"Paint Coatings"

A new study indicates that psychological stress at the workplace affects employees’ ability to carry out their jobs effectively.

Debra Lerner, Ph.D., director, Program on Health, Work and Productivity, Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies at Tufts Medical Center says, “This is a large economic and a human cost. We need to develop and test programs that directly try to address the employment of people with depression.”

The population researched included over 14,000 adult employees, while 286 depressed workers were evaluated against 193 who were not.
The findings of the research which are featured in the American Journal of Health Promotion’s January/February issue also states that most of the depressed employees did have issues at their workplace. “They’re often very fatigued and have motivational issues. They also may have difficulty handling the pacing of work, managing a routine, performing physical job tasks and managing their usual workload,” said Lerner.

The findings of the research point to a link between an employees’ capacity to be in command of his work and their productivity.
Ronald Kessler, a professor in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, speaking about the findings of the research says that, “[they] are consistent with a growing body of evidence that depression has important adverse effects on work performance, both absenteeism and on-the-job performance. This evidence has led to the development of several workplace depression screening and treatment programs. Evaluations are beginning to show that these programs can be cost-effective when implemented carefully in reducing the indirect workplace costs of depression.”

A Cell Press publication in December 2009 included details regarding a new study carried out on mice, which indicated that the fountain of youth might still be within reach - with new treatments being developed to prolong youthfulness whilst also stating that these might also help delay the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Andrew Dillin, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies said, “There’s something about being youthful that protects us from Alzheimer’s disease. People say that if you live long enough, you get Alzheimer’s. But if that were true, mice that live longer should get the disease at the same rate. That’s not what we found.”

The research shows that mice which carried human genes that caused the development of Alzheimer’s could be steered clear of the disease by lessening the ‘insulin/IGF signalling’ pathway peppered with amyloid plaques.

“We expected to see less plaque in the protected mice. Instead we saw the same number of plaques, but there was a qualitative difference in how they looked. They were condensed so that they took up less area in the brain,” said Dillin.

He also said they were yet to fully comprehend how exactly the diminished IGF signal prevented the mice from developing Alzheimer’s - but said the pathway was recognized as one that negatively controls transcription factors that have control over other genes that encode molecular chaperones. They protect all the proteins in a cell.

Dillin said, “To maintain youth, you have to protect the proteome, not just the genome.” This could ring true with regards to cells known to not divide and replace easily and often, such as neurons, heart and muscle. Those prone to develop Alzheimer’s due to hereditary reasons carry it with them their entire lives and only develop it when they reach their 50’s.

Plans to also test similar factors could be beneficial towards other neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.

Cluster headaches can hit you many times in a day and come on without any warning. They are not known to last for long and are horribly painful. Also called suicide headaches, it brings on an intense pain, sometimes felt only on one side of the head. Sometimes, you might even feel the pain around an eye and it might be watery and red. Chances are, your nose could runny or even blocked as well.

Cluster headaches are triggered by alcohol or extreme changes in temperature. In Northern countries, cluster headaches are known to make an appearance quite frequently during autumn.

True to its name, cluster headaches take place in a cycle - and a regular attack can last from anything to a few days, weeks or even months.
Thankfully, cluster headaches are not all that common. One in every 1,000 people are said to be affected by it. Men are said to be affected by cluster headaches than women, with around 80% of the sufferers being male; a larger majority of them being smokers. Cluster headaches do not have any known long-term effects on your health, and drugs and even oxygen therapy can be used to reduce the intensity and occurrence of the headaches.

What causes cluster headaches?

Medical experts are still unsure what causes cluster headaches. Research shows an increased amount of activity in the hypothalamus during a cluster headache attack. The nature of the headaches also indicates that it could be linked to our biological clock that is incidentally situated in the hypothalamus.

Research also indicates that sufferers of cluster headaches have been found to have unusual levels of hormones such as melatonin and cortisol.

Known as fever blisters, cold sores are small sores or little lesions on the face or inside the mouth. They are painful, have a burning sensation, and can be quite itchy before they burst and crust over. They mostly appear on the lips, chin, cheeks, inside the nostrils, and less frequently on the gums or the palate.

Caused by the herpes simplex viruses, sores are commonly found around the mouth and this is herpes simplex type 1, or HSV-1. Less common are cold sores caused by HSV-2 (herpes simplex type 2), which result from oral sex with a person who has genital herpes.

Some mistake canker sores for cold sores. Canker sores are small ulcer craters in the lining of the mouth. They are also painful and known as aphthous ulcers. Unlike cold sores, they occur in the soft tissue of the mouth.

While cold sores are common there is no cure for them, and they cannot be prevented. However, there are a few things you can do to reduce their frequency and duration.

What causes cold sores?

HSV-1 is passed on during early stages of childhood, when a child is kissed by a person who already has a cold sore. Even sharing eating utensils, bathroom items like towels and razors can spread the infection. The virus goes straight to the nervous system and then stays dormant until something triggers it and activates it.

Mental stress, deep sadness, injury to the affected area, menstruation and intense sunlight are a few things that trigger off the HSV-1 virus.

While marine animals are known to be a good source of Omega 3, it has recently been found that the roe or eggs of marine animals contain especially high levels of these essential fatty acids. Researchers from the University of Almeria recently studied the roe of 15 marine animals. They discovered that Omega 3 is present in the roe of all the species studied. The findings have been published in the European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology.

The nutritional aspects of roe have never been previously studied up until now. Results of this study show that while Omega 3 is present in all the marine animals studied, it is especially plentiful in the roe of the following marine animals: the Atlantic bonito, mackerel, squid, cuttlefish, lumpsucker, hake, and salmon. Research was focused on eicosapentaenoic acids (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA), two specific types of Omega 3. Over 30% of the fatty acids in the 15 marine animals studied were found to be one of these two types.

EPA and DHA are essential components of a healthy diet; inadequate intake is associated with many diseases and conditions, including cardiovascular disease. Due to the high levels found in roe of marine animals, very little consumption is required to meet the body’s needs. José Luis Guil Guerrero, director of this study and a researcher in the Food Technology Department of the UAL, explains that possibilities for the use of these findings include extracting the oil from the roe for use in the development of a nutritional supplement.