How much is that call worth?

Posted on by
Reply

Call centres can be expensive as well as the source of lots of consumer angst. But companies can get more bang for their buck by doing a better job of coordinating marketing decisions that drive customers to call centres with operational ones about handling them once they get there, says a new study from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

The study, co-authored by Professors Philipp Afèche and Opher Baron in the Rotman School’s Operations Management and Statistics Area, and Mojtaba Araghi, an assistant professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, provides an integrated marketing-operations framework to help companies design more effective service policies for their call centres and other service channels.

The framework builds on a theoretical model that maps the flow of new and existing customers through the call centre and their consumer decisions afterwards, based on their experience.

Unlike previous research, the model links call centre capacity, service quality and how that quality influences future consumer behaviour.

“Our model highlights that it is important for companies to be able to answer questions like: How does a particular customer behave if they don’t get served? What’s the chance that they will leave the company — or spend more, depending on the service quality they’ve received?” says Prof. Afèche. This can give companies insight into designing different service levels for different types of customers, depending on their value to the company.

Too often, says Prof. Afèche, call centres react in response to marketing decisions, rather than the two functions working together to determine which customers to target in a marketing campaign and what capacity needs to be there to serve them. Traditional ways of measuring customer value, meanwhile, can ignore how that value is affected by service quality, leading to poorer decisions about attracting and keeping them.

“Our model gives companies a more complete picture of the value of a customer,” says Prof. Afèche.

Getting things right at the call centre has been shown to be vital to businesses. Previous research has shown that companies use call centres for 80% of their customer interactions and 92% of customers base their opinion of the company on what happens during their call. Four out of ten customers who end their business with a company place the blame squarely on a customer service call that went badly.

###

One hour of exercise a week can prevent depression

Posted on by
Reply

A landmark study led by the Black Dog Institute has revealed that regular exercise of any intensity can prevent future depression – and just one hour can help.

Published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the results show even small amounts of exercise can protect against depression, with mental health benefits seen regardless of age or gender.

In the largest and most extensive study of its kind, the analysis involved 33,908 Norwegian adults who had their levels of exercise and symptoms of depression and anxiety monitored over 11 years.

The international research team found that 12 percent of cases of depression could have been prevented if participants undertook just one hour of physical activity each week.

“We’ve known for some time that exercise has a role to play in treating symptoms of depression, but this is the first time we have been able to quantify the preventative potential of physical activity in terms of reducing future levels of depression,” said lead author Associate Professor Samuel Harvey from Black Dog Institute and UNSW.

“These findings are exciting because they show that even relatively small amounts of exercise – from one hour per week – can deliver significant protection against depression.

“We are still trying to determine exactly why exercise can have this protective effect, but we believe it is from the combined impact of the various physical and social benefits of physical activity.

“These results highlight the great potential to integrate exercise into individual mental health plans and broader public health campaigns. If we can find ways to increase the population’s level of physical activity even by a small amount, then this is likely to bring substantial physical and mental health benefits.”

The findings follow the Black Dog Institute’s recent Exercise Your Mood campaign, which ran throughout September and encouraged Australians to improve their physical and mental wellbeing through exercise.

Researchers used data from the Health Study of Nord-Trøndelag County (HUNT study) – one of the largest and most comprehensive population-based health surveys ever undertaken – which was conducted between January 1984 and June 1997.

A healthy cohort of participants was asked at baseline to report the frequency of exercise they participated in and at what intensity: without becoming breathless or sweating, becoming breathless and sweating, or exhausting themselves. At follow-up stage, they completed a self-report questionnaire (the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) to indicate any emerging anxiety or depression.

The research team also accounted for variables which might impact the association between exercise and common mental illness. These include socio-economic and demographic factors, substance use, body mass index, new onset physical illness and perceived social support.

Results showed that people who reported doing no exercise at all at baseline had a 44% increased chance of developing depression compared to those who were exercising one to two hours a week.

However, these benefits did not carry through to protecting against anxiety, with no association identified between level and intensity of exercise and the chances of developing the disorder.

According to the Australian Health Survey, 20 percent of Australian adults do not undertake any regular physical activity, and more than a third spend less than 1.5 hours per week being physically active. At the same time, around 1 million Australians have depression, with one in five Australians aged 16-85 experiencing a mental illness in any year.

“Most of the mental health benefits of exercise are realised within the first hour undertaken each week,” said Associate Professor Harvey.

“With sedentary lifestyles becoming the norm worldwide, and rates of depression growing, these results are particularly pertinent as they highlight that even small lifestyle changes can reap significant mental health benefits.”

PM lauds the contributions of eminent personalities and groups towards Swachhta Hi Seva

Posted on by
Reply

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has lauded the contributions of eminent personalities and groups towards “Swachhta Hi Seva”. The nation-wide sanitation campaign “Swachhta Hi Seva” started from 15th September and culminated today, October 2, on Gandhi Jayanti, which is also celebrated as the Swachh Bharat Diwas.

In a series of tweets, the Prime Minister appreciated Sh Anupam Kher, Sh Mohanlal, Smt Chanda Kochhar, India Today Group, India TV News, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Indian Cricket Team, Sh Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Dettol India, NDTV, Reliance Foundation, Tata Trusts, Sh Akshay Kumar and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, for their support and efforts towards the Swachh Bharat Mission.

“Commendable gesture Anupam ji.

Excellent effort by noted actor @Mohanlal.

Important message by @CKforCleanIndia, who along with the @ICICIBank family has made vital contributions to Swachh Bharat Mission.

I laud the @IndiaToday family for the proactive steps to further awareness on Swachhata. Congrats to all #Safaigiri awardees.

Wonderful initiative by @indiatvnews. This will further spread the message of cleanliness across the nation.

I congratulate @SadhguruJV & the team of Isha Foundation for their exemplary effort to generate awareness on keeping our rivers clean.

Appreciable message by the Indian Cricket Team on making India Clean.

Good effort Rajeev ji.

I laud @DettolIndia & @ndtv for the initiative. This timeline has many inspiring efforts on cleanliness. https://twitter.com/swachhindia.

Laudable work by @ril_foundation across India towards a Swachh Bharat. Have a look at this timeline. https://twitter.com/ril_foundation/

Congrats @tatatrusts! Their Prerak initiative of a young professional in each district to support SBM is praiseworthy.

Well written @akshaykumar. Appreciate your steadfast support to the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Excellent effort by you and the Art of Living family! Together 125 crore Indians will create a Clean India.”, the Prime Minister tweeted.

Rajghat gets Mahatma Statue, for the first time

Posted on by
Reply

Vice-President Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu unveils the 1.80 metre bronze statue

Interactive Interpretation Centre on the life and works of Gandhiji another new visitor attraction

Rajghat, the Samadhi of the Father of the Nation in the national capital , has for the first time acquired a new feature that could appeal to the large number of visitors. Vice-President of India Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu today unveiled a 1.80 metre tall bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of the 148 Birth Anniversary of the champion of country’s independence.

The statue, sculpted by the renowned Shri Ram Sutar is installed in the Parking Area of Rajghat Samadhi Complex at a cost of Rs.8.73 lakhs. It is mounted on a two feet high pedestal clad with granite. The famous message of Gandhi ji “Be the Change You Wish to See” is inscribed on the front side of the pedestal. Installation of the Statue is a part of a large number of improvement works at Rajghat undertaken during the last three years.

Over 10,000 people visiting Rajghat daily and foreign dignitaries pay homage to the Father of the Nation at the simple black stone platform marking the place where Gandhi ji was cremated. The new statue would offer another spot for them to pay their respect to the great soul.

Shri Venkaiah Naidu also inaugurated an Interpretation Centre in the Parking Area of the complex. The Rs.59 lakhs facility enables interactive learning about the life and works of the Mahatma through Digital Display using LED screens. Visitors can watch films, life events, listen to speeches of Gandhiji besides participating in quiz, using ear phones for interaction without disturbance.

The Samadhi Complex also got a new administrative block that is equipped with Visitors Room, Publication Unit, Staff Room, Drinking Water facility. This has been built at a cost of about Rs.75 lakhs.

During the last three years, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs and the Rajghat Samadhi Samiti have undertaken several works at Rajghat to enhance visitor experience.

Every Indian should become part of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan: Vice President

Posted on by
Reply

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that every Indian should become part of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, a “Jan Andolan”, with a missionary zeal so that the goal of a “Clean India” is achieved by 2nd October, 2019 – the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. He was addressing the gathering at an event to present the India Today Safaigiri Awards 2017, organized by India Today Group, here today. The Chairman of Living Media, Shri Aroon Purie was present on the occasion.

The Vice President said that Gandhiji accorded highest priority to sanitation and cleanliness and had famously said “Sanitation is more important than political freedom”. He further said that the cause of many of our diseases is the condition of our lavatories and our bad habit of disposing of excreta anywhere and everywhere. The dream of the Father of the Nation a ‘Clean India’ could be realized through ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’, he added.

The Vice President said that we cannot achieve sustained progress if we adopt a business as usual approach. He further said that we should collectively search for innovative solutions that will make a tangible difference to the lives of the people. This is the responsibility that everyone must take it as a sacred mission, not a mere job or chore, he added.

The Vice President complimented the India Today Group, under the leadership of ‘Swachh Bharat’ ambassador Shri Aroon Purie, for organising these Safaigiri Awards. He further said that media today holds enormous potential for influencing public opinion, and award events like these to give a big boost to all stake holders.

The Vice President congratulated all the India Today Safaigiri Awardees, and said that they are the true beacons of light who can become role models for other citizens to come forward to contribute to the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’.

Following is the text of Vice President’s address:

“It is my pleasure to be here today, on along with friends from the media and other industries, to deliberate on issues related to sanitation and waste management, and take forward our collective mandate of a ‘Swachh Bharat’

Media today holds enormous potential for influencing public opinion, and award events like these to acknowledge and reward the efforts of proactive citizens and organisations will give a big boost to citizens and corporate houses to come forward to donate their time and efforts towards the cause of swachhata, and strengthen the government’s efforts at citizen outreach.

I commend the India Today group, under the leadership of Swachh Bharat ambassador Shri Aroon Purie, for organising these annual awards for the cause of ‘swachhata’.

I would also like to congratulate the awardees tonight, for they are the true beacons of light who can become role models for other citizens and organisations to come forward to contribute to the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Friends!

Gandhiji accorded highest priority to sanitation and cleanliness and had famously said “Sanitation is more important than political freedom”. He had also pointed out that “the cause of many of our diseases is the condition of our lavatories and our bad habit of disposing of excreta anywhere and everywhere”.

I have recalled these telling statements made by Gandhiji to drive home the point that the dream of the Father of the Nation could be realized through ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’ if everybody from celebrities to common man selflessly participate and take ownership of the programme, rather than treating it as a government-driven campaign.

According to UNICEF, good sanitation can save Rs.50,000 per year per family. Over 1,00,000 children die every year in India due to diarrhea.

Lack of sanitation also contributes to physical and cognitive stunting in children. Besides, women and girls face a serious threat to their safety when they resort to open defecation. These are all serious issues and can no longer be ignored by adopting a status quoist mindset.

A World Bank report had said that lack of sanitation costs over six per cent of our GDP.

Every Indian should become part of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan – “Jan Andolan” with a missionary zeal so that the goal of a “Clean India” is achieved by 2nd October, 2019 – the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Ever Since Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan” with a call to achieve ‘ Clean India’ by 2019, there no doubt has been tremendous response from different sections of the people as also various State Governments, local bodies, public representatives, NGOs and local communities.

Overall, the Swachh Bharat Mission has made remarkable progress and has transformed the sanitation situation in the country.

The number of Indians defecating in the open in rural and urban areas is estimated to have reduced to 30 crore, from about 60 crore in 2014.

Over 2,45,000 villages, 1300 cities, 200 districts and 5 states have been declared open defecation free (ODF). All villages along the banks of the Ganga have been declared ODF.

Over 50% of urban wards have door to door collection of municipal solid waste. Nearly 100 megawatts energy is being produced from waste in the country.

Over 5 crore toilets have been constructed in rural and urban areas. There is some distance to travel, and we are all committed to achieving a clean and open defecation free India by October 2019.

This campaign aims to mobilise people from across the country, especially government functionaries across all levels, local leaders, youth groups, women, school children, defence personnel, corporate, celebrities, faith organizations and citizens

We cannot achieve sustained progress if we adopt a business as usual approach. We should collectively search for innovative solutions that will make a tangible difference to the lives of the people.

This is the responsibility that all everyone must take it as a sacred mission, not a mere job or chore. It is possibly the best and the most sincere tribute to the father of the nation who was so passionate about it.

It is an opportunity for each one of us to show that we care, that we care about our country and our fellow citizens.

Friends!

These kind of achievements are possible only when the community comes together to achieve public health outcomes through engaging and motivating public, generating demand for toilets and using them. Few such examples:

On this occasion let me share with you all the story of a spirited 105-year-old Kunwar Bai from Chhattisgarh. She is an inspiration for all of us to emulate. Her zeal and actions for a better life made her sell off all her goats to build toilets in the house. She was felicitated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister himself and is now the mascot for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

A teenager lavanya in Karnataka went on a 3-day fast demanding toilets in each house in her village. She finally called it off when officials promised to construct toilets in the village.

Dr.Manjula, IAS, the former CEO of Bangalore rural achieved ODF in 48 GPs in 6 months which was a record time in Karnataka.

16-year-old Mallamma from Koppal district in northern Karnataka recently went on a hunger strike to pressurise her mother to build a toilet at home.

Tanuja Gouda, who hails from Uttar Kannada district comes from an all-women household who dug the toilet pit all by herself investing in her family’s health.

Women and girls are taking a stand against marriage into families without toilet facilities.

It is relatively easy to build a road, bridge or an airport. But trying to change human behaviour is complex. The sheer scale of the operation makes it a gargantuan task.

While mass-media campaigns are useful, the real key to bringing about behaviour change on the ground is to have grassroots-level trained and incentivised motivators using interpersonal communication with villages and households to ‘trigger’ demand for toilets and cleanliness.

Beyond behaviour change and appropriate technology practices, it is also crucial that swachhta, or cleanliness, becomes ‘everyone’s business’.

To this end, all sectors, including the private sector, are increasingly getting involved to mainstream sanitation into their core work. The private sector is stepping up to the plate.

Friends!

Through the past fortnight under Swachata Hi Seva , several Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers, State Ministers, MPs, MLAs and Sarpanches have offered shramdaan to inspire their constituents.

The Prime Minister himself offered shramdaan for the construction of a twin-pit toilet in a village in his Parliamentary constituency Varanasi.

Movie stars, sports personalities, corporates, artists and faith leaders have offered shramdaan in different parts of urban and rural India.

We have seen amazing examples of service for cleanliness even by the institutions which are the epitome of service – the armed forces and police forces across the country.

The first step towards a developed India is to create a clean and hygienic and therefore a healthy India. Let us ensure that this jan andolan intensifies every day and every citizen plays his part.

With the kind of leadership we have now in the country ,the near-unanimous support of political leaders across states, civil servants , people from all walk of life and, most importantly, the leadership of grassroots-level leaders like sarpanches, especially women, there is now a quiet confidence across the country that the Jan Andolan will succeed.

I hope that more media houses and corporate organizations come forward and join hands with the government, for it is only when each of us come together unitedly that our collective dream of a “Swachh Bharat’ can be met.

Jai Hind”

Spacex Founder Elon Musk’s BFR Mega Plan Not Practical in 50 Years

Posted on by
Reply

Speaking at the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia, SpaceX founder Elon Musk revealed the hysteric side of his vision to transport passengers from New York to Shanghai in 39 minutes and sending humans to Mars in 2022 and not beyond as estimated.

“Most of what people consider to be long-distance trips could be completed in less than half-an-hour,” Musk said. Thundering applause to his vision was all that mattered instantly as global media went crazy to give the news headline status and now that the brouhaha subsided, the other side of the story is emerging.

Cost and benefit analysis has shown that the idea is as crazy as the initial failures that had beset SpaceX in its inaugural years.

Here is the time schedule making rounds for the flight at a maximum speed of 27,000 km/hr (17,000 mph) across the world:

* New York to Shanghai in 39 minutes
* Los Angeles to New York in 25 minutes
* Los Angeles to Honolulu in 25 minutes
* London to Dubai in 29 minutes
* New Delhi to Tokyo in 30 minutes

However, airlines industry has remained reluctant to respond as the aviation history is replete with many mega plans going bust before or after take off. The grounding of Concorde supersonic planes is not out of memory of many air travel experts.

Much before the birth of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Concorde aircraft flew for 30 years from 1976 to 2003 at a cost of $7000 for New York-London flight in 3.5 hours but crashes and safety concerns had cemented its commercaial viability assigning the aircraft to museums now. What Elon Musk is proposing is to bring down the time ten times down but leaving the big safety concern to what he aptly termed Big F**king Rocket.

Other concerns to such aviation plan have not come forth as analysts are still counting on its viability. What one could surmise at this point is that this hysteric plan is beset with flaws of unforeseen hurdles.

First of all, global cities are not in seas as rockets of SpaceX are designed to land on seas and not on landscape. The travel from cities to launchpad is not in Musk’s BFR plan still.

Secondly, safety concerns are given a go-by as SpaceX history is not without failures and no insurance company would come forward to foot the bill as crashes would frequently block any take offs.

Thirdly, the plan is commercially unviable as $2900 for any Trans-Atlantic flight may make the whole idea a luxury or once-in-lifetime experience for many. It may perhaps end up as a tourist attraction than a regular aviation mode.

Finally, Elon Musk is alone in his vision and not backed by other global billiionaires and not certainly by Branson-likes who would go planned to carry out such mega space projects. For now Musk should focus on Mars travel in 2022 than earth-bound unsafe space travel.

Defence Minister visits Ladakh, J&K

Posted on by
Reply

Defence Minister Mrs Nirmala Sitharaman visited the forward locations of Leh, Ladakh and Siachen on Saturday, 30 Sept. to review the security situation in the area.

During her visit she was accompanied by The Chief of the Army Staff, The Army Commander, Northern Command and Corps Commander of the Ladakh Corps. The Defence Minister interacted with the soldiers in the remote areas of Siachen Glacier and conveyed her best wishes on the auspicious occasion of Dussehra.

Mrs Sitharaman also inaugurated a bridge on river Shyok on the road between Durbuk and Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) which was constructed by the BRO. During her visit to Leh she interacted with the troops of Indian Air Force at Air Force Station Leh. Defence Minister Visits J&K, Reviews Security Situation in Valley

On Friday, Mrs. Sitharaman visited the Chinar Corps in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to review the overall security situation prevailing in the Valley. She was accompanied by the Chief of the Army Staff General Bipin Rawat, Northern Army Commander Lt General D Anbu and the Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen J S Sandhu.

She visited the forward areas and was briefed about the robust counter-infiltration posture along the Line of Control. The Defence Minister was subsequently briefed by the Army Commander in Badami Bagh Cantonment on the prevailing security situation in J&K and was given an overview of the counter-infiltration and counter-terrorist operations undertaken in the recent past.

She appreciated the effectiveness of the intelligence and operational grids and commended the troops for the excellent operational successes, which had contributed significantly towards a secure environment in the State.

The Minister complimented the commanders for the high level of synergy achieved with the J&K Police and Central Armed Police Force. Later in the evening, she called on Governor N N Vohra and also interacted with the Chief Minister Ms Mehbooba Mufti.

ARPAN Version 3.0 for Defence Security Corps Rolled Out

Posted on by
1

Defence Security Corps personnel now have a software ‘ARPAN’ which shall ease personal documentation and all issues related to their progression as the software has been rolled out for faster access and retrieval of information, especially the pension.

The ARPAN software consisting of seven modules facilitates end to end human resource, financial management of Junior Commissioned Officers and Other Ranks with major functional advantages of timely processing of postings, promotions, release of salary, publication of personal occurrences and processing of pension has been rolled out by DCOAS (IS &T) for the Defence Security Corps.

“The software provides valuable data for decision and policy making for the Defence Security Corps Directorate,” said a statement. After launch of this software, Defence Security Corps troops would be able to access their service profiles, statement of accounts and adjustment of allowances at par with the troops of Indian Army. The software has been developed by Tech Mahindra.

MRP Plus GST Display Allowed till December

Posted on by
Reply

The government has allowed the manufacturers or packers or importers of pre-packaged commodities to declare the revised retail sale price (MRP) in addition to the existing retail sale price (MRP) for three more months from October 1 to December 31, 2017. Earlier, it was allowed for three months from 1st July 2017 to 30th September, 2017.

The government said the permission was given on account instances where the retail sale price of a pre-packaged commodity is required to be changed but not undertaken yet. The declaration of the changed retail sale price (MRP) was allowed to be made by way of stamping or putting sticker or online printing, as the case may be.

Use of unexhausted packaging material/wrapper was also been allowed upto 30th September, 2017 after making the necessary corrections. “Considering the requests received to extend the permission for some more time it has been extended to display the revised MRP due to implementation of GST by way of stamping or putting sticker or online printing for a further period of three months, up to 31st December, 2017,” said a statement by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

1 in 3 older adults take something to help them sleep but many don’t talk to their doctors

Posted on by
Reply

1 in 12 people over age 65 take prescription sleep medications, which carry health risks for older people, U-M/AARP National Poll on Healthy Aging finds.

Sleep doesn’t come easily for nearly half of older Americans, and more than a third have resorted to some sort of medication to help them doze off at night, according to new results from the National Poll on Healthy Aging.

But most poll respondents said they hadn’t talked to their doctor about their sleep, even though more than a third said their sleep posed a problem. Half believe — incorrectly — that sleep problems just come naturally with age.

The poll was conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, and is sponsored by AARP and Michigan Medicine, U-M’s academic medical center.

Those who turn to medications may not realize that prescription, over-the-counter and even “natural” sleep aids carry health risks, especially for older adults, either alone or in combination with other substances. In fact, national guidelines strongly warn against prescription sleep medicine use by people over age 65.

Despite this, the nationally representative poll of people ages 65 to 80 finds that 8 percent of older people take prescription sleep medicine regularly or occasionally. Among those who report sleep troubles three or more nights a week, 23 percent use a prescription sleep aid. Most who use such drugs to help them sleep had been taking them for years. Manufacturers and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration say such drugs are only for short-term use.

Medication: not the only option

“Although sleep problems can happen at any age and for many reasons, they can’t be cured by taking a pill, either prescription, over-the-counter or herbal, no matter what the ads on TV say,” says poll director Preeti Malani, M.D., a U-M physician trained in geriatric medicine. “Some of these medications can create big concerns for older adults, from falls and memory issues to confusion and constipation,” even if they’re sold without a prescription.

“The first step for anyone having trouble sleeping on a regular basis should be to talk to a doctor about it,” she continues. “Our poll shows that nearly two-thirds of those who did so got helpful advice – but a large percentage of those with sleep problems simply weren’t talking about it.”

She notes that non-medication-based sleep habits are the first choice for improving sleep in older people. Sleep and health

In all, 46 percent of those polled had trouble falling asleep one or more nights a week. Fifteen percent of the poll respondents said they had trouble falling asleep three or more nights a week.

Other health conditions can contribute to sleep difficulties. Twenty-three percent of poll respondents who had trouble sleeping said it was because of pain. And 40 percent of those with frequent sleep problems said their overall health was fair or poor. Other reasons for sleep troubles included having to get up to use the bathroom at night, and worry or stress.

Insomnia and other irregular sleep patterns can interfere with daytime functioning, and are associated with memory issues, depression and an increased risk of falls and accidents. Even so, many said they didn’t see sleep issues as a health problem – in fact, this belief was the most common reason that poll respondents said they didn’t talk to their doctor about sleep.

This also highlights the need for doctors to ask their older patients about their sleep habits and what they’re doing to address any issues they may be having

“We know that sleep is a critical factor for overall health as we age, and this new research highlights sleep problems as both a significant health issue for older adults and an underacknowledged one both by patients and their providers,” says Alison Bryant, Ph.D., senior vice president of research for AARP. “We need to help people understand that lack of sleep is not just a natural part of aging.”

More about medication use

In all, 14 percent of the poll respondents said they regularly took a prescription sleep medication, prescription pain medication, OTC sleep aid or herbal supplement to help them sleep. Another 23 percent took one of these options occasionally; most of the occasional users said they chose OTC sleep aids.

The most recent Beers Criteria established by the American Geriatrics Society, which guides the use of medications among older people, gives a strong warning against use of prescription sleep drugs, which are sold under such names as Ambien, Lunesta and Sonata.

Meanwhile, even though OTC sleep aids can be purchased without a doctor’s guidance or prescription, they still carry health risks for older people, Malani notes. Most of them contain diphenhydramine, an antihistamine that can cause side effects such as confusion, urinary retention and constipation.

Among poll respondents with frequent sleep problems who took something occasionally to help them sleep, OTC sleep remedies were the most common choice. But among those with frequent sleep issues who took something on a regular basis to try to sleep, prescription sleep medications were the most common option, with 17 percent reporting use.

Use of melatonin and other herbal remedies may be perceived as safer, but less is known about their potential side effects and they are not subject to the FDA’s approval process for medications, says Malani. But any issue that prompts someone to buy an OTC or herbal remedy on a regular basis is something they should discuss with their doctor, she adds.

The poll results are based on answers from a nationally representative sample of 1,065 people ages 65 to 80, who answered a wide range of questions online. Questions were written, and data interpreted and compiled, by the IHPI team. Laptops and Internet access were provided to poll respondents who did not already have it.

Computer scientists address gap in messaging privacy

Posted on by
Reply

Researchers have developed a solution to a longstanding problem in the field of end-to-end encryption, a technique that ensures that only sender and recipient can read a message.

With current end-to-end encryption, if an attacker compromises a recipient’s device, they can then put themselves in a position to intercept, read and alter all future communications without sender or recipient ever knowing.

The new protocol, published in IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security, forces attackers to leave evidence of any such activity and alerts users to take action.

Dr. Jiangshan Yu at the University of Luxembourg, Professor Mark Ryan at the University of Birmingham and Professor Cas Cremers at the University of Oxford, were motivated by the discovery of mass software vulnerabilities, such as the Heartbleed bug, that make the majority of devices vulnerable to compromise.

Dr Yu explained, “There are excellent end-to-end encryption services out there, but by definition they rely on your device itself remaining secure; once a device has been compromised there’s little we can do. That’s the problem we wanted to solve.”

Following Edward Snowden’s revelations about government mass surveillance, end-to-end encryption is now widely available through services such as Facebook’s WhatsApp. The approach uses pairs of cryptographic ‘keys’ for the sender to encrypt and the recipient to decrypt messages; anyone wanting to read your messages has to first hack into your phone to steal your latest keys. The attacker then performs a ‘Man-in-the-middle’ (MITM) attack, for example by taking control of your WIFI router to intercept your messages, and uses the stolen keys to impersonate you.

Current encryption protocols such as Signal used by WhatsApp make the most of the fact that a MITM attacker can only intercept messages sent via the compromised network. For example, as soon as you send a message via 3G rather than the compromised WiFi the attacker will no longer be able to act as an intermediary. They will lose track of the keys and be locked out of the conversation.

The solution, called DECIM (Detecting Endpoint Compromise in Messaging), addresses the question of what to do when the attacker is in a position to intercept all of your messages on a long-term basis. Both your Internet Service Provider and messaging service operator are in such positions – all your messages pass through their servers – so that if they obtained your keys, they would never be locked out of a conversation, and you would never know.

With DECIM, the recipient’s device automatically certifies new key pairs, storing the certificates in a tamper-resistant public ledger.

The team undertook a formal security analysis using a symbolic protocol verification tool, the ‘Tamarin prover’, which runs millions of possible attack situations, verifying DECIM’s capabilities. This is a rare step for a messaging protocol, and the same analysis for other protocols revealed several security flaws.

“There’s no silver bullet in the field of end-to-end encryption”, said Dr. Yu, “but we hope that our contribution can add an extra layer of security and help to level the playing field between users and attackers.”

Professor Mark Ryan, from the School of Computer Science at the University of Birmingham, said, “Our Security and Privacy group tries to solve problems that are important to society. Given the prevalence of cyber-attacks on phones and laptops, we are proud of this work on detecting when encryption keys have become compromised. Next, we intend to apply for this work on detecting encryption key compromise to applications, for example in blockchain or in Internet-based voting.”

CARA launches monthly “Jan Sampark” Program to facilitate adoption

Posted on by
Reply

The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) of the Ministry of Women & Child Development has started a monthly “Jan Sampark” program to enable the public to have interaction with its officials and staff for seeking information related to Adoption as well as flagging their concerns.

The first of its kind programme was held in New Delhi yesterday. Nearly 150 Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs), Adoptive Parents and representatives of agencies participated in the session, which lasted for more than four hours.

Details pertaining to Immediate Placement and Special Needs Adoption Module of Child Adoption Resource Information & Guidance System (CARINGS) as well as the newly launched Grievance/Query portal were shared with all the stakeholders. Also many of the PAPs were counselled and motivated to go for adopting older children.

The event will now be a regular feature every month apart from the quarterly Facebook live chat by CEO CARA.

Government enhances superannuation age of doctors to 65 years

Posted on by
Reply

A visionary and pragmatic decision that will strengthen the health services in the country: J P Nadda

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the enhancement of superannuation age of doctors other than doctors of the Central Health Services (CHS) falling under various Departments/Ministries/autonomous organisations, to 65 years. Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri J P Nadda, welcomed the Cabinet decision and stated that it is a very visionary and pragmatic decision that will strengthen the health services in the country. “Through this forward looking step, the services of experienced doctors shall be available to bring quality health services to the people. It will help in retaining the existing strength of experienced doctors thereby providing better patient care satisfaction,” Shri Nadda added.

Terming the decision to be people-centered and pro-patient, Shri Nadda further stated that it will address the shortage of doctors. “This is a strong signal that the Government is taking all steps to enhance services/service delivery. This would also help in improving doctor-patient ratio in the country,” Shri Nadda said.

Speaking further on the cabinet decision, Shri Nadda said that the decision will help in proper academic activities in Medical Colleges as also in effective implementation of national health programmes for delivery of health care services. “The decision may not have much financial implications as large numbers of posts are lying vacant and the present incumbents would continue to work in their existing capacity against sanctioned posts. Around 1445 doctors of various Ministries/Departments of the Central Government would be benefitted,” Shri Nadda informed.

According to the Cabinet decision, the superannuation age of doctors under the administrative control of the respective Ministries/Departments [M/o AYUSH (AYUSH Doctors), Department of Defence (civilian doctors under Directorate General of Armed Forces Medical Service), Department of Defence Production (Indian Ordnance Factories Health Service Medical Officers), Dental Doctors under D/o Health & Family Welfare, Dental doctors under Ministry of Railways and of doctors working in Higher Education and Technical Institutions under Department of Higher Education) has been enhanced to 65 years.

The Union Cabinet has approved ex-post facto, the enhancement of superannuation age of doctors working in Central Universities and IITs (Autonomous Bodies) under Department of Higher Education to 65 years; and approved enhancement of superannuation age of doctors in Major Port Trusts (Autonomous Bodies) under Ministry of Shipping to 65 years.

The Union Cabinet has approved that doctors shall hold the administrative posts till the date of attaining the age of 62 years and thereafter their services shall be placed in non-administrative positions.

 

Rescue of US citizen from Leh by IAF Helicopter

Posted on by
Reply

On 26 Sep 17, the IAF was requested by US Embassy through Ministry of Defence to help in locating and rescue of US citizen Ms Margaret Allen Stone. Ms Stone had set out for trekking in the Ladakh region and had been held up in Zhingchan area at a distance of 75 Km from Leh since 06 Sep 17 due to injury. Her condition had deteriorated during this prolonged period of lack of care. She was in a critical condition. The US Government informed IAF of the situation in the afternoon hours on 26 Sep 17.

IAF responded to the situation with requisite alacrity. Exact location of Ms Stone was ascertained with the help of civil administration and by evening two IAF helicopters were able to locate Ms Stone in the valley. Ms Stone was brought to the safety of Leh hospital for medical care by sunset on 26 Sep 17.

President of India presents the National Tourism Awards

Posted on by
Reply

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, presented the National Tourism Awards today (September 27, 2017) at a function held in New Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that tourism is one of the largest industries in the world. Its evolution can be estimated from the fact that the number of tourists all over the world has increased from 2.5 crore in 1950 to 123 crore in 2016. The tourism industry contributes 10.2 percent of the world’s GDP. It is estimated that every 10th person in the world works in the tourism industry.

The President said that in India too the livelihood of a very large number of people is linked to the tourism industry. In the year 2016, tourism’s contribution to GDP was 9.6 percent and 9.3 percent to total employment. The tourism industry can contribute significantly in generating permanent employment opportunities and eliminating poverty. According to an assessment, an investment of Rs. 10 lakh in tourism industry provides employment to about 90 people, while about 45 in agriculture, and about 13 people in manufacturing.

The President said that inclusive tourism development can strengthen inclusive economic development. Every citizen should strive to provide a good experience to tourists at his or her own level. In a tourism conscious society, the role of the government is only to provide direction and a facilitating environment.

The President said that ‘Adopt a Heritage Project’ which was launched today, with the efforts of the Tourism Ministry, Culture Ministry and Archaeological Survey of India, has great potential to make our rich and diverse heritage monuments, tourist-friendly. He expressed hope that this project will help in the maintenance of our heritage with a partnership of the public and private sectors.

President’s Durga Puja Greetings

Posted on by
Reply

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind in his message on the eve of Durga Puja has said:-

“On the auspicious occasion of Durga Puja, I extend greetings to my fellow citizens and wish them happiness and prosperity. The festival celebrates the triumph of virtue and destruction of evil.

Durga Puja is also a festival that cherishes the love we feel for daughters in our families. It symbolises feminine energy, empowerment and determination. Let it further our resolve to build a society in which every woman is able to achieve her true potential- and be an equal stakeholder in every avenue of human achievement. May this be a moment of blessing for our country and our collective well-being”.

Group project? Taking turns, working with friends may improve grades

Posted on by
Reply

It has become an almost essential element of academic life, from college lecture halls to elementary classrooms: the group assignment.

Dreaded by some, loved by others, group projects typically aim to build teamwork and accountability while students learn about a topic. But depending on the assignment and the structure of the groups, a project can turn out to be a source of great frustration — for instructor and students alike — or the highlight of the school year.

Now a University of Washington-led study of college students has found that the social dynamics of a group, such as whether one person dominates the conversation or whether students work with a friend, affect academic performance. Put simply, the more comfortable students are, the better they do, which yields benefits beyond the classroom.

“They learn more,” explained Elli Theobald, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology and the lead author on the study, published July 20 in PLOS ONE. “Employers are rating group work as the most important attribute in new recruits and new hires. If students are able to demonstrate that they have worked successfully in groups, it would seem that they should be more likely to land the job.”

Theobald is part of the UW’s Biology Education Research Group lab, formed by several faculty members in the Department of Biology about a decade ago to research how to most effectively teach biology to undergraduates.

A separate study by the BERG lab on group work, published in the July issue of Active Learning in Higher Education, finds that college students, when given a choice of whom to sit and work with in a large classroom setting, gravitate toward those who appear most like them — whether by gender, race and ethnicity, or academic skills.

Over the years, research spanning K-12 through post-secondary education has pointed to the value of group work in fostering collaborative skills and in cementing learning through interaction. In the sciences, labs are a common, though not the only, form of group work, Theobald said. As with many disciplines, STEM fields lend themselves to readings, worksheets and other activities that can be completed by multiple people working together.

For this study, researchers compared survey responses and test scores stemming from two different project styles — single-group and “jigsaw” — with three assignments each during two sections of an introductory biology class at the UW. Each of the 770 students enrolled in one of the two sections of the course experienced each project style at least once. In a single-group activity, student groups completed a worksheet together, relying on their notes and textbooks. In a jigsaw, student groups were assigned specific sections of the worksheet; students then were shuffled to new groups in which each person in the group had completed a different section of the worksheet and could teach their new groupmates what they had learned. Students took an eight-question test after each assignment.

The study found that students who reported a “dominator” in the group fared worse on the tests than those who didn’t express that concern. It also found that students who said they were comfortable in their group performed better than those who said they were less comfortable.

The jigsaw activity appeared to result in more collaboration: Students were 67 percent less likely to report a dominator in jigsaws than in single-group activities. “This suggests that jigsaw activities with intentional structure more effectively promote equity than group activities with less intentional structure,” researchers wrote.

The nearly 770 students who completed all the assignments, tests and surveys had formed two- and three-person groups with those who sat near them in class. (Jigsaw assignments later shuffled initial groups.) Two-thirds of participants were female; people of color, including students who identify as Asian, Under-Represented Minority, and International, made up more than half of respondents.

While the gender and racial and ethnic makeup of the participants informed the study, Theobald said, researchers don’t have details on who worked with whom so as to extrapolate from the composition of groups. For instance, were the experiences of women who worked with men different from those of women who worked in all-female groups? If a group contained only one person of color, what was that person’s experience compared to the rest of the group? That kind of information is ripe for further research, Theobald said.

However, one noticeable data point emerged: International and Asian American students were six times as likely to report a dominator than white American students. “Not all students experience group work the same way,” researchers wrote in the study. “If one student dominates a conversation, it can be particularly jarring to students from cultural backgrounds that place more emphasis on introspection and thinking on one’s own as opposed to a direct relationship between talking as a way to work through ideas.”

Though the data was collected from college students, the findings translate to other settings, Theobald said. She pointed to a study Google conducted to determine what made groups successful — establishing group routines and expectations (“norms”) and adding a brief window at the beginning of work time for casual talk. Such findings, along with those of the UW study, can inform employers as well as K-12 teachers about productive group work, she said.

The younger the students, the more structure a teacher is likely to have to establish, Theobald added. But when teachers make an assignment sufficiently interesting and complex, and manage student behavior, there is a potential for students to work together happily and productively.

“If we can get our groups to be more comfortable, students should learn better and work better,” Theobald said.

New type of supercomputer could be based on ‘magic dust’ combination of light and matter

Posted on by
Reply

A team of researchers from the UK and Russia have successfully demonstrated that a type of ‘magic dust’ which combines light and matter can be used to solve complex problems and could eventually surpass the capabilities of even the most powerful supercomputers.

The researchers, from Cambridge, Southampton and Cardiff Universities in the UK and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Russia, have used quantum particles known as polaritons – which are half light and half matter – to act as a type of ‘beacon’ showing the way to the simplest solution to complex problems. This entirely new design could form the basis of a new type of computer that can solve problems that are currently unsolvable, in diverse fields such as biology, finance or space travel. The results are reported in the journal Nature Materials.

Our technological progress — from modelling protein folding and behaviour of financial markets to devising new materials and sending fully automated missions into deep space — depends on our ability to find the optimal solution of a mathematical formulation of a problem: the absolute minimum number of steps that it takes to solve that problem.

The search for an optimal solution is analogous to looking for the lowest point in a mountainous terrain with many valleys, trenches, and drops. A hiker may go downhill and think that they have reached the lowest point of the entire landscape, but there may be a deeper drop just behind the next mountain. Such a search may seem daunting in natural terrain, but imagine its complexity in high-dimensional space. “This is exactly the problem to tackle when the objective function to minimise represents a real-life problem with many unknowns, parameters, and constraints,” said Professor Natalia Berloff of Cambridge’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, and the paper’s first author.

Modern supercomputers can only deal with a small subset of such problems when the dimension of the function to be minimised is small or when the underlying structure of the problem allows it to find the optimal solution quickly even for a function of large dimensionality. Even a hypothetical quantum computer, if realised, offers at best the quadratic speed-up for the “brute-force” search for the global minimum.

Berloff and her colleagues approached the problem from an unexpected angle: What if instead of moving along the mountainous terrain in search of the lowest point, one fills the landscape with a magical dust that only shines at the deepest level, becoming an easily detectible marker of the solution?

“A few years ago our purely theoretical proposal on how to do this was rejected by three scientific journals,” said Berloff. “One referee said, ‘Who would be crazy enough to try to implement this?!’ So we had to do it ourselves, and now we’ve proved our proposal with experimental data.”

Their ‘magic dust’ polaritons are created by shining a laser at stacked layers of selected atoms such as gallium, arsenic, indium, and aluminium. The electrons in these layers absorb and emit light of a specific colour. Polaritons are ten thousand times lighter than electrons and may achieve sufficient densities to form a new state of matter known as a Bose-Einstein condensate, where the quantum phases of polaritons synchronise and create a single macroscopic quantum object that can be detected through photoluminescence measurements.

The next question the researchers had to address was how to create a potential landscape that corresponds to the function to be minimised and to force polaritons to condense at its lowest point. To do this, the group focused on a particular type of optimisation problem, but a type that is general enough so that any other hard problem can be related to it, namely minimisation of the XY model which is one of the most fundamental models of statistical mechanics. The authors have shown that they can create polaritons at vertices of an arbitrary graph: as polaritons condense, the quantum phases of polaritons arrange themselves in a configuration that correspond to the absolute minimum of the objective function.

“We are just at the beginning of exploring the potential of polariton graphs for solving complex problems,” said co-author Professor Pavlos Lagoudakis, Head of the Hybrid Photonics Lab at the University of Southampton and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, where the experiments were performed. “We are currently scaling up our device to hundreds of nodes, while testing its fundamental computational power. The ultimate goal is a microchip quantum simulator operating at ambient conditions.”

 

Antibody protects against Zika and dengue, mouse study shows

Posted on by
Reply

Brazil and other areas hardest hit by the Zika virus – which can cause babies to be born with abnormally small heads – are also home to dengue virus, which is spread by the same mosquito species.

A new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that an antibody that protects against dengue virus is also effective against Zika in mice.

Antibodies remain in the bloodstream for weeks, so one or a few doses of an antibody-based drug given over the course of a woman’s pregnancy potentially could protect her fetus from Zika, with the added benefit of protecting her from both Zika and dengue disease, the researchers said. Dengue causes high fever, severe headaches, and joint and muscle pain in children and adults but does not directly harm fetuses.

“We found that this antibody not only neutralizes the dengue virus but, in mice, protects both adults and fetuses from Zika disease,” said Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine and the study’s senior author.

The study is published Sept. 25 in Nature Immunology.

Since dengue and Zika are related viruses, the researchers reasoned that an antibody that prevents dengue disease may do the same for Zika. Diamond and graduate student Estefania Fernandez collaborated with Gavin Screaton, MD, DPhil, of Imperial College London, who had generated a panel of human anti-dengue antibodies years before.

The scientists infected nonpregnant adult mice with Zika virus and then administered one of the anti-dengue antibodies one, three or five days after infection. For comparison, another group of mice was infected with Zika virus and then given a placebo. Within three weeks of infection, more than 80 percent of the untreated mice had died, whereas all of the mice that received the anti-dengue antibody within three days of infection were still alive, and 40 percent of those that received the antibody five days after infection survived.

To find out whether the antibody also could protect fetuses from infection, the researchers infected female mice on the sixth day of their pregnancies with Zika virus and then administered a dose of antibody or a placebo one or three days later.

On the 13th day of gestation, the amount of Zika’s genetic material was 600,000 times lower in the placentas and 4,900 times lower in the fetal heads from the pregnant mice that were treated one day after infection, compared with mice that received the placebo. However, administering the antibody three days after infection was less effective: It reduced the amount of viral genetic material in the fetal heads nineteenfold and in the placentas twenty-threefold.

These findings suggest that for the antibody to effectively protect fetuses from Zika infection, it must be administered soon after infection. Such a goal may be unrealistic clinically because women rarely know when they get infected.

However, giving women the antibody as soon as they know they are pregnant could provide them with a ready-made defense against the virus should they encounter it. Antibody-based drugs have been used for decades to provide temporary protection against infectious diseases such as rabies when there is no time to vaccinate or, as in the case of Zika, when there is no vaccine available.

The key to using this antibody as a preventive drug would be to make sure that antibody levels in a woman’s bloodstream stay high enough to protect her fetus for the duration of her pregnancy.

Diamond and colleagues are working on identifying how much antibody a pregnant woman would need to ensure that her fetus is protected from Zika. They also are exploring ways to extend the antibody’s half-life in the blood, to reduce the number of times it would need to be administered.

Having anti-dengue antibodies circulating in the bloodstream for months on end poses a risk, though, because antibodies that protect against one strain of dengue virus sometimes worsen symptoms if a person is infected by another dengue strain.

To avoid the possibility of accidentally aggravating an already very painful disease, the researchers mutated the antibody in four spots, making it impossible for the antibody to exacerbate dengue disease.

“We mutated the antibody so that it could not cause antibody enhancement of dengue infection, and it was still protective,” said Diamond, who is also a professor of pathology and immunology, and of molecular microbiology. “So now we have a version of the antibody that would be therapeutic against both viruses and safe for use in a dengue-endemic area, because it is unable to worsen disease.”

Child abuse affects brain wiring

Posted on by
Reply

Impaired neural connections may explain profound and long-lasting effects of traumatic experiences during childhood

  • For the first time, researchers have been able to see changes in the neural structures in specific areas of the brains of people who suffered severe abuse as children.
  • Difficulties associated with severe childhood abuse include increased risks of psychiatric disorders such as depression, as well as high levels of impulsivity, aggressivity, anxiety, more frequent substance abuse, and suicide.
    Severe, non-random physical and/or sexual child abuse affects between 5-15 % of all children under the age of 15 in the Western world.
  • Researchers from the McGill Group for Suicide Studies, based at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and McGill University’s Department of Psychiatry, have just published research in the American Journal of Psychiatry that suggests that the long-lasting effects of traumatic childhood experiences, like severe abuse, may be due to an impaired structure and functioning of cells in the anterior cingulate cortex. This is a part of the brain which plays an important role in the regulation of emotions and mood.
  • The researchers believe that these changes may contribute to the emergence of depressive disorders and suicidal behaviour.

Crucial insulation for nerve fibres builds up during first two decades of life

For the optimal function and organization of the brain, electrical signals used by neurons may need to travel over long distances to communicate with cells in other regions. The longer axons of this kind are generally covered by a fatty coating called myelin. Myelin sheaths protect the axons and help them to conduct electrical signals more efficiently. Myelin builds up progressively (in a process known as myelination) mainly during childhood, and then continue to mature until early adulthood.

Earlier studies had shown significant abnormalities in the white matter in the brains of people who had experienced child abuse. (White matter is mostly made up of billions of myelinated nerve fibres stacked together.) But, because these observations were made by looking at the brains of living people using MRI, it was impossible to gain a clear picture of the white matter cells and molecules that were affected.

To gain a clearer picture of the microscopic changes which occur in the brains of adults who have experienced child abuse, and thanks to the availability of brain samples from the Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank (where, as well as the brain matter itself there is a lot of information about the lives of their donors) the researchers were able to compare post-mortem brain samples from three different groups of adults: people who had committed suicide who suffered from depression and had a history of severe childhood abuse (27 individuals); people with depression who had committed suicide but who had no history of being abused as children (25 individuals); and brain tissue from a third group of people who had neither psychiatric illnesses nor a history of child abuse (26 people).

Impaired neural connectivity may affect the regulation of emotions

The researchers discovered that the thickness of the myelin coating of a significant proportion of the nerve fibres was reduced ONLY in the brains of those who had suffered from child abuse. They also found underlying molecular alterations that selectively affect the cells that are responsible for myelin generation and maintenance. Finally, they found increases in the diameters of some of the largest axons among only this group and they speculate that together, these changes may alter functional coupling between the cingulate cortex and subcortical structures such as the amygdala and nucleus accumbens (areas of the brain linked respectively to emotional regulation and to reward and satisfaction) and contribute to altered emotional processing in people who have been abused during childhood.

The researchers conclude that adversity in early life may lastingly disrupt a range of neural functions in the anterior cingulate cortex. And while they don’t yet know where in the brain and when during development, and how, at a molecular level these effects are sufficient to have an impact on the regulation of emotions and attachment, they are now planning to explore this in further research.