November 13, 2006, 8:48 AM CT

No kidding - it's the Kid Treadmill

Now here is a treadmill designed just for kids, the Kid Treadmill. Well, I never imagined I would see a product like this! I mean, I wonder if you could even convince your child to get on an exercise machine like this, even if you think he/she needs it. Aren't there more fun ways your child can get some physical activity than being on a boring treadmill? And isn't it an alarming indicator that obesity is setting in so early?

Nevertheless, if you are interested in the specs, the only new feature of this treadmill is that the height is customized for children. In addition, it has a normal treadmill display to indicate the speed, distance covered etc. And the speed can be adjusted to suit the required level of exertion.

Available at FutureMemories for $99.95.

Via Medgadget.........

Posted by: Ethen      Permalink         Source

November 13, 2006, 8:44 AM CT

Diskette Handbag from Fractalspin

This whimsical little handbag, made by Zelle and available at Fractalspin, is a bit of a surprise. From a distance, what you see is a black bag with interesting metallic shapes forming an eye-catching pattern. Up close, you notice that it's made of recycled computer diskettes (12 genuine 1.44 MB diskettes, to be exact). A magnetic latch holds the two sides together at top (though it doesn't close the opening all the way). For a different look, you can remove the latch and take out the bottom liner to convert it into a slim bag you can hold close to your body.

The label on the bag suggests that you "allocate interior pockets to manage internal fragmentation." There are five interior pockets -- 2 with snaps, two elasticized, and one zippered) -- for your cell phone, iPod, credit cards and cash, lipstick, etc. The main compartment is big enough to hold a book, a pack of tissues, a hairbrush, candy. "Available memory: 17.28 MB." Gimmicky, yes, but super cute. It's $65 on the Fractalspin website.........

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November 13, 2006, 8:35 AM CT

Sports cheats beware

Injecting performance enhancing corticosteroid hormones for other than medical treatment is banned, and tests exist that can detect injected hormones. Injecting synacthen, which stimulates the body to produce extra amounts of its own corticosteroid hormones is also banned. But until now there has been no test that could detect it in a blood sample.

That has just changed. Research published this week in Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry describes a method that can detect synacthen, even though it will only be found in incredibly low concentrations in a person's blood sample.

Synacthen is a protein, and scientists have developed a method that can specifically search for the minute traces of synacthen in a blood sample. Called immunological purification, this technique can find any synacthen molecules even though its concentration is 10,000,000 less than other proteins in blood plasma.

There are severe penalties for any person caught taking banned drugs. It is therefore very important that any test is able to be certain about its statement that a particular molecule is present in this case synacthen. To confirm that the immunological purification has pulled out synacthen, the protein is then subjected to a further two-stage test chromatography separation and mass spectrometric analysis. This lets scientists produce a chemical fingerprint of the molecule a fingerprint that uniquely identifies it.........

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November 13, 2006, 7:57 AM CT

Peer And Family Support For Cancer Survivors

Adolescent and young adult cancer patients rank support from family, friends and other cancer survivors as high priority healthcare needs, as per a new University of Southern California study. Reported in the recent issue of CANCER, a peer-evaluated journal of the American Cancer Society, the study reveals this traditionally underserved population of 15-29 year-old cancer survivors feels that socially connecting with other cancer-afflicted peers of the same age may in some cases be more beneficial than receiving support from family and friends, contrary to what their physicians believe.

Led by Brad Zebrack, Ph.D., M.S.W. of the University of Southern California School of Social Work in Los Angeles, scientists conducted a comprehensive survey with oncologists, psychology experts, nurses, social workers and young adult cancer survivors to better characterize the needs of this patient population and rank them in terms of importance.

As per Dr. Zebrack, "health professionals and survivors value highly the support of family and friends. However, meeting other young people who share a common experience becomes an opportunity for young adult cancer patients and survivors to address common concerns, such as coping with uncertainty about one's health and future, feelings of being alone and isolated, body changes, sexuality and intimacy, dating and relationships, and employment issues".........

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November 13, 2006, 7:41 AM CT

Bariatric Surgery Complications In Some Hospitals

In-hospital bariatric surgery complication rates vary dramatically among the nation's hospitals, as per a research studyreleased recently by HealthGrades, the leading healthcare ratings company. The study of 86,520 bariatric-surgery procedures performed over the years 2002 through 2004 finds that a typical patient receiving the procedure in a five-star rated hospital would have, on average, a 66 percent lower chance of developing one or more major inhospital complications compared with a one-star rated hospital.

Based on the study, HealthGrades, for the first time, today posted quality ratings for hospitals in 17 states that perform bariatric surgery on its consumer Web site, HealthGrades.com. Hospitals received a five-, three- or one-star rating that reflected their complication rates for bariatric surgery, also known as weight-loss surgery, obesity surgery and gastric-bypass surgery.

The HealthGrades study comes on the heels of a study published in July by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which observed that four of every ten patients undergoing bariatric surgery develop complications within six months.

The percentage of U.S. adults who are obese has doubled in the last thirty years, reaching 30 percent as per the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. The number of bariatric surgeries in America are increasing dramatically as well, with the volume growing 34 percent from 2002 to 2004 in the 17 states studied. Experts attribute a growing proportion of the nation's healthcare bill to overweight and obesity, reaching 9.1 percent of U.S. medical costs, or $78 billion, in the most recent study.........

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November 10, 2006, 5:00 AM CT

Shopping With Your Heart

Going with your "gut feeling" when making a major purchase isn't a bad thing after all, says Queen's University School of Business researcher Laurence Ashworth. In fact - contrary to popular belief - listening to your heart when shopping can make you happier in the long run.

And emotion can play just as big a part when purchasing a house or a car as when buying a bottle of shampoo.

The results of a series of studies, published in the recent issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, suggest that people make "affective" purchases - based on their emotional reaction to a product - even when there is clear information suggesting an alternative product is better.

And surprisingly, such choices can lead to greater long-term satisfaction for important purchases.

"This is the first time that longer lasting positive effects of using emotions in important purchase decisions have been shown," says Dr. Ashworth, an expert in consumer behavior. "In such instances, emotions make a lot of sense. People feel them for good reasons, not just inherent biases, and they can actually lead us to more satisfactory choices in the long run".

Co-authors with Dr. Ashworth on the paper are Peter Darke of UBC and Amitava Chattopadhyay of INSEAD in France. Funding comes from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada and R&D INSEAD.........

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November 8, 2006, 9:48 PM CT

Good Fences Do Make Good Neighbors

A new study led by a UC Irvine economist debunks a popular argument against urban sprawl - that living farther from neighbors decreases social interaction. In fact, the data shows that suburban living is better for one's social life.

Using data from 15,000 Americans living in various places across the country, scientists observed that residents of sprawling suburban spaces actually have more friends, more contact with neighbors and greater involvement in community organizations than citydwellers who live in very close proximity to each other.

"Our findings suggest the old proverb may be true: good fences make good neighbors," said Jan Brueckner, professor of economics at UCI and lead author of the paper. "This contradicts one of the common social and economic arguments against urban sprawl".

Among their specific findings were that for every 10-percent decrease in density, the likelihood of residents talking to their neighbors at least once a week jumps by 10 percent. And involvement in hobby-oriented clubs increases even more significantly - by 15 percent for every 10 percent decline in density. To measure these and other social interactions, scientists used data from the Social Capital Benchmark Survey and controlled for other factors such as income, education and marital status.........

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November 8, 2006, 9:03 PM CT

Traditional Books Provide Parent-child Interaction

Parents and pre-school children have a more positive interaction when sharing a reading experience with a traditional book as opposed to an electronic book or e-book, according researchers at Temple University's Infant Laboratory and Erikson Institute in Chicago. This shared positive experience from traditional books characteristically promotes early literacy skills.

The researchers presented the findings of their study, "Electronic books: Boon or Bust for Interactive Reading?" on Nov. 3 as part of the Boston University Conference on Language Development.

The first-of-its-kind study was conducted by Julia Parish-Morris, a graduate student in developmental psychology at Temple University, and Molly F. Collins, assistant professor at Erikson Institute. Parish-Morris and Collins collaborated with Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, the Lefkowitz Professor of Psychology and director of the Temple Infant Lab.

"It is very obvious from the media, from toy stores and bookstores that electronic learning products are becoming very, very popular," said Parish-Morris. "Parents are really buying into the idea that electronic media is essential to their children's development".

Parish-Morris recruited 19 children ages 3-5, along with their parents, at Philadelphia's Please Touch Museum; Collins recruited 14 at the Chicago Children's Museum.........

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November 8, 2006, 8:51 PM CT

About Reading Difficulty

At least one in three children in this country has difficulty learning to read. Research shows that children's aggressive behavior and reading difficulties during early elementary school years are risk factors for adolescent problem behaviors such as delinquency, academic failure, and substance use. Oregon Research Institute (ORI) scientists recently received high marks for their work to reverse this trend.

An evaluation of a reading program for elementary students conducted by ORI scientists has been identified as the only study in the country that met the highest standards for research on programs for English language learners. The What Works Clearinghouse, in their review of research on effective interventions for English language learners, identified the reading program used in ORI's Schools and Homes in Partnership (SHIP) project as having potentially positive effects on the reading achievement of English language learners.

"This is quite an honor for us," notes ORI scientist Barbara Gunn, Ph.D., who directed the study. "Although there are many studies of the effectiveness of instructional practices, few are well-designed experimental evaluations and even fewer focus on effective approaches for teaching beginning readers".

As teachers face growing requirements to improve academic outcomes for their students it is very important that researchers give them the information they need to make knowledgeable decisions on programs and approaches to use in their classrooms. This research was unique because it used the highest standards set for educational research and demonstrated that this kind of study can be done in schools across the state.........

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November 7, 2006, 10:19 PM CT

Cold War Caper Revisted

Two Michigan State University researchers are the first to unlock the secrets of the invisible ink used by East Germany's secret police force, the Stasi, and in the process have mixed a batch of chemistry, history and mystery to teach students.

Kristie Macrakis, a historian of science, and Ryan Sweeder, a chemist, both of MSU's Lyman Briggs School of Science, teamed up to piece together the once-secret chemical formula for behind the Stasi's invisible ink.

"Secret writing is a classic method of communication for spies," Macrakis said. "This is a high-level formula. It's not just lemon juice. It's much more sophisticated".

The Stasi's technique of transferring top-secret messages worked like a piece of carbon paper. An agent would place a piece of paper impregnated with the chemical cerium oxalate between two pieces of plain paper. As the agent pressed down to write, the chemical was transferred to the piece of paper beneath.

The person on the receiving end of the message then developed the note with a solution of manganese sulfate, hydrogen peroxide and other chemicals. The process activated the cerium oxalate to reveal the hidden text. A successful reaction yielded orange writing.

"From a chemical standpoint, this is very cool," Sweeder said.........

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