Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/Z3xovlAR4Cg

The pop music in the soundtracks of Americans’ lives has become more sad and more angry over the past 7 decades.  Musicologists at the University of Michigan now report this conclusion from their computerized sentiment analysis of more than 6,000 songs on Billboard’s Top 100 from the 1950s through 2018. 

Angry lyrics increased yearly except from 1982-84 and surged in the 1990s.  Sadness, disgust, and fear in lyrics also increased over the same timeframe.  

The bubblegum sounds of the late 50’s and early 60’s were muted by the ugly Vietnam war, and the lighthearted optimism they expressed never recovered under the influences of corporate greed and resurgent intolerance.  

Kathleen Napier, Lior Shamir. Quantitative Sentiment Analysis of Lyrics in Popular Music. Journal of Popular Music Studies, Vol. 30 No. 4, December 2018 DOI: 10.1525/jpms.2018.300411

#Popmusic #anger #hate #sadness #healthtips #healtnews

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/Z3xovlAR4Cg

The pop music in the soundtracks of Americans’ lives has become more sad and more angry over the past 7 decades.  Musicologists at the University of Michigan now report this conclusion from their computerized sentiment analysis of more than 6,000 songs on Billboard’s Top 100 from the 1950s through 2018. 

Angry lyrics increased yearly except from 1982-84 and surged in the 1990s.  Sadness, disgust, and fear in lyrics also increased over the same timeframe.  

The bubblegum sounds of the late 50’s and early 60’s were muted by the ugly Vietnam war, and the lighthearted optimism they expressed never recovered under the influences of corporate greed and resurgent intolerance.  

Kathleen Napier, Lior Shamir. Quantitative Sentiment Analysis of Lyrics in Popular Music. Journal of Popular Music Studies, Vol. 30 No. 4, December 2018 DOI: 10.1525/jpms.2018.300411

#Popmusic #anger #hate #sadness #healthtips #healtnews

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/_W3hoDgJfP0

Another goal for the #metoo movement is suggested by the latest study from Yale psychologists.  As research subjects observed a video of the very same child being subjected to the classic, old fashioned medical torture, the fingerstick, but identified as either Samuel or Samantha, the majority of observers, both men and women, believe that the girl Samantha felt less pain than the boy Samuel.

This gender bias result is in synch with similar impressions of adults experiencing pain.   The result can be explained by the widespread misconception that boys are more stoic than girls, and it would take greater pain to elicit the same response in the male. 

Parents of girls and significant others of women undergoing procedures need to advocate for their child or partner if they feel that the  pain management being offered is insufficient whether or not it’s due to gender bias.  

Brian D Earp, Joshua T Monrad, Marianne LaFrance, John A Bargh, Lindsey L Cohen, Jennifer A Richeson. Gender Bias in Pediatric Pain Assessment. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 2019; DOI: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsy104

#girls #women #pain #genderbias #healthnews #healthtips

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/_W3hoDgJfP0

Another goal for the #metoo movement is suggested by the latest study from Yale psychologists.  As research subjects observed a video of the very same child being subjected to the classic, old fashioned medical torture, the fingerstick, but identified as either Samuel or Samantha, the majority of observers, both men and women, believe that the girl Samantha felt less pain than the boy Samuel.

This gender bias result is in synch with similar impressions of adults experiencing pain.   The result can be explained by the widespread misconception that boys are more stoic than girls, and it would take greater pain to elicit the same response in the male. 

Parents of girls and significant others of women undergoing procedures need to advocate for their child or partner if they feel that the  pain management being offered is insufficient whether or not it’s due to gender bias.  

Brian D Earp, Joshua T Monrad, Marianne LaFrance, John A Bargh, Lindsey L Cohen, Jennifer A Richeson. Gender Bias in Pediatric Pain Assessment. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 2019; DOI: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsy104

#girls #women #pain #genderbias #healthnews #healthtips

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/Lb0OYyB-6P4

School violence is on the rise but, surprise, it’s the bullies themselves who are most likely to be seriously injured.  This the conclusion of a study by researchers at the University of Texas-Houston who studied of some 4300 5th, 7th, and 10th graders in Houston, LA, and Birmingham, Alabama.

In 5th grade, 17% of children sustained at least one violent injury with a gun or knife, but that percentage rose to 33% by10th grade with gunshot injuries predominating.  Bullies themselves were 41% more likely to be violently injured compared with other children because they engage in more risky and violent activities.

If you are the parent of a bully, don’t think that encouraging your child to “feel his/her oats” will end well.  Aggressively stop this behavior and redirect your child’s energies in more positive directions.

Katelyn K. Jetelina, Jennifer M. Reingle Gonzalez, Mark A. Schuster, etal. Mechanisms and Frequency of Violent Injuries Among Victims and Perpetrators of Bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.10.295

#school violence #bullying #guns #knives #healthnews #healthtips

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/Lb0OYyB-6P4

School violence is on the rise but, surprise, it’s the bullies themselves who are most likely to be seriously injured.  This the conclusion of a study by researchers at the University of Texas-Houston who studied of some 4300 5th, 7th, and 10th graders in Houston, LA, and Birmingham, Alabama.

In 5th grade, 17% of children sustained at least one violent injury with a gun or knife, but that percentage rose to 33% by10th grade with gunshot injuries predominating.  Bullies themselves were 41% more likely to be violently injured compared with other children because they engage in more risky and violent activities.

If you are the parent of a bully, don’t think that encouraging your child to “feel his/her oats” will end well.  Aggressively stop this behavior and redirect your child’s energies in more positive directions.

Katelyn K. Jetelina, Jennifer M. Reingle Gonzalez, Mark A. Schuster, etal. Mechanisms and Frequency of Violent Injuries Among Victims and Perpetrators of Bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.10.295

#school violence #bullying #guns #knives #healthnews #healthtips

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/rfr_xGLijiQ

You may have heard about the ketogenic diet controversy.  Some including the popular fitness expert and Biggest Loser consultant Jillian Michaels insist that this high fat, low carb diet dangerously robs you of critical macronutrients including blood sugar.

To fact check Michaels’ conclusion, a scientific analysis of the ketogenic diet by University of Alabama nutrition scientist Amy Goss reveals that, despite no carbohydrate intake, the body does not become sugar-starved.  The liver uses other sources to create sufficient glucose to fuel the brain.

The ketogenic diet is useful for controlling or eliminating obesity, type 2 diabetes, epilepsy, and non-alcoholic liver disease. If you do use this or any elimination diet, do so safely under the direction of a registered dietician.

https://www.newswise.com/articles/how-safe-is-the-keto-diet

https://www.today.com/health/jillian-michaels-criticizes-keto-diet-you-re-starving-yourselves-t146530

#ketogenicdiet #lowcarb #highfat #obesity #diabetes #spilepsy #heathnews #healthtips

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/rfr_xGLijiQ

You may have heard about the ketogenic diet controversy.  Some including the popular fitness expert and Biggest Loser consultant Jillian Michaels insist that this high fat, low carb diet dangerously robs you of critical macronutrients including blood sugar.

To fact check Michaels’ conclusion, a scientific analysis of the ketogenic diet by University of Alabama nutrition scientist Amy Goss reveals that, despite no carbohydrate intake, the body does not become sugar-starved.  The liver uses other sources to create sufficient glucose to fuel the brain.

The ketogenic diet is useful for controlling or eliminating obesity, type 2 diabetes, epilepsy, and non-alcoholic liver disease. If you do use this or any elimination diet, do so safely under the direction of a registered dietician.

https://www.newswise.com/articles/how-safe-is-the-keto-diet

https://www.today.com/health/jillian-michaels-criticizes-keto-diet-you-re-starving-yourselves-t146530

#ketogenicdiet #lowcarb #highfat #obesity #diabetes #spilepsy #heathnews #healthtips

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/fhEZX0VLIEs

Cancer of the esophagus is so often asymptomatic that it it kills almost a half million persons around the world before they know what hit them.  From Johns Hopkins now comes a simple, non-invasive test that can diagnose this cancer early without the need for a formal endoscopic procedure.

The test, called the EsophaCap, is a dissolvable capsule containing a tiny self-inflating sponge.  The patient swallows the capsule, and an attached string permits the released sponge to be drawn back up the esophagus capturing cells along the way.  The cells on the sponge are then analyzed for genetic material looking for cancer or a pre-cancerous condition.

Patients with a history of GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease, or even recurrent heartburn should have this test.  If you fit the description, look into having the EsophaCap test.

Zhixiong Wang, Swetha Kambhampati, Yulan Cheng, Ke Ma, Cem Simsek, Alan H Tieu, John M Abraham, Xi Liu, Vishnu Prasath, Mark D Duncan, Alejandro Stark, Alexander Trick, Hua-Ling Tsai, Hao Wang, Yulong He, Mouen A Khashab, Saowanee Ngamruengphong, Eun J Shin, Tza-Huei Wang, Stephen J. Meltzer. Methylation Biomarker Panel Performance in EsophaCap Cytology Samples for Diagnosing Barrett's Esophagus: A Prospective Validation Study. Clinical Cancer Research, 2019; clincanres.3696.2018 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-3696

#esophagealcancer #heartburn #gerd #gastricreflux #esophagitis #healthnews #healthtips

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/fhEZX0VLIEs

Cancer of the esophagus is so often asymptomatic that it it kills almost a half million persons around the world before they know what hit them.  From Johns Hopkins now comes a simple, non-invasive test that can diagnose this cancer early without the need for a formal endoscopic procedure.

The test, called the EsophaCap, is a dissolvable capsule containing a tiny self-inflating sponge.  The patient swallows the capsule, and an attached string permits the released sponge to be drawn back up the esophagus capturing cells along the way.  The cells on the sponge are then analyzed for genetic material looking for cancer or a pre-cancerous condition.

Patients with a history of GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease, or even recurrent heartburn should have this test.  If you fit the description, look into having the EsophaCap test.

Zhixiong Wang, Swetha Kambhampati, Yulan Cheng, Ke Ma, Cem Simsek, Alan H Tieu, John M Abraham, Xi Liu, Vishnu Prasath, Mark D Duncan, Alejandro Stark, Alexander Trick, Hua-Ling Tsai, Hao Wang, Yulong He, Mouen A Khashab, Saowanee Ngamruengphong, Eun J Shin, Tza-Huei Wang, Stephen J. Meltzer. Methylation Biomarker Panel Performance in EsophaCap Cytology Samples for Diagnosing Barrett's Esophagus: A Prospective Validation Study. Clinical Cancer Research, 2019; clincanres.3696.2018 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-3696

#esophagealcancer #heartburn #gerd #gastricreflux #esophagitis #healthnews #healthtips