Oprah once said that our environments lend evidence to who we are (paraphrased here, of course). Not all of us can afford to acquire, or have access to, pieces once owned by royalty. However, there are several grades of gray between the black and white of royal style versus slum digs. Reading over details of an amazing auction event led me to ponder the concept of how we communicate who we are, both in the immediacy of the clothes we don daily and in the environments we create to inhabit.

Christie’s held an auction this year touted as “The Sale of the Century.” It was to sell the personal effects of haute couture designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berger. It took place in the 13,000 square meter main exhibition hall of the Grand Palais in Paris. The catalog of items, a beautiful manuscript detailing pieces ranging from Brancusi sculpture to Eileen Gray furniture, sold out long before the event took place. Connoisseurs, collectors, and the enlightened curious packed the event to clamor over the 733 pieces of personal artifacts from this fashion legend. The result was sales of over half a billion dollars.

My environment, and wardrobe for that matter, speaks of a love of variety (from French antiques with silk brocade upholstery to hand tied Oriental wool rugs), quality of materials (from gold gilt chairs to antique crystal chandeliers), and some international influence (from Armani Italian wool slacks to classic American denim jeans). Hopefully it says I love artistry. It also says I do not (yet, one can dream) shop among the stratosphere of royalty (I have some lovely strands of pearls, though they have not adorned anyone of royal bearing). What does your environment (and wardrobe) communicate about you? What could be surmised about our culture in generations to come by evidence of what you have assembled? Let’s share some of our ethnographic insights based on our accumulated goodies, shall we? If you don’t know provenance of items, who cares, just make something up that tells of what you feel it could communicate. Let’s have fun!

According to Nelson Barber, an associate professor of hospitality management at the University of New Hampshire, and colleagues, women were more apt to ask friends or family members for advice about making a purchase, while men were more likely to turn to impersonal sources for information, such as published materials.

But men don’t always avoid asking for help. The study authors found that men will turn to others for assistance — including retail clerks, friends and family — if they have inadequate information. And when buying wine as a gift, men valued getting opinions from friends, family and retail clerks just as much as women did, the survey found.

In general, male survey participants viewed themselves as knowing more about wine than female survey participants did, the researchers noted. However, the study authors pointed out, women buy an estimated 80 percent of the wine bought in the United States.

“This research highlights the role of gender in decision-making research. The current study provides marketing professionals with new insights to developing better strategies. They need to be aware that in addition to objective product characteristics, customers’ purchasing decisions may be driven by less obvious factors, such as those investigated in this study– self-assessed knowledge, purchase confidence, and the purchase situation,” Barber said in a university news release.

The findings are published in the January issue of the Journal of Consumer Marketing.

Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock — ‘The Blind Side’
Helen Mirren — ‘The Last Station’
Carey Mulligan — ‘An Education’
Gabourey Sidibe — ‘Precious’
Meryl Streep — ‘Julie and Julia’

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges– ‘Crazy Heart’
George Clooney — ‘Up in the Air’
Colin Firth — ‘A Single Man’
Morgan Freeman — ‘Invictus’
Jeremy Renner — ‘The Hurt Locker’

Worst Picture: - By the Razzie awards
All About Steve
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Land of the Lost
Old Dogs
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Oregon Women’s Report viewers can vote on their favorite movie of 2010 here.

Have fun on our next survey here on your Oscar picks and worst movie of 2010.

Worst Picture:
All About Steve
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Land of the Lost
Old Dogs
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Worst Actor:
Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas — Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
Will Ferrell — Land of the Lost
Steve Martin — Pink Panther 2
Eddie Murphy — Imagine That
John Travolta — Old Dogs

Worst Actress:
Beyonce Knowles — Obsessed
Sandra Bullock — All About Steve
Miley Cyrus — Hannah Montana: The Movie
Megan Fox — Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Sarah Jessica Parker — Did You Hear About The Morgans?

Worst Screen Couple:
Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas — Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper — All About Steve
Will Ferrell and any co-star, creature or “comic riff” — Land of the Lost
Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox or any Transformer — Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson or Taylor Lautner — Twilight Saga: New Moon

Worst Supporting Actress:
Candice Bergen — Bride Wars
Ali Larter — Obsessed
Sienna Miller — G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Kelly Preston — Old Dogs
Julie White — Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Worst Supporting Actor:
Billy Ray Cyrus — Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hugh Hefner — Miss March
Robert Pattinson — Twilight Saga: New Moon
Jorma Taccone — Land of the Lost
Marlon Wayans — G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel:
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Land of the Lost
Pink Panther 2
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Twilight Saga: New Moon

Worst Director:
Michael Bay — Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Walt Beeker — Old Dogs
Brad Silberling — Land of the Lost
Stephen Sommers — G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Phil Traill — All About Steve

Worst Screenplay:
All About Steve
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Land of the Lost
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Twilight Saga: New Moon

In the study, published in the current issue of the journal Analytical Chemistry, researchers analyzed substances from ancient Egyptian makeup containers that are preserved at the Louvre museum in Paris. They found that the substances raise the production of nitric oxide in skin cells, which can help boost the immune system and prevent or treat eye infections.

According to study author Christian Amatore, of the Universite Pierre & Marie Currie, and colleagues, eye infections could develop due to exposure to contaminated water and may have commonly struck ancient Egyptians.

While it’s not known if the makeup was specifically produced for health reasons, “it is clear that such intentional production remains the first known example of a large-scale chemical process,” the study authors wrote.

The institution of marriage may seem like a rather dry topic for a book, but not when the author is Elizabeth Gilbert. Last week, at a Southeast Portland theater full of mostly thirty and forty-something women, I listened to Gilbert discuss her latest book “Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage.”

Those familiar with “Eat, Pray, Love” will remember that Gilbert began that memoir—an international bestseller and soon-to-be movie starring Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem—depressed and depleted after a bitter divorce. She then traveled to Italy, India and Indonesia—eating, praying, and finally, loving again and more deeply, it seems, than ever before. At the end of that book, she had found emotional healing, found herself, and found love in her new relationship with her Brazilian boyfriend, Felipe, who is 17 years her senior.

“Committed” continues with the story—a lovely love story in fact—of “Liz” and Felipe. When Felipe faces deportation, the couple learns that marriage is the best solution to Felipe’s U.S. visa problems. There’s one major problem, however: They have both sworn off marriage after ugly divorces. Yet, as Gilbert explains, they vowed in a holding room at the Dallas-Fortworth airport to marry each other despite their hesitations about marriage in general. During their year-long engagement, as they hop-scotched around the globe waiting to get Felipe back into America, Gilbert learned as much as she could about marriage.

“Committed” is not only a heartwarming love story but an exploration of the ideas, traditions and expectations of marriage in Western culture. Gilbert’s witty voice makes it all seem like you are talking with one of your best girlfriends. I especially enjoyed the chapter where Liz and Felipe share their not-so-attractive qualities with one another, both agreeing that they can accept each other’s flaws, the whole package if you will, without hesitation. The ability we have to love each other despite our flaws, Gilbert writes, “is a human offering that can border on the miraculous.”

“Committed” is available now at a bookstore near you.

### Erika Weisensee, a booklover, writer and native Oregonian, lives in Milwaukie and teaches journalism and communication courses at the University of Portland.

During lunch today, an instructional assistant went to my classroom looking for me. She wanted to let me know that during recess one of my students had told her about his teenage sister. A sister, who he confided, had been tormenting his mother and himself, and had been writing gang signs on his back.

My first year of teaching I would have probably started crying shortly after realizing that one of my students was being recruited into a violent gang by his older sister. Unfortunately, I wasn’t surprised. Although the gangs in my school’s boundaries are nothing compared to the kids of gangs that schools in California face, they are bad enough to require that elementary age students sign out to go to the bathroom so that we can match their handwriting to the gang signs and death threats that are scrawled on the bathroom walls. These incidents significantly increase when gang members are released from prison and head back to their old haunts to recruit young kids.

Students like my little guy, are particularly vulnerable because he struggles in school, and gangs can feel easier, safer, and less challenging that schools—especially when these students frequently move schools and are chronically absent. It is painful to watch a nice student who is struggling slowly become morphed and molded into a cynical and cruel unrecognizable version of themselves.

Even with all of the interventions available through the Department of Human Services, onsite counselors, and law enforcement, some students still get pulled down and away from the hope-filled futures that we all wish for our students. The happy ending for my student this year, is that he was only retelling what had happened to him last year, before his sister went to Juvenile Hall, and he feels safer this year. What would it take for all students to have a happy ending?

Question: My husband always says he is sorry when he upsets me, yet I struggle with forgiving him and I am not sure why. He then gets mad because he states that he has apologized and I should get over it. Why is this so hard for me to do?

Answer: There could be several answers to this question depending on your particular situation; however it sounds to me like a classic illustration of the difference between the words “I am sorry” and a heartfelt apology. We are all guilty at times of uttering the “sorry” word while our attitude or actions don’t match up. It is no wonder why the words “I’m sorry” lose meaning and bitterness grows.

When we are wronged, we feel anger, hurt, and often mistrust towards the person who has wronged us. We feel that justice must be served to make things right. And while justice can bring some relief, it is not justice that restores relationships. More than justice, we often really desire reconciliation and for the wrong-doer to “own” their mistake and display a contrite heart. Unfortunately many of us have not mastered the art of a true apology. “Sorry” is just another word unless there is meaning and feeling behind it.

As humans, we do have a remarkable ability to forgive, and this forgiveness can heal even the most broken of relationships. Sincere apologies make reconciliation a very real possibility. By now you are probably asking what makes an apology sincere. Gary Chapman and Jennifer Thomas explore this important topic in their book “The Five Languages of Apology”, which I highly recommend. They break down the art of apology into the following five components. You do not necessarily need to offer all five languages to offer an effective apology. Like love languages, each of the five elements of an apology will resonant differently with each individual, and some will hold a greater impact on that person than others. The more intimate the relationship, such as with a husband and a wife, the more you will learn about what language they need to hear the most for true forgiveness and reconciliation to occur.

1.    Expressing Regret. “I am sorry.” This is the emotional aspect of an apology. It shows that you regret the hurt, disappointment, and pain that you have caused another. It displays your realization that you have offended another. The words “I’m sorry” can be very effective if they are sincere. It helps to be specific about what you are sorry about.

2.    Accepting Responsibility. “I was wrong.” It is very easy to blame your mistakes on someone or something else. It is human nature to want to ease our own guilt by justifying or excusing our behavior. To admit wrong-doing shows sincerity and helps to soften the other’s heart.

3.    Making Restitution. “What can I do to make it right?” This also shows sincerity as it puts action behind the words. Doing something to try to make things right speaks to the justice piece that makes up a part of all of us,that in some sense the wrong will be “paid for”.

4.    Genuinely Repenting. “I’ll try not to do that again.” This is important, as it is the repetition of offending behavior that is often the most disturbing and negates the “I’m sorry” that repeatedly is stated. Repenting means to turn from the undesirable behavior. It shows the intent of change.

5.    Requesting Forgiveness. “Will you please forgive me?” Requesting forgiveness demonstrates your desire to see the relationship fully restored. It is also another way to show that you have taken responsibility for the wrong-doing.

6.    These five components of apology can be used in any and all relationships. As a therapist, I have seen both sides of the coin in my office. I have seen hearts soften and healing occur when the above components are present. Sadly, I have also seen hearts remain hard and bitterness grow when individuals refuse to own their behavior and seek true reconciliation. Be the first in your relationships to put these principles into practice when the need occurs and see what happens.

Written By,
Chantelle K. Dockter, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor
Associate of CCCOW

SALEM, Ore. – You don’t need a backyard or other piece of property to grow a tree if you have a porch, patio or balcony – and a large gardening container.

You are likely, however, to need information on how to choose and grow your container tree, according to Neil Bell, Oregon State University Extension horticulturist in Marion County.

“Pay attention to the expected size of a mature tree,” Bell said. “For obvious reasons, a tree whose mature size is small will be most adaptable to container growing. The size of a tree is usually proportional to the size of its root system, and containers will restrict root growth.”

Pots should be about as wide as they are high for best insulation of the roots. Clay pots are heavier than plastic but are more stable in windy conditions, especially with larger trees.

Smaller species and dwarf varieties of standard species are good candidates for containers. Evergreens such as Mugo pine (Pinus mugo), Korean fir (Abies koreana), cryptomeria (Cryptomeria japonica), Skyrocket juniper (Juniperis scopulorum ‘Skyrocket’), boxwood (Buxus spp.), English yew (Taxus baccata), strawberry madrone (Arbutus unedo), dwarf camellias, and just about any dwarf conifer can grow in containers.

Deciduous trees that do well in containers are Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), star magnolia (Magnolia stellata), cutleaf vine maple (Acer circinatum ‘Monroe’), dwarf weeping birch (Betula pendula ‘Trost’s Dwarf’), lacebark elm (Ulmus parvifolia ‘Frosty’, ‘Seiju’ or ‘Yatsabusa’ and crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica).

If you have sunny indoor space, citrus trees such as Meyer lemon, Baerr’s lime and mandarin orange, or other tender evergreens can be grown in containers outside in the summer and brought inside during the colder months.

Careful soil selection is critical to the health of the tree.

“Do not use soil directly from your garden,” Bell advised. “Instead, use a soil-based compost, with good organic matter content and preferably some perlite or pumice to make the mix porous, which keeps air in the soil.” Find these in bags at nurseries and in garden sections of other stores.

Caring for a containerized tree is more work than growing a tree in the ground. The roots can search for water and nutrients only within the confines of the pot, so you need to provide adequate amounts of both. Water regularly and fertilize with a balanced, slow-release fertilizer.

Protect the tree roots from winter cold by keeping the container in a protected spot or cool greenhouse or wrap the pot with insulating material during the coldest months.

“If a tree starts to outgrow its container, you have choices,” Bell said. “Plant it in the ground, plant it in a larger container, or prune the roots back by one-third and plant it back in its current container. Root pruning is a similar technique to bonsai and will help to keep the tree small.”

Trees in containers can be very pleasing on your patio or deck. With a little extra effort, you can enjoy your tree for many years.

By: Judy Scott
Source: Neil Bell

HealthDay News - After more than a decade of decline, the U.S. teen pregnancy rate increased 3 percent in 2006, which led to a 4 percent rise in teen births and a 1 percent increase in teen abortions, a new study shows.

Between 1990 and 2005, there was a 41 percent decline in pregnancies among females aged 15 to 19 — from a peak of 116.9 pregnancies per 1,000 girls to 69.5 per 1,000. Between 1991 and 2005, births among teen girls decreased 35 percent, while teen abortions declined 56 percent between 1988 and 2005.

However, all three trends reversed in 2006, said the report from the Guttmacher Institute, which focuses on sexual and reproductive health research, public education and policy.

In 2006, the pregnancy rate among teen girls was 71.5 per 1,000, or about 7 percent. Among the other findings:

* Among black teen girls, the pregnancy rate decreased 45 percent (from 223.8 per 1,000 in 1990 to 122.7 in 2005), before rising to 126.3 per 1,000 in 2006.
* Among Hispanic teen girls, the pregnancy rate declined 26 percent (from 169.7 per 1,000 in 1992 to 124.9 in 2005), before increasing to 126.6 per 1,000 in 2006.
* Among non-Hispanic white teen girls, the pregnancy rate decreased 50 percent (from 86.6 per 1,000 in 1990 to 43.3 per 1,000 in 2005), before rising to 44.0 per 1,000 in 2006.

The much greater decline in the pregnancy rate among black teens resulted in the disappearance of the long-standing gap between blacks and Hispanics. However, there’s still a large gap between whites and girls of color, the study said.

State level data for 2006 aren’t available, but varied widely in 2005. New Mexico (93 per 1,000), Nevada (90), Arizona (89), Texas (88) and Mississippi (85) had the highest teen pregnancy rates, while the lowest rates were in New Hampshire (33), Vermont (40), North Dakota (46), Minnesota (47) and Maine (48).

Between 2000 and 2005, teen pregnancy rates declined in every state except North Dakota.

“It is too soon to tell whether the increase in the teen pregnancy rate between 2005 and 2006 is a short-term fluctuation, a more lasting stabilization or the beginning of a significant new trend, any of which would be of great concern,” Lawrence Finer, director of domestic research at the Guttmacher Institute, said in a news release from the institute. “Either way, it is clearly time to redouble our efforts to make sure our young people have the information, interpersonal skills and health services they need to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to become sexually healthy adults.”

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released late last year and published in the Dec. 21, 2009, online edition of Pediatrics, said the teen birth rate rose about 1 percent in 2007, the second year in a row there was an increase.

There’s no clear reason for the upward trend in teen births, Paul D. Sutton, a geographer/demographer at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, told HealthDay News. Some experts believe the teen birth rate decline that occurred in the 1990s may have been due to effective pregnancy prevention programs.

More information

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has more about teen pregnancy.

We started IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) at the end of August. The first step of IVF involves several days of injections designed to super-charge ovulation, and hopefully, create a lot of viable eggs for “retrieval.” The “retrieval,” or the extraction of eggs, is a minor surgical procedure. After that, the eggs are combined with sperm and then watched in Petri dishes. The healthiest looking embryos (sometimes one, commonly two, and sometimes even more) are then implanted in the uterus. This is a simplified summary of a very complex process, but that is essentially how it works.

IVF is the most advanced option available for people seeking fertility treatment. Obgyns and fertility doctors often prescribe fertility drugs like Clomid or recommend artificial insemination (a less drastic, more affordable option) before trying IVF. I had, in fact, tried Clomid for six months with no success. My own mother had conceived with the help of Clomid back in 1974. She had been trying to get pregnant for a year and took only one dose of it. The result was triplets—my sister, my brother and me.

During our IVF cycle, I held up pretty well. Physically, I was exhausted, bloated and tired from the medication, and the “retrieval” was a lot more painful than I had imagined. Emotionally, however, I was stronger, getting support from Alex and a handful of my closest confidantes. I was fortunate to have the ear and the encouragement of a friend and fellow IVFer, a brave woman who had been through many fertility disappointments before finally having twin girls, then miraculously, a naturally conceived baby boy a couple of years later.

Alex and I know several couples for whom IVF was the answer to prayers, fulfilling their dreams of having a family after years of trying to conceive. Yet, the chances of a single cycle of IVF working are only about 40 percent for our age group (the mid-30s). Because the media gives attention to fertility success stories (i.e., Octomom and Jon & Kate Plus people tend to think fertility treatment is more successful than it really is.

More and more people are waiting to have children. I personally know many women who have started their families after the age of 30 with no problems, but some of us will have trouble. During one of our many conversations with our fertility doctor, Alex and I asked if we were unusual—a couple going in for fertility treatment that had already had one baby. Our doctor quickly answered “no.” When people start families in their 20s, they have several more years to try and conceive another; when they wait until their 30s, the time to have more children is diminished, so couples move more quickly to fertility treatment.

During our treatment, we became very familiar with the fertility clinic’s waiting room. One time, as we sat alongside other fertility-challenged couples, we reminded ourselves that many of them had no children; some of them would never be able to have their own children. We consider ourselves so lucky to have one child, and yet, we were willing to do the most advanced reproductive technology available to try to have another. That’s how badly we want to love and parent another child. We also want Owen to have a sibling.

I knew in my heart the IVF cycle had failed even before a very early pregnancy test administered in the fertility clinic confirmed it had. In that moment, I was all out of tears. Somehow in those challenging weeks spent shooting hormones into my stomach and butt, I found my inner reserve of strength. I told my mother that if the cycle failed, I would accept it and happily move forward with adoption. Children right here in Oregon and around the world need adoptive families to love them—a reality magnified by the tragic events in Haiti.

A few weeks ago, we submitted paperwork to begin our adoption process. Adoption, we know, can be a long, challenging journey. But we are ready for it.

It feels so good to be in this place.

Do you have a “fat zone” you’d like to burn?  I do.  It’s located south of my waist and north of my knees.  Other common fat zones are known to reside between the shoulders and the elbows, from the chins to the shins, the chest to the hips, or any combination of the above!  Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get on a machine, dial in our own personal “fat zone” and say “Be gone”!!!

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.  The best way to begin and to continue burning away your excess weight is to move.  Cardiovascular exercise, also known as aerobic exercise, will burn off your fat as well as provide you with long-lasting health benefits.  Excess calories, stored as fat, are shed slowly but surely when caloric intake is reduced and caloric output is increased.

What about those charts on treadmills, stationary bikes, stair steppers and other cardio-machines or posted on gym walls, charts listing heart rates for “fat-burning zones” or “cardio-zones?”  These can be confusing by misleading you into thinking that you are literally burning off your “fat zones” when you are working out in the “fat-burning zone.”  That is the zone of low intensity activity at which the body uses more fat as its source of fuel than it does at more moderate to higher exercise intensities where the body switches to the more efficient carbohydrate as fuel.  (See Women’s Report, “Exercise Intensity Defined,” October 13, 2009).  The important thing to remember is that, in both low and moderate intensity “zones” of exercise, your body is burning calories.  In its wisdom, it chooses the most efficient fuel to burn at the appropriate level of exercise.  Let me give you an example from exercise physiology.

Let’s say that you are working at a lower intensity, “fat-burning” level, walking at 2-miles per hour.  You will burn around 100 calories, with approximately 75 calories coming from burning fat as fuel. That’s 75%.  If you increase your intensity to a jog burning 200 calories, about 60% will be burned using fat as fuel but your body also uses a higher percentage of carbohydrate as fuel.  The percentage of fat used for fuel will be lower, approximately 60%, but a higher number of calories will be burned, 120 calories versus 75 calories as in the prior example.  Look at the big picture:  it takes 3500 calories to burn off one pound of body fat.  Covering a mile on foot at a moderate intensity burns around 100 calories.  That piece of cheesecake I ate last week was 300 calories!

There is a time and place for exercising in both zones.  Both promote fat loss and weight loss by burning calories.  The important point is that when you work at lower intensity levels, you have to go longer.  If you are just getting started on a fitness program as some of you might be as a part of your New Year’s resolutions, it’s good to start at lower intensities.  It is especially important if you have a lot of weight to lose and are not used to walking.  If you’re a veteran exerciser, it is also recommended that you alternate easier and harder days to avoid boredom, overuse or discouragement and, if weight loss is one of your goals, do it slowly.  One-to-two pounds a week has been shown to have long-term success in keeping weight off.   Think about losing five pounds at a time.  It’s less intimidating than telling yourself you have twenty pounds to lose.  You just have to lose five pounds and you get to practice doing it four times!

While it can get complicated, the message makes sense and it’s nothing new.  It’s really quite simple to understand but admittedly not always easy to do:  to lose weight you need to eat less and exercise more.  You lose weight and body fat when you burn more calories than you consume.  Eating less doesn’t mean starving yourself.  On the contrary, you need to supply your body and your muscles with the right fuel.  That includes carbohydrates–good, healthy, complex carbohydrates—whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and enough calories to have the energy to exercise.  Your body needs carbohydrates to burn fat.  It’s a matter of balance.  You also need balance in your exercise program.  While you are burning calories aerobically, you can help to add muscle by including two-to-three days of weight training per week, every other day.  There’s a bonus included:  if you have more muscle, you burn more calories both when you’re exercising and after you stop. Whether you burn those calories in the “fat-burning zone” or the “cardio-zone,” the most important thing is that you burn them!  Move into the “calorie- burning zone!”

Yours in fitness,
Olivia Rossi, RN, MSN
Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist, ACSM
Certified Personal Trainer, ACSM

Survey on
(1) Who Should fill the NBC 11:30pm time slot
(2) Favorite over all host Late Night Host

– Neither. Jon Stewart will always be my main man.
– You cannot help but feel sorry for Conan
– He has it why change it. Thought Leno wanted to retire.
– can’t stay up that late, haven’t seen either
_- TV Exces expect isnatnt results, unfair to Jay and O’Brien.

You can answer next week’s survey questions here.  We discuss full body scanners at airports.

HealthDay News- A study of obsessive-compulsive Dobermans might someday help explain similar repetitive behaviors in humans. Scientists have identified a region on chromosome 7 in obsessive-compulsive dogs that may correlate to the human version of the psychiatric disorder.

The gene is the same in humans, said Dr. Nicholas Dodman, first author of the study, which appears as a letter to the editor in the January issue of Nature Molecular Psychiatry. In humans it resides on chromosome 18, the same chromosome which holds all of the psychiatric genes identified thus far, he said.

“It’s certainly true we have basically the same gene in us, so it’s an intriguing lead, but there’s a lot more work that has to be done to see if this particular finding is relevant to human health and obsessive compulsive disorder [OCD],” added Dr. Michael Slifer, an assistant professor of human genetics and genomics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

“But even if this particular finding is not directly relevant, it still gives us clues as to the pathways and processes that may be going on in humans as well as some possible targets for intervention and treatment,” he added.

And, Slifer cautioned, “This gene probably does not have as robust an effect in humans as it does in dogs because we haven’t found it yet in humans [in relation to OCD]. This one would have come out already. But that doesn’t mean it might not still be relevant in a small subset [of people with OCD].”

Some 2 to 3 percent of humans suffer from OCD, marked by repetitive thoughts and behaviors, such as repeated hand-washing.

Canine compulsive disorder seems to affect certain breeds, notably bull terriers, which can have a tendency to maniacally chase their tails, and Dobermans, which will compulsively suck on blankets or on themselves.

“These are not just funny things,” said Dodman, professor of clinical sciences at Tuft University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in North Grafton, Mass. “It’s a physically injurious and life-threatening disease and can seriously impair the relationship between owner and dog, which can lead to euthanasia.”

“There [has been] no explanation for it and it’s clearly genetically driven,” added Dodman, who is also the author of several well-known animal behavior books.

Up to 70 percent of puppies in certain Doberman litters can be afflicted, he said. One German shepherd bit his tail so badly that he bled to death, he added.

“While we have known the flank-sucking in Dobermans had to have a genetic component because it occurred in certain bloodlines, this study confirms it and identifies where the trait is carried,” said Bonnie Beaver, professor in the department of small animal clinical sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of Texas A&M University in College Station. “It provides a starting place to look at genetic relationships of other compulsive disorders and . . . might help the understanding of compulsive human disorders and be able to differentiate the genetic ones from the environmental ones.”

Chromosome 7 appears within the cadherin-2 gene (CDH2), which is involved in communication among neurons in the brain.

And cadherins, proteins that enable cells to adhere or stick to each other, are also involved in human obsessive-compulsive disorders. Recently, cadherins were linked to autism spectrum disorder, also characterized by compulsive behaviors, such as repetitive head-banging.

The Tufts researchers teamed up with the Program in Medical Genetics at the University of Massachusetts and the Broad Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to test Doberman blood samples that the Tufts staff had collected and stored for more than a decade.

Dobermans who (in this case) compulsively sucked on their flanks or on blankets, were more likely to have this gene sequence than healthy dobermans.

Beaver said the findings were “exciting” and that “the number of dogs used in the study places good confidence levels on the findings.”

I saw this story and was amazed. This 6-foot 10 inch tall teen girl is a High School basketball star. She is taller than much of the men in the NBA and she is still growing! Check out the video below.