America Stressed Out, Overweight and Depressed: Study (ContributorNetwork)

According to the 2011 Stress in America report, released on January 11, 39 percent of the 1,226 Americans who took the American Psychological Association's online survey report that their stress has increased in the past year. And respondents who reported higher levels of stress were more likely to be obese or suffering from depression.

"The Stress in America survey continues to show a nation at a crossroads when it comes to stress and health," said psychologist Norman B. Anderson, CEO and executive vice president of the American Psychological Association, in a press release that accompanied the survey. "We are caught in a vicious cycle where our stress exceeds our own definition of what is healthy, and those who are already living with a chronic illness report even higher levels of stress. Yet we're ill-equipped to make changes to better manage that stress."

While more adults acknowledge that stress can impact their health, contributing to illnesses such as heart disease, depression and obesity, only 29 percent of respondents felt like they did an excellent or very good job of managing or reducing stress in their lives. The most commonly cited causes of stress for Americans include money problems (75 percent), work (70 percent) and the economy (67 percent). Relationships, family responsibilities, family health problems and personal health concerns were also given by more than half of the respondents as stressors in their lives.

According to the study, slightly more people stated that they relieve stress by listening to music than those who gave exercise as their favorite way to unwind. Those who said spending time with friends and family relieved their stress has declined from 46 percent in 2010 to 38 percent in 2011. More than half (51 percent) of respondents stated that it takes a great amount of time and effort to get their families to exercise and cite lack of motivation as well as work and personal obligations as the reasons they don't exercise more themselves. Respondents felt that eating well and exercising were less important to a healthy lifestyle than good family relationships and friendships, managing stress, getting enough sleep and doing well at work.

Fewer than half of all men and women feel satisfied with their financial security. Women report higher stress levels than men do, though men are less likely to feel that they are doing excellent or very good at handling personal relationships, eating healthy or getting enough sleep, the study showed. Men are also less likely than women to report that they think psychologists can help them to make lifestyle and behavior changes and more likely to report diagnoses of chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart disease or heart attack.

The study's results said Americans living on the East Coast report the most stress and are least able to deal with that stress. Westerners are the healthiest and least likely to have physical issues that are attributed with stress. Most frequent cause of stress in the lives of those living on the East Coast is money, the study showed, while those in the South and West say family responsibilities are stressing them out. However, residents in the West also cite spending time with family and friends as a way to manage stress more often than respondents in other regions. More residents of the East Coast drink alcohol and do yoga, while those in the Midwest and South are more likely to pray during times of stress.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120113/hl_ac/10824341_america_stressed_out_overweight_and_depressed_study

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This Was the First Video Ever Uploaded to YouTube [Video]

YouTube users may now upload the equivalent of 240,000 full-length films every week, but the site once hosted less than a hundred clips. And the very first, prescedent-setting video was...about elephants? More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/V32TZjBlVR4/this-was-the-first-video-ever-uploaded-to-youtube

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Evolution is written all over your face

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 11-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Stuart Wolpert
swolpert@support.ucla.edu
310-206-0511
University of California - Los Angeles

Why are the faces of primates so dramatically different from one another?

UCLA biologists working as "evolutionary detectives" studied the faces of 129 adult male primates from Central and South America, and they offer some answers in research published today, Jan. 11, in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The faces they studied evolved over at least 24 million years, they report.

"If you look at New World primates, you're immediately struck by the rich diversity of faces," said Michael Alfaro, a UCLA associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and the senior author of the study. "You see bright red faces, moustaches, hair tufts and much more. There are unanswered questions about how faces evolve and what factors explain the evolution of facial features. We're very visually oriented, and we get a lot of information from the face."

Some of the primate species studied are solitary, while others live in groups that can include dozens or even hundreds of others.

The life scientists divided each face into 14 regions; coded the color of each part, including the hair and skin; studied the patterns and anatomy of the faces; and gave each a "facial complexity" score. They studied how the complexity of primate faces evolved over time and examined the primates' social systems. To assess how facial colors are related to physical environments, they analyzed environmental variables, using the longitude and latitude of primates' habitats as a proxy for sun exposure and temperature. They also used statistical methods to analyze the evolutionary history of the primate groups and when they diverged from one another.

"We found very strong support for the idea that as species live in larger groups, their faces become more simple, more plain," said lead author Sharlene Santana, a UCLA postdoctoral scholar in ecology and evolutionary biology and a postdoctoral fellow with UCLA's Institute for Society and Genetics. "We think that is related to their ability to communicate using facial expressions. A face that is more plain could allow the primate to convey expressions more easily.

"Humans have pretty bare faces, which may allow us to see facial expressions more easily than if, for example, we had many colors in our faces."

The researchers' finding that faces are more simple in larger groups came as a surprise.

"Initially, we thought it might be the opposite," Santana said. "You might expect that in larger groups, faces would vary more and have more complex parts that would allow one individual to identify any member of that group. That is not what we found. Species that live in larger groups live in closer proximity to one another and tend to use facial expressions more than species in smaller groups that are more spread out. Being in closer proximity puts a stronger pressure on using facial expressions."

"This finding suggests that facial expressions are increasingly important in large groups," said co-author Jessica Lynch Alfaro, associate director of the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics. "If you're highly social, then facial expressions matter more than having a highly complex pattern on your face."

The evolutionary biologists also found that when primates live in environment with more species that are closely related, their faces are more complex, regardless of their group size. This finding is consistent with their need to recognize individuals of other closely related species that live in the same habitat to avoid interbreeding, Santana said.

Santana, Lynch Alfaro and Alfaro present the first quantitative evidence linking social behavior to the evolution of facial diversity and complexity in primates, and they also show that ecology controls aspects of facial patterns.

As species live closer to the equator, the skin and hair around their eyes get darker, the biologists report. They also found that regions of the face around the nose and mouth get darker when species live in humid environments and denser forests and that facial hair gets longer as species live farther from the equator and the climate gets colder, which may be related to regulating body temperature.

"This is a good start toward understanding facial diversity," Alfaro said. "There was not a good idea before about what aspects of faces were shaped by which evolutionary pressure. Sharlene [Santana] has been able to say what social complexity, social behavior and ecology are doing to faces."

In the future, Santana, Lynch Alfaro and Alfaro may use computer facial-recognition software to help quantify the faces in a more sophisticated way. They also plan to study the faces of carnivores, including big cats.

Previous studies, they noted, have found that primate species with moustaches and beards (such as No. 11 and No. 9 in the accompanying image) tend to look poker-faced; they don't move their faces much when they communicate, compared with other species (such as No. 4).

Alfaro praised Santana's ability to answer some of these difficult evolutionary questions.

"Sharlene has tested ideas that have been virtually impossible to test before," he said. "She has found a clever way to implicate the degree of sociality as contributing to the diversity of faces. Social behavior explains some aspects of facial diversity."

Santana also devised a way to test a theory that has been in the biological literature for decades but had never been tested before. As a lineage diverges and species accumulate, a series of changes in facial coloration and body coloration emerges. The theory she was able to test suggests that once a species evolves to have a certain color, such as hair color, the change is irreversible and it cannot evolve back to a previous color in its lineage. Santana found this theory to be wrong.

"The idea in biology that evolutionary change is irreversible is rejected very strongly by our data," Alfaro said.

Lessons for human faces?

Does the study have implications for the evolution of human faces?

The findings do suggest, Alfaro said, that an important factor in shaping human faces is the premium on making unambiguous facial expressions.

"Humans don't have all these elaborate facial ornamentations, but we do have the ability to communicate visually with facial expressions," Alfaro said. "Does reduced coloration complexity create a blank palate for visual expressions that can be conveyed more easily? That is an idea we are testing."

###

Santana's research is funded by fellowships from the National Science Foundation and UCLA's Institute for Society and Genetics.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B is a leading British journal for biological sciences research.

For more on Alfaro's research, visit http://pandorasboxfish.squarespace.com/.

UCLA is California's largest university, with an enrollment of nearly 38,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The UCLA College of Letters and Science and the university's 11 professional schools feature renowned faculty and offer 337 degree programs and majors. UCLA is a national and international leader in the breadth and quality of its academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs. Six alumni and five faculty have been awarded the Nobel Prize.

For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 11-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Stuart Wolpert
swolpert@support.ucla.edu
310-206-0511
University of California - Los Angeles

Why are the faces of primates so dramatically different from one another?

UCLA biologists working as "evolutionary detectives" studied the faces of 129 adult male primates from Central and South America, and they offer some answers in research published today, Jan. 11, in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The faces they studied evolved over at least 24 million years, they report.

"If you look at New World primates, you're immediately struck by the rich diversity of faces," said Michael Alfaro, a UCLA associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and the senior author of the study. "You see bright red faces, moustaches, hair tufts and much more. There are unanswered questions about how faces evolve and what factors explain the evolution of facial features. We're very visually oriented, and we get a lot of information from the face."

Some of the primate species studied are solitary, while others live in groups that can include dozens or even hundreds of others.

The life scientists divided each face into 14 regions; coded the color of each part, including the hair and skin; studied the patterns and anatomy of the faces; and gave each a "facial complexity" score. They studied how the complexity of primate faces evolved over time and examined the primates' social systems. To assess how facial colors are related to physical environments, they analyzed environmental variables, using the longitude and latitude of primates' habitats as a proxy for sun exposure and temperature. They also used statistical methods to analyze the evolutionary history of the primate groups and when they diverged from one another.

"We found very strong support for the idea that as species live in larger groups, their faces become more simple, more plain," said lead author Sharlene Santana, a UCLA postdoctoral scholar in ecology and evolutionary biology and a postdoctoral fellow with UCLA's Institute for Society and Genetics. "We think that is related to their ability to communicate using facial expressions. A face that is more plain could allow the primate to convey expressions more easily.

"Humans have pretty bare faces, which may allow us to see facial expressions more easily than if, for example, we had many colors in our faces."

The researchers' finding that faces are more simple in larger groups came as a surprise.

"Initially, we thought it might be the opposite," Santana said. "You might expect that in larger groups, faces would vary more and have more complex parts that would allow one individual to identify any member of that group. That is not what we found. Species that live in larger groups live in closer proximity to one another and tend to use facial expressions more than species in smaller groups that are more spread out. Being in closer proximity puts a stronger pressure on using facial expressions."

"This finding suggests that facial expressions are increasingly important in large groups," said co-author Jessica Lynch Alfaro, associate director of the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics. "If you're highly social, then facial expressions matter more than having a highly complex pattern on your face."

The evolutionary biologists also found that when primates live in environment with more species that are closely related, their faces are more complex, regardless of their group size. This finding is consistent with their need to recognize individuals of other closely related species that live in the same habitat to avoid interbreeding, Santana said.

Santana, Lynch Alfaro and Alfaro present the first quantitative evidence linking social behavior to the evolution of facial diversity and complexity in primates, and they also show that ecology controls aspects of facial patterns.

As species live closer to the equator, the skin and hair around their eyes get darker, the biologists report. They also found that regions of the face around the nose and mouth get darker when species live in humid environments and denser forests and that facial hair gets longer as species live farther from the equator and the climate gets colder, which may be related to regulating body temperature.

"This is a good start toward understanding facial diversity," Alfaro said. "There was not a good idea before about what aspects of faces were shaped by which evolutionary pressure. Sharlene [Santana] has been able to say what social complexity, social behavior and ecology are doing to faces."

In the future, Santana, Lynch Alfaro and Alfaro may use computer facial-recognition software to help quantify the faces in a more sophisticated way. They also plan to study the faces of carnivores, including big cats.

Previous studies, they noted, have found that primate species with moustaches and beards (such as No. 11 and No. 9 in the accompanying image) tend to look poker-faced; they don't move their faces much when they communicate, compared with other species (such as No. 4).

Alfaro praised Santana's ability to answer some of these difficult evolutionary questions.

"Sharlene has tested ideas that have been virtually impossible to test before," he said. "She has found a clever way to implicate the degree of sociality as contributing to the diversity of faces. Social behavior explains some aspects of facial diversity."

Santana also devised a way to test a theory that has been in the biological literature for decades but had never been tested before. As a lineage diverges and species accumulate, a series of changes in facial coloration and body coloration emerges. The theory she was able to test suggests that once a species evolves to have a certain color, such as hair color, the change is irreversible and it cannot evolve back to a previous color in its lineage. Santana found this theory to be wrong.

"The idea in biology that evolutionary change is irreversible is rejected very strongly by our data," Alfaro said.

Lessons for human faces?

Does the study have implications for the evolution of human faces?

The findings do suggest, Alfaro said, that an important factor in shaping human faces is the premium on making unambiguous facial expressions.

"Humans don't have all these elaborate facial ornamentations, but we do have the ability to communicate visually with facial expressions," Alfaro said. "Does reduced coloration complexity create a blank palate for visual expressions that can be conveyed more easily? That is an idea we are testing."

###

Santana's research is funded by fellowships from the National Science Foundation and UCLA's Institute for Society and Genetics.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B is a leading British journal for biological sciences research.

For more on Alfaro's research, visit http://pandorasboxfish.squarespace.com/.

UCLA is California's largest university, with an enrollment of nearly 38,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The UCLA College of Letters and Science and the university's 11 professional schools feature renowned faculty and offer 337 degree programs and majors. UCLA is a national and international leader in the breadth and quality of its academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs. Six alumni and five faculty have been awarded the Nobel Prize.

For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uoc--eiw011112.php

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Dodge Dart joins compact car race

Geoff Robins / AFP - Getty Images

The 2013 Dodge Dart is unveiled during the first press preview day at the 2012 Detroit auto show.

By msnbc.com news services

Chrysler introduced the new Dodge Dart at the Detroit auto show Monday.

The reinvented compact is nothing like its predecessor from the 1960s and '70s. But Chrysler is counting on the Dart, and its zippy name, to help it sell more small cars and continue its recent revival.

Instead of the somewhat boxy lines of the original, the new Dart has the sleek stance of a modern muscle-car, with a short hood, long roof and slightly flared fenders. And it's based on the frame and suspension of a crisp-handling Alfa Romeo hatchback brought over by Chrysler's Italian owner, Fiat SpA.

Geoff Robins / AFP - Getty Images

Upscale sedans, fuel-efficient electric cars ? and old-school muscle cars ? make their debuts at the 2012 North American International Auto show.

The Dart also is a crucial test of the Chrysler-Fiat alliance, one aimed at saving millions of dollars by reusing Fiat frames, engines and technology, yet giving them an American style with more space for people and gear. The Dart is the first Chrysler designed jointly by the companies.

Chrysler, which ran out of cash and had to be bailed out by the government in 2009, saw sales jump 26 percent last year, and it's poised to turn its first annual profit since 1997.

Now the automaker needs a breakthrough in the growing small-car market, where it hasn't had success since the bug-eyed Dodge Neon in the mid-1990s. After nearly failing, Chrysler also realizes it must end its dependence on inefficient SUVs and pickups.

Since the Neon, few have considered Chrysler compacts, keeping the company out of a market that has grown to about 15 percent of U.S. auto sales.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/09/10075317-dodge-dart-joins-compact-car-race

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Tim Tebow: Wild-Card Game vs. Steelers Will Be QB's Final Start in NFL

All great things eventually come to an end.

I don't know if you can classify Tim Tebow's run as a starting quarterback in the NFL as "great," but it is coming to an end.

After a tough start to the season, the Denver Broncos named Tebow starting quarterback in Week 7 against the Miami Dolphins.

The Broncos won that game. They lost the following game against the Lions, but then went on a six-game winning streak putting them at an 8-5 record.

Things were suddenly great in Denver.

Tebow wasn't winning pretty, but he was winning. The Broncos were close to cementing a playoff berth and the AFC West Championship.

Then, teams figured Tebow out.?The formula on how to stop the beloved quarterback surfaced.

It was simple, but efficient. Heavy pressure and press man coverage on the outside.

Stumped, the Broncos fell in their final three games of the season. The grumbling has started. It appeared that Tebow Time had run out.

However, the Broncos limped into the playoffs. A Raiders loss in Week 17 allowed Denver to capture the AFC West and advance to the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

There, they will meet the Pittsburgh Steelers this afternoon.

This is where Tebow's story ends.

If you thought Tebow and the Broncos offense looked bad against the Kansas City Chiefs, just imagine how the No. 1-ranked defense in the league will make them look.

The Steelers should have no problem handling the Broncos this afternoon. When they do, the Broncos organization will have an important decision to make.

Move ahead with Tebow, or cut ties and move in a new direction.

After recent weeks, it seems pretty clear that Tebow doesn't have what it takes to be a starting quarterback in the league.

Denver will realize that and move in a new direction.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1015125-tim-tebow-wild-card-game-vs-steelers-will-be-qbs-final-start-in-nfl

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OnTop 3-in-1 Gloves Review

The winter has arrived and temperatures are dropping across the northern hemisphere. For those of us that live in a cold climate and love our gadgets that means having to take off our gloves to use our touch screen devices, leaving our precious digits exposed to the elements, or does it? A company, by the [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/01/08/ontop-3-in-1-gloves-review/

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AU force to replace Ethiopian troops in Somalia

AU force to replace Ethiopian troops in Somalia

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 08, 2012 (Sudan Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Ethiopian forces will pullout from Somalia, as the African Union extends its peacekeeping mandate for its troops in the war torn nation, the pan African body has said.

Ethiopia recently reentered hundreds of its forces to Somalia where the troops last Saturday captured the border town of Baladwayne from the hands of Islamic militants, Al-Shabaab.

After the unilateral military intervention, Addis Ababa now says it will soon pull out of the Horn of Africa country but would not join the African Union operation against Al-Quaida-linked Al-Shabaab. Addis Ababa said the areas it controls would be handed over to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

On Thursday the AU's Peace and Security Council, extended the mandate of its peace force in Somalia by 12 months. It further asked the UN to the boost size of AMISOM to above 17,000 in order to step up efforts to defeat the militant group.

Currently AMISOM has some 10,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi. Djibouti contributed 200 troops last month.

The Al-Shabaab insurgent group is facing opposition on a number of fronts as Kenya, who blames the group for a wave of cross-border attacks and kidnappings, is also fighting them in Southern Somalia.

Ethiopia previously sent troops to Somalia in 2006 with US backing and withdrew forces in 2009 after they overthrew the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) from de-facto power in Mogadishu.

On Saturday the UK issued a warning that a terrorist attack was potentially imminent in Nairobi by Somali militants.

___ (c)2012 the Sudan Tribune (Roubaix, France) Visit the Sudan Tribune
(Roubaix, France) at www.sudantribune.com Distributed by MCT Information
Services

Source: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=%7B55ac8ecf-4da7-4323-964b-afced360ab45%7D&src=RSS

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