.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200213005316/en/

Follow this link:
Sphere Fluidics Expands Commercial Operations to Increase Supply of Pico-Surf Surfactant for Droplet Microfluidics - BioSpace

Neuroscience

Thornton professor wins research award – Daily Trojan Online

Lynn Helding knew she wanted to be a singer when she was 8 years old. Now, years later, Helding is a professor of voice and coordinator of vocology and voice pedagogy at the Thornton School of Music and was named the 2020 Contemporary Commercial Music Institute Lifetime Achievement Award recipient by Shenandoah University for her research in cognitive neuroscience and the teaching of voice.

Helding will receive the award in July when she gives the keynote address at the Contemporary Commercial Music Vocal Pedagogy Institute at the University.

It was a total surprise, Helding said. It is an honor to be there with the other past awardees They just started [the award] in 2017, and I feel honored to be only the fourth awardee.

Helding, who studies the intersection between cognitive neuroscience and vocology, has used her research findings in cognitive psychology to protect the vocal health of singers and enhance their learning and performance. She has also applied the mechanisms from her studies to ensure the physical well-being of her students.

The more we can understand how our body functions, the better we can sing but also the better we can teach, so when you start teaching, you really learn, Helding said. I would say that in performing arts, our singers are closest to dancers in terms of how we use our bodies.

As part of her emphasis on vocal health, Helding brought in the vocal health component to the Musicians Wellness Initiative program that Thornton professors William Kanengiser and Stephen Pierce started four years ago, right as Helding started her job at USC.

The Musicians Wellness Initiative program is a partnership between Thornton and Keck School of Medicine in which Thornton student singers get screened at the start of each new academic year at the USC Voice Center.

The doctors look at their voice and make sure they have at least a baseline of good vocal health, Helding said. If they dont, they get flagged and [are] advised to get services.

Thornton Dean Robert Cutietta said that Heldings research was well-developed even before she came to USC but joined due to its medical school where she could further her research.

Her research is all about healthy singing, Cutietta said. It is really easy for a singer who isnt trained properly to ruin her voice, to overuse it or use it incorrectly.

Helding said that as part of her research, she has read and analyzed hundreds of published academic articles on cognitive psychology and its application to classroom environments.

I had my own laboratory because I teach studio, Helding said. So, I started putting together my own experience as a teacher and coach and connecting the dots between what the research is saying about how people learn.

Lisa Sylvester, chair of the vocal arts and opera department at Thornton, said that the work done in the wellness program was critically important to the music industry and the way music was processed and performed.

[Her research] really represents a very high level and high standard of academic work, Sylvester said.

Helding is also the author of The Musicians Mind: Teaching, Learning, and Performance in the Age of Brain Science that released earlier this month. She started writing the book 10 years ago when she created a column called Mindful Voice in the Journal of Singing, where she introduced the mind as an important part of vocal science.

Shes had a whole career developing this research, Cutietta said. Its not as if there was just one study [where] she discovered something. This has been her whole career.

The highlight of Heldings research is the new focus of pedagogy that she has proposed. Cutietta said her specialization in the field complemented Thorntons program that incorporates workshops on wellness components such as posture while practicing.

We had a search several years back, and we needed someone who could teach the classes and who could advise our teaching assistants, Sylvester said. We needed someone for whom that was a focus and she was clearly the most qualified.

Helding said her study of pedagogy requires an understanding of how students learn.

A paradigm shift in how we teach should be on how well students learn, Helding said. You have to think about how people actually learn and how they learn best Those are all questions that cognitive science is looking at.

Helding said that she hopes to publish the second edition of The Musicians Mind. Meanwhile, she wishes to pass on her legacy to her students, which is why she decided to work at USC after 22 years of teaching at Dickinson College.

I wanted to have graduate students, Helding said. As we near the end of our careers, we want to be able to pass on our intellectual property.

See the article here:
Thornton professor wins research award - Daily Trojan Online

Neuroscience

BYU researches where religious OCD is activated in the brain – Universe.byu.edu

See also Religious OCD: When faith becomes an obsession

Elizabeth Patterson never imagined herself struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) until it became a reality while she served a full-time mission. Her fixations were centered on doing what she thought was right, focusing on certain rules in the missionary handbook and striving for extreme perfectionism.

I was stressed all the time, Patterson said. I struggled to feel happy and find purpose. I hurt my relationships with other people.

Patterson realized she was struggling with scrupulosity, a form of OCD that manifests itself through an obsession with moral and religious issues.

I would always say, We need to do whats right, and my companions would always say, Chill! We need to follow the Spirit! The Spirit prompts us to do whats right, but I just stopped listening, Patterson said.

Patterson isnt the only BYU student who has dealt with scrupulous thoughts and behavior. BYU psychology and neuroscience researchers recognized the need to better understand this phenomenon.

A look into the scrupulous brain

Kawika Allen is an assistant psychology professor and a scrupulosity researcher at BYU. He has conducted studies exploring scrupulosity in relation to legalism (the notion one has to earn Gods love to be worthy), family perfectionism and well-being among Latter-day Saints.

Last year, BYU neuroscience department researcher Jared Nielsen approached Allen and invited him to participate in a new study to detect where scrupulosity is being activated in the brain, and then comparing that to other OCD symptoms. The project is currently in the works and the plan is to have around 30-40 subjects with scrupulous tendencies to go through an MRI scan. Researchers will then observe whether theres a consistent, localized area where scrupulosity is coming from.

It may not tell us how its caused, but we can know where its coming from in terms of the location in the brain, Allen said. We suspect its somewhere just above the fornix area around the limbic system of the brain.

The research team consists of Allen, Nielsen, licensed psychologist Debra McClendon and students Benson Bunker, Eli Baughn and David Johnson. The team is in the process of conceptualizing the project. The next steps include drafting an Institutional Review Board (IRB) proposal to gain approval and then starting the MRI scans within the next few months.

BYU psychology major Benson Bunker joined Allens research team a year ago. The Henderson, Nevada native has personally struggled with scrupulosity, and researched it for an assignment in a psychology writing class. He joined Allens team after hearing about the opportunity from a friend.

Bunker, along with Allen and other team members, presented at the Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapists (AMCAP) conference in Salt Lake City last October. A major part of their presentation was gathering information on scrupulosity and directing attention to the issue.

For the upcoming research project, Bunkers responsibility has been to compile a list of questions designed to trigger scrupulous thoughts. One of the main tasks subjects are expected to do is read and answer to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints previous temple recommend interview questions.

A big issue for people with scrupulosity in this Church is going in and being interviewed by a bishop, Bunker said. We thought it would be a good idea to reproduce that through questions based on the temple recommend interview questions.

According to Allen, the black and white dichotomy of the old interview questions tend to invoke scrupulosity in individuals more.

The new questions are much better in terms of the language. The words are softer and in three of the questions, they include the word strive so its not an absolute are you, or are you not, Allen said. Were using the old questions because thats what invokes scrupulosity more.

When considering the well-being of scrupulous individuals, Allen believes the change of wording in the temple reccomend interview questions was a step in the right direction.

I think the brethren and leaders of the church were inspired to change the interview questions because they know were human, that were imperfect and we have flaws, Allen said.

Bunker believes many individuals who struggle with scrupulosity dont know what it is or how they can overcome the symptoms attached to it.

I hope they dont think its normal for them to think theyre going to be cast into hell for a little mistake they made 10 years ago, Bunker said. I feel like if they understand what it is, and know there is help out there, that they can get better and still have a healthy relationship with God.

See the article here:
BYU researches where religious OCD is activated in the brain - Universe.byu.edu

Neuroscience

Satire | Sleeping around what different majors are like in bed – University of Pittsburgh The Pitt News

Close

Eli Savage | Contributing Editor

Eli Savage | Contributing Editor

Eli Savage | Contributing Editor

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sleep with that cute guy you always make eye contact with in your gen ed class? How about that girl from your chemistry lab? You know, the one who always looks amazing even though its 9 p.m. and, well, a chem lab? Well, wonder no more! While you probably dont know what kind of lover they are, Im confident that you probably know what theyre majoring in. Before you hop into bed with anybody new, consult this list to see if theyre even worth your time.

Communications

If youre looking for someone to talk dirty to you all night long, then a communications major is your ideal lover. Since their major is essentially dedicated to learning how to effectively convey information to a diverse audience, it makes sense theyd be a good communicator in bed. And hey, communication is key, right?

Nursing

Nursing majors are perfectly adequate in bed, maybe even good. Id say all their practice with bedside manner turns them into attentive, gentle lovers. The only downside to sleeping with a nursing major is that youll wake up at 5 a.m. when their alarm goes off to wake them up for clinicals.

Biology/pre-med

While you might be tempted to hookup with a bio major I know its convenient, especially since it sometimes seems like bio is the only major we have at Pitt, just like the only place Pitt students come from is outside of Philly I would strongly advise against it. It seems that their intense knowledge of the way life functions and their important medical aspirations have left them with a strangely distanced and almost medical approach to sex.

Engineering

If you can convince an engineering major to leave Benedum long enough to get them into bed with you, I will be seriously impressed. With their busy schedules and impossibly challenging course work, its a wonder they have time to breathe, let alone have sex. However, with their knowledge about whatever engineers know theyre probably pretty all right in bed.

Neuroscience

Rest assured that if you sleep with a neuroscience major, it will be nothing more than a hookup. Chances are theyre just trying to distract themselves from the insanity of their classes. That being said, if youre into casual sex and want a fun night with no strings attached, go on Tinder and find yourself a neuroscience major.

Psychology

If you have daddy issues, then you should definitely sleep with a psychology major. Theyll be able to psychoanalyze you all night, and maybe help you get to the bottom of some of your deep-seated childhood trauma. Alternatively, you could just go to therapy and save yourself a disappointing hookup.

Environmental Studies/Science

Let me be real with you. Environmental studies and science majors are quite possibly the best lovers you will ever find. Nothing compares to the passion and dedication these students have in their hearts, and their astute powers of observation keenly honed from hours of identifying miscellaneous rocks and minerals make them very attuned to their partners needs in the bedroom. I know I havent given any other major a numerical rating, but students who study environmental studies and science have earned a 10/10. And no, I am not biased at all. I dont know why you would think that. No way.

Business

For now, lets pretend there arent subsects of the business school and condense everything into one, nondescript major. Business majors are forever the subject of jokes about how easy their classes are and how little work they have to do. Fortunately for the business major, this leaves them plenty of free time, making it likely that they are highly experienced in the bedroom. Unfortunately, their sex may tend to feel transactional, possibly because theyre thinking about that macroeconomics exam they have on Thursday.

Math

Allow me to simplify all mathematics majors I think theres multiple? How many kinds of math are there? into one, all-knowing math major just for laughs. This all-encompassing major is perfectly fine in bed, maybe even better than some of the previously mentioned majors it must be the fact that you know they know how to add and subtract. Plus, if you sleep with a math major, you might be able to get them to help you with your calculus homework.

Film

If you want to reenact your favorite steamy scene from film, you should absolutely sleep with a film major. Tell them how much you loved the sex scene from Atonement you know, the one in the library with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy and chances are that theyll agree and do their best to make your fantasies come true. However, if youre not looking to have movie-inspired sex, you might not want to sleep with a film major. Im pretty sure they dont know how to do much else.

English

An English major is a safe bet for a hookup, or a long term sexual thing. It might be a little strange at first, as they might say some words youve never heard before, but such is life when you have sex with someone who reads a lot. The good news about sleeping with an English major is that when you wake up in their bed in the morning and have to wait, like, an hour and a half for them to wake up, and you cant reach your phone because its on the opposite nightstand, and you dont want to crawl across the bed to get it for fear of waking them up, you can just roll over and read the titles of the 80 books on their shelf.

Paige Lawler writes primarily about environmental policy and politics for The Pitt News. This is her first and probably only satirical piece. Tell her if you think shes funny at pml36@pitt.edu

Follow this link:
Satire | Sleeping around what different majors are like in bed - University of Pittsburgh The Pitt News

Physiology

This Marsupial Dies After Marathon Mating. Now It’s Got Bigger Worries – WIRED

What if I told you that in Australia, a mouselike marsupial called antechinus breeds so manically during its three-week mating season that the males bleed internally and go blind, until every male lies dead? And what if I told you that this isnt the reason the species is facing an existential threat?

Reporting today in the journal Frontiers in Physiology, biologists from University of New England in Australia and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology present troubling evidence that antechinus might be ill-prepared for a warmer world. The researchers set out to look at something called phenotypic plasticity in the yellow-footed antechinus, one of the creatures 15 known species. Think of your phenotype as your bodys hardware, or physiology: your height and skin color and metabolism. This is in part coded by your genotype, the genetic software that powers the hardware. Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of a species to respond to environmental stressorslike temperature swingsby altering their physiology without mucking with all the underlying genetics.

For the antechinus, the researchers were interested in the plasticity of its metabolism. This is highly influenced by temperature: An adult antechinus metabolism shifts to expend less energy when its cold during the winter and there isnt much insect prey for it to hunt. When its warm, an antechinus can afford to expend a lot of energy because prey is plentiful.

The researchers, though, were more interested in how temperature affects antechinus babiesthat is, how being raised in cold or warm environments might affect how their metabolism works once they become adults. So they reared two groups of babies, one in colder temperatures and one in warmer temperatures. They then flipped the thermostat, exposing the individuals reared in the cold to warm temperatures and the warm-reared ones to the cold.

As the researchers expected, when the temperature switched from warm to cold the animals decreased their activity levels, which the scientists were recording using infrared sensors that logged movements. This is perfectly natural for wild animals, since in winter they have fewer insects to hunt and need to conserve their energy to keep from starving. In fact, in the dead of winter, antechinus can slip into a state called torpor, drastically lowering their body temperature and metabolic rates.

In the lab, the researchers also found that when turning up the heat on animals that had been reared in the cold, the animals increased their activity levels, just like they would in the wild as warmer spring temperatures bring more insects to hunt.

So far so gooduntil the researchers also looked at the metabolic rates, instead of just the activity levels, of the animals as they experienced temperature shifts. A metabolic rate is the measure of how much energy the animal needs to maintain function at rest. For a mammal like antechinus, that rate can change significantly when outdoor temperatures go up or down. Unlike a reptile, a mammal like antechinus has to constantly maintain its own body temperature, either spending energy to cool or warm itself.

This time, the researchers found that when the antechinus raised in the warm group shifted to the cold, they increased their metabolic rate only slightly. But those raised in the cold group that shifted to the warmth decreased their metabolic rate significantly. The discrepancy suggests that the babies brought up in cold conditions have more plastic phenotypes when it comes to adjusting to temperature changes.

So we hypothesize that perhaps these results reveal that antechinus that are raised in cold conditions have more flexibility in their physiology than those that are raised in warm conditions, says physiological ecologist Clare Stawski of University of New England in Australia and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, lead author on the new paper. Which might show you that in the future when it's much warmer, and more consistently warm, that the antechinus might not be as flexible to changes in the climate.

Read more:
This Marsupial Dies After Marathon Mating. Now It's Got Bigger Worries - WIRED

Physiology

What Is VO2 Max? What To Know, According To An Exercise Physiologist – Women’s Health

You know that awkward feeling when someone references a TV show or person you don't know but you smile and nod along because you want to seem in the loop? Yeah, that totally human experience happens in fitness too. Especially around relatively obscure terms like VO2 max, which you may have overheard in a locker room or name dropped by a trainer recentlyit's become a bit of a buzzword as of late. But what is VO2 max, you ask?

Basically, its the maximum amount of oxygen your body can take in and use during exercise at your 100-percent intensity, says Stacy Sims, PhD, exercise physiologist, and author of Roar: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life.

Its often considered the best measurement of someones cardiorespiratory fitness, and Sims notes that its a reflection of how fast your body can regenerate ATP (an energy-carrying molecule burned off as fuel during exercise) in your cells.

That's kind of heady, to be honest, so another way to think about VO2 max is that it's like your PR when it comes to consuming oxygen. In theory, the more O2 you can take in, the more energy you can expend for a longer period of time. It's why athletes are hyper-focused on increasing their own in an effort to optimize their performance.

Even if you're not a fitness pro, though, you can still benefit from training to boost your VO2 max for similar reasonsbigger, better gains! Keep reading for everything you need to know about VO2 max like how to figure out your own, how to improve it, and what's a good benchmark to aim for in the first place.

There's no "perfect score" for VO2 max. Sims says a desirable number really depends on your sport or main fitness activity. "When we look at elite values, top-end cross-country women sit around 65 to 70 ml/kg/min; runners are about 60 to 65ml/kg/min; cyclists are around 55 to 60 ml/kg/min."

Generally speaking, though, this VO2 max chart notes where optimal scores should fall depending on your age:

Jewelyn Butron

Testing VO2 max is where things get a little tricky. The gold standard is direct measurement in a lab setting, says Sims. This is known as a Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET), and it involves wearing a mask and heart rate monitor thats hooked up to a treadmill or stationary bike. The mask is connected to a machine that measures the amount of oxygen you inhale, and the amount of carbon dioxide you exhale. During the test, you continue upping the intensity of your bike or tread until your oxygen consumption value reaches a steady state, even as exercise intensity increases, explains Sims. Thats your max. The final measurement is recorded in mL/kg/min. If you're really interested in finding your true VO2 max, see if any gyms or fitness studios near you offer the service.

This, of course, is not realistic for most people, which is why an easier (albeit not as precise) way to get an approximation of you VO2 max is by investing in a fitness tracker or smartwatch that'll estimate it for you based on your heart rate and exercise intensity after collecting your data for a period of time. For the average active adult, this is the best option. Some, like the FitBit Ionic, refer to VO2 max as your "cardio fitness score," while others, like the Apple Watch, list it simply as VO2 maxyou can find yours in the Apple Health app when you click through to all health data, fyi.

Garmin vvosport, Fitness/Activity Tracker with GPS and Heart Rate Monitoring, Slate

$115.19

Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS, 40mm) - Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band

Fitbit Ionic GPS Smart Watch, Charcoal/Smoke Gray, One Size (S & L Bands Included)

$178.99

Your cardio fitness level isn't the only thing that plays a role. Sims notes that there are actually a number of internal and external factors that can have a major impact on your VO2 max:

If you have the ability to track your VO2 max regularly, it can be one way to determine your fitness level and improvement. The best way to give it a boost is through high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which helps work you body at high levels for a period of time, in order to help build up your aerobic capacity, says Sims.

Try this four-move HIIT workout video to start improving yours:

That said, while VO2 max is used in scientific research and with elite athletes, Sims doesn't recommend getting too hung up on it as a go-to performance or training marker. Instead, focus on challenging your body little by little in cardio workouts to get fitter and faster.

Read more:
What Is VO2 Max? What To Know, According To An Exercise Physiologist - Women's Health