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We predicted you wouldn’t be able to swing a cat for Jake Bugg in 2013, and so far, we’ve been rightContinue reading...
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Jake Bugg performs at the O2 Academy in Leeds
We predicted you wouldn’t be able to swing a cat for Jake Bugg in 2013, and so far, we’ve been rightContinue reading...
Les Mis odds on to beat Skyfall at BAFTAs
The BAFTA 2013 nominations have been announced by Alice Eve and Jeremy Irvine at the British Academy headquarters in Piccadilly this morning.Continue reading...
Katie Holmes out and about in New York
Has Katie Holmes staged some sort of street protest here, or is that gentleman asking her for directions? We’re not sure. Continue reading...
A Good Mood May Boost Seniors' Brain Power
By Mary Elizabeth Dallas
HealthDay ReporterMONDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- When older people's mood improves, so does their brain power, new research suggests.
Being in a good mood appears to enhance decision-making skills and working memory among older adults, according to the study published in the current issue of the journal Cognition and Emotion.
The study authors suggested that even something as simple as a small bag of candy can help older people perform better on so-called "cognitive" -- or thinking skill -- tests.
"There has been lots of research showing that younger adults are more creative and cognitively flexible when they are in a good mood. But because of the [mental] declines that come with aging, we weren't sure that a good mood would be able to help older adults," study co-author Ellen Peters, professor of psychology at Ohio State University, said in a university news release.
"So these results are good news," she added. "There are ways for older adults to overcome some of the [mental] declines that come with aging"
In conducting the study, the researchers divided 46 adults ranging in age from 63 to 85 years into two equal groups. Those included in the first group were given a thank you note and two small bags of candy tied with a red ribbon to boost their mood when they arrived for the thinking skill tests. Those in the other group did not receive either a thank you note or candy.
During the experiment, the participants who received the candy used computers that had a sky-blue background screen with smiling suns on it. Meanwhile, those who didn't receive the candy used computers with neutral round images but no smiling faces on the sky-blue background.
The participants were given $3 in quarters and eight virtual decks of cards featuring a different pattern during the decision-making tasks. Four of the decks were considered "gain" decks. If participants chose a card from one of these decks, 75 percent of the time they won a quarter and 25 percent of the time they didn't win or lose. The remaining four decks were considered "loss" decks. If someone chose a card from a "loss" deck, they lost a quarter 75 percent of the time, the study authors explained.
The participants could also accept or reject the top card of the deck that was offered to them. Their goal was to win as much money as they could. The participants were not told what the card values were. Instead, they had to learn through trial and error. The researchers noted they were looking to see how quickly the participants would learn which decks won them money and which ones didn't.
The study revealed that the older adults whose spirits were lifted with a thank you note and candy performed much better at the decision-making test than the other participants.
Calcium Supplements May Raise Men's Death Risk From Heart Disease
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay ReporterMONDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Men taking calcium supplements may be running a nearly 20 percent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests.
Both men and women take calcium supplements to prevent bone loss. In this study of calcium intake, the risk of dying from heart disease was higher for men but not for women.
"Increasing evidence indicates that too much supplemental calcium might increase the risk of cardiovascular disease," said Susanna Larsson, an associate professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute, in Stockholm.
Larsson, who was not part of the study but wrote an accompanying journal editorial, added that "the paradigm 'the more the better' seems invalid for calcium supplementation."
The report was published in the Feb. 4 online edition of the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
To find out if calcium supplements were associated with an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a team of scientists led by Qian Xiao, of the U.S. National Cancer Institute, collected data on more than 388,000 men and women, aged 50 to 71 years old. They took part in a study on diet and health conducted by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the AARP from 1995 to 1996.
Over an average 12 years of follow-up, about 7,900 men died from cardiovascular disease, as did nearly 4,000 women. Among those who died, 51 percent of men and 70 percent of women were taking calcium supplements, the researchers found.
Xiao's group calculated that men taking 1,000 milligrams a day of a calcium supplement had a 20 percent increased risk of dying from heart disease. Men also had a 14 percent increased risk of dying from a stroke, but this was not statistically significant, the researchers said.
Among women, however, calcium supplements were not linked to an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. And, calcium from diet didn't increase the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease for either sex, the researchers found.
The study authors said more research is needed to determine whether there is difference between men and women in the cardiovascular effects of calcium supplements.
"Given the extensive use of calcium supplements in the population[often for osteoporosis], it is of great importance to assess the effect of supplemental calcium use beyond bone health," the investigators concluded in the study.
Taylor Wallace, a representative of the supplement industry, faulted this and other studies because, he said, they were not specifically meant to address calcium supplements and heart disease.
Wallace, who is senior director for Scientific & Regulatory Affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, said most studies of calcium supplements show no effects on the heart.
Agyness Deyn at a film premiere in LA
Agyness Deyn wears a leather jacket, striped knit and skinny trousers at the A Glimpse Inside The Mind Of Charles Swan III film premiere in LA - vote on celebrity fashion, style and red carpet looks in GLAMOUR.COM’s Dos and Don’tsContinue reading...
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Andrea Riseborough at the Evening Standard British Film Awards
Andrea Riseborough wears a deep-cut white gown by Jenny Packham at the Evening Standard British Film Awards - vote on celebrity fashion, style and red carpet looks in GLAMOUR.COM’s Dos and Don’tsContinue reading...
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