A recent study reported online now and in the April issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has concluded one out of every 12 fans leaving major sporting events is drunk.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota measured the blood alcohol content (BAC) in 382 adults after 13 baseball games and three football games found that eight percent of these fans had a BAC above the legal limit (0.08 or higher). Researchers also concluded that individuals who participated in tailgating before were 14 times more likely to leave that game intoxicated, and fans under 35 years old were nine times more likely. … Read more →

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

Many credit Oscar Wilde with this quote, others believe American humorist Will Rogers deserves authorship (it is even engraved on his memorial plaque), and some give credit to Mark Twain.  Science has travelled beyond the literal meaning of the words to explore its truth.

According to a recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, new experiences that can potentially contradict a first impression become “bound” to the original context (i.e., impression) and that will ultimately prevail on many different levels.

According to lead author Bertram Gawronski:  ”Imagine you have a new colleague at work and your impression of that person is not very favorable. A few weeks later, you meet your colleague at a party and you realize he is actually a very nice guy. Although you know your first impression was wrong, your gut response to your new colleague will be influenced by your new experience only in contexts that are similar to the party. However, your first impression will still dominate in all other contexts.”

According to Gawronski, the human brain stores “expectancy-violating experiences” as mere exceptions to the rule. To explore the impact this has on first impressions, Gawronski and his team showed study participants either positive or negative information about an unknown person on a computer screen. Later in the study, the same participants received new information about the same individual, only inconsistent with the previous information.

To study importance of contexts, the researchers made subtle changes to the background color of the computer screen as participants formed their first impression. In measuring the participants’ spontaneous reactions to the person, they concluded that new information influenced participants’ reactions only in situations when it was presented against the background in which the new information was first acquired.

Otherwise, the first impression still dominated when the person was presented against other backgrounds. Gawronski commented: “What is necessary is for the first impression to be challenged in multiple different contexts. In that case, new experiences become decontextualized and the first impression will slowly lose its power. But, as long as a first impression is challenged only within the same context, you can do whatever you want. The first impression will dominate regardless of how often it is contradicted by new experiences.”

Developed in 1927 by Bernhard Zondek and Selmar Aschheim, the Rabbit Test was an early way to detect pregnancy.  Although the original test actually involved mice, the Rabbit Test was nonetheless an important transition for medical advances in the middle of the twentieth century.

In the test, a doctor injected the urine from a woman into a female rabbit.  A few days later, the doctor examined the rabbit’s ovaries, looking for changes in response the hormone secreted only in pregnant women. This hormone – human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) – is produced during pregnancy and an indication of a fertilized egg. Before this time, scientists believed hCG was produced by the pituitary gland. Georgeanna Jones, however, discovered hCG was indeed produced by the placenta.

From the 1930s to 1950s, this particular examination became a widely used pregnancy test, and the actual term “rabbit test” was first recorded in 1949.  Indeed, Xenopus frogs were also used in a similar “frog test.” Modern pregnancy tests still use the same concepts to determine the presence of the hormone hCG. Advances in medicine, however, have eliminated the need to use live animals.

There is a common misconception that only if the woman was pregnant would the injected rabbit die, which led to the phrase “the rabbit died” (meaning a positive pregnancy test). Unfortunately, all rabbits used for this particular test died as all examinations of rabbit ovaries were through invasive surgical intervention. Although it was possible to perform the exam without compromising the bunny, at the time medical science was more concerned with the trouble and expense it would involve.

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

Many credit Oscar Wilde with this quote, others believe American humorist Will Rogers deserves authorship (it is even engraved on his memorial plaque), and some give credit to Mark Twain.  Science has travelled beyond the literal meaning of the words to explore its truth.

According to a recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, new experiences that can potentially contradict a first impression become “bound” to the original context (i.e., impression) and that will ultimately prevail on many different levels. … Read more →

Developed in 1927 by Bernhard Zondek and Selmar Aschheim, the Rabbit Test was an early way to detect pregnancy.  Although the original test actually involved mice, the Rabbit Test was nonetheless an important transition for medical advances in the middle of the twentieth century.

In the test, a doctor injected the urine from a woman into a female rabbit.  A few days later, the doctor examined the rabbit’s ovaries, looking for changes in response the hormone secreted only in pregnant women. This hormone – human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) – is produced during pregnancy and an indication of a fertilized egg. … Read more →

The New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum at Morristown opened on August 17, 1876. Due to the efforts of Dorothea Lynde Dix, a nurse and advocate on behalf of better health care for mentally ill patients, the New Jersey Legislature eventually approved $2.5 million for the facility.

Located on approximately 743 acres of land, New Jersey’s second mental hospital was positioned near Morristown, Parsippany, and Newark. The hospital officially changed its name to Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in 1924. … Read more →

In August 2010, just a month after filing for bankruptcy protection, North General Hospital in Harlem, New York closed.  On the heels of St. Vincent’s closing, when the 200-bed hospital shut its doors, 1,000 people lost their jobs, and the remaining hospitals in New York City were forced to endure as many as 36,000 additional emergency department visits.

The four days’ notice North General Hospital employees received came after a public relations campaign proclaimed the bankruptcy had saved the hospital. City officials dismissed concerns that other area hospitals would be overwhelmed, yet other hospitals described the aftermath as “chaotic and overwhelming.” … Read more →

Today, the American people have greater health security than they did a year ago.

Because of the Affordable Care Act, Americans no longer have to live in fear that insurance companies will drop or cap their coverage if they get sick, or that they’ll face double-digit premium increases with no accountability or recourse.

The rest of the Statement by the President on the Affordable Care Act can be seen HERE.

For most people, the process of aging takes a toll on eyesight. Blurred vision, floaters (deposits of various size, shape, and even consistency within the clear gel that fills the space between the eye’s lens and retina), cataract, and glaucoma, to name just a few, are some of the most common eye issues associated with aging.

Moreover, many find that as their vision gets worse, it becomes much harder to read small print, such as that commonly found on a medication label.  This, unfortunately, can lead to mistakes with medication, and it can also result in additional health issues.  A recent article in Medicines Talk (an NPS publication from Australia) provides some useful tips for identifying and storing medication and making sure you have the correct information. … Read more →

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that in 2004, 74,000 emergency department and other doctor visits were due to sledding, snow tubing, and tobogganing-related injuries.  This winter season, the American Academy of Pediatrics and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center offer some safety tips winter sports:

• Make sure children wear helmets. Sleds can reach speeds in excess of 20 mph, and 15 percent of sledding-relating injuries in a hospital emergency department are head injuries (and 43 percent of these are brain injuries).   … Read more →