Vocabulary for Reading and Discussion Class [Articles 1 to 6]

Words & definition [1] tanners = those exposed to UV light on purpose [2] accounts for = causes [3] Study = research [4] onset = start [5] tall order = very difficult [2] fellow = member [3] myth = false idea [4] nominate = officially suggest [5] fare = be in a particular condition [6] assassin = murderer [of a famous person] [7] robust = strong [8] plateaued = leveled out [9] distraught = very upset [10] alleviate = ease [11] deviation = departure [12] soothe = calm [13] juggling = rearranging [14] discern = aware [15] correlation = link [16] jaunt = trip [17] albeit = although [18] culminating = concluding [19] aligns = agrees [20] overall = in general [21] alongside = together [22] caveat = warning [23] ditch = get rid of [24] enrichment = improve [25] embrace = accept Context . than never tanners. which accounts for some The study included likely to develop early-onset basal Thats a tall order, considering first author of the paper and a postdoctoral fellow at the . possibly even hastening deathmay be a myth, new research finds. live longer than those who were only nominated; of the hierarchy fare better than after he was shot by an assassin. by a robust economy lived longer. ... but have plateaued over the last. when youre emotionally distraught. may alleviate repetitive if there is any deviation. to soothe themselves. Despite the juggling act required to studies havent discerned a correlation. studies havent discerned a correlation. jaunts to libraries and museums it is a distinct work status, albeit one that culminating when their children which aligns with previous research. Overall, the study shows that but it was delivered alongside a caveat: but it was delivered alongside a caveat: ditch the concept of things like books, enrichment activities and embrace the fact that

Article 1. CANCER Study: Indoor Tanning Linked With Early Onset of Skin Cancer

Given that indoor tanning beds were officially classified as a human carcinogen in 2009 up there with cigarettes and asbestos it should be fairly obvious that frequent tanning-booth exposure would increase your risk of skin cancer. Indeed, the evidence linking indoor tanning with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma, one of the more common forms of the disease, is convincing, according to the World Health Organizations International Agency for Research on Cancer. But the research concerning tanning beds and basal cell carcinoma, the third and most frequent major type of skin cancer which accounts for some 80% of all skin cancer cases in the U.S. has thus far been inconsistent. Basal cell carcinoma, a slow-growing cancer, has traditionally been a disease of middle age. But its been appearing with increasing frequency in people under 40, especially in women a demographic that also happens to like indoor tanning suggesting a link. So researchers at the Yale School of Public Health sought to study the association. The study included 376 people under 40, who had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma between 2006 and 2010. They were matched with a control group of 390 dermatology patients who were diagnosed with minor skin conditions like cysts and warts. All participants had skin biopsies, and all were drawn from a Yale University database. The researchers interviewed each participant about their UV exposure both in tanning beds and outdoors. They also asked about their history of sunburns, sunscreen use, family history of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, and their self-reported eye, skin and hair color. The conclusion: people who had ever used a tanning booth were 69% more likely to develop early-onset basal cell carcinoma than never tanners. Those who used tanning

booths more regularly for at least six years were more than twice a likely to develop basal cell carcinoma, compared with never tanners. The study found that women were far more devoted than men to indoor tanning, which might help explain why 70% of all early onset basal cell carcinomas occur in females. The authors concluded that about 27% of cases of early onset disease including 43% of cases in women could be prevented if people simply stopped using tanning booths. Thats a tall order, considering that some 30 million Americans use indoor tanning beds each year. Policy changes, such as the recent California ban on teen tanning, may help, the authors suggest. So would behavioral interventions aimed at women at least one study in 2010 found that the best way to get young women to tan less was to warn them about the skin-wrinkling effects of tanning-bed exposure, not the risk of skin cancer. Importantly, indoor tanning is a behavior that individuals can change. In conjunction with the findings on melanoma, our results for [basal cell carcinoma] indicate that reducing indoor tanning could translate to a meaningful reduction in the incidence of these two types of skin cancer, said Leah M. Ferrucci, first author of the paper and a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale School of Public Health, in a statement. Article 2. LONGEVITY Why American Presidents (and Some Oscar Winners) Live Longer

American presidents seem to age before our eyes. But the common belief that highoffice stress grays our leaders faster than usual possibly even hastening death may be a myth, new research finds. In fact, the majority of American presidents have lived longer than typical men of their times. Thats not to say that chronic stress has no effect on a persons lifespan, but so does high social standing. The findings add to a body of research linking high status to better health: for instance, Oscar winners live longer than those who were only nominated; British civil servants at the top of the greasy pole outlive those at the bottom; and the longevity effect is also seen in Nobel laureates and even baboons.

The new study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, analyzed the dates of birth, inauguration and death of all 34 past presidents who died of natural causes. The average lifespan for these men should have been 68 years, if theyd aged twice as fast during their years in office as the popular wisdom suggests they do. Instead, the study found, these presidents lived an average 73 years. And indeed, 23 of the 34 presidents who died of natural causes lived longer than expected, compared with other men their age during their lifetimes. For our earliest presidents, the longevity effect was especially pronounced. The first eight leaders of the U.S. lived on average 79.8 years, yet life expectancy at birth for men in the 18th and early 19th centuries was under 40. Some presidents survived an exceptionally long time: Gerald Ford died at 93.5 years, Ronald Reagan at 93.3, John Adams at 90.7, and Herbert Hoover at 90.2. All currently living presidents have already exceeded their life expectancy, or are likely to do so. MORE: How Economic Inequality Is (Literally) Making Us Sick Just because they experience what would appear to be accelerated aging outwardly, doesnt mean they will die any sooner, the studys author, S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois-Chicago, told Reuters. So why do people at the top of the hierarchy fare better than those below? Access to wealth, education and the best health care of their times would seem to be obvious factors (although medical attention seems to have actually killed President Garfield, who succumbed to a fatal infection introduced by his doctors unsterile treatment techniques after he was shot by an assassin). But research suggests that far more than that is at play. For example, on average, actors who win Oscars live four years longer than those who just get nominated. For directors, the survival boost is an extra four and a half years. (Sadly, writers who win Oscars actually lose 3.6 years of life expectancy, perhaps because the award doesnt carry as much prestige in the writing profession as do the acting and directing awards in their respective fields.) Nobel laureates also tend to outlive their scientific colleagues. Similarly, the Whitehall studies of health in British civil servants found that the higher a mans rank in the British government bureaucracy, the longer his life expectancy (for women, it is more complicated, and if married, the status of their husbands also plays a role). The men at the top of the hierarchy had a threefold reduction in mortality risk at all ages, compared with those at the bottom. Only about a third of this difference could be attributed to lifestyle factors like smoking, exercise and diet. And since all of the employees were enrolled in the U.K.s National Health Service, access to medical care wasnt what made the difference, either.

Even baboons which, like humans, have social hierarchies show health differences related to rank, with those at the top, or just shy of the top, faring better. Low-ranking males have worse cholesterol and stress hormone levels. MORE: Why Being Beta Might Be Better Stress almost certainly plays a role here, but its more complicated than one would think. Clearly, people in positions of high responsibility like presidents and CEOs face as much stress, if not more, than many others; high-power positions are often exceedingly stressful, as is competing to get them. But stress alone even in high doses doesnt automatically damage health. Its lack of control over stress that really matters. Classic research by psychologist Martin Seligman and his colleagues has demonstrated that effect powerfully in several species. In studies, animals were yoked together and then given electric shocks. One animal of the pair could control when it received a shock, while the other one was shocked simultaneously, with no ability to predict or avoid the pain. The animals with more autonomy remained healthy, but those that lacked control became more susceptible to multiple illnesses, including cancers. The Whitehall research in humans also confirmed that people with greater control over their jobs even in the lower ranks had better health than those who had less freedom at the office. And other studies find that even the illusion of control reduces stress-related health risks. In this context, the American presidency is an interesting job to study. It certainly has high status, no question about it. However, the amount of control presidents wield over factors that profoundly influence their work such as the economy or Congress is often, shall we say, limited. It would be fascinating to know whether presidents who had a majority in Congress or those whose terms in office were buoyed by a robust economy lived longer. As for the rest of us, no matter where we fall in the hierarchy, finding ways mitigate stress is a critical part of good health.

Article 3. INFANCY Chilean Conjoined Twins Separated in 20-Hour Surgery

Chilean doctors successfully separated conjoined twin girls in a marathon 20-hour surgery, saying Wednesday that the operation went extremely well despite challenges. The 10-month-old twins Maria Paz and Maria Jose lost a good deal of blood but were in stable condition and recovering in the intensive care unit at Luis Calvo Mackenna Hospital, chief surgeon Francisco Ossandon said. Parents Jessica Navarrete and Roberto Paredes kept an anxious vigil at the hospital in Santiago as doctors separated the twins at the thorax, stomach and pelvis. It was the seventh and most complex operation yet for the twins. Both were successfully separated, Ossandon said at a news conference. We had a number of difficulties during the surgery. There were some surprises, but we were able to fix, solve the problems. He added that the twins came out of the surgery in good condition. Ossandon, however, didnt rule out future complications involving the effects from anesthesia and possible infections. Were very happy because we think theyve had the best evolution we could have hoped for, Ossandon said. Doctors said the twins were separated late Tuesday night. Surgery on one of the twins was completed in 19 hours, while for the other it took more than 20 hours. Some Chilean television stations occasionally broke into their regular programming to broadcast updates from the doctors, both during and after the delicate surgery. The girls parents appeared in televised images on Tuesday as they kissed the twins before the operation. Navarrete said she was waiting for a miracle from God when the high-risk operation began Tuesday morning.

The Chilean twins presented a particularly difficult challenge because they were born sharing many of the same internal organs and even urinary system. About 100 people participated in the procedure, including 25 surgeons and anesthesiologists. Perhaps providing some comfort to the parents was the hospitals history with conjoined twins. Staff there have separated three sets before. A fourth set, however, died during surgery due to cardiac complications. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, one out of every 200,000 live births worldwide results in conjoined twins. About 35 percent survive only one day, while the overall survival rate is 5 percent to 25 percent.The twins were born in the Villarrica hospital about 470 miles (760 kilometers) south of Santiago and were kept under constant medical care, surviving with the aid of an artificial respirator.Earlier this year, doctors separated the twins legs, urinary tracts, pulmonary systems and other parts of their bodies.The girls were connected to a respirator Wednesday and are to remain sedated for at least 72 hours.Ossandon said the twins will return to the operating room every two or three days so that doctors can clean their wounds.They were born in February. Ossandon called the surgery their rebirth. Article 4. PARENTING What Causes Stillbirth?

When reality TV star Michelle Duggar announced last week that shed learned at 19 weeks that her baby-to-be no longer had a heartbeat, the very personal topic of miscarriage took a turn in the media spotlight. Up to a quarter of pregnancies end in miscarriage, the majority of them in the first trimester. But even after a woman crosses the second trimester threshold, its not always smooth sailing. About 1 in 160 pregnancies ends in stillbirth the term for pregnancy loss that occurs after 20 weeks and it happens more than most people think, according to new research about stillbirths causes.

In the U.S., there are 26,000 stillbirths each year, roughly comparable to the number of babies who die in their first year of life, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The later in gestation it happens, the harder it is for parents and the more they tend to blame themselves, says Dr. Bob Silver, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and a professor of ob/gyn at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Its an emotionally devastating thing for families. MORE: Obese Women Are More Likely to Miscarry or Endure a Babys Death While the underpinnings of prematurity have attracted a healthy share of research dollars, Silver says stillbirth hasnt been studied much. As a result, efforts to decrease stillbirth have been pretty minimal. Stillbirth rates dropped in the first half of the 20th century but have plateaued over the last few decades. The U.S. rate is 6.2 stillbirths per 1,000 births, 59% higher than a public-health goal set for 2010. Our rate is much higher than a lot of other developed countries, says Silver. Because the U.S. hasnt had much success preventing stillbirth or evaluating women whove had one, the National Institutes of Health has established a network of five clinical sites at Emory University, Brown University, University of Texas at Galveston, University of Texas San Antonio and University of Utah to study stillbirths. Some of the networks first research results emphasize that in the majority of cases, a reason can be determined: tears in the placenta, ruptured membranes and preterm labor are the most common causes. In a significant number of cases, the placenta is not developing properly, meaning the growing baby does not get enough food and oxygen. MORE: Women Grieve Miscarriage for Years, Even After Having a Healthy Baby Between March 2006 and September 2008, researchers surveyed 59 U.S. hospitals where nearly 1,000 women had suffered stillbirths. Five hundred agreed to participate in the study, which found a distinct racial disparity in stillbirth occurrence. Black women have a stillbirth rate up to three times higher than whites, even once access to medical care is accounted for. Black women tend to suffer stillbirths earlier in gestation than white women; they are also more prone to stillbirths during labor and as a result of infection. Race aside, the researchers concluded that a thorough medical evaluation an autopsy, evaluation of the placenta and chromosomal analysis after a stillbirth can usually determine why it happened. It can be hard to explain to grieving women why such evaluations are important, but researchers discovered that finding a cause can improve emotional well-being, decrease self-blame and help with closure. A lot of people feel its not going to bring my baby back so theyre often reluctant to do it, says Silver. But almost invariably,

families want to think about having another baby, and they want to know if they can do something to prevent this from happening again. Its important to think about this even when youre emotionally distraught.

Article 5. AUTISM Prozac May Reduce Symptoms of Autism in Adults

The antidepressant Prozac may alleviate repetitive behavior and obsessivecompulsive symptoms in adults with autism, reducing these defining symptoms of the disorder, according to new research. The research, which included 37 high-functioning autistic adults, mainly diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome, followed participants for 12 weeks. Taking Prozac (fluoxetine) doubled the chances that a patient would show overall improvement, measured by their clinicians. Half of the participants taking Prozac had significant reductions in obsessive-compulsive symptoms, compared with 8% taking placebo. Side effects were mild to moderate and participants taking Prozac did not show increases in suicidal thoughts or ideas. Repetitive behavior is a core symptom of the illness, says lead author Dr. Eric Hollander, medical director of the Autism and Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Program at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, explaining that from a very early age, these children have rituals and routines. For example, they like to line up their toys and they get very bent out of shape if there is any deviation. MORE: What Does a 400% Increase in Antidepressant Use Really Mean? A previous, larger study of a similar medication, Celexa (citalopram), in autistic children did not find a reduction in repetitive behaviors, but the drug did reduce irritability and was superior to placebo among children who had the highest levels of irritability. Irritability can sometimes lead to repetitive behaviors because autistic people often engage in these activities to soothe themselves.

Both Prozac and Celexa belong to a class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. Prior research on SSRIs in autistic people has also looked at Luvox (fluvoxamine) and found a reduction in repetitive behavior in adults but not children. It is not known if the differences between these studies are due to differences between the medications or other factors. Obsessive behaviors may also arise in autistic people in response to the stress or discomfort of unpredictable situations. Many of these individuals have expectations for whats going to happen, and if there is an unexpected deviation, they experience a lot of discomfort and then they do all these kinds of behaviors, says Hollander. Thats why people with autism may obsessively avoid locations where they previously experienced discomfort, for example, or they may engage in a repetitive habit like washing, checking, counting, touching or tapping. When taking Prozac, Hollander says, Patients acknowledge experiencing less discomfort. Theyre more able to go outside their comfort zone and to better resist their habits and rituals. One participant in Hollanders study was previously too anxious to take the subway or eat in a restaurant, but, when taking Prozac, was able to tolerate these unpredictable environments. It takes the edge off, Hollander explains, noting that the findings were statistically significant and clinically meaningful. The clinicians could tell that people were doing better not only in terms of OCD symptoms but overall distress and ability to function. MORE: Why Are So Many Foster Care Children Taking Antipsychotics? The only drugs approved to treat irritability and repetitive behaviors in autistic children are the atypical antipsychotics Risperdal (risperidone) and Abilify (aripiprazole), which tend to have more severe side effects than Prozac does. Those drugs carry significant risk for weight gain, diabetes and movement disorders. Responding to the research, Yale Child Study Center director Fred Volkmar told WebMD: The question remains, Is fluoxetine better than risperidone for this symptom? It would be interesting to see studies comparing these two drugs head to head. Hollander has previously received funding from pharmaceutical companies, but the current study was paid for by a grant from the Food and Drug Administrations orphan drug program. That program funds research on rare conditions with new drugs or those no longer patented that are not likely to be pursued by industry. When the research was originally funded, Hollander says, autism was considered to be a rare condition.

Article 6. PARENTING

Why Working Mothers Are Happier and Healthier Than Stay-atHome Moms

Despite the juggling act required to hold down a job and care for children, moms who work report theyre healthier and happier than moms who stay at home when their kids are babies and preschoolers.Whats more, women who worked part-time fared the best, trumping the stay-athome crowd and, in some cases, full-timers, on measures of health and stress, according to a study that appears in Decembers Journal of Family Psychology.Employment helps women and their families, says lead author Cheryl Buehler, a professor of human development and family studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNC-G), who says the real message of her study is this: get a job, whether full-time or part-time. MORE: Working Moms Multitask More Than Dads and Like It Less To date, much of the research on maternal employment has focused on how it affects children. Findings have been mixed and inconsistent: some conclude that the more a mother works, the better her childrens outcomes, perhaps because a mother who finds meaning outside her children is more satisfied in her role as a parent; others find the opposite. Many studies havent discerned a correlation.Buehler decided to zero in on the mothers, delving into how work impacts moms well-being and their parenting in three areas: sensitivity toward their children, involvement in their kids schools and opportunities for learning that mothers provide for their kids (things like books, enrichment activities and jaunts to libraries and museums). Buehler was particularly interested in looking at part-time work because it hasnt been studied much. She concluded that its a distinct work status, albeit one that employers too often dont take seriously enough. The data shows that part-time employment helps family life, says Buehler, who says thats one reason why employers should encourage their part-time employees by offering pro-rated benefits, training and opportunities for advancement. Buehler and colleagues looked at data collected by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, which interviewed 1,364 mothers beginning in 1991 when their babies were 6 months old. Over the course of 10 years, they checked back in with the moms seven times, culminating when their children were fifth-graders.

Buehler compared non-working moms to those who worked part-time (an extremely broad category defined as between 1 and 32 hours a week) or full-time (more than 32 hours a week). In a lot of areas, there was no difference in emotional well-being between full- and part-timers, says Buehler. In general, part-time working moms reported less work-family conflict than full-time working moms, which aligns with previous research. Of course, it stands to reason that a mom who works one hour a week may be under far less pressure to balance work and family than one who works 32. But while full-time workers reported more work-family conflict, they were apparently able to cope well with the increased stress: they didnt indicate more depression or worse health than part-timers. Its not translating into lower well-being, says Buehler. The most significant differences arose when comparing moms who werent employed to those who worked part-time. The part-timers were less depressed, had better health, were more sensitive to their children and were better able to provide them with learning opportunities. That may be a function of employment, which improves peoples social skills and increases awareness of whats going on in the community. Maybe that translates to the experience they bring to their children, says Buehler. MORE: News Flash: Moms Resent Dads for Not Doing Enough at Home And its likely that because theyre not putting in a full work week, they actually have the time to escort their kids to the library and to museums. Part-time employment is not such a time drain that moms dont have time to do other things that are important to parenting, and its enriching their own lives in ways that enrich their mental health, says Buehler. For example, part-time moms said they were as active in their kids schools as moms who didnt work and, not surprisingly, were able to devote more time than moms who worked full-time. Overall, the study shows that mothers economic roles are pretty central to family life, which is reassuring because the stereotypical portrait of a working mom paints a harried, stressed-out caricature, with very little time or energy to do very much of anything. Earlier this year, a different study backed up the finding that working results in less depression for moms, but it was delivered alongside a caveat: to really guard against depression, ditch the concept of supermom. The key is to accept that you cant do it all and embrace the fact that youll have to make some compromises, advised University of Washington researcher Katrina Leupp, who presented her study in August at the American Sociological Association: You can happily combine child-rearing and a career, if youre willing to let some things slide.