Friday, July 31, 2009

BEIJO

"O BEIJO É UM MODO CÔMODO E MUITO AGRADÁVEL



DE SE INTERROMPER UMA CONVERSAR NA QUAL AS PALAVRAS



NÃO SÃO SUFICIENTES".


Beijar é muito bom. E coloca bom nisso!


Quem nunca teve o seu primeiro beijo?


Quem nunca roubou um beijo?


Nunca tremeu por um beijo, dado com muito amor e sedução?


O beijo é uma arma poderosa na hora de seduzir.


Através dele é possível expressar vários sentimentos e também descobrir várias coisas..,


Como é bom sentir os lábios que se ama, de quem agente gosta.


Beijar é um ato de amor e manifestar nossos sentimentos.


Como é bom beijar na hora do amor...


Como é bom sentir o calor dos lábios da pessoa amada,


do nosso grande amor.


Como é bom beijar antes, durante e depois do amor.


Como é bom provocar, seduzir com os lábios a pessoa amada.


Roçar os lábios nos lábios do outro.


É muito prazer. Desperta prazer.


Beijo, doce veneno na boca de quem beija.


Doce loucura! Tem gosto de quero mais.


E aquelas mordidinhas, tão saborosas, provocando um grande prazer.


Beija, beija e beija muito.


Provoque adrenalina, na hora do Amor. Deixe se levar pelo doce prazer,


de quero mais.


Bebes-2281



Um grande beijo a todos.


Bebes-2309


St John's Wort - The Perfect Antidepressant, If You're German

The herb St John's Wort is as effective as antidepressants while having milder side effects, according to a recent Cochrane review, St John's wort for major depression.

Professor Edzard Ernst, a well-known enemy of complementary and alternative medicine, wrote a favorable review of this study in which he comments that given the questions around the safety and effectiveness of antidepressants, it is a mystery why St John's Wort is not used more widely.

When Edzard Ernst says a herb works, you should take notice. But is St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) really the perfect antidepressant? Curiously, it seems to depend whether you're German or not.

The Cochrane review included 29 randomized, double-blind trials with a total of 5500 patients. The authors only included trials where all patients met DSM-IV or ICD-10 criteria for "major depression". 18 trials compared St John's Wort extract to placebo pills, and 19 compared it conventional antidepressants. (Some trials did both).

The analysis concluded that overall, St John's Wort was significantly more effective than placebo. The magnitude of the benefit was similar to that seen with conventional antidepressants in other trials (around 3 HAMD points). However, this was only true when studies from German-speaking countries were examined.

Out of the 11 Germanic trials, 8 found that St John's Wort was significantly better than placebo and the other 3 were all very close. None of the 8 non-Germanic trials found it to be effective and only one was close.


Edzard Ernst, by the way, is German. So were the authors of this review. I'm not.

The picture was a bit more clear when St John's Wort was directly compared to conventional antidepressants: it was almost exactly as effective. It was only significantly worse in one small study. This was true in both Germanic and non-Germanic studies, and was true when either older tricyclics or newer SSRIs were considered.

Perhaps the most convincing result was that St John's Wort was well tolerated. Patients did not drop out of the trials because of side-effects any more often than when they were taking placebo (OR=0.92), and were much less likely to drop out versus patients given antidepressants (OR=0.41). Reported side effects were also very few. (It can be dangerous when combined with certain antidepressants and other medications however.)

So, what does this mean? If you look at it optimistically, it's wonderful news. St John's Wort, a natural plant product, is as good as any antidepressant against depression, and has much fewer side effects, maybe no side effects at all. It should be the first-line treatment for depression, especially because it's cheap (no patents).

But from another perspective this review raises more questions than answers. Why did St John's Wort perform so differently in German vs. non-German studies? The authors admit that:
Our finding that studies from German-speaking countries yielded more favourable results than trials performed elsewhere is difficult to interpret. ... However, the consistency and extent of the observed association suggest that there are important differences in trials performed in different countries.
The obvious, cynical explanation is that there are lots of German trials finding that St John's Wort didn't work, but they haven't been published because St John's Wort is very popular in German-speaking countries and people don't want to hear bad news about it. The authors downplay the possibility of such publication bias:
We cannot rule out, but doubt, that selective publication of overoptimistic results in small trials strongly influences our findings.
But we really have no way of knowing.

The more interesting explanation is that St John's Wort really does work better in German trials because German investigators tend to recruit the kind of patients who respond well to St John's Wort. The present review found that trials including patients with "more severe" depression found slightly less benefit of St John's Wort vs placebo, which is the opposite of what is usually seen in antidepressant trials, where severity correlates with response. The authors also note that it's been suggested that so-called "atypical depression" symptoms - like eating too much, sleeping a lot, and anxiety - respond especially well to St John's Wort.

So it could be that for some patients St John's Wort works well, but until studies examine this in detail, we won't know. One thing, however, is certain - the evidence in favor of Hypericum is strong enough to warrant more scientific interest than it currently gets. In most English-speaking psychopharmacology circles, it's regarded as a flaky curiosity.

The case of St John's Wort also highlights the weaknesses of our current diagnostic systems for depression. According to DSM-IV someone who feels miserable, cries a lot and comfort-eats icecream has the same disorder - "major depression" - as someone who is unable to eat or sleep with severe melancholic symptoms. The concept is so broad as to encompass a huge range of problems, and doctors in different cultures may apply the word "depression" very differently.

[BPSDB]

ResearchBlogging.orgErnst, E. (2009). Review: St John's wort superior to placebo and similar to antidepressants for major depression but with fewer side effects Evidence-Based Mental Health, 12 (3), 78-78 DOI: 10.1136/ebmh.12.3.78

Klaus Linde, Michael M Berner, Levente Kriston (2008). St John's wort for major depression Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (4)

St John's Wort - The Perfect Antidepressant, If You're German

The herb St John's Wort is as effective as antidepressants while having milder side effects, according to a recent Cochrane review, St John's wort for major depression.

Professor Edzard Ernst, a well-known enemy of complementary and alternative medicine, wrote a favorable review of this study in which he comments that given the questions around the safety and effectiveness of antidepressants, it is a mystery why St John's Wort is not used more widely.

When Edzard Ernst says a herb works, you should take notice. But is St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) really the perfect antidepressant? Curiously, it seems to depend whether you're German or not.

The Cochrane review included 29 randomized, double-blind trials with a total of 5500 patients. The authors only included trials where all patients met DSM-IV or ICD-10 criteria for "major depression". 18 trials compared St John's Wort extract to placebo pills, and 19 compared it conventional antidepressants. (Some trials did both).

The analysis concluded that overall, St John's Wort was significantly more effective than placebo. The magnitude of the benefit was similar to that seen with conventional antidepressants in other trials (around 3 HAMD points). However, this was only true when studies from German-speaking countries were examined.

Out of the 11 Germanic trials, 8 found that St John's Wort was significantly better than placebo and the other 3 were all very close. None of the 8 non-Germanic trials found it to be effective and only one was close.


Edzard Ernst, by the way, is German. So were the authors of this review. I'm not.

The picture was a bit more clear when St John's Wort was directly compared to conventional antidepressants: it was almost exactly as effective. It was only significantly worse in one small study. This was true in both Germanic and non-Germanic studies, and was true when either older tricyclics or newer SSRIs were considered.

Perhaps the most convincing result was that St John's Wort was well tolerated. Patients did not drop out of the trials because of side-effects any more often than when they were taking placebo (OR=0.92), and were much less likely to drop out versus patients given antidepressants (OR=0.41). Reported side effects were also very few. (It can be dangerous when combined with certain antidepressants and other medications however.)

So, what does this mean? If you look at it optimistically, it's wonderful news. St John's Wort, a natural plant product, is as good as any antidepressant against depression, and has much fewer side effects, maybe no side effects at all. It should be the first-line treatment for depression, especially because it's cheap (no patents).

But from another perspective this review raises more questions than answers. Why did St John's Wort perform so differently in German vs. non-German studies? The authors admit that:
Our finding that studies from German-speaking countries yielded more favourable results than trials performed elsewhere is difficult to interpret. ... However, the consistency and extent of the observed association suggest that there are important differences in trials performed in different countries.
The obvious, cynical explanation is that there are lots of German trials finding that St John's Wort didn't work, but they haven't been published because St John's Wort is very popular in German-speaking countries and people don't want to hear bad news about it. The authors downplay the possibility of such publication bias:
We cannot rule out, but doubt, that selective publication of overoptimistic results in small trials strongly influences our findings.
But we really have no way of knowing.

The more interesting explanation is that St John's Wort really does work better in German trials because German investigators tend to recruit the kind of patients who respond well to St John's Wort. The present review found that trials including patients with "more severe" depression found slightly less benefit of St John's Wort vs placebo, which is the opposite of what is usually seen in antidepressant trials, where severity correlates with response. The authors also note that it's been suggested that so-called "atypical depression" symptoms - like eating too much, sleeping a lot, and anxiety - respond especially well to St John's Wort.

So it could be that for some patients St John's Wort works well, but until studies examine this in detail, we won't know. One thing, however, is certain - the evidence in favor of Hypericum is strong enough to warrant more scientific interest than it currently gets. In most English-speaking psychopharmacology circles, it's regarded as a flaky curiosity.

The case of St John's Wort also highlights the weaknesses of our current diagnostic systems for depression. According to DSM-IV someone who feels miserable, cries a lot and comfort-eats icecream has the same disorder - "major depression" - as someone who is unable to eat or sleep with severe melancholic symptoms. The concept is so broad as to encompass a huge range of problems, and doctors in different cultures may apply the word "depression" very differently.

[BPSDB]

ResearchBlogging.orgErnst, E. (2009). Review: St John's wort superior to placebo and similar to antidepressants for major depression but with fewer side effects Evidence-Based Mental Health, 12 (3), 78-78 DOI: 10.1136/ebmh.12.3.78

Klaus Linde, Michael M Berner, Levente Kriston (2008). St John's wort for major depression Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (4)

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Passeando/ Frio

http://images.paraorkut.com/img/katrix1/Amizade_132765588_am137.gif



Hoje aqui registrou zero grau.
Está muito frio.

Planalto Catarinense é bonito, mais muito frio, nesta época, do ano.
Mas quando a nossa família é importante, vale tudo.
Meus pais moram a anos aqui em Otacilio.
Mas quero, deixar um abraço carinhoso e bem quentinho para cada um de vocês, meus amigos.
Sei que a região de muitos, não chegam a 0º grau., como chega aqui.
Vou tentar postar um pouquinho das cidades onde estou.
Otacilio Costas- Sc.
VEJA O MAPA:

Conheça o pequeno Município de Palmeira. Onde passei dois dias.

Conheça um pouquinho da São Joaquim, a cidade mais fria do Brasil.

E agora Lages. Cidade bem próxima de Otacilio Costa. Onde sempre visito e também morei.
Veja mais, sobre esta cidade Lageana.

Conheça um pouquinho da Serra Rio do Rastro. São 12 km. de Serras

Espero que gostaram da viagem.
Embora seja muito frio por aqui, o calor humano é muito grande.
Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena. Assim já dizia Fernando Pessoa.
A famíla da gente fala mais alto. Temos que priorizar esta carinho, enquanto ainda temos. Os nossos Pais são os presentes de Deus. A familia é uma dádiva.


com carinho.
Adoro cada um de vocês!

Bebes-2309


SE VOCÊ AINDA NÃO PEGOU O SEU CARINHO NO Blog Coletivo-Uma Interação de Amigos.
AINDA DÁ TEMPO. PASSE LÁ.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

TOP BLOG. ESTAMOS CHEGANDO AO FINAL.

AINDA ESTOU NA CASA DE MEUS PAIS.

UM PASSEIO BEM LEGAL.
AGORA ESTOU AQUI NA CASA DE MINHA IRMÃ PARA POSTAR E VISITAR VOCÊS, MEUS AMIGOS.


Top 100 - Os 100 melhores


CONTO COM O SEU VOTO.
VAI ATÉ DIA 11 DE AGOSTO.

SEU VOTO É MUITO IMPORTANTE PARA MIM.
PARA QUEM JÁ VOTOU AGRADEÇO.


http://www.topblog.com.br/top.php

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyZwsz8RzY-4v8LdmNYX4iXy_FryG5McglPl55gABjbTQVwS_Zz5BQZpoaHoPYGlwOc3aBTl2otPM64SFNUKuUbkT2OrhoFU4cE7pZ-2UvdhoBZlHEx5LPoZNvaTH9-L580hezCHs1Ws1R/s660/blog+participando+no+Pr%C3%A9mio+TOPBLOGS.jpgvariedades selohttps://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkM8yewB6_GTc8cer6ExBmLzA0YqgMl3uILs7gFD92lebiSJDnB7Eayt8ltB_iRBDQC3BBLQR3vR10XS-tyLRLdsoqyiq9bozBm-6p9PCZ63cW2Y7dnLqbhAld-bQzztifLYurWRmFuGA/s1600/mail_mkt_top100.jpg

OBRIGADA!


APROVEITO PARA COMUNICAR QUE O BLOG DO ALVARO DE OLIVEIRA ESTA SEM COMUNICAÇÃO.

DEU PROBLEMA NO PC.


ELE NÃO CONSEGUE POSTAR OS COMENTARIOS E NEM VISITAR.


ALVARO!

UM GRANDE CARINHO PARA VOCÊ. SEI PERFEITAMENTE O QUE É ISSO. COMPUTADOR E INTERNET AS VEZES SE TORNAM UM GRANDE CAOS PARA NÓS.


SE VOCÊ AINDA NÃO PEGOU O SEU CARINHO NO Blog Coletivo-Uma Interação de Amigos.

AINDA DÁ TEMPO. PASSE LÁ.

Bigmouth Strikes Again

In the Guardian, Oliver James gets his hands on some mental health statistics. As I have explained before, this rarely ends well. Zarathustra of the really wonderful Mental Nurse blog takes James to to task. Hilarity ensues.

[BPSDB]

Bigmouth Strikes Again

In the Guardian, Oliver James gets his hands on some mental health statistics. As I have explained before, this rarely ends well. Zarathustra of the really wonderful Mental Nurse blog takes James to to task. Hilarity ensues.

[BPSDB]

Monday, July 27, 2009

UM VERDADEIRO AMIGO...


Flor-4878

Mesmo estando viajando, fora de casa, venho sempre aqui para dar um cheirinho a todos vocês, que são as minhas rosas perfumadas.

Como é bom abrir a página do blog e ver tantos carinhos aqui deixados.

Flor-4739

Pessoas Especiais assim, como cada um de vocês, dão um aroma, um perfume todo especial a minha vida, ao meu blog. Por isso essas rosas estão sempre aqui no fundo.

Cada uma delas representa vocês.

Rosas perfumadas. Cada um de vocês são os meus botões de rosas perfumadas.

Juntos, cada um de vocês, meus doces amigos, fazem um bouquet de flores perfumadas.

Amizade-411
Como é bom ter Um Amigo especial: VOCÊ!

AMIGOS VERDADEIROS, AGENTE NÃO ESQUECE. TRAZ NA LEMBRANÇA E NO CORAÇÃO.


Infelizmente estando fora de casa, sem meus arquivos fica difícil oferecer um café gostoso para esquentar esse frio que está fazendo. Mas fica o registro da minha admiração.

TEM UM CARINHO PARA VOCÊ NO BLOG Coletivo-Uma Interação de Amigos

http://sandrarandrade7.blogspot.com/

Sunday, July 26, 2009

BOM DOMINGO...

Quero desejar um lindo domingo a todos.


Domingo-4030

Está um pouco difícil de cessar. A net está com problemas.

Não consigo abrir a página do Google

Recebi esta linda mensagem da Manuela(M@ ).



Perguntei a um sábio,

a diferença que havia entre amor e amizade, ele me disse essa verdade...

O Amor é mais sensível, a Amizade mais segura.

O Amor nos dá asas, a Amizade o chão.

No Amor há mais carinho,na Amizade compreensão.

O Amor é plantado com carinho cultivado,

a Amizade vem faceira, e com troca de alegria e tristeza,torna-se uma grande e querida companheira.

Mas quando o Amor é sincero ele vem com um grande amigo, e quando a Amizade é concreta,

ela é cheia de amor e carinho.

Quando se tem um amigo ou uma grande paixão,

ambos sentimentos coexistem dentro do seu coração.

William Shakespeare

Saturday, July 25, 2009

VIAJANDO.....


Sabado-6775

RECEBI ESTE LINDO PENSAMENTO DO AMIGO VALDEMIRO REIS:



C. Coralina: "Se temos de esperar, que seja para colher a semente boa que lançamos hoje no solo da vida. Se for para semear, então que seja para produzir milhões de sorrisos,de solidariedade e amizade.



Estou viajando.
Estou em Otacílio Costa, próximo de Lages.
Aqui está muito frio.
Deu uma geada muito grande.
Tudo branquinho e congelado.
Tem uma garoa fina e fria. Tudo leva a crer, que possa virar neve,
se a temperatura baixar mais ainda.
Somente com lareira e aquecedor, para esquentar.
Claro que com muitas cobertas e cobertodores.
Vou ficar aqui por uma semana na casa de meus pais.
Como estou de férias, vou ficar aqui, curtindo esse momento em família.
Estou usando o computador do meu sobrinho.
Talves os selos e mimos oferecidos, só poderei pegar quando voltar.
Pois nem sempre os programas são compatíveis e tem que ser salvos.
Como não estou em casa, talves não conseguirei fazer direto.
Vou tentar...
Vou procurar manter contato todos os dias com cada um de vocês.


CONHEÇA A CIDADE ONDE MORO. HOJE ESTÁ EM FESTA.

133 ANOS DE FUNDAÇÃO. PARABÉNS POVO JARAGUAENSE.



Em Jaraguá a Cidade , hoje é aniversário da cidade. Esta sendo comemorado os seus 133 anos de fundação.

Conheça um pouquinho dessa Cidade.



In Science, Popularity Means Inaccuracy

Who's more likely to start digging prematurely: one guy with a metal-detector looking for an old nail, or a field full of people with metal-detectors searching for buried treasure?

In any area of science, there will be some things which are more popular than others - maybe a certain gene, a protein, or a part of the brain. It's only natural and proper that some things get of lot of attention if they seem to be scientifically important. But Thomas Pfeiffer and Robert Hoffmann warn in a PLoS One paper that popularity can lead to inaccuracy - Large-Scale Assessment of the Effect of Popularity on the Reliability of Research.

They note two reasons for this. Firstly, popular topics tend to attract interest and money. This means that scientists have much to gain by publishing "positive results" as this allows them to get in on the action -
In highly competitive fields there might be stronger incentives to “manufacture” positive results by, for example, modifying data or statistical tests until formal statistical significance is obtained. This leads to inflated error rates for individual findings... We refer to this mechanism as “inflated error effect”.
Secondly, in fields where there is a lot of research being done, the chance that someone will, just by chance, come up with a positive finding increases -
The second effect results from multiple independent testing of the same hypotheses by competing research groups. The more often a hypothesis is tested, the more likely a positive result is obtained and published even if the hypothesis is false. ... We refer to this mechanism as “multiple testing effect”.
But does this happen in real life? The authors say yes, based on a review of research into protein-protein interactions in yeast. (Happily, you don't need to be a yeast expert to follow the argument.)

There are two ways of trying to find out whether two proteins interact with each other inside cells. You could do a small-scale experiment specifically looking for one particular interaction: say, Protein B with Protein X. Or you can do "high-throughput" screening of lots of proteins to see which ones interact: Does Protein A interact with B, C, D, E... Does Protein B interact with A, C, D, E... etc.

There have been tens of thousands of small-scale experiments into yeast proteins, and more recently, a few high-throughput studies. The authors looked at the small-scale studies and found that the more popular a certain protein was, the less likely it was that reported interactions involving it would be confirmed by high-throughput experiments.

The second and the third of the above graphs shows the effect. Increasing popularity leads to a falling % of confirmed results. The first graph shows that interactions which were replicated by lots of small-scale experiments tended to be confirmed, which is what you'd expect.

Pfeiffer and Hoffmann note that high-throughput studies have issues of their own, so using them as a yardstick to judge the truth of other results is a little problematic. However, they say that the overall trend remains valid.

This is an interesting paper which provides some welcome empirical support to the theoretical argument that popularity could lead to unreliability. Unfortunately, the problem is by no means confined to yeast. Any area of science in which researchers engage in a search for publishable "positive results" is vulnerable to the dangers of publication bias, data cherry-picking, and so forth. Even obscure topics are vulnerable but when researchers are falling over themselves to jump on the latest scientific bandwagon, the problems multiply exponentially.

A recent example may be the "depression gene", 5HTTLPR. Since a landmark paper in 2003 linked it to clinical depression, there has been an explosion of research into this genetic variant. Literally hundreds of papers appeared - it is by far the most studied gene in psychiatric genetics. But a lot of this research came from scientists with little experience or interest in genes. It's easy and cheap to collect a DNA sample and genotype it. People started routinely looking at 5HTTLPR whenever they did any research on depression - or anything related.

But wait - a recent meta-analysis reported that the gene is not in fact linked to depression at all. If that's true (it could well be), how did so many hundreds of papers appear which did find an effect? Pfeiffer and Hoffmann's paper provides a convincing explanation.

Link - Orac also blogged this paper and put a characteristic CAM angle on it.

ResearchBlogging.orgPfeiffer, T., & Hoffmann, R. (2009). Large-Scale Assessment of the Effect of Popularity on the Reliability of Research PLoS ONE, 4 (6) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005996

In Science, Popularity Means Inaccuracy

Who's more likely to start digging prematurely: one guy with a metal-detector looking for an old nail, or a field full of people with metal-detectors searching for buried treasure?

In any area of science, there will be some things which are more popular than others - maybe a certain gene, a protein, or a part of the brain. It's only natural and proper that some things get of lot of attention if they seem to be scientifically important. But Thomas Pfeiffer and Robert Hoffmann warn in a PLoS One paper that popularity can lead to inaccuracy - Large-Scale Assessment of the Effect of Popularity on the Reliability of Research.

They note two reasons for this. Firstly, popular topics tend to attract interest and money. This means that scientists have much to gain by publishing "positive results" as this allows them to get in on the action -
In highly competitive fields there might be stronger incentives to “manufacture” positive results by, for example, modifying data or statistical tests until formal statistical significance is obtained. This leads to inflated error rates for individual findings... We refer to this mechanism as “inflated error effect”.
Secondly, in fields where there is a lot of research being done, the chance that someone will, just by chance, come up with a positive finding increases -
The second effect results from multiple independent testing of the same hypotheses by competing research groups. The more often a hypothesis is tested, the more likely a positive result is obtained and published even if the hypothesis is false. ... We refer to this mechanism as “multiple testing effect”.
But does this happen in real life? The authors say yes, based on a review of research into protein-protein interactions in yeast. (Happily, you don't need to be a yeast expert to follow the argument.)

There are two ways of trying to find out whether two proteins interact with each other inside cells. You could do a small-scale experiment specifically looking for one particular interaction: say, Protein B with Protein X. Or you can do "high-throughput" screening of lots of proteins to see which ones interact: Does Protein A interact with B, C, D, E... Does Protein B interact with A, C, D, E... etc.

There have been tens of thousands of small-scale experiments into yeast proteins, and more recently, a few high-throughput studies. The authors looked at the small-scale studies and found that the more popular a certain protein was, the less likely it was that reported interactions involving it would be confirmed by high-throughput experiments.

The second and the third of the above graphs shows the effect. Increasing popularity leads to a falling % of confirmed results. The first graph shows that interactions which were replicated by lots of small-scale experiments tended to be confirmed, which is what you'd expect.

Pfeiffer and Hoffmann note that high-throughput studies have issues of their own, so using them as a yardstick to judge the truth of other results is a little problematic. However, they say that the overall trend remains valid.

This is an interesting paper which provides some welcome empirical support to the theoretical argument that popularity could lead to unreliability. Unfortunately, the problem is by no means confined to yeast. Any area of science in which researchers engage in a search for publishable "positive results" is vulnerable to the dangers of publication bias, data cherry-picking, and so forth. Even obscure topics are vulnerable but when researchers are falling over themselves to jump on the latest scientific bandwagon, the problems multiply exponentially.

A recent example may be the "depression gene", 5HTTLPR. Since a landmark paper in 2003 linked it to clinical depression, there has been an explosion of research into this genetic variant. Literally hundreds of papers appeared - it is by far the most studied gene in psychiatric genetics. But a lot of this research came from scientists with little experience or interest in genes. It's easy and cheap to collect a DNA sample and genotype it. People started routinely looking at 5HTTLPR whenever they did any research on depression - or anything related.

But wait - a recent meta-analysis reported that the gene is not in fact linked to depression at all. If that's true (it could well be), how did so many hundreds of papers appear which did find an effect? Pfeiffer and Hoffmann's paper provides a convincing explanation.

Link - Orac also blogged this paper and put a characteristic CAM angle on it.

ResearchBlogging.orgPfeiffer, T., & Hoffmann, R. (2009). Large-Scale Assessment of the Effect of Popularity on the Reliability of Research PLoS ONE, 4 (6) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005996

Friday, July 24, 2009

UMA ORAÇÃO PARA VOCÊ

Ganhei esta linda oração da

poesiasfascination.

Compartilho com você



ORAÇÃO DO AMIGO


Gabriel Chalita


Há muito se diz que, quem encontrou um amigo, encontrou um tesouro precioso.

Há muito se diz que amizade verdadeira dura pra sempre.

Não tem aquelas tempestades da paixão e nem a calmaria exagerada do descompromisso.

É o meio termo.

É a bonita sensação do estar perto e, de repente, deixar o silêncio chegar.

Não exige tanto. Exige tudo.
As amizades nascem do acaso.

Ou de alguma força que faz com que uma simples brincadeira,

uma informação, um caderno emprestado, uma dor seja capaz de unir duas pessoas.

E a cumplicidade vai ganhando corpo, e o desejo de estar junto

vai aumentando, e, com ele, a sensação sempre boa do poder partilhar, de se doar.

Há muito se diz que os amigos verdadeiros são aqueles que se fazem

presentes nos momentos mais difíceis da vida,

Naqueles momentos em que a dor parece querer superar o desejo de viver.

De fato, os amigos são necessários nesses momentos.

Mas, talvez, a amizade maior seja aquela em que o amigo seja

capaz de estar ao lado do outro nos momentos de glória, e vibrar com essa glória.

Não ter inveja. Não querer destruir o troféu conquistado.

Aplaudir e se fazer presente. Ser presente.

A amizade não obedece à ordem da proporcionalidade do merecimento.

Não há sentido em querer de volta tudo o que com generosidade se distribuiu.

A cobrança esmaga o espontâneo da amizade.

E a surpresa alimenta o desejo de estar junto.

O amigo gosta de surpreender o outro com pequenos gestos.

Coisas aqui e ali que roubam um sorriso, um abraço, um suspiro.

E tudo puro, e tudo lindo.

Há muito se diz que não é possível viver sozinho.

A jornada é penosa e, sem amparo, é difícil caminhar.

Juntos, os pássaros voam com mais tranquilidade.

Juntas, as gaivotas revezam a liderança para que nem uma delas se canse demais.
Juntos, é possível aos golfinhos comentarem a beleza de um oceano infinito.

Juntos, mulheres e homens partilham momentos inesquecíveis

de uma natureza que não se cansa de surpreender.

Eu te peço, Senhor, nessa singela oração, que me dês a graça

de ser fiel aos meus amigos. São poucos.

E impossível seria que fossem muitos.

São poucos, mas são preciosos.

Eu te peço, Senhor, que me afastes do mal da inveja que traz consigo outros desvios.

A fofoca. A terrível fofoca que humilha, que maltrata, que faz sofrer.

Eu te peço, Senhor, que o sucesso do outro me impulsione a construir o

meu caminho, e que jamais eu tenha ânsia de querer atrapalhar a subida de meu amigo.

Eu te peço, Senhor, a graça de ser leal.

Que eu saiba ouvir sempre e saiba quando é necessário falar.
Senhor, sei que a regra de ouro da amizade consiste em não fazer

ao amigo aquilo que eu não gostaria que ele me fizesse.

E te peço que eu seja fiel a essa intenção.

E sei que essa regra fará com que o que se diz há tanto tempo se realize na minha vida.

Que eu tenha poucos amigos, mas amigos que permaneçam para sempre.

Não poderia ter muitos.

Não teria tempo para cuidar de todos.

E de amigo a gente cuida. Amigo a gente acolhe, a gente ama.

Senhor, protege os meus amigos.

Que, nessa linda jornada, consigamos conviver em harmonia.

Que, nesse lindo espetáculo, possamos subir juntos ao palco.

Sem protagonista.
Ou melhor, que todos sejam protagonistas, e que todos percebam

a importância de estar ali. No palco. Na vida.

Obrigado, Senhor, pelo dom de viver e de conviver.

Obrigado, Senhor, pelo dom de sentir e de manifestar o meu sentimento.

Obrigado, Senhor, pela capacidade de amar, que é abundante e é sem-fim.

A você que é tão especial em minha vida

Um dia muito especial.....Luz e Paz


Se você ainda não pegou o seu chpeu de Seguidor, passe em Meus Mimos e leve este carinho.

Everyone is Mentally Ill

There's been a lot of interest over the idea that an "Artificial brain is 10 years away", which is what Professor Henry Markram told the ultra-hip TED conference in Oxford the other day.

That's an amazing idea. But Markram said something else even more astonishing, which, for some reason, has not got nearly as much attention:
"There are two billion people on the planet affected by mental disorder," he told the audience.
Two billion people. One in three.

This was presumably a throw-away remark, something he said in order to emphasise the importance of understanding the brain. But this makes it even more amazing: we have reached the point where no-one bats an eyelid at the idea that mental illness affects one in three people worldwide.

Well, if this is what we believe now, I think we need to stop beating about the bush with numbers like one in four or one in three, and admit that we now are now using "mental illness" as a synonym for "the human condition".

After all, once you pass the point where one in two people have something, you are saying that it's normal and not having it is weird. As I've written before, if you take the evidence seriously, more than 50% of people are indeed "mentally" ill at some point. So let's just say that everyone is mentally ill and have done with it.

Or we could reassess what we mean by "mental illness" and stop medicalizing human suffering. Hey, we can dream.

Everyone is Mentally Ill

There's been a lot of interest over the idea that an "Artificial brain is 10 years away", which is what Professor Henry Markram told the ultra-hip TED conference in Oxford the other day.

That's an amazing idea. But Markram said something else even more astonishing, which, for some reason, has not got nearly as much attention:
"There are two billion people on the planet affected by mental disorder," he told the audience.
Two billion people. One in three.

This was presumably a throw-away remark, something he said in order to emphasise the importance of understanding the brain. But this makes it even more amazing: we have reached the point where no-one bats an eyelid at the idea that mental illness affects one in three people worldwide.

Well, if this is what we believe now, I think we need to stop beating about the bush with numbers like one in four or one in three, and admit that we now are now using "mental illness" as a synonym for "the human condition".

After all, once you pass the point where one in two people have something, you are saying that it's normal and not having it is weird. As I've written before, if you take the evidence seriously, more than 50% of people are indeed "mentally" ill at some point. So let's just say that everyone is mentally ill and have done with it.

Or we could reassess what we mean by "mental illness" and stop medicalizing human suffering. Hey, we can dream.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Desigualdade


Você gosta da Desigualdade?
O Pensador Norberto Bobbio diria:
Os seres Humanos "são iguais diante da morte,
porque todos são mortais,
mas são desiguais diante do modo de morrer, porque cada um morre de modo particular,
diferente de todos os demais".


Se pergunta:
Somos iguais e desiguais ao que?
Rousseau, considerava que os indivíduos nascem iguais, mas, a sociedade os torna desiguais, através de um processo cul
tural artificialmente construído.

Vivemos num mundo maniqueísta, no qual nos movimentamos de acordo,
aos nossos interesses de classe.
A sutileza de tal afirmação mostra-nos que o indivíduo, que ocupa uma posição privilegiada
na sociedade, aceita com absoluta naturalidade a desigualdade social e, aquele que se encontra em situação de classe inferior, sem força suficiente para mudar tal situação, discorda, na sua im
potência de tal premissa.

Não podemos ignorar a realidade.
Ela está presente em todas as nossas atitudes, inconscientes ou não.
Somos reféns da nossa classe social

Norberto Bobbio resume dizendo:" A liberdade pode ser considerada um bem individual, diversamente da igua
ldade que é sempre apenas um bem social".

(texto tirado do Jornal locaL.- escrito por Victor Alberto Danich-Sociologo.- resumo da crônica)



AQUI SOMOS TODOS IGUAIS.
SEM SOMBRA OU DESIGUAIS.
SOMOS AMIGOS, SOMOS REIAS.

LEVE ESTA IGUALDADE COM VOCÊ!

Major Huntington's Disease Puzzle Solved

Huntington's Disease is a genetic neurological disorder. Symptoms most commonly appear around age 40, and they progress gradually from subtle movement abnormalities to complete loss of motor control and dementia. Psychiatric problems, especially depression and irritability, are also common and may be the first signs. Treatment consists of medications to mask some of the symptoms. Singer Woodie Guthrie is perhaps the disease's best known victim: he ended his days in a mental institution.

Huntington's results from mutations in the gene which makes a protein called Huntingtin (Htt). The symptoms are associated with degeneration of various parts of the brain, most importantly, a deep region called the striatum. These facts have been known for many years, but it's unclear how mutant Htt damages the brain. There are various theories, but they've all faced a serious puzzle - Htt is expressed in all adult human cells, but Huntington's only affects some neurones. Why?

A major new paper claims to have the answer : Rhes, a Striatal Specific Protein, Mediates Mutant-Huntingtin Cytotoxicity. It also suggests a promising target for drugs that could prevent the damage from occuring.

The authors assemble evidence showing that mutant Htt kills cells only in conjunction with another protein called Rhes. Crucially, Rhes is only expressed in striatal cells. They found that:
  • Rhes binds to Htt, but it binds much more strongly to mutant Htt.
  • Causing cells to express both Rhes and mutant Htt leads to cell death, but either by its own does not.
  • Rhes mediates the binding of mutant Htt to another protein, SUMO, which causes the mutant Htt to become more soluble and therefore more toxic to cells.
This looks to be a very important addition to the literature on Huntington's. The implication is that a drug which could prevent Rhes from SUMOylating mutant Htt would halt the progression of the disease (although it would presumably not reverse any damage which had already happened.) This is the kind of powerful explanation that neuroscientists who study psychiatric disorders dream about. Maybe in 50 years we will have a similar understanding of schizophrenia - maybe.

Huntington's is a fascinating disorder. The mechanism of inheritance is very distinctive - disease results when a certain section of DNA is too long, and the longer it is, the earlier and more severe the symptoms. And when the pathogenic region is too long, it tends to get even longer during the formation of sperm cells, so the children of fathers with Huntington's often suffer from a more severe, early-onset form. This phenemonon is called genetic anticipation and is unique to Huntingdon's and some similar disorders.

Huntington's is also one of the few disorders which can be accurately diagnosed genetically before the symptoms occur. Anyone at risk of the disease can take a DNA test and know their fate. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most choose not to.

ResearchBlogging.orgSubramaniam, S., Sixt, K., Barrow, R., & Snyder, S. (2009). Rhes, a Striatal Specific Protein, Mediates Mutant-Huntingtin Cytotoxicity Science, 324 (5932), 1327-1330 DOI: 10.1126/science.1172871

Major Huntington's Disease Puzzle Solved

Huntington's Disease is a genetic neurological disorder. Symptoms most commonly appear around age 40, and they progress gradually from subtle movement abnormalities to complete loss of motor control and dementia. Psychiatric problems, especially depression and irritability, are also common and may be the first signs. Treatment consists of medications to mask some of the symptoms. Singer Woodie Guthrie is perhaps the disease's best known victim: he ended his days in a mental institution.

Huntington's results from mutations in the gene which makes a protein called Huntingtin (Htt). The symptoms are associated with degeneration of various parts of the brain, most importantly, a deep region called the striatum. These facts have been known for many years, but it's unclear how mutant Htt damages the brain. There are various theories, but they've all faced a serious puzzle - Htt is expressed in all adult human cells, but Huntington's only affects some neurones. Why?

A major new paper claims to have the answer : Rhes, a Striatal Specific Protein, Mediates Mutant-Huntingtin Cytotoxicity. It also suggests a promising target for drugs that could prevent the damage from occuring.

The authors assemble evidence showing that mutant Htt kills cells only in conjunction with another protein called Rhes. Crucially, Rhes is only expressed in striatal cells. They found that:
  • Rhes binds to Htt, but it binds much more strongly to mutant Htt.
  • Causing cells to express both Rhes and mutant Htt leads to cell death, but either by its own does not.
  • Rhes mediates the binding of mutant Htt to another protein, SUMO, which causes the mutant Htt to become more soluble and therefore more toxic to cells.
This looks to be a very important addition to the literature on Huntington's. The implication is that a drug which could prevent Rhes from SUMOylating mutant Htt would halt the progression of the disease (although it would presumably not reverse any damage which had already happened.) This is the kind of powerful explanation that neuroscientists who study psychiatric disorders dream about. Maybe in 50 years we will have a similar understanding of schizophrenia - maybe.

Huntington's is a fascinating disorder. The mechanism of inheritance is very distinctive - disease results when a certain section of DNA is too long, and the longer it is, the earlier and more severe the symptoms. And when the pathogenic region is too long, it tends to get even longer during the formation of sperm cells, so the children of fathers with Huntington's often suffer from a more severe, early-onset form. This phenemonon is called genetic anticipation and is unique to Huntingdon's and some similar disorders.

Huntington's is also one of the few disorders which can be accurately diagnosed genetically before the symptoms occur. Anyone at risk of the disease can take a DNA test and know their fate. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most choose not to.

ResearchBlogging.orgSubramaniam, S., Sixt, K., Barrow, R., & Snyder, S. (2009). Rhes, a Striatal Specific Protein, Mediates Mutant-Huntingtin Cytotoxicity Science, 324 (5932), 1327-1330 DOI: 10.1126/science.1172871

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Mulher de Virgem!!!

Visitando o blog tesouro em meio ao lixao do colega Daniel,
encontrei este texto que fala da mulher de virgem,
como sou virginiana, trouxe para meu blog, após ter comunicado ao dono do blog.
para que o texto, não se torne cansativo, vou selecionar o que mais acho de importante.
neste blog, tem todos os signos. é bem interessante.
Veja no link acima.

Mulher de Virgem...
photo





Qual a imagem que você faz da mulher de virgem? Por acaso é aquela da donzela vestida de branco, pura e frágil? Sinto muito em dizer que esta ideia não tem nada a ver com a verdade!
A mulher de virgem pode largar tudo, inclusive o marido para seguir uma nova paixão sem dar a mínima para os comentários ou julgamentos. Ela é uma mulher que pode ser muito determinada quando se trata de ir a busca da felicidade, esteja ela onde estiver! Uma vez que aceitou um amor como verdadeiro este amor estará acima de tudo. Ela é a única mulher capaz de ser terrivelmente prática e divinamente romântica.
Apesar de ser uma mulher determinada, ela não é do tipo que se atira de cabeça sem gastar um bom tempo analisando o que melhor deve ser feito. Também não é uma mulher que gosta de chamar a atenção como a leonina, ou que goste aventuras e mudanças bruscas em sua vida. Não, para ela tudo deve ter uma certa lógica e um motivo.
Não espere vê-la lutando por uma causa, fazendo discursos ou escalando montanhas com seu namorado apenas para estar ao seu lado. Esta mulher costuma gostar do sossego e não é muito afeita a aglomerações ou badalações. Normalmente costuma ter um gosto afinado para as artes em geral e na maneira de se vestir.
Sabe por que é muito raro ver uma virginiana cafona? Por que ela parece ter nascido com um bom gosto para roupas que não é afetado por modismos ou extravagâncias!
No trabalho, ela é persistente e prática, e descobrirá os pequenos erros que até um perito poderia deixar passar. Quando ela resolve se entregar à uma tarefa pode esperar que o resultado será o melhor! Ao se envolver com esta mulher, ela se encarregará de todas as suas preocupações, e provavelmente terá prazer nisto. Esta é a mulher perfeita para se discutir orçamentos planos para o futuro e o orçamento da empresa. O que pode parecer um tédio para outras mulheres, para ela é um prazer.

Uma coisa que é interessante notar na mulher de virgem é que ela sempre dá aquela intenção de que está preocupada com algo.
A preocupação é algo natural nesta mulher. Elas simplesmente não conseguem relaxar completamente. Mas não espere ver uma fisionomia carregada ou carrancuda. Normalmente elas costumam ter uma aparência serena e sempre o mesmo sorriso discreto, olhar tranqüilo e gestos calculados. Mas, mesmo possuindo este autocontrole e este comportamento sereno, elas costumam ser devoradas por ansiedades que nem o mais íntimo dos amigos tem conhecimento!
Apesar de ser uma perfeccionista, não quer dizer que seja perfeita. Ela tem os seus defeitos e estes podem ser muito irritantes. Elas acham que ninguém consegue fazer as coisas com tanta ordem e eficiência quanto elas. E o que irrita é que muitas vezes elas tem razão!
A virginiana detesta quando é criticada abertamente. Se ela errar, diga-lhe com muito tato para não perder a amizade (ou a esposa).

Quando se trata de admitir que está errada, esta mulher parece sofrer um bloqueio mental. Ela tem mais facilidade para criticar os defeitos nos outros do que para aceitar os seus próprios. Não que ela ache que é perfeita. A virginiana sempre é muito critica com relação a sua aparência, trabalho, alimentação e no amor, claro. Para ela não existe meio termo: ou consegue o melhor ou tem apenas o pior!
Também não espere ver esta mulher tendo sonhos ou ilusões sobre as pessoas mesmo quando está amando.
Ela é muito "pé no chão" e muito prática para se deixar levar por sonhos. Nem a taurina consegue ser tão pratica quanto ela. Nem mesmo o amor consegue cobrir os olhos da virgem e impedir que ela veja os defeitos e falhas do companheiro, durante o relacionamento.
Demonstrações dramáticas de amor, promessas sentimentais e exagero, não só deixa a mulher de virgem entediada, como podem assustá-la a ponto de nunca mais aparecer. Mas, seu coração pode amolecer se for conquistada aos poucos. Existem muitas formas de se conquistar esta mulher e manter a paixão. Mas a agressividade não está entre elas!
A virginiana busca mais a harmonia e a tranqüilidade em um relacionamento do que paixões loucas e amores impossíveis!
Também não é muito comum ver esta mulher chorando por um romance do passado ou se entregando a um amor platônico. Para ela o que importa é o que está ao seu alcance, e o que acabou tem que ser enterrado para que outro homem ocupe o lugar vago! Mesmo que uma decepção amorosa tenha causado muita dor em seu coração, esta mulher consegue disciplinar seus sentimentos e emoções a ponto de parecer que nem liga para o rompimento. Ela vai sofrer por dentro, mas este sofrimento não vai durar muito! Ela dificilmente vai se deixar levar pela ilusão de que colando os pedaços vai conseguir refazer o que não tem mais conserto!
Ela se dedica totalmente apenas àqueles em quem confia, e as pequeninas coisas podem significar muito para ela.
Apesar de sua timidez e tranqüilidade, é bastante firme e forte para que para que os outros encontrem nela um porto seguro. Sua coragem e senso de responsabilidade costumam servir de conforto para as pessoas que ama, quando as coisas não estão boas!

Outras curiosidades

Têm uma boa memória, e têm grande sucesso como bibliotecários, administrativos, contabilistas, cientistas, assistentes sociais e editores de livros. Entre as outras profissões que pode fazer bem se encontram as de medico, secretária, músico, orador, escritor, historiador e enfermeira. Seu bom gosto com a roupa e sua elegância natural faz que podem triunfar como costureiras. Normalmente têm bom domínio da linguagem, falando e escrevendo bem. Adoram a riqueza, abundância e a cultura. Não são hábeis para economizar dinheiro(google).