WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama says his proposed $3.77 trillion budget for 2014 can shrink federal deficits and expand the U.S. economy. He says: "We can do both."
Obama spoke at the White House Wednesday as his administration issued his budget proposal. It would replace $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect over the next 10 years with $1.8 trillion in deficit-reduction measures. His plan calls for reductions in Social Security and Medicare spending and increases in taxes, mostly on the wealthy.
He says: "It replaces these cuts with smarter ones."
Obama also would increase cigarette taxes by 94 cents a pack to pay for expanded preschool programs. He also calls for $50 billion in public works spending.
Apr. 10, 2013 ? Those who accept their pain condition are best able to tolerate pain, while distraction can be the way to lower pain intensity, according to research reported in The Journal of Pain.
A team of German researchers evaluated the most common short-term cognitive pain management techniques for acute pain -- acceptance, distraction and cognitive restructuring. They noted that little is known about the relative efficacy of acceptance strategies compared to other cognitive approaches, such as distraction and cognitive restructuring. The objective was to explore the differential short-term effects of these methods in a sample of 109 female students exposed to thermal mode experimental pain stimuli.
As an adjunctive pain treatment, acceptance is intended to disrupt the link between thoughts and behaviors so patients are willing to tolerate pain. The majority of experimental studies have shown that acceptance strategies are more effective at increasing pain tolerance than other pain regulation strategies.
In the study sample, distraction was used to shift attention away from pain stimulation to lessen pain intensity. With cognitive behavioral structuring, patients are trained to alter their appraisals of pain dysfunction in order to improve their ability to cope with pain. Proponents believe that restructuring pain-related thoughts may affect disability-related behavior, such as avoiding work or recreational activities in fear of pain.
Results of the study showed that acceptance led to increased pain tolerance relative to cognitive restructuring and distraction lowered pain intensity compared to acceptance. No significant differences were detected between distraction and acceptance with regard to pain tolerance. The authors concluded that cognitive restructuring was no different from distraction for increasing pain tolerance. They noted that from a clinical perspective knowledge about cognitive pain management strategies can be useful in gauging treatment outcomes and for refining the treatment of chronic pain.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Pain Society.
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Tennessee House committee on Tuesday recommended passing a bill that would dock the welfare payments of parents of children who fail at a school despite Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's opposition to the measure.
The House Government Operations Committee voted 8-4 to give a positive recommendation to the bill sponsored by Rep. Vance Dennis of Savannah even after hearing from a representative from Haslam's office that the governor has serious concerns about the bill.
House Speaker Beth Harwell, a Republican, has also raised concerns about the measure that would cut Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, benefits by 30 percent if a child fails to advance to the next grade.
The money could be earned back if a parent attends two conferences with teachers, takes parenting classes or enrolls the child in tutoring programs or summer school.
Rep. Joshua Evans said he agreed with the goals of the bill.
"I deal with families it seems like every week ... that at least give the appearance that they care more about their electronics and cell phones and other things than they do their kids," said Evans, R-Greenbrier. "I think that's really unfortunate. I hope that's not how they feel, but that's how they appear to feel."
"Sometimes the way we get people's attention is their pocketbook," he said. "And I think this is an attempt to do that."
Democratic Rep. Johnnie Turner of Memphis rejected the notion that lawmakers can "legislate parental involvement."
"I know the limitations poor people have," she said. "Many times they don't have the electronics my colleague alluded to. They need to try to work two and three jobs."
Republican Rep. John Ragan of Oak Ridge said the burden wouldn't be too high for parents to regain the full TANF benefit.
"They have to take off work twice to go talk about their child concerning education," Ragan said.
About 52,800 families currently receive TANF benefits, according to the state Department of Human Services. The agency does not keep track of how many of those families include children who would be affected by the bill.
Haslam told reporters earlier this week that he opposes the measure because "there's too many other reasons that could cause a child to struggle in school."
"We are all working to have more parental involvement in children's education," he said. "But to have that direct link there, when there's so many other factors, is worrisome to me."
Harwell, the House speaker, said last week that she shared those concerns with the governor, though she said she understood some of her colleagues who believe "perhaps we're giving government assistance and people are not living up to the responsibilities they have."
"However, we don't ever want to hurt a child in the process of trying to make parents more responsible," she said.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner of Nashville applauded the governor for opposing the bill.
"I give the governor credit for standing up and doing the right thing on this bill," he said. "I'm here to support my governor."
Apr. 9, 2013 ? Sure, many young adults are ecstatic at that first taste of freedom that comes with ?going away to college.? But for some, the intense transition can also trigger intense homesickness. In new research published in the Journal of American College Health, authors Christopher A. Thurber, PhD and Edward A. Walton, MD explore this topic in ?Homesickness and Adjustment in University Students.?
Homesickness by definition is the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from home. Sufferers typically report a combination of depressive and anxious symptoms, withdrawn behavior, and difficulty focusing on anything other than missing home. Most people experience some form of this when they are away from their home for an extended period of time, but in some cases of intense homesickness, it can be painful and debilitating.?
Though many new college students have had experiences away from home before, like summer camps, and travel without parents, attending postsecondary school is usually the first experience in which young adults are facing the ?challenges of independently managing their lives; establishing new friends; adjusting to new schedules; and succeeding in various academic, athletic, and artistic pursuits,? explains Thurber and Walton. ?These and other challenges often instill self-doubt and force an uncomfortable recalibration of young adults? academic and social self-concepts. The changes to new students? routines, diets, social milieu, geographical setting, and perceived demands can induce intense homesickness.?
This article discusses the many risk factors of homesickness for university students, such as accumulated stress and social anxiety; adjustments and changes to lifestyle, values, language, culture and environment; and an insecure attachment to parents; as well as the many opportunities for prevention strategies,? many of which most universities can integrate into their pre-arrival programs. ?Homesickness and Adjustment in University Students? also discusses a variety of treatment options for suffering students.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Taylor & Francis, via AlphaGalileo.
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Journal Reference:
Christopher A. Thurber, Edward A. Walton. Homesickness and Adjustment in University Students. Journal of American College Health, 2012; 60 (5): 415 DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2012.673520
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
She was happy to be useful, with little time for unkind thoughts.
By Jeannie Ferber / April 10, 2013
All of Babushka's belongings could fit under her pillow. After years of knowing her, I came to the conclusion that it was a kind of reward for all she'd endured. That is, she had been given the gift of not being bound to either the past or possessions. She was not only extremely practical, but uniquely free.
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As for being happy, she was happy being useful, and there were very few days in her life she didn't spend being useful. "Hard work empties your noggin of nonsense," she liked to say ? encouragingly. By that measure, I had very little nonsense in my noggin the fall I lived in rural Vetoshkino, Russia, a village resembling an island in a sea of wheat fields 600 miles east of Moscow.
I helped teach English in the village school. After school, I worked in the garden with Babushka (grandmother), and slept in the spare bed in her room. She lived with her daughter's family; her daughter is one of my closest friends.
Before the family enlarged the house last year, Babushka's bedroom was at the end of the long, narrow kitchen. A blue flowered curtain indicated where the kitchen ended and our room started. She happily shared her room. Better to have the extra bed used by me, she reasoned, than covered with onions. A person (especially one from afar) was bound to bring a new view of the world to her village life.
She cared greatly for life. That's altogether different from caring about things, I soon learned from her quiet example.
The first night, as we were going to bed, she apologized for knowing only two prayers. A neighbor had taught them to her when she was 5. She preferred to sing them. "We'll pray now for God to keep us through the night." This we did every night. I could only imagine that the practice had begun during (and had carried her through) two wars, as many revolutions, and untold years of uncertainty.
Between our beds was a window. Hanging in front of the window was a little glass butterfly I'd given her the year before, when I'd arrived in time for her birthday. When I gave it to her, she looked at it, at me, and then said, "Milaya moya" ? my dear ? "why did you think I wanted a present? I was hoping you'd give me a prayer."
Though she'd meant it in the sense of my saying a prayer for her, that afternoon I went to the post office (which sells cards) and bought her one with the Lord's Prayer on it. The card was simple but beautifully done. She kept it in her apron pocket for the rest of her life, pulling it out wherever she was, whether in the kitchen separating cream from the fresh milk or in the fields sifting chaff from wheat.
This latter skill she taught me. I told her I'd only read about it in the Bible. She asked me to tell her the story while she taught me how to winnow: "Hold the sieve high and still. The secret is in being still! Let the wind separate it."
I realize this story might leave you with the impression of a simplistic woman. Babushka was anything but simplistic. Among the other things she did not possess was an unkind view of humanity, or stereotypes about others. (She didn't have time for them.) In many ways, her life was already ahead of our times. It was an example of what we all wish for our world: more high and steady caring about life, and less agitation over things.
The first time we talked on Skype, Babushka didn't bat an eye at seeing me on her daughter's laptop. I smiled at seeing our little room and the humble woman who lived there.
My possessions fit under the roof of my house, not under my pillow. Still, Babushka's example has long been one of my greatest possessions. I like to think she would be pleased.
Clinging to crevices, E. coli thrivePublic release date: 10-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Caroline Perry cperry@seas.harvard.edu 617-496-1351 Harvard University
Harvard research reveals the role of the flagellum in helping biofilms colonize rough surfaces
Cambridge, Mass. April 10, 2013 New research from Harvard University helps to explain how waterborne bacteria can colonize rough surfaceseven those that have been designed to resist water.
A team of materials scientists and microbiologists studied the gut bacterium Escherichia coli, which has many flagella that stick out in all directions. The researchers found that these tails can act as biological grappling hooks, reaching far into nanoscale crevices and latching the bacteria in place.
The scourge of the health care industry, bacteria like E. coli are adept at clinging to the materials used in medical implants like pacemakers, prosthetics, stents, and catheters, spreading slimy biofilm and causing dangerous infections. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on March 18, suggest that antibacterial materials should incorporate both structural and chemical deterrents to bacterial attachment.
E. coli are equipped with two types of appendages: pili, which are short, sticky hairs, and the whip-like flagella, which are often twice as long as the bacterium itself. Pili had previously been recognized as playing a critical role in the formation of biofilms. These short hairs, up to only a micron in length in E. coli, can stick to surfaces temporarily, while the bacteria secrete a thick slime that holds them permanently in place.
Flagella, on the other hand, typically play a propulsive role, helping bacteria to swim and steer in liquid environments. As it turns out, though, when it's time to settle in one place, flagella also contribute to adhesion on rough surfaces, where the pili would have access to fewer attachment points.
Nanoscale crevices, such as those deliberately built into superhydrophobic materials, often trap air bubbles at the surface, which initially prevent E. coli from attaching at all. The new research shows that the bacteria can gradually force these bubbles to disperse by, essentially, flailing their arms. Once the cracks and crevices are wet, although the cell bodies can't fit into the gaps, the flagella can reach deep into these areas and attach to a vast amount of new surface area.
"The diversity of strategies and methods by which bacteria can adhere reflects their need to survive in a huge variety of environments," says lead author Ronn S. Friedlander, a doctoral student in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. "Of course, if we could prevent biofilms from forming where we didn't want them to, there would be immense benefits in medicine."
Friedlander studies in the lab of Harvard professor Joanna Aizenberg, who holds a joint appointment as Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and as Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB). Aizenberg's laboratory group has been working to develop extremely slippery surfaces that repel water, dirt, oil, and bacteria.
The surface chemistry of antibacterial materials appears to be just as important as the topography. E. coli flagella have previously been known to adhere to certain proteins on the surface of cells in the gut wall, indicating that the bacteria are capable of bonding with specific molecular matches. But in the 1970s, biologists observing E. coli on microscope slides had also seen something curious: bacteria wheeling about under the coverslip, as if tethered to the glass by a single flagellum. This ability to stick to any surface at alltermed nonspecific adhesionis part of what makes it easy for bacteria to survive on the surface of medical implants.
Rather than having to find a perfect molecular match, the flagella of E. coli appear to cling to surfaces using a combination of many weak bonds.
"The ideal antibacterial material would be topographically patterned with tiny crevices to limit the amount of surface area that was immediately accessible to bacteria via their pili, but also engineered in terms of its surface chemistry to reduce the ability of the flagella to make bonds within those crevices," says Aizenberg. "Surface structuring alone will not achieve this goal."
In 2012, Aizenberg's group demonstrated a material they call SLIPS (for Slippery, Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces). It was patterned with nanoscale pores, which were filled with a fluorinated lubricant that was shown to prevent biofilms from attaching.
The findings from this line of research are relevant beyond the field of medicine, as biofilms also pose problems for the food industry, water treatment, ship maintenance, and other industries where slime can clog pipes and filters, corrode metal, or cause contamination. But this latest work also helps to explain, on a basic level, how bacteria succeed at colonizing such a wide variety of environments, including the human gut. Having many flagella, the authors note in their paper, "may be particularly important in an intestinal environment coated with microvilli."
###
In addition to her appointments at Harvard SEAS and CCB, Aizenberg is Director of the Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology at Harvard; a Core Faculty Member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard; and Director of the Science Programs at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study; among other roles at the University.
Coauthors included Hera Vlamakis, an instructor in microbiology and molecular genetics at Harvard Medical School; Philseok Kim, a researcher at the Wyss Institute; Mughees Khan, a staff scientist in nanofabrication at the Wyss Institute; and Roberto Kolter, Professor of Microbiology and Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School.
The research was supported in part by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (N00014-11-1-0641), the BASF Advanced Research Initiative at Harvard University, and a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. The researchers also benefited from the facilities of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Microsystems Technology Laboratories and the Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems, a member of the NSF-supported National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (ECS-0335765).
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Clinging to crevices, E. coli thrivePublic release date: 10-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Caroline Perry cperry@seas.harvard.edu 617-496-1351 Harvard University
Harvard research reveals the role of the flagellum in helping biofilms colonize rough surfaces
Cambridge, Mass. April 10, 2013 New research from Harvard University helps to explain how waterborne bacteria can colonize rough surfaceseven those that have been designed to resist water.
A team of materials scientists and microbiologists studied the gut bacterium Escherichia coli, which has many flagella that stick out in all directions. The researchers found that these tails can act as biological grappling hooks, reaching far into nanoscale crevices and latching the bacteria in place.
The scourge of the health care industry, bacteria like E. coli are adept at clinging to the materials used in medical implants like pacemakers, prosthetics, stents, and catheters, spreading slimy biofilm and causing dangerous infections. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on March 18, suggest that antibacterial materials should incorporate both structural and chemical deterrents to bacterial attachment.
E. coli are equipped with two types of appendages: pili, which are short, sticky hairs, and the whip-like flagella, which are often twice as long as the bacterium itself. Pili had previously been recognized as playing a critical role in the formation of biofilms. These short hairs, up to only a micron in length in E. coli, can stick to surfaces temporarily, while the bacteria secrete a thick slime that holds them permanently in place.
Flagella, on the other hand, typically play a propulsive role, helping bacteria to swim and steer in liquid environments. As it turns out, though, when it's time to settle in one place, flagella also contribute to adhesion on rough surfaces, where the pili would have access to fewer attachment points.
Nanoscale crevices, such as those deliberately built into superhydrophobic materials, often trap air bubbles at the surface, which initially prevent E. coli from attaching at all. The new research shows that the bacteria can gradually force these bubbles to disperse by, essentially, flailing their arms. Once the cracks and crevices are wet, although the cell bodies can't fit into the gaps, the flagella can reach deep into these areas and attach to a vast amount of new surface area.
"The diversity of strategies and methods by which bacteria can adhere reflects their need to survive in a huge variety of environments," says lead author Ronn S. Friedlander, a doctoral student in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. "Of course, if we could prevent biofilms from forming where we didn't want them to, there would be immense benefits in medicine."
Friedlander studies in the lab of Harvard professor Joanna Aizenberg, who holds a joint appointment as Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and as Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB). Aizenberg's laboratory group has been working to develop extremely slippery surfaces that repel water, dirt, oil, and bacteria.
The surface chemistry of antibacterial materials appears to be just as important as the topography. E. coli flagella have previously been known to adhere to certain proteins on the surface of cells in the gut wall, indicating that the bacteria are capable of bonding with specific molecular matches. But in the 1970s, biologists observing E. coli on microscope slides had also seen something curious: bacteria wheeling about under the coverslip, as if tethered to the glass by a single flagellum. This ability to stick to any surface at alltermed nonspecific adhesionis part of what makes it easy for bacteria to survive on the surface of medical implants.
Rather than having to find a perfect molecular match, the flagella of E. coli appear to cling to surfaces using a combination of many weak bonds.
"The ideal antibacterial material would be topographically patterned with tiny crevices to limit the amount of surface area that was immediately accessible to bacteria via their pili, but also engineered in terms of its surface chemistry to reduce the ability of the flagella to make bonds within those crevices," says Aizenberg. "Surface structuring alone will not achieve this goal."
In 2012, Aizenberg's group demonstrated a material they call SLIPS (for Slippery, Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces). It was patterned with nanoscale pores, which were filled with a fluorinated lubricant that was shown to prevent biofilms from attaching.
The findings from this line of research are relevant beyond the field of medicine, as biofilms also pose problems for the food industry, water treatment, ship maintenance, and other industries where slime can clog pipes and filters, corrode metal, or cause contamination. But this latest work also helps to explain, on a basic level, how bacteria succeed at colonizing such a wide variety of environments, including the human gut. Having many flagella, the authors note in their paper, "may be particularly important in an intestinal environment coated with microvilli."
###
In addition to her appointments at Harvard SEAS and CCB, Aizenberg is Director of the Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology at Harvard; a Core Faculty Member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard; and Director of the Science Programs at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study; among other roles at the University.
Coauthors included Hera Vlamakis, an instructor in microbiology and molecular genetics at Harvard Medical School; Philseok Kim, a researcher at the Wyss Institute; Mughees Khan, a staff scientist in nanofabrication at the Wyss Institute; and Roberto Kolter, Professor of Microbiology and Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School.
The research was supported in part by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (N00014-11-1-0641), the BASF Advanced Research Initiative at Harvard University, and a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. The researchers also benefited from the facilities of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Microsystems Technology Laboratories and the Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems, a member of the NSF-supported National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (ECS-0335765).
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 10-Apr-2013
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