Intensive Exercise Can Slow Down the Brain’s Aging Process

Posted on March 27, 2016 by brookeadams91

A new study has shown that physical activity has a great impact on brain health. The study, which was published last week in Neurology, an online medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, came to the conclusion that older adults who do not exercise at all or only take part in light exercise experienced a cognitive decline. This decline is equal to 10 years of aging. Older adults who are intense and/or moderate exercisers did not face this cognitive decline.

Dr. Clinton B. Wright, author of this study and who also works at the University of Miami, examined the health of approximately 900 older adults with an average age of 71. 90 percent of the participants reported that they either do not exercise at all or exercise lightly, while the other 10 percent reported moderate to heavy exercise. Wright and his team asked participants about the duration and frequency of their physical activity (exercise) routine. About seven years later, each participant took memory and thinking skills tests. They also received a brain MRI. Five years later, these tests were repeated.

The research team found that people who exercise moderately and/or heavily have a reduced risk of memory loss and said that seniors should try to move around as much as they can. Dr. Wright stated that “the number of people over the age of 65 in the United States is on the rise, meaning the public health burden of thinking and memory problems will likely grow.” Wright went on to add that getting regular exercise is a great protective measure for keeping cognitive abilities.

It is important to note that other factors that affect brain health and promote cognitive decline are smoking, alcohol use, high blood pressure, and BMI.

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Understanding Search Engines: a New Age for Marketing and Advertising

Posted on March 27, 2016 by dsarden17

The cyber world is like a giant flea market. Everything is out there. Since the internet first hit the public world, everyone has been trying to sell something. In the early days, searching and surfing was tedious and rudimentary compared to today, you really had to hunt for things. Today we are faced with an unending supply of advertisements and marketing.

The changes came partially due to search engines. Google made using the internet easier. Google makes it’s money by finding you things, think of the most helpful dog in the world. All Google wants to do is keep you happy by getting what you ask for.

Search engines are constantly going through websites to find relevant information to make finding what you want easier. The algorithms and code involved are constantly updated but they follow the same idea, and marketers have learned the value of understanding these qualities of search engines.

Every article, advertisement, blog post, or share on social media has been prepared with specific criteria in mind – at least if they are successful. They understand how keywords are used, both long tail and short tail, and they use hashtags, metatags, and carefully construct their content with these terms as well.

Search engines have also figured out how to both help marketers but also monetize these advertising opportunities. Google doesn’t own the internet, but they have made it easier to use for both businesses and people sitting at home. It’s a large marketplace on the web, with billions of voices all wanting to be heard, so if you want to be heard by more people on the internet understand how search engine work. Think of how you search for something.

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/98271-SEO-How-Search-Engines-Work

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Investigators confused by the deaths of bald eagles in Maryland and Delaware

Posted on March 27, 2016 by steven_bardsley

A uncommon sight was seen in southern Delaware within the last week when multiple bald eagles found nearly dead were found a mile away from a single dead eagle.

In result, three of them died and two were able to be saved. The remainder of the bald eagles flew away eventually. The pattern of fallen eagles wasn’t entirely new, however. Earlier in the month, 50 miles or less away in Maryland’s Eastern Shore, 13 bald eagles were found dead.

While the bird used to be one of the most notable endangered species, investigators wonder if there is foul play involved in the suspicious behavior of the eagles. Investigators have found from autopsies that the deaths weren’t natural. They’ve rules out natural diseases.

The autopsy results from the Delaware scene haven’t been received, but investigators hope to have them soon. Investigators are now looking into human causes as to why the birds have been falling ill and dying. The man who found some of the ill birds on his property noted that he doesn’t use poisons on his property that could have caused this. He also mentioned he didn’t think anyone nearby did so either.

Currently the reward offered for information hat could lead to the cause of the perpetrator has been raised to $30,000 by various groups, including the American Bird Conservancy. As it stands the fine imposed by the government for killing the federally protected birds could be as high as $100,000 with a year in prison.

Experts believe that while the birds have officially been taken off of the endangered species list, they still need protection in some way, shape, or form, to prevent its low population numbers once again.

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Bombing in Lahore, Not Only a Tragedy But a Wake Up Call to Europe and The Eastern Part of The World

Posted on March 27, 2016 by v.king

A powerful blast caused by a suicide bomber injured at least 300 victims in a popular public park in Pakistani city of Lahore Pakistan. The bombing happened on Easter Sunday in the city of Lahore. A suicide bomber from the Pakistani Taliban caused the bomb blast to happen injuring at least 300 victims and killing at least 30. The majority of the victims being Christian. Surprisingly they had guards at the gate of the park but the guards were not checking anybody entering the park which is weird because why would you have guards at a gate then? It leads me to believe or assume that this may have been an inside job or some type of corruption is upon us. A situation like this could have been easily avoided. The government of Pakistan needs to start having a tighter security on things like this especially on a holiday they know is Christian based inside of a Muslim country. They need to start doing more background checks on there security and have more check points in their area.

We constantly hear about bombings not only in their country but in Europe and the eastern part of the world. As sad as this sounds This is a wake up call not only for Europe but the eastern part of the world that they are too loose with security. They need to be more stricter to start catching these suicide bombers. This bombing could have been avoided and lives could have been saved but unfortunately the situation happened and the aftermath followed hopefully better security measures are starting to be made so this country can somewhat live in peace for a while.

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Should Guns Be Allowed In The Classroom

Posted on March 27, 2016 by shane sackett

Should students be allowed to carry guns in the classrooms at UCF? This question has been brought, a lot of attention in the past year. Yes we should and no we shouldn’t? What is the right answer and if the answer is yes where do we draw the line? Can anyone bring a gun or only people with concealed carry licenses?

I believe that if we start allowing guns into classroom it will have an adverse affect on the classroom. The classroom is supposed to be a place of higher learning, a place where people go to better education, and a place where heated discussions of opinion take place. For the sake of this argument lets say guns are allowed to be in classrooms, an edgy topic was brought up and two students were stating their views. One student feels wronged by the other student and their view was misconstrued and an argument erupted. It would be very easy for things to get out of hand and a physical altercation to ensue and now we have guns in the classroom, it would not take much for someone who has a gun on their person to resort to this action.

The point I am trying to make is it would only take one bad egg having a bad day to “ruin it” for everyone. At the end of the day we are all humans and we tick differently. The classroom was never intended to be a dangerous place but as the world changes so does the classroom.

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Tips to Thrive During Finals Week

Posted on March 27, 2016 by jsantana0410

With finals coming around, there is so much to prepare for to finish the semester strong. Students are presented with papers, presentations, projects and exams. Time management is a key element of success during this time.

Time management is crucial during finals. It is all about balancing. Keeping a calendar or agenda of all assignments due is a great way of staying organized and, therefore, managing time better. Sometimes we can be presented with situations beyond our control, but if we are organized we can easily make quick changes and re-adjust our schedules to get back on track. Also, having a visual aid of the tasks to be done helps us stay reminded and, in some cases, want to finish these tasks so we can just scratch it off the list.

Another way to successfully finish the semester is getting rest. A rested brain will be so much more useful than a tired one. Sometimes it is hard to go to sleep because there is so much to do. That brings us back to the time management discussion on the previous paragraph. There always needs to be time to rest even if that means cutting down on a social life or requesting a few days off from work. When the brain is tired there will be less focus and capacity to retain information, which defeats the whole purpose of studying.

Study groups are also a great study approach. Exchanging ideas with people who already studied the material helps us discuss the material reviewed, and the repetition helps the information stick in the brain faster and longer. Keep in mind that the material needs to be reviewed before participating. Be considerate. As long as cramming is not part of students’ habits, finals week will be like any other normal week.

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Missing Mother Found Alive After 42 Years

Posted on March 26, 2016 by dgantea

An Indiana woman who was reported missing back in 1974 was found alive and well living in Texas.  The mother of three had signed her parental rights over to her parents at the age of 28, claiming she was “too young for motherhood”.  Lula Ann Gillespie-Miller then vanished without a trace and her parents had not heard from her since they received a letter from her in 1975.  She had been a missing person in the state of Indiana and according to the Indian State Police, that all changed after Detective Sergeant Scott Jarvis took the case in January 2014.  A group that assists families with missing persons investigations called The Doe Network, contacted the Indiana State Police Department about Gillespie-Miller.

Detective Sergeant Scott Jarvis started his search for the woman in Richmond.  He had discovered a case of a Jane Doe whose body was buried in an unmarked grave.  Jarvis had taken a sample of Gillespie-Miller’s daughter’s DNA to test to see if it was a match for the Jane Doe, however while awaiting the results he began to follow some different leads.

He started to follow a woman who had many similarities to Gillespie-Miller, who had lived in Tennessee in the 1980’s and then moved to Texas in the 1990’s.  Jarvis believed that the woman had been living under an alias while living in Texas.

Jarvis and Texas Rangers requested to speak to the woman and ending up discovering that the woman was Gillespie-Miller.  She admitted to the police that was in fact Lula Ann and is now 69 years old.  Gillespie-Miller faces no criminal charges as she did not commit any crimes.  She asked authorities not to release her current location, but did inform her daughter Tammy Miller of her address in hopes of reconnecting with her soon.

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Can Consuming Chocolate Help me Loose Weight?

Posted on March 25, 2016 by brimacnaught

Can chocolate really be used to better our workouts?  Dark chocolate has been recognized as a tool to enhance our energy levels when working out. All chocolate lovers will be relieved to know that consuming chocolate can indeed enhance their performance and the quality of their work out. We are now able to indulge free of regret and full of energy.

How does this all work? Well, Dark chocolate contains a nutrient that is called epicatechin. This nutrient found in the cocoa plant prompts’ cells in the blood vessels which let out nitric oxide.

According to “Chocolate Can Boost Your Workout. Really.” an article by New York Times’ Gretchen Reynold states “Nitric oxide slightly increases vasodilation, or a widening of the veins and arteries, improving blood flow and cardiac function. It also gooses muscle cells to take in more blood sugar, providing them with more energy.” Therefore, allowing us to properly execute our exercises with sufficient energy.

Now with this knowledge in mind, we would be able to reach our physical goals at a quicker rate. What would our athletes and school teams look like if they would consume dark chocolate regularly? Could it be that the performance of our favorite baseball teams and football teams change entirely?

Looking at dark chocolate on a smaller scale, we could probably achieve our diet goals quicker if we were consuming dark chocolate regularly. However, how much is too much? Would we abuse this knowledge by consuming more than our bodies could burn?

 

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Climate Change Q & A: What You Should Know

Posted on March 24, 2016 by cevans37

I’m sure you have heard reference to global warming and/or climate change having a future impact on our environment, much different from how we know it today. Some scientists were looking into ways to minimize the impact of this change by potentially pouring freshwater into the oceans or unnaturally releasing fossil fuels and heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere to a believed tolerable level. But on Tuesday, climate scientists came forth, referring to a paper that was released earlier, that the execution of this idea is not ideal; obtaining this “tolerable level” actually provokes more danger for the near future than anything else. And exactly what type of danger are they referencing? Consequences such as more volatile storms than we’ve ever experienced and city drowning caused by sea-rising before the end of the century.

Now and over the last several years, efforts have been made in various parts of the world to try to slow the rapidity of this change but as of yet, nothing has been effective enough to limit global warming to the degree scientists are hoping. As inhabitants of this environment, we should heed the warnings and pay more attention to information regarding climate change because what is not so detrimental now, will be soon. Yielded from an article by Justin Gillis of The New York Times, here are a few questions and answers that you should know about climate change:

  1. How much is the planet actually heating up?
    1. As of October 2015, the Earth warmed 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit. This may seem insignificant so let’s put it into a clearer perspective: the warming of the globe caused by human emissions is roughly equivalent to 400,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs exploding across the world every day.
  2. What is the worst case scenario?
    1. A default on food production, increased prices and mass starvation
    2. The sixth mass extinction of plants and animals
    3. Unreliability of Asian monsoons which are crucial for watering crops
    4. Fast-rising seas that can flood out many of the world’s greatest cities
    5. Destabilized governments
  3. Are these predictions reliable?
    1. They’re not perfect but they are derived from solid science and supported evidence.
  4. Could anyone benefit from global climate change?
    1. Countries with huge frozen land including Russia and Canada could see potential economic benefits because warming would make agriculture and mining more possible. But the word of their success will spread and their countries may become overpopulated with refugees from less fortunate parts of the world. And of course, too much warming can lead to damage to their natural resources.
  5. Is there anything I can do to help reduce global climate change?
    1. Fly less
    2. Drive less
    3. Waste less
    4. Tell at least 50 friends to do the same
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We Take a Look Into the Social Theories We Use In Our Everyday Life’s – But What Are They? Click To Find Out!

Posted on March 24, 2016 by jesusalberto2120

When talking about the Social Process Theory, we must know that the whole point of this theory is to figure out how people become criminals through interactions with their own environment. It comes as a learned behavior, they are not born with it so they might see at home, school, or just any place in general that they interact. Many life events could affect us to change our views and make us commit crime, everyone has the capability to do something bad, but it is our choices, what defines us and sets us apart.

Even though sometimes some people believe that their lives are already so messed up, that no one cares about them so they do crimes as of way of getting attention and it might also be to release some of the anger they have inside. They want to do something bad because they don’t feel that the outcome could be any worse than what they are already living.

The social process theory has different characteristics that we must know to fully understand how the theory works. The first one is the labeling or social reaction theory has to do with self-identity, its basically when people tell you that you are something, in this case a criminal, and instead of defending yourself, you accept the role and became a criminal just because someone called you that. It’s very sad that this theory actually exists, because it means that it does happen in the real world.

One of the major components of the labeling theory is that crime is defined by those in power, unfortunately they define it in a way that conveniently works to their benefit instead of it being what its socially beneficial to most of the people. This is called a moral entrepreneur, like someone who doesn’t like seeing animals being hurt on the newspapers so they pass a law stating that animal pictures are not allowed anymore just because he doesn’t feel comfortable seeing that when he’s reading the newspaper.

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