REMEDY FOR RADIATION FEAR — DISCARD THE POLITICIZED SCIENCE

Seeking a remedy for the radiation fear in Japan, the author re-examined an article on radiation hormesis. It describes the background for this fear and evidence in the first UNSCEAR report of a reduction in leukemia of the Hiroshima survivors in the low dose zone. The data are plotted and dose-response models are drawn. While UNSCEAR suggested the extra leukemia incidence is proportional to radiation dose, the data are consistent with a hormetic J-shape and a threshold at about 100 rem (1 Sv). UNSCEAR data on lifespan reduction of mammals exposed continuously to gamma rays indicate a 2 gray/year threshold. This contradicts the conceptual basis for radiation protection and risk determination established in 1956-58. In this paper, beneficial effects and thresholds for harmful effects are discussed, and the biological mechanism is explained. The key point: the rate of DNA damage (double-strand breaks) caused by background radiation is 1000 times less than the endogenous (spontaneous) rate. It is the effect of radiation on an organism’s very powerful adaptive protection systems that determines the dose-response characteristic. Low radiation up-regulates the protection systems, while high radiation impairs these systems. The remedy for radiation fear is to expose and discard the politicized science

BradPhys to BradViz or from archaeological science to heritage science

YesArchaeology is a broad church and its role as a “two culture” discipline is frequently cited. This position at the interface of the arts and sciences remains central to archaeological activity but there have been significant changes in the structure of archaeology and its relationship to society overall. The growth of heritage science, in particular, is driving change and development within archaeology at a national and international level. This paper discusses these developments in relation to the author's own research trajectory and discusses the significance of such change

College Student Mental Health: An Evaluation of the DSM-5 Self-Rated Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure

© 2018 American Psychological Association. The DSM-5 Self-Rated Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure was developed to aid in clinical decision-making for clients seeking psychiatric services and to facilitate empirical investigation of the dimensional nature of mental health issues. Preliminary evidence supports its utility with clinical samples. However, the brief, yet comprehensive structure of the DSM-5 Level 1 measure may benefit a high-risk population that is less likely to seek treatment. College students have high rates of hazardous substance use and co-occurring mental health symptoms, yet rarely seek treatment. Therefore, the current study evaluated the psychometric properties (i.e., construct and criterion-related validity) of the DSM-5 Level 1 measure with a large, diverse sample of non-treatment-seeking college/university students. Data from 7,217 college students recruited from 10 universities in 10 different states across the United States evidenced psychometric validation of the DSM-5 Level 1 measure. Specifically, we found acceptable internal consistency across multi-item DSM-5 domains and moderate to strong correlations among domains (internal validity). Further, several DSM-5 domains were positively associated with longer, validated measures of the same mental health construct and had similar strengths of associations with substance use outcomes compared to longer measures of the same construct (convergent validity). Finally, all DSM-5 domains were negatively associated with self-esteem and positively associated with other theoretically relevant constructs, such as posttraumatic stress (criterion-related validity). Taken together, the DSM-5 Level 1 measure appears to be a viable tool for evaluating psychopathology in college students. Several opportunities for clinical application and empirical investigation of the DSM-5 Level 1 measure are discussed

Reducing unhealthy weight gain in children through community capacity−building: results of a quasi−experimental intervention program, Be Active Eat Well

Background:Be Active Eat Well (BAEW) was a multifaceted community capacity-building program promoting healthy eating and physical activity for children (aged 4&ndash;12 years) in the Australian town of Colac.Objective:To evaluate the effects of BAEW on reducing children\u27s unhealthy weight gain.Methods:BAEW had a quasi-experimental, longitudinal design with anthropometric and demographic data collected on Colac children in four preschools and six primary schools at baseline (2003, n=1001, response rate: 58%) and follow-up (2006, n=839, follow-up rate: 84%). The comparison sample was a stratified random selection of preschools (n=4) and primary schools (n=12) from the rest of the Barwon South Western region of Victoria, with baseline assessment in 2003&ndash;2004 (n=1183, response rate: 44%) and follow-up in 2006 (n=979, follow-up rate: 83%).Results:Colac children had significantly lower increases in body weight (mean: -0.92 kg, 95% CI: -1.74 to -0.11), waist (-3.14 cm, -5.07 to -1.22), waist/height (-0.02, -0.03 to -0.004), and body mass index z-score (-0.11, -0.21 to -0.01) than comparison children, adjusted for baseline variable, age, height, gender, duration between measurements and clustering by school. In Colac, the anthropometric changes were not related to four indicators of socioeconomic status (SES), whereas in the comparison group 19/20 such analyses showed significantly greater gains in anthropometry in children from lower SES families. Changes in underweight and attempted weight loss were no different between the groups.Conclusions:Building community capacity to promote healthy eating and physical activity appears to be a safe and effective way to reduce unhealthy weight gain in children without increasing health inequalities.<br /

Twenty-four hours secretion pattern of serum estradiol in healthy prepubertal and pubertal boys as determined by a validated ultra-sensitive extraction RIA

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The role of estrogens in male physiology has become evident. However, clinically useful normative data for estradiol secretion in boys has not previously been established due to the insensitivity of current methods used in clinical routine. By use of a validated ultra-sensitive extraction RIA, our aim was to establish normative data from a group consisting of healthy boys in prepuberty and during pubertal development.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sixty-two 24-hours serum profiles (6 samples/24 hours) were obtained from 44 healthy boys (ages; 7.2–18.6 years) during their pubertal development, classified into five stages: prepuberty (testis, 1–2 mL), early (testis, 3–6 mL), mid (testis, 8–12 mL), late-1 (testis,15–25 mL, not reached final height) and late-2 (testis,15–25 mL, reached final height). Serum estradiol was determined by an ultra- sensitive extraction radioimmunoassay with detection limit 4 pmol/L and functional sensitivity 6 pmol/L.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean estradiol concentrations during 24-hours secretion increased from prepuberty (median: <4 (5–95 percentiles: <4 – 7) pmol/L) to early puberty (6 (<4 – 12 pmol/L) but then remained relatively constant until a marked increase between mid-puberty (8 (4 – 17) pmol/L) and late-1 (21 (12 – 37) pmol/L) puberty, followed by a slower increase until late-2 puberty (32 (20 – 47) pmol/L). The diurnal rhythm of serum estradiol was non-measurable in pre- and early puberty, but discerned in mid-puberty, and become evident in late pubertal stages with peak values at 0600 to 1000 h.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>With the use of an ultra-sensitive extraction RIA, we have provided clinically useful normative data for estradiol secretion in boys.</p

Transparent Meta-Analysis: Does Aging Spare Prospective Memory with Focal vs. Non-Focal Cues?

Background: Prospective memory (ProM) is the ability to become aware of a previously-formed plan at the right time and place. For over twenty years, researchers have been debating whether prospective memory declines with aging or whether it is spared by aging and, most recently, whether aging spares prospective memory with focal vs. non-focal cues. Two recent meta-analyses examining these claims did not include all relevant studies and ignored prevalent ceiling effects, age confounds, and did not distinguish between prospective memory subdomains (e.g., ProM proper, vigilance, habitual ProM) (see Uttl, 2008, PLoS ONE). The present meta-analysis focuses on the following questions: Does prospective memory decline with aging? Does prospective memory with focal vs. non-focal cues decline with aging? Does the size of age-related declines with focal vs. non-focal cues vary across ProM subdomains? And are age-related declines in ProM smaller than agerelated declines in retrospective memory? Methods and Findings: A meta-analysis of event-cued ProM using data visualization and modeling, robust count methods, and conventional meta-analysis techniques revealed that first, the size of age-related declines in ProM with both focal and non-focal cues are large. Second, age-related declines in ProM with focal cues are larger in ProM proper and smaller in vigilance. Third, age-related declines in ProM proper with focal cues are as large as age-related declines in recall measures of retrospective memory