AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Medical product maker ArthroCare said Wednesday its profit jumped in the third quarter on higher surgical tool sales and reduced expenses, including those from restating its financial earnings.
The company reported net income of $9.1 million, or 27 cents per share, up from $1.6 million, or 5 cents per share, in the prior-year period. The company's revenue increased 4.4 percent to $86.9 million.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings per share of 28 cents on revenue of $84.6 million.
Sales of the company's sports medicine products increased 5.9 percent to $55.2 million. Sales of ear, nose and throat products grew 2.5 percent to $25.5 million.
Gross product margin improved to 68.3 percent from 67.9 percent.
The company's operating costs were $2.8 million lower in the quarter due to decreased exit costs, and $3.8 million lower due to decreased investigation and restatement costs. Arthrocare previously had to restate its results dating back to 2006 because of errors in its sales calculations.
Company shares rose 35 cents to close at $30.08 for the day.
The wealthiest American households have certainly scaled back on charitable giving in the past few years, but they're anything but a bunch of tight wads.
Of households that earned more than $200,000 in 2011, 95 percent donated to at least one charity, according to the 2012 Bank of America Study of HIgh Net Worth Philanthropy. Charitable giving made up about 9 percent of their total wealth in all.
That's a 3 percent drop from a peak of 98 percent in 2009, but still 30 percent more than the 65 percent or so less well-heeled Americans who contribute.
In dollars and cents, America's richest families donated $52,770 on average, down about 9 percent from 2009's high of $56,621.
But rather than just mailing checks, it turns out wealthier Americans have been putting more stock in active volunteering. Nearly 90 percent of high earning households volunteered in 2011, a healthy 10 percent surge over 2009. More than one-third contributed 200 hours or more.?
Most households contribute to several causes, but the vast majority favor education and basic needs, which receive funds from about 80 percent of high income families. More than two-thirds take an interest in arts and culture as well.
However, religion is still king when it comes to attracting high worth donors. More than 35 percent of wealthy households gave the biggest chunk of change to religious organizations, with education drawing funds from 10 percent fewer donors.
Oddly enough, more wealthy donors are seeking outside guidance on where to channel their cash than ever. Forty percent admitted they asked at least one advisor (usually an accountant) for advice on charitable giving. Much of that might have to do with where their cash is going. Of those who donated to donor-advised funds, foundations and charitable trusts, about one-third went to a bank or trust company for advice first.
Physicians, health experts, and public health officials continue to grapple with the ongoing outbreak of fungal meningitis related to contaminated vials of an injectable steroid medication. Some nearly 14,000 people who may have been inadvertently exposed to the infection wait with bated breath to see if they, too, may develop the potentially life-threatening illness. In some ways, there is still more unknown than known about this infection, particularly: When will the potentially infected be safe from developing the actual infection of fungal meningitis?
Current Meningitis Outbreak Statistics
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the current number of reported cases of fungal meningitis to be 354, in 19 states , with 25 deaths having resulted. The 18 states that have reported active cases of the non-contagious infection are: Michigan (82), Tennessee (74), Indiana (44), Virginia (43), Florida (22), Maryland (19), New Jersey (18), Ohio (13), New Hampshire (11), Minnesota (9), North Carolina (2), Georgia (1), Idaho (1), Illinois (1), New York (1), Pennsylvania (1), South Carolina (1) and Texas (1).
Seven of the 18 states, Tennessee, Michigan, Florida, Indiana, Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina, have had people who succumbed to the meningitis.
State and federal health officials are also monitoring fungal infections in peripheral joints such as knees, hips and elbows where injections provided directly into the joints may have contained contaminated material. To date, only Michigan and New Hampshire have reported these types of infections.
Doctors' Ongoing Concerns
The Wall Street Journal reports that even as the meningitis outbreak has so far stretched into a four-week duration, doctors are still unsure as to what symptoms a person may present to indicate he is sick or even whether the antifungal medications that are being given to the ill patients are working.
Dr. Thomas Kerkering, section chief of infectious medicine at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, a man who has spent at least part of his career researching effective treatments for fungal infections, shared with the WSJ that he shares the same concerns as his fellow practitioners in determining what the next step should be, when discharge is appropriate, and what after-care should be planned.
Public health officials are also trying to make sense of the data collected from all the reported cases and will work with clinicians to find patterns that may lead to improved knowledge as each day passes.
Meningitis Outbreak as Seen via an Infectious Disease Doctor's Eyes
Dr. Manoj Jain, an infectious disease specialist writing for Memphis Commercial Appeal, explained that the current meningitis outbreak provides an insight into the importance of the nation's public health infrastructure and to learn ways to improve it. Going forward, Jain cites four main factors that would positively impact the public health system and the nation as a whole: 1) Have improved direct communication between health care providers and health departments, including lab systems and electronic medical records; 2) Improved enforcement of existing laws and guidelines related to potential infection sources; 3) Public reporting of all infections in hospitals and outpatient settings in all states; and 4) Increased taxpayer funding to ensure public health departments have the staff and updated equipment to deal with information, research and services.
Bottom Line
Even as the meningitis outbreak continues, it provides learning opportunities for the professionals who deal with it -- perhaps with the potential to prevent such a situation from developing in the future.
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High blood pressure is a common yet serious disorder, which is associated with the increased pressure of blood against the arterial walls. This condition further increases your risk of suffering from several other health conditions such as coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke. It is estimated that almost 35 per cent of the population of the United States suffers from high blood pressure.
Therefore, it is important to treat this condition and prevent the blood pressure of the patient from rising abnormally. Although medications are used to lower blood pressure, diet plays a very crucial role in lowering as well as maintaining blood pressure levels in the human body. Given below is an effective diet plan for treating the problem of high blood pressure.
Diet Plan For?High Blood Pressure
Include Whole Grains
Several research surveys have indicated that consuming whole grains is helpful in reducing blood pressure levels. This is due to the fact that whole grains possess high concentrations of minerals such as potassium and magnesium, which help in decreasing blood pressure levels.
Whole grains that help in reducing blood pressure include oats, brown rice, bulgur, barley, bran and whole grain pasta. You should aim at consuming whole grains along with every meal.
Include Beans and Dairy Products
Beans and lentils are considered beneficial for high blood pressure patients, as they contain good amounts of potassium. Potassium is considered effective in lowering high blood pressure. The best beans that contain high amounts of potassium include lima beans, garbanzo beans, naval beans and black beans.
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It is highly recommended that you avoid purchasing canned beans, as they possess high amounts of sodium. Dairy products are also helpful in lowering blood pressure levels, due to the fact that they possess high amounts of calcium, which is a mineral that maintains blood pressure.
Include dairy products such as skim milk, yogurt and cheese, as they are very helpful in decreasing blood pressure levels in human beings. It is advisable that you avoid processed cheese, due to the high sodium content.
Decrease Sodium Intake
Decreasing the amount of sodium in your diet is essential for lowering blood pressure levels. Several health organizations recommend consuming only 2300 mg of sodium each day, which is approximately one teaspoon of salt.
However, if you suffer from high blood pressure, the recommended intake of sodium is 1500 mg per day. Common foods that contain high amounts of sodium include sauces, processed cheese, canned meat, beans and pickle.
Include Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are considered extremely beneficial for high blood pressure patients due to the fact that they possess high amounts of potassium and negligible amounts of sodium. Fruits and vegetables that are good for high blood pressure patients include oranges, spinach, kale, grapefruit, apples, banana, watermelon, papaya, cabbage, pumpkin and onions.
Avoid consuming packaged fruits and vegetables as they contain high amounts of sodium. It is highly recommended that you consume five to six servings of fruits and vegetables as a part of your diet, on a daily basis. Try eating fruits and vegetables raw as cooking destroy the nutritive value.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2012) ? With greenhouse warming, rainfall in the South Pacific islands will depend on two competing effects -- an increase due to overall warming and a decrease due to changes in atmospheric water transport -- according to a study by an international team of scientists around Matthew Widlansky and Axel Timmermann at the International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa. In the South Pacific, the study shows, these two effects sometimes cancel each other out, resulting in highly uncertain rainfall projections.
Results of the study are published in the 28 October online issue of Nature Climate Change.
The largest rainband in the Southern Hemisphere -- the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) -- is the main source of rainfall for South Pacific island nations. Changes in this rainfall band would have severe consequences for the vulnerable island nations already having to adapt to accelerating sea level rise. Yet, very little is known about how this 8,000-km-long climate feature will respond to greenhouse warming.
"One reason why the SPCZ projections are so elusive is that many climate models are notoriously poor in simulating this important rainband, even under present-day climate conditions," says Postdoctoral Fellow Widlansky at the International Pacific Research Center. "We were able to overcome some model shortcomings in simulating South Pacific climate by removing model deviations from observed sea surface temperatures."
With the resulting improvements in climate model performance, Widlansky, Timmermann, and colleagues could identify two competing mechanisms affecting rainfall trends in the South Pacific.
"We have known for some time that rising tropical temperatures will lead to more water vapor in the atmosphere," explains Timmermann, professor of oceanography at the International Pacific Research Center and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. "Abundant moisture tends to bring about heavier rainfall in regions of converging winds such as the SPCZ." Scientists refer to this as the "wet gets wetter" climate change mechanism.
"Nearly all climate change model simulations, however, suggest the equatorial Pacific will warm faster than the SPCZ region. This uneven warming is likely to pull the rainband away from its normal position, causing drying in the Southwest Pacific and more equatorial rainfall," Timmerman goes on to say. The study refers to this as the "warmest gets wetter" mechanism.
Widlansky adds, "When we evaluated the latest climate change experiments being conducted by international climate modeling groups, we saw that these competing mechanisms are the cause for uncertainty in the SPCZ rainfall projections."
The scientists found that depending upon the degree of tropical warming expected this century, one or the other mechanism is more likely to win out. With moderate warming, weaker sea surface temperature gradients are likely to shift the rainband towards the equator, potentially causing drying during summer for most Southwest Pacific island nations. For much higher warming possible by the end of this century, the net effect of the opposing mechanisms is likely a shift towards more rainfall for the South Pacific islands.
"To be more definite in our projections, however, we need more extensive observations in the South Pacific of how clouds and rainfall form and how they respond to such climate phenomena as El Ni?o. Before we have more confidence in our calculations of the delicate balance between the two climate change mechanisms, we need to be able to simulate cloud formations more realistically," says Timmermann.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Hawaii ? SOEST, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Matthew J. Widlansky, Axel Timmermann, Karl Stein, Shayne McGregor, Niklas Schneider, Matthew H. England, Matthieu Lengaigne, Wenju Cai. Changes in South Pacific rainfall bands in a warming climate. Nature Climate Change, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE1726
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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Copyright is used to protect your own work. You have the right as inventor, writer, creator, holder and owner of your own work to protect it from being used by others without your permission.
It covers (and this is from memory rather than being exhaustive): Code, designs, writing, artworks, music, video and many other business and individual pursuits...
The former answer is valid in stating that you can place:
Copyright ? Ahmed Hamdy (replace personal or business name here). All Rights Reserved.
On your website or other works if they are created by you.
You can choose to protect your own work or could make it open and usable by others, by using a licence. Your best bet is probably to visit a good site like http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ to discover more about licensing and your options if this is the case.
NOTE: This does not constitute legal advice - I'm not a lawyer but have worked with many, so speak to a lawyer or consult an online digital/copyright law forum to find out more if it's something you feel worth pursuing.
High winds blow sea foam into the air as a person walks across Jeanette's Pier in Nags Head, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012 as wind and rain from Hurricane Sandy move into the area. Governors from North Carolina, where steady rains were whipped by gusting winds Saturday night, to Connecticut declared states of emergency. Delaware ordered mandatory evacuations for coastal communities by 8 p.m. Sunday. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
High winds blow sea foam into the air as a person walks across Jeanette's Pier in Nags Head, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012 as wind and rain from Hurricane Sandy move into the area. Governors from North Carolina, where steady rains were whipped by gusting winds Saturday night, to Connecticut declared states of emergency. Delaware ordered mandatory evacuations for coastal communities by 8 p.m. Sunday. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Annemarie Jarman, and her dog "Bruges," walk along the edge of the beach that is mostly empty as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the east coast, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012, in Ocean City, Md. Hurricane Sandy, upgraded again Saturday just hours after forecasters said it had weakened to a tropical storm, was barreling north from the Caribbean and was expected to make landfall early Tuesday near the Delaware coast, then hit two winter weather systems as it moves inland, creating a hybrid monster storm. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Mary Corrus, from Ocean City, Md., takes a picture of the rough surf as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the east coast, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012, in Ocean City, Md. Governors from North Carolina, where steady rains were whipped by gusting winds Saturday night, to Connecticut declared states of emergency. Delaware ordered mandatory evacuations for coastal communities by 8 p.m. Sunday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Cody Billotte walks through the high water as he loads his car to go to work as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the east coast, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012, in Ocean City, Md. Governors from North Carolina, where steady rains were whipped by gusting winds Saturday night, to Connecticut declared states of emergency. Delaware ordered mandatory evacuations for coastal communities by 8 p.m. Sunday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A news crew wades through sea foam blown onto Jeanette's Pier in Nags Head, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012 as wind and rain from Hurricane Sandy move into the area. Governors from North Carolina, where steady rains were whipped by gusting winds Saturday night, to Connecticut declared states of emergency. Delaware ordered mandatory evacuations for coastal communities by 8 p.m. Sunday. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
SHIP BOTTOM, New Jersey (AP) ? Tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate coastal areas Sunday as big cities and small towns across the U.S. Northeast braced for the onslaught of a superstorm threatening some 60 million people along the most heavily populated corridor in the nation.
"The time for preparing and talking is about over," Federal Emergency Management Administrator Craig Fugate warned as a monster Hurricane Sandy headed up the Atlantic Coast on a collision course with two other weather systems. "People need to be acting now."
New York City announced its subways, buses and trains would stop running Sunday night, and its 1.1 million-student school system would be closed on Monday. Mayor Michael Bloomberg also ordered the evacuation of part of lower Manhattan and other low-lying neighborhoods.
"If you don't evacuate, you are not only endangering your life, you are also endangering the lives of the first responders who are going in to rescue you," Bloomberg said. "This is a serious and dangerous storm."
Tens of thousands of people along the coast in Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut and other threatened areas were also under orders to clear out because of as much as a foot (30 centimeters) of rain, punishing winds of 80 mph (130 kph), and a potentially deadly tidal surge of 4 to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 meters).
Sandy was headed north from the Caribbean, where it left at least 65 people dead, mostly in Haiti, and was expected to hook left toward the mid-Atlantic coast and come ashore late Monday or early Tuesday, most likely in New Jersey, colliding with a wintry storm moving in from the west and cold air streaming down from the Arctic.
Forecasters warned that the resulting megastorm could wreak havoc over 800 miles (1,300 kilometers)from the East Coast to the Great Lakes. Parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina could get snow ? 2 feet (60 centimeters) or more in places.
The danger was hardly limited to coastal areas, with worried about inland flooding. They also warned that the rain could saturate the ground, causing trees to topple onto power lines and cause blackouts that could last for several days.
States of emergency were declared from North Carolina, where gusty winds whipped steady rain on Sunday morning, to Connecticut. Delaware ordered 50,000 people in coastal communities to clear out by 8 p.m. Sunday.
Officials in New York City were particularly worried about the possibility of subway flooding. The city closed the subways before Hurricane Irene last year, and a Columbia University study predicted that an Irene surge just 1 foot (30 centimeters) higher would have paralyzed lower Manhattan.
Sandy was at Category 1 strength, packing 75 mph (120 kph) winds, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and moving northeast at 14 mph (22.5 kph) as of 11 a.m. (1500 GMT) Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. It was about 575 miles (925 kilometers) south of New York City.
The storm was expected to continue moving parallel to the Southeast coast most of the day and approach the coast of the mid-Atlantic states by Monday night, before reaching southern New England later in the week.
The storm was so big, however, and the convergence of the three storms so rare, that "we just can't pinpoint who is going to get the worst of it," said Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Bobbie Foote said she would heed an evacuation order Sunday for south Wilmington, Delaware, and would take shelter at her daughter's home in nearby Newark.
"My daughter insists that I leave this time," said Foote, a 58-year-old fitness coach. It will be the first time she has fled a storm threatening the apartment building that has been her home for at least 40 years in the working-class neighborhood near the Delaware River.
Foote said she stayed last year when flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Irene blocked streets at either end of the neighborhood. She said her daughter wouldn't stand for her getting trapped that way again.
"She said I should never put myself in that predicament where I cannot get in or out of where I live," Foote said.
Amtrak began canceling passenger train service Saturday night to parts of the East Coast, including between Washington and New York. Airlines started moving planes out of airports to avoid damage and added Sunday flights out of New York and Washington in preparation for flight cancellations on Monday.
The Virginia National Guard was authorized to call up to 500 troops to active duty for debris removal and road-clearing, while homeowners stacked sandbags at their front doors in coastal towns.
President Barack Obama was monitoring the storm and working with state and locals governments to make sure they get the resources needed to prepare, administration officials said.
In North Carolina's Outer Banks, there was some scattered, minor flooding at daybreak Sunday on the beach road in Nags Head. The bad weather could pick up there later in the day, with the major concerns being rising tides and pounding waves.
In New Jersey, hundreds of coastal residents started moving inland.
Gov. Chris Christie's emergency declaration will force the shutdown of Atlantic City's 12 casinos for only the fourth time in the 34-year history of legalized gambling there. City officials said they would begin evacuating the gambling hub's 30,000 residents at noon Sunday, busing them to mainland shelters and schools.
The storm also forced the presidential campaign to juggle schedules. Romney scrapped plans to campaign Sunday in Virginia and switched his schedule for the day to Ohio. First lady Michelle Obama canceled an appearance in New Hampshire for Tuesday, and Obama moved a planned Monday departure for Florida to Sunday night to beat the storm. He also canceled appearances in Northern Virginia on Monday and Colorado on Tuesday.
Witlet Maceno, an emergency room nurse working at New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital, was headed home to Staten Island on Sunday morning after his overnight shift. He said he was going home to check on his parents, visiting from Atlanta, before he returned to work Sunday evening.
"I'm making sure they're OK, that they have water and food, and that the windows are shut tight," he said. "And I'm going to remove stuff outside that could go flying into the windows" of his street-level apartment.
___
Breed reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. Contributing to this report were AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein in Washington; Emery Dalesio in Nags Head, North Carolina.; Verena Dobnik, Karen Matthews and Samantha Bomkamp in New York; Randall Chase in Lewes, Delaware.; Dave Dishneau in Wilmington, Delaware; Jessica Gresko in Arlington, Virginia; and Nancy Benac in Washington.
Past lives. This has been a topic amongst philosophers, but it is such a difficult question that no one has been able to answer it perfectly. The Wachowskis? (with help from director Tom Tykwer) newest science fiction epic, Cloud Atlas, tries to answer the questions surrounding the topic. The film never truly answers them, yet showcases some interesting and incredible worlds and stories.
???? Cloud Atlas?s story is a little difficult to follow at first, as all six of the main stories are being told simultaneously. It is framed by an old, scarred man (Tom Hanks), who tells the story of several people who are interconnected throughout time. One story is about a young man named Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess) who is making a trip to San Francisco in the 19th century, where he befriends a slave (David Gyasi); another story is about a young composer named Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) who deals with problems with his mentor and missing his friend, Rufus Sixsmith (James D'Arcy); Halle Berry stars as a columnist investigating a nuclear power plant, while being pursued by a hired gun; a comedic story involving a silly old English man named Timothy Cavendish (Jim Broadbent) includes Cavendish trying to escape a nursing home; a dystopian science fiction story has a cloned fast food worker named Sonmi-451 (Donna Bae) escaping her mundane life to discover a the world around her; and the last story features a tribesman named Zachary Bailey (Hanks) dealing with an intelligent technologically advanced human (Berry) who wants to uncover the past.? All of these actors, along with Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant, and Hugo Weaving, return in each story as a completely different character, with Weaving and Grant playing the villains in each story, underlining the film?s theme of past lives.
???? Where the film shines is in its technical aspects. The settings in each story are incredible to look at and the viewer will constantly be treated to new sets and locations. The film really transports the audience into that world. From the future of Neo Seoul to the jungle of the post-apocalypse, to the scenes in the 19th century, all the locations look authentic. The makeup and costumes are perfect for each scene, with the characters fitting right in with the sets. The special effects also work well, blending in seamlessly.
???? The actors' performances carry the film well, and it challenges their range. Each actor plays at least three or more different characters, with their own distinct personalities. For example, Halle Berry goes from playing the daughter of a famous journalist in the 1970s to an old Korean doctor in the future, giving a great performance with each. With the incredible art direction and characters being interesting, it keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.
???? Unfortunately, the film isn?t as close to perfection with its acting confusion and writing. With each actor playing a different character, their costumes and makeup have to make them appear to look different. The results are mixed. Hugo Weaving goes from being a threatening villain to looking like a goofy SNL character, and Tom Hanks is over-the-top in a good portion of the movie. The story with Timothy Cavendish is written to be comedic, but winds up juxtaposed with some dramatic acting that has no place in a comedic story like this. There are some loose ends with Wishaw?s story too. Having each story jump from place to place, it can be hard to follow any the whole way through with the three hour run time.
???? Overall, though, Cloud Atlas is not to be missed. The special effects and costumes look amazing and the story is interesting enough to keep any viewer enchanted. Even though there was some mediocre and goofy acting and minor story problems, the rest of the film is great. Cloud Atlas is thought provoking and, in the end, offers something new to movie goers.
Autism early intervention found to normalize brain activity in children as young as 18 monthsPublic release date: 26-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Phyllis Brown phyllis.brown@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu 916-734-9023 University of California - Davis Health System
An intensive early intervention therapy that is effective for improving cognition and language skills among very young children with autism also normalizes their brain activity, decreases their autism symptoms and improves their social skills, a nationwide study has found. The researchers said the study is the first to demonstrate that an autism early intervention program can normalize brain activity.
"We know that infant brains are quite malleable and previously demonstrated that this therapy capitalizes on the potential of learning that an infant brain has in order to limit autism's deleterious effects," said study author Sally Rogers, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a researcher with the UC Davis MIND Institute.
"The findings on improved behavioral outcomes and the ability to normalize brain activity associated with social activities signify that there is tremendous potential for the brains of children with autism to develop and grow more normally," Rogers said.
Published online today in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the randomized, case-controlled, multi-centered study titled "Early behavioral intervention is associated with normalized brain activity in young children with autism," found that the children who received the intervention exhibited greater brain activation when viewing faces rather than objects, a response that was typical of the normal children in the study, and the opposite of the children with autism who received other intervention.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 88 children born today will be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Hallmarks of the neurodevelopmental condition include persistent deficits in social communication and relatedness, and repetitive or restrictive patterns of interest that appear in early childhood and impair everyday functioning.
Named the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), the intervention method was developed by Rogers and Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer of the research and advocacy organization Autism Speaks. The therapy fuses a play-based, developmental, relationship-based approach and the teaching methods of applied behavioral analysis.
"This may be the first demonstration that a behavioral intervention for autism is associated with changes in brain function as well as positive changes in behavior," said Thomas R. Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, which funded the study. "By studying changes in the neural response to faces, Dawson and her colleagues have identified a new target and a potential biomarker that can guide treatment development."
For the present study, the researchers recruited 48 diverse male and female children diagnosed with autism between 18 and 30 months in Sacramento, Calif., and in Seattle, as well as typically developing case controls. The ratio of male-to-female participants was more than 3-to-1. Autism is five times more common among boys than girls.
Approximately half of the children with autism were randomly assigned to receive the ESDM intervention for over two years. The participants received ESDM therapy for 20 hours each week, and their parents also were trained to deliver the treatment, a core feature of the intervention. The other participants with autism received similar amounts of various community-based interventions as well as evaluations, referrals, resource manuals and other reading materials.
At the study's conclusion, the participants' brain activity was assessed using electroencephalograms (EEGs) that measured brain activation while viewing social stimuli -- faces -- and non-social stimuli -- toys. Earlier studies have found that typical infants and young children show increased brain activity when viewing social stimuli rather than objects, while children with autism show the opposite pattern.
Twice as many of the children who received the ESDM intervention showed greater brain activation when viewing faces rather than when viewing objects -- a demonstration of normalized brain activity. Eleven of the 15 children who received the ESDM intervention, 73 percent, showed more brain activation when viewing faces than toys. Similarly, 12 of the 17 typically developing children, or 71 percent, showed the same pattern. But the majority -- 64 percent -- of the recipients of the community intervention showed the opposite, "autistic" pattern, i.e., greater response to toys than faces. Only 5 percent showed the brain activation of typical children.
Further, the children receiving ESDM who had greater brain activity while viewing faces also had fewer social-pragmatic problems and improved social communication, including the ability to initiate interactions, make eye contact and imitate others, said MIND Institute researcher Rogers. Use of the ESDM intervention has been shown to improve cognition, language and daily living skills. A study published in 2009 found that ESDM recipients showed more than three times as much gain in IQ and language than the recipients of community interventions.
"This is the first case-controlled study of an intensive early intervention that demonstrates both improvement of social skills and normalized brain activity resulting from intensive early intervention therapy," said Dawson, the study's lead author and professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. "Given that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all 18- and 24-month-old children be screened for autism, it is vital that we have effective therapies available for young children as soon as they are diagnosed."
"For the first time," Dawson continued, "parents and practitioners have evidence that early intervention can alter the course of brain and behavioral development in young children. It is crucial that all children with autism have access to early intervention which can promote the most positive long-term outcomes."
Rogers, Dawson and Laurie J. Vismara, also a researcher with the MIND Institute, have authored two books on the intervention. One for professionals is titled "Early Start Denver Model for Young Children with Autism: Promoting Language, Learning, and Engagement" and one for parents titled "An Early Start for Your Child with Autism: Using Everyday Activities to Help Kids Connect, Communicate, and Learn."
The ESDM intervention is available in Sacramento through the MIND Institute clinic and in a number of locations throughout the U.S. and other nations. Training in delivering the ESDM method is provided through the MIND Institute and the University of Washington.
###
Other study authors include Emily J.H. Jones, Kaitlin Venema, Rachel Lowy, Susan Faja, Dana Kamara, Michale Murias, Jessica Greenson, Jamie Winter, Milani Smith and Sara J. Webb, all of the University of Washington, and Kristen Merkle of Vanderbilt University.
The study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health and by a postdoctoral fellowship to Jones from Autism Speaks.
Autism Speaks is the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization. It is dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.
At the UC Davis MIND Institute, world-renowned scientists engage in collaborative, interdisciplinary research to find the causes of and develop treatments and cures for autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), fragile X syndrome, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, Down syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders. For more information, visit mindinstitute.ucdavis.edu
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Autism early intervention found to normalize brain activity in children as young as 18 monthsPublic release date: 26-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Phyllis Brown phyllis.brown@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu 916-734-9023 University of California - Davis Health System
An intensive early intervention therapy that is effective for improving cognition and language skills among very young children with autism also normalizes their brain activity, decreases their autism symptoms and improves their social skills, a nationwide study has found. The researchers said the study is the first to demonstrate that an autism early intervention program can normalize brain activity.
"We know that infant brains are quite malleable and previously demonstrated that this therapy capitalizes on the potential of learning that an infant brain has in order to limit autism's deleterious effects," said study author Sally Rogers, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a researcher with the UC Davis MIND Institute.
"The findings on improved behavioral outcomes and the ability to normalize brain activity associated with social activities signify that there is tremendous potential for the brains of children with autism to develop and grow more normally," Rogers said.
Published online today in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the randomized, case-controlled, multi-centered study titled "Early behavioral intervention is associated with normalized brain activity in young children with autism," found that the children who received the intervention exhibited greater brain activation when viewing faces rather than objects, a response that was typical of the normal children in the study, and the opposite of the children with autism who received other intervention.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 88 children born today will be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Hallmarks of the neurodevelopmental condition include persistent deficits in social communication and relatedness, and repetitive or restrictive patterns of interest that appear in early childhood and impair everyday functioning.
Named the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), the intervention method was developed by Rogers and Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer of the research and advocacy organization Autism Speaks. The therapy fuses a play-based, developmental, relationship-based approach and the teaching methods of applied behavioral analysis.
"This may be the first demonstration that a behavioral intervention for autism is associated with changes in brain function as well as positive changes in behavior," said Thomas R. Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, which funded the study. "By studying changes in the neural response to faces, Dawson and her colleagues have identified a new target and a potential biomarker that can guide treatment development."
For the present study, the researchers recruited 48 diverse male and female children diagnosed with autism between 18 and 30 months in Sacramento, Calif., and in Seattle, as well as typically developing case controls. The ratio of male-to-female participants was more than 3-to-1. Autism is five times more common among boys than girls.
Approximately half of the children with autism were randomly assigned to receive the ESDM intervention for over two years. The participants received ESDM therapy for 20 hours each week, and their parents also were trained to deliver the treatment, a core feature of the intervention. The other participants with autism received similar amounts of various community-based interventions as well as evaluations, referrals, resource manuals and other reading materials.
At the study's conclusion, the participants' brain activity was assessed using electroencephalograms (EEGs) that measured brain activation while viewing social stimuli -- faces -- and non-social stimuli -- toys. Earlier studies have found that typical infants and young children show increased brain activity when viewing social stimuli rather than objects, while children with autism show the opposite pattern.
Twice as many of the children who received the ESDM intervention showed greater brain activation when viewing faces rather than when viewing objects -- a demonstration of normalized brain activity. Eleven of the 15 children who received the ESDM intervention, 73 percent, showed more brain activation when viewing faces than toys. Similarly, 12 of the 17 typically developing children, or 71 percent, showed the same pattern. But the majority -- 64 percent -- of the recipients of the community intervention showed the opposite, "autistic" pattern, i.e., greater response to toys than faces. Only 5 percent showed the brain activation of typical children.
Further, the children receiving ESDM who had greater brain activity while viewing faces also had fewer social-pragmatic problems and improved social communication, including the ability to initiate interactions, make eye contact and imitate others, said MIND Institute researcher Rogers. Use of the ESDM intervention has been shown to improve cognition, language and daily living skills. A study published in 2009 found that ESDM recipients showed more than three times as much gain in IQ and language than the recipients of community interventions.
"This is the first case-controlled study of an intensive early intervention that demonstrates both improvement of social skills and normalized brain activity resulting from intensive early intervention therapy," said Dawson, the study's lead author and professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. "Given that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all 18- and 24-month-old children be screened for autism, it is vital that we have effective therapies available for young children as soon as they are diagnosed."
"For the first time," Dawson continued, "parents and practitioners have evidence that early intervention can alter the course of brain and behavioral development in young children. It is crucial that all children with autism have access to early intervention which can promote the most positive long-term outcomes."
Rogers, Dawson and Laurie J. Vismara, also a researcher with the MIND Institute, have authored two books on the intervention. One for professionals is titled "Early Start Denver Model for Young Children with Autism: Promoting Language, Learning, and Engagement" and one for parents titled "An Early Start for Your Child with Autism: Using Everyday Activities to Help Kids Connect, Communicate, and Learn."
The ESDM intervention is available in Sacramento through the MIND Institute clinic and in a number of locations throughout the U.S. and other nations. Training in delivering the ESDM method is provided through the MIND Institute and the University of Washington.
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Other study authors include Emily J.H. Jones, Kaitlin Venema, Rachel Lowy, Susan Faja, Dana Kamara, Michale Murias, Jessica Greenson, Jamie Winter, Milani Smith and Sara J. Webb, all of the University of Washington, and Kristen Merkle of Vanderbilt University.
The study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health and by a postdoctoral fellowship to Jones from Autism Speaks.
Autism Speaks is the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization. It is dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.
At the UC Davis MIND Institute, world-renowned scientists engage in collaborative, interdisciplinary research to find the causes of and develop treatments and cures for autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), fragile X syndrome, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, Down syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders. For more information, visit mindinstitute.ucdavis.edu
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ROME (AP) ? Silvio Berlusconi has confirmed he won't run for premier again in spring elections, but he announced an undefined new movement to reform Italy's justice system that convicted him of tax fraud.
In a rambling 50-minute speech Saturday, Berlusconi lashed out at German Chancellor Angela Merkel, criticized Italian Premier Mario Monti's fiscal reforms and complained that Italy is now beholden to a "dictatorship of magistrates."
He announced what sounded like a political platform to undo many of the reforms Monti has instituted in the year since he replaced Berlusconi. But Berlusconi insisted he wasn't running for office, merely that he was launching an undefined "action" to reform Italy's justice system.
A Milan court on Friday sentenced Berlusconi to four years in prison and barred him from public office for five years.
Dear Lifehacker, Windows 8 is out, and it's all anyone's talking about?except everyone just keeps telling me how much it sucks and how I shouldn't upgrade. Why does everyone hate it so much? Should I upgrade, or hold off?
Sincerely, Worried About Windows
Dear Worried, Windows 8 is getting a bad rap from a lot of people, but it really does have a lot of good stuff going for it. After all, people hated XP when it came out, too. Here are some of the things people are complaining about, and why they probably don't matter.
Complaint #1: "The Tiled Interface Sucks (and My Start Menu Is Gone!)"
Why People Are Upset: This is the biggest thing people are complaining about. The Start menu is gone, and it's been replaced by a new, full screen, tablet-friendly tiled interface that isn't really that great on a desktop computer. It seems inefficient to go to a full screen interface just to launch an app, especially if you could do the same thing from a small menu on the desktop.
Why It Isn't a Problem: I disagree with Microsoft's choice to get rid of the Start menu. I think it's going to confuse a lot of novice users. However, it's also really, really easy to bring back. In fact, if you download a Start menu replacement, you have a lot more control over what you see in that Start menu, which is actually kind of awesome.
Furthermore, the tiled Start screen?while imperfect?isn't really as bad as everyone's saying it is. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy to get around. You can still launch an app by pressing the Windows key and typing the name of the app you want. In fact, it's faster than browsing through the old Start menu, and if you weren't doing it before, you should be. Learn this shortcut. It will become your one true love. Alternatively, you can use an app launcher like Launchy, which pretty much negates the need for a Start menu anyway. All that other stuff in the Start menu, like the Control Panel, PC Info, and Shut Down buttons, can be found in the Charms bar just by pressing Win+C. Easy peasy.
Complaint #2: "There Aren't Any New Desktop Features"
Why People Are Upset: I'm not really sure. There are a lot of new desktop features.
Why It Isn't a Problem: Sure, the tiled interface is the biggest change in the new OS, but there are a lot of other changes too, particularly those that pertain to the desktop?in fact, we've talked about them numerous times. Highlights include:
Better performance. We tested both versions of Windows and found that Windows 8 was faster at pretty much everything. Boot times are a lot faster, which is really nice.
The new Windows Explorer, which has some handy context-sensitive menus that are really nice, not to mention a much better file copy dialog than Windows 7.
The new Task Manager, which gives you tons more information about how your computer's resources are being used.
Better Security. Not only does it have built-in antivirus software, but there are a lot of other things going on under the hood that make it more secure than Windows 7.
Reset & Refresh, the really cool new features that let you do a clean installation of Windows with just the click of a button.
The Windows 8 Store. It may be a full screen app, but it has desktop apps in it too?making it easier to discover new and awesome apps, not to mention read reviews all in one unified place.
File History, a new backup tool that keeps incremental backups of all the files in your libraries. It's not unlike OS X's Time Machine, letting you restore back to any version of a file at any point in time. File History also has a lot of advanced settings, which is awesome.
Even if you bypass the Start screen entirely, there are a lot new features to get excited about in Windows 8. They may not have been as well marketed as the touch features?again, which I think was a mistake?but they are there, and they're worth upgrading for.
Complaint #3: "It's Bad for Gaming"
Why People Are Upset: Gabe Newell, head of Valve (the company that makes video game app store Steam), recently called Windows 8 a "catastrophe", and other game developers joined in synchronized chorus about how Windows 8 is going to destroy our firstborn children and gamers should just stick with Windows 7. Somehow this has led people to believe that gaming is horrible on Windows 8, Steam won't be supported, and that Microsoft is going to close off its system so you can only buy games in the App Store. None of these are true.
Why It Isn't a Problem: In short: people are reading way too much into a few tiny comments. Gaming on Windows 8 is, well, the exact same as gaming on Windows 7. Performance is pretty much the same. Steam works just fine. Valve has made no claims that they won't support Windows 8, and Microsoft has made no claims that they're going to shut Valve out. Valve's anger is understandable?after all, the built-in Windows 8 Store will be a big competitor?but there's no evidence to support that gaming on Windows 8 will be any less than gaming on Windows 7.
So Should You Upgrade?
So now you know that Windows 8 isn't really as bad as everyone says it is. In fact, it's pretty good. But should you upgrade? Well, if your hardware and apps are compatible (which they probably are) and you can spare the $40 to upgrade, yes?we think Windows 8 is well worth the upgrade. Of course, no one's saying you have to?Windows 7 will be supported for awhile?but if you're on the fence, we think you'll like a lot of the new features in Windows 8.
Sincerely, Lifehacker
Title image illustrated by Dominick Rabrun. You can find his illustrations on his personal web site, or works in progress on his blog.
The wealthiest American households have certainly scaled back on charitable giving in the past few years, but they're anything but a bunch of tight wads.
High blood pressure is a common yet serious disorder, which is associated with the increased pressure of blood against the arterial walls. This condition further increases your risk of suffering from several other health conditions such as coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke. It is estimated that almost 35 per cent of the population of the United States suffers from high blood pressure.
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Dear Lifehacker,
Why It Isn't a Problem: I disagree with Microsoft's choice to get rid of the Start menu. I think it's going to confuse a lot of novice users. However, it's also really, really easy to bring back. In fact, if you download a Start menu replacement, you have a lot more control over what you see in that Start menu, which is actually kind of awesome.
Better performance. We tested both versions of Windows and found that Windows 8 was faster at pretty much everything. Boot times are a lot faster, which is really nice.
Reset & Refresh, the really cool new features that let you do a clean installation of Windows with just the click of a button.
Why People Are Upset: Gabe Newell, head of Valve (the company that makes video game app store Steam), recently called Windows 8 a "catastrophe", and other game developers joined in synchronized chorus about how Windows 8 is going to destroy our firstborn children and gamers should just stick with Windows 7. Somehow this has led people to believe that gaming is horrible on Windows 8, Steam won't be supported, and that Microsoft is going to close off its system so you can only buy games in the App Store. None of these are true.