Archive for October, 2022

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In your head, you always imagine the revolution when it starts. It'll start with tanks and gunfire with chaos and soldiers in the street. You'll know when it comes, but it never does. Instead, the really big changes to American life, the profound ones that affect all of us forever, those changes almost always begin quietly with gentle pleas for tolerance. We'd like to do things a little differently, they tell you. We'd like to make a change to some custom or belief that people have been attached to for the last few thousand years, but don't be alarmed. It's not a big deal. You don't even need to participate. All we ask is that you let us live the way we want to live.

That's always the pitch and of course, you always agree to it. Why wouldn't you? Who could say no to that? Some guy down the street wants to wear a dress? OK, fine, have a party. It doesn't affect you. You don't have to wear a dress, so go ahead. Live and let live, but it turns out that's never actually the deal. The guy down the street wears his dress, but after a while, that's not enough for him. He's still angry and for some reason, he's angry with you. And that doesn't make sense because you're the person who had no problem with him wearing a dress in the first place. What did you do wrong?

Well, the problem is you're not wearing a dress and neither are your kids. Your normal-person clothes, the ones you've always worn, are suddenly immoral. You've got to change immediately.

Now, wait a second, you say, that's not what we agreed to. You do your thing and I'll do mine. Remember? They don't remember. They don't care. That's not how it works. You don't get to do your thing anymore. The dress guy's in charge now. Everybody's got to do his thing, the dress thing or face punishment. That's how it goes. "Be tolerant" becomes "show some respect" which evolves very quickly into "bow down before us and lick our feet or else will hurt you." That's the final stage. That's where we are now.

For example, a Democratic lawmaker in Virginia called Elizabeth Guzman is introducing a bill that will charge parents with a felony, strip them of their employment and imprison them if they don't wholeheartedly endorse their minor children's sex changes. So, your 12-year-old daughter says she wants a mastectomy. If you object to that in any way, if you raise questions, Elizabeth Guzman will send you to jail for real. Here's a local news report.:

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REPORTER: Her bill would expand the state's definition of child abuse and neglect to include parents who do not affirm their child's gender identity or sexual orientation.

ELIZABETH GUZMAN: There is an investigation also in place that is not only, you know, from a social worker, but there's also a police investigation before we make that decision that there is going to be a CPS charge.

REPORTER: What could the penalties be if the investigation concludes and it's concluded that a parent is not affirming of their LGBTQ child? What could the consequences be?

ELIZABETH GUZMAN: Well, we first have to have an investigation. You know, it could be a felony. It could be a misdemeanor, but we know a CPS charge could harm, you know, your employment, could harm your education.

DEMS UNDER FIRE AFTER TIES TO LAWMAKER WHO WANTS TO CRIMINALIZE PARENTS WHO DONT AFFIRM LGBT KIDS EXPOSED

Who is this Elizabeth Guzman? Well, Elizabeth Guzman came to this country not so long ago from Peru as a single mother. Now, rather than wait a while, maybe spend a few generations here before telling you how to raise your children in America, she's decided to get right to it and completely change child-rearing in this country in a way that would never be tolerated for a second in the country from which she comes. Try that in the Andes, honey, and see how that works. Yeah.

But in this country, according to Elizabeth Guzman, you have to affirm your child's sex change or else you're going to prison and the state will raise your kids.

Now you got to think maybe they've wanted this for a while. What would this mean? Well, it would mean fewer intact families. It would mean people like Elizabeth Guzman make the decisions, the meaningful decisions within your house. It means less resistance from you. It means more powerful them. What it doesn't mean is that Elizabeth Guzman will be protecting your kids. She doesn't even claim this law will protect your kids. Instead, she acknowledges the whole point is to "educate parents." Right.

Like the COVID vaccine, this is a pretty easy way to figure out who's on which side. Are you for this? OK, you're on our team. You're willing to surrender control of your own children to Elizabeth Guzman, who, again, just got here. But if you're not for it, then we know you're not on our team. We know who you are. We can silence you. We can punish you because you refuse to be educated.

So, it's a signaling mechanism and you know that because the ideology that underlies it, gender ideology, is completely incoherent. It doesn't make any sense at all. It is not rooted in science. It's a form of religion that's so crazy it dares you to say something about it. What? You can't even say that. If you do, they know you're on the other side.

And it's not just lunatics and ideologues like Elizabeth Guzman from Peru. It's doctors, it's medical professionals.

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Here's a video from Boston Children's Hospital, one of the most famous hospitals in the world, which like many hospitals in the United States at this point under the Joe Biden administration cut the breasts off of minor girls for no medically justifiable reason. Watch a practicing psychologist, now attending psychologist, at Boston Children's Hospital explain how early children can become trans.

DR KERRY MCGREGOR, BOSTON CHILDRENS HOSPITAL: So, most of the patients that we have in the clinic actually know their gender, usually around the age of puberty, but a good portion of children do know as early as seemingly from the womb, and they will usually express their gender identity as very young children, some as soon as they can talk. They might say phrases such as "I'm a girl" or "I'm a boy" or "I'm going to be a woman" or I'm going to be a mom." Kids know very, very early. So, in the Gems Clinic, we see a variety of young children all the way down to ages two and three and usually up to the ages of 9.

That's Kerry McGregor. She's a psychologist. She works at Harvard. I wonder how many children Kerry McGregor has. Has she raised a lot of kids? Has she watched kids carefully? Does she know anything about kids? Because she's telling you if you're a little kid says, "Oh I may be on the other sex," that means your kid is the other sex. Well, that's insane, because almost 100% of kids at one point or another, at a certain point in development, say things like, "I think I'm a boy. I think I'm a girl" and you smile indulgently, "Get back to me in 15 years."

But no, says Kerry McGregor, in the womb you can know.

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Think about what they're telling you. They're telling you that developing child in the womb is just a part of the mother. Therefore, you can abort that child at any time. It's like an appendectomy, but at the same time, that same cluster of cells, that fetus, can also be woke and ascribe to left liberal gender ideology and you need to honor that.

No sane person could believe any of this voluntarily. It doesn't even make sense on its face. Again, it's a religion and if you resist it, they resort immediately to force. No questions allowed. Again, this is science and the essence of science is relentless questioning about what you think you know is true. That is the scientific method. That's science itself, but it's no longer allowed.

The American Medical Association, which hasutterly beclowned itself, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association, just sent a letter to the attorney general of the United States demanding that the Biden administration, and we're quoting, "take swift action to investigate and prosecute high profile users on social media" who have engaged in "disinformation."

You hate to always invoke the German government of 80 years ago, but what else is that? That's totalitarian. They're saying if you disagree with what we're doing, people with guns should come and take you away. Now you'd think someone in the media would point out, "Wow, you know, we can't have that in the United States where people are free to believe what they want and to talk about it in public and to ask questions." In fact, they should be encouraged to, but the media don't say anything like that. They're joining with the Children's Hospital Association, the AMA, to call for more censorship at gun point. Watch.

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MEDHI HASAN:Obviously the question becomes then when misinformation, disinformation is being spread, when hate and threats are being spread, where are the social media companies? What's YouTube doing? What's Twitter doing? And of course, then you have the reaction to that "Oh, this is big tech silencing people." It always becomes a debate about free speech, doesn't it?

BRANDY ZADROZNY: Yeah, it does. You know, last week, Twitter suspended Libs of TikTok specifically for the policy against the promotion of threats, violence and harassment. So, great job, right? But it's been seven days and Libs of TikTok is back now and they're tweeting right this very minute. This is violence, this is harassment. It's clear what these accounts are doing.

It's so funny. Back to the point at the open, when the revolution comes, there won't be tanks and soldiers won't be stormtroopers in all uniforms and symbols. It'll be some unmarried 30-year-old woman talking in a singsong voice inflection at the end. Right. Right. Special glasses or complex glasses that don't actually improve her vision. She'll have all kinds of pointless humanities degrees and she'll be on cable news and say its violence. What she's really saying is "shut up and obey or will hurt you." She's delivering the same message any stormtrooper delivers, but she's doing it in a singsong way. This is disinformation.

Call us literal, but this is the opposite of disinformation, isn't disinformation. This is literally what they're seeing. Boston Children's Hospitals, which we showed you on tape, is telling you what they're doing. They perform double mastectomies on miners for no medical reason whatsoever. That's insane. It ought to be a crime. In a civilized country it would be and they know that because when they were caught, they tried to erase the evidence and they're not alone.

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UCSF, U.W. Health in Wisconsin, Golisano Children's Hospital in New York, Vanderbilt Health, Children's Minnesota, all of these hospitals have deleted the evidence of their gender-affirming procedures, their grotesque mutilation of children after they were publicized. Their own words were publicized online. No one's twisting it. People are just putting up their words and not all the videos have been deleted.

Planned Parenthood is big into this now because it's lucrative. Here's Planned Parenthood in 2021 telling children that so-called puberty blockers are harmless. Oh, right. That's a lie and by the way, there's no such thing as a puberty blocker. These drugs are hormone agonists and they're FDA approved for things like cancer treatment. You get prostate cancer and they lower your testosterone, for example, to prevent the cancer from growing quickly. They are not approved for so-called "puberty blocking." They're unapproved and the long-term effects are not known, but it's pretty obvious they're grim, but Planned Parenthood won't tell you that. Here's their video.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD VIDEO: You're transgender or non-binary. You may find that your puberty experiences don't line up with your gender identity or how you see yourself. That feeling can be uncomfortable, scary and stressful. If that sounds like you, know that you're not alone. There are medicines you can take to delay puberty for a while. They're called puberty blockers, and they work like a stop sign by halting the hormones, testosterone and estrogen that cause puberty changes like facial hair growth and periods. Puberty blockers are safe and can give you more time to figure out what feels right for you, your body and your gender identity.

Everything about that is dark and horrifying and there should be an uprising against that. That's aimed at your childrennot at adults who can make rational decisionsbut children who are people too young to drive or drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes or serve in the military or vote, people who are not (we have agreed as a group) capable of making rational adult decisions and that's aimed at them. It's propaganda aimed at them and it's a lie. Puberty blockers are safe. They are absolutely not safe. You can't delay puberty without damaging severely the bodies of young children. The FDA just identified several "clinically serious cases" of side effects after these drugs were recklessly administered to children by lunatic ideologues.

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FILE- In this June 4, 2019, file photo, a Planned Parenthood clinic is photographed in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File) (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

The FDA found a "plausible association" between the use of puberty blockers and something called intracranial hypertension. Do you want that for your 13-year-old?

According to the Mayo Clinic, that condition can cause brain swelling, double vision, severe headaches, permanent vision loss. In other words, brain damage. Brain damage! Oh, great. OK.

On top of that, the European Journal of Endocrinology, among many other publications, has found that so-called puberty blockers often cause, "decreased bone density, which is associated with a high risk of osteoporosis" and there are other permanent side effects as well. We don't even know the scope of them because this has never been tested longitudinally ever, but the effects are very obvious and if you poke around on the internet for about 4 minutes, you will see them. One teenage girl just uploaded a video showing the effects of five years of puberty blockers on her. Watch this.

VIDEO: When I talk about being too far gone, I don't really know what else to call it, this is what I mean. This is how deep my voice is. It's gotten deeper over time and it's settled. This is what I mean by hair loss and it just keeps getting worse. It keeps thinning. It keeps receding backwards. You know and I'm not exactly sure that's coming back. Those are the main things when I talk about being androgenized to a point of no return. This is what happens when you give a women testosterone for five years. This is what happens.

Yeah. That's what happens. That and a lot of other things. That's what they're telling you is "gender-affirming." No, it's mutilation. It's grotesque. It's destroying people's lives, children's lives. We made a documentary on this for "Tucker Carlson Originals." We spoke to a lot of people who had endured similar torture.

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HELENA: The testosterone kind of had this effect on me, where with every step that I took, it would feel good for a short amount of time, but then eventually it's like those same feelings come back up.

WALT: There's the initial euphoria that you go through. I changed my gender and everything's going to be wonderful.

KATHY: It was euphoric. I was like, the feeling I had when I started living as a man was I was free. I was finally who I should have been all along.

TUCKER NARRATION: But that euphoria was short-lived.

KATHY: My mental health just got worse. My ability to socialize just got worse. I felt so disconnected from myself. I started using, like drugs and alcohol as a crutch, and I was just a total disaster and the effects of the testosterone on my mental health specifically just made everything 10 million times worse.

WALT: I had bought into the lie and almost took my life.

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It's just awful and every person who is participating in this in their moments of clarity knows that ten years from now, there will be thousands of vocal victims of this moment of true craziness and hysteria that has gripped our country. People's lives are being destroyed right before us. Most adults are too cowardly to say a word about it and the Democratic Party is actively doing all it can to promote this to protect hospitals that are mutilating and destroying the lives of children.

in the state of California Always a bellwether a legislator called ScottWienerhas just sponsored legislation to make California a so-called sanctuary state for kids who want to mutilate their own bodies to castrate themselves. Scott Wiener, really? Is he a good father? Would you trust this guy within 500 yards of a child? Probably not.

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Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom of California (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Gavin Newsom just signed the bill, of course. So, what's the point here? It's not to protect children. It's not protecting them. Any parent will tell you if you want to protect children, you tell them, take a deep breath and reach adulthood and then make rational decisions about how to live their lives.

You would definitely not let them make a decision, an irreversible decision like this, for themselves. You're their parent. That's the whole point. But the Democratic Party doesn't like parents. The Democratic Party is replacing parents with itself. We're in charge now. It's the most recognizable possible move for any totalitarian movement. Break up the family. Replace parents with politicians. The state is in charge. The party is in charge, obviously, and it's happening all over the country.

Tucker Carlson currently serves as the host of FOX News Channels (FNC) Tucker Carlson Tonight (weekdays 8PM/ET). He joined the network in 2009 as a contributor.

Excerpt from:
TUCKER CARLSON: The Democratic Party is replacing parents with itself - Fox News

Disclaimer: This story contains details of miscarriage which may be upsetting for some.

March 21st, 2022 was the best day of our lives. We adopted our middle daughter and our family was complete. But what got us there? Its easy to see all the highs of adoption, but few know all that goes into getting to that point.

Our story starts back in 2012, when Jared and I (Taylor) met at a softball game. Jared and I went to the same small high school in rural Indiana but did not know each other well as Jared was a few years older than me. After high school, I went to a softball game with a friend to watch her boyfriend play. I was then introduced to Jared and we became friends.

We started dating in the beginning of 2013, and we were engaged just before Christmas that year. We bought a house in May, adopted a couple dogs, and married July 26, 2014.

It was a quick engagement but we were both so confident in our decision and commitment to one another. Early on in our relationship we knew we wanted to have kids. We always envisioned having three or four kids and had always tossed around the idea of foster care and adoption, but were really enjoying just being married.

Two years after getting married, I found out I was pregnant! We were so excited and couldnt wait to begin our lives as parents. I had a relatively easy pregnancy and our daughter, Claire Kristine, was born December 6th, 2016. She was a perfect 9-pound baby, and we ooohed and ahhed over her for days. We quickly settled into our roles as parents and tried our best every day to raise Claire with love and kindness.

The sleepless nights were rough and the exhaustion was catching up with us, but nothing could wipe that new parent glow off our faces. Around Claires first birthday, we bought some land in our hometown and decided to build a home so we could raise Claire (and our future children we were dreaming of having) in the same small-town we grew up in.

We dreamt of farm animals, land to run on, unobstructed sunsets, and perfectly clear starry nights. We lived with my parents during the (longer than expected) building process and were beyond grateful for that opportunity, but were anxious to get back into our own house. We closed on our newly built home on Valentines Day 2019!

At this point in time, Claire was two years old and we had started getting the dreaded questions: Are you going to have more kids? Claire needs a brother or sister! Is she going to be an only child forever? We knew we wanted more kids and now that we were finally in our new house, we felt comfortable adding to our family.

After months of negative pregnancy tests, we were referred to a fertility clinic just to check on everything. The questions from well-meaning people started to hurt and I started to feel like there was something wrong with me. Maybe we would just have one child.

Lots of tests and blood work was done and I had a procedure scheduled. A week before the procedure I found out I was pregnant! I told Jared right away and we were beyond thrilled. I giddily called the fertility clinic and they asked me to come in so they could draw labs and check hormone levels. A couple days later I confidently walked into the clinic to have my blood drawn and was told my due date, June 14th 2020.

Not long after that, the bleeding started and my hormone levels dropped. I was having a very early miscarriage. My world shattered. What? A miscarriage? How is this fair? Didnt that baby know how loved they already were? Did God know how much we wanted this? We were doing everything right; this shouldnt be happening. But it was. Our very wanted child was gone and I was broken.

Thankfully, we were still working with the fertility clinic, had wonderfully supportive family and friends, and clung to our faith. All together they were helping us navigate how to move forward. I remember listening to the song Even If by MercyMe on repeat day after day, just trying to remind myself it would all be okay.

Several doctors appointments and trips to Chicago later, I was told my fallopian tubes were blocked and it was very unlikely I would have more children naturally. The doctor recommended IVF. The state of Indiana does not require health insurance companies to cover fertility treatment, so very few do. The cost, as so many families know, is extreme and it wasnt something we were ready to look into yet. After much prayer and discussion, we decided foster care was the right path for us.

Foster care wasnt a new subject for us. I grew up with an aunt and uncle who fostered children and ended up adopting 2 boys. I have cousins adopted from other countries. We had friends who fostered and we had talked about becoming foster parents in the past. Both of our families are extremely supportive and we knew we would have endless help on this journey.

Shortly after our miscarriage, we contacted our local DCS agency and started the literal mountain of paperwork. The paperwork is long and intense. The questions get personal and it took months to finish.

After we submitted our paperwork, a caseworker came over and studied our home. You talk about fire plans, how to properly store cleaning supplies, and they look into every part of your home and life. We took classes, were re-certified in CPR, had forms filled out and physicals done by our doctors, and asked for references to fill out forms for DCS. Once all of that was said and done, we each sat down separately with our caseworker and had a five-hour interview. Yes, you read that correctly, five hours.

In this interview they dove into our childhood, our past, our traumas, and the highs and lows of our life. They asked hypothetical questions, and attempted to learn every part of our life. Though it seemed daunting and excessive, I understand it now. If my child had to be placed in a strangers home (even if the reason for removal was my own doing) I would want to know they were staying with a family who could appropriately love and care for them.

I remember during one point of my interview, the very nice lady who was interviewing me asked why we wanted to foster and what we were hoping to gain from becoming foster parents. I explained our past fertility issues, the miscarriage, our desire to grow our family, and wanting to share the love we had to give with other children, even if it would only be for a short period of time.

The woman looked at me, gently placed her hand on mine, and said, I need you to know, you will get your heart broken. Not might, will. In this journey, your heart will shatter into a million pieces, things wont always go how you think they will, and your heart will break. Please reach out for help and get support to help you through those inevitable times. She wasnt saying that to scare me but rather to prepare me, and I often thought back to her words during our foster care time.

We became officially licensed foster parents in March of 2020, right at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Life went on and we didnt receive any phone calls for placements. We had specified we wanted to only foster children younger than our daughter for the time being; we felt that would be best for our family. DCS was more than happy to accommodate our wishes, but did let us know we might not get a call right away.

One month after becoming licensed, I found out I was pregnant again! Joy and fear filled our souls as we anxiously fumbled through the first trimester. Our fear began to subside as bloodwork showed rising hormone levels and we got to see our sweet babe on the ultrasound.

June 14th, 2021 came and it was a hard day. It was our miscarried babys due date and although I was pregnant again, I longed to have that baby in my arms. It was a Sunday and after church Claire and I went to watch Jareds weekly softball game. The game had barely started and my phone rang it was DCS.

I answered and they explained to me they were looking for a placement for a three-day old baby girl. Without even talking to Jared, I said yes. DCS told me to head to the hospital with a car seat for the baby and to have Jared go to the house to meet the social worker and go over everything for the placement. I pulled Jared out of the game and excitedly told him what was happening. He was completely on board and we all headed home to prepare.

As soon as I got home, I grabbed the infant car seat, gave Claire and Jared a hug and a kiss, then headed for the hospital while they stayed behind to wait for the social worker and prepare things for the baby. Upon arrival at the hospital, I was put in a room and told to wait.

A few minutes went by and the nurse wheeled in this tiny, precious 6-pound baby girl. I held her, rocked her, and told her how much I loved her while the nurse went over all the basic discharge information. During this process it hit me: I am in the hospital, holding a newborn baby, on my miscarried babys due date.

God knew what I needed and He provided, like He always does. After lots of paperwork, I carefully drove home and introduced Jared to our foster daughter and Claire to her foster sister, Addisyn.

Addie was such an easy baby and the love we felt for her was no different than the love we felt for our biological child. Our family fell in love with her just as quickly and they were all so helpful as we adjusted to life with a newborn again. Addie had visits with her biological mother on a regular basis as well as several court hearings. It was hard to get used to the ever-changing schedule of visits, court, and caseworkers stopping by but we managed.

Time was flying by and Addie was growing so quickly. Before we knew it, summer turned to fall and Thanksgiving was approaching. During various court hearings and conversations with our caseworker, talks of adoption began to happen. We tried not to get our hopes up, but we couldnt help it. The thought of adopting Addie made our hearts soar. We carried on and were so excited for the holiday season with Addie and the upcoming due date of our baby.

The day before Thanksgiving 2020, Claire and I were in the kitchen baking pies while Addie napped when my phone rang. It was our case worker telling me they needed a home for Addies older brother immediately. We were the only option and he would be at our house in a few hours.

We couldnt turn down a child in need of a home but we were in no way prepared for a 2-year-old boy! I frantically called my husband, my parents, family members, and a few friends, and cried to them as I tried to figure out what to do. (Eight-month pregnant Taylor was very overwhelmed at this point).

Jared came home from work, rearranged Addies room, and put together the extra bed we had in our basement. My dad went to the store to purchase a mattress and bedding. My mom and sister helped me pick up the house and get everything ready. My aunt and grandparents dropped off diapers, clothes, sippy cups, and toys (because this girl mom didnt have anything for a little boy!).

My boss and her husband dropped off more diapers, clothes, and shoes in a variety of sizes. My two best friends came over and made dinner, folded laundry, and reassured me everything would be okay. Our friends and family rallied together and made so much happen in such a short period of time. Ill never be able to appropriately express my gratitude toward them.

The sweetest little boy came to our home that night, scared and confused, but thanks to our amazing people, we had everything we needed to help make him feel comfortable and loved. The next few weeks were an absolute whirlwind. We often werent sure what was happening from one day to the next; we were just trying our best to make the world a little calmer for our kids.

We moved on with the busy holiday season, making it special for everyone in our home. We went Christmas shopping, cut down our Christmas tree, sent out Christmas cards, looked at the lights, and tried to soak up the magic of the holiday season.

A couple weeks into December, shortly after Claires 4th birthday, our caseworker called to tell us Addie and her brothers grandparents were going to be taking both kids. Our hearts sank, we couldnt speak. We knew these children might not be permanent members of our home, but that didnt ease the heartache.

We packed up all of the childrens belongings the best we could and spent every last second showering them with love. Addies brother left first as he already had a relationship with his grandparents. Addies grandparents graciously let us have a few extra days with her.

Over those days we finished packing up Addies whole life into Rubbermaid totes, taking her to see family and friends so they could say goodbye, and soaking up every last second with this perfect 6-month-old baby girl. We were fortunate enough to be able to meet Addies grandparents and actually drop her off at their house. While it didnt make saying goodbye any easier, it was nice to get to know the people who would be caring for her. They even agreed to exchange phone numbers so they could text us pictures and updates.

Claire, Jared, and I all gave Addie one last hug and kiss, as we sobbed getting back into the minivan we had purchased that summer to fit all of the kids. The heartbreak DCS warned us about was happening and it was awful.

Jared and I tried to get back to normal as quickly as possible in order to make things easier for Claire. She had been through a lot over the last six months and we didnt want her to be any more sad or confused than she already was.

The three of us enjoyed a nice Christmas, prepared for the arrival of our second biological baby, and thought about Addie every single day. We were able to stay in touch with her grandparents on a semi-regular basis but we missed her like no other.

We decided to be listed as on hold with DCS as we grieved our last placement, and to give us time to adjust when our baby arrived. January 15, 2022, I gave birth to another beautiful baby girl, Piper Kate. She was the sweetest baby and she healed our hearts.

Claire was loving being a big sister again, but often asked if we would always get to keep this baby. Jared and I reassured her Piper was here to stay, forever. We carried on as a family of four, getting into a routine, and enjoying every moment (except maybe not the ones when Piper was screaming nonstop).

In April, when Piper was four months old, Addies grandparents reached out to us. They asked if we would be willing to take Addie back into our home and family. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, they felt it was best if we raised her, but they would still like to be a part of her life. We said we would absolutely love to foster her again and they would 100% be involved as grandparents.

We talked to and arranged everything with DCS, and a few weeks later Addie moved back in. Our home was so full of joy! Life was hard but so incredibly full. It took time and a lot of support from our family and friends. We slowly settled into our roles as parents of three girls.

In the following months we had lots of court dates, caseworker visits, and Addie had visits with her biological family just like before but things were a bit different this time. Addies permanency plan was changed to adoption. We were cautiously hopeful.

That winter our caseworker advised us to hire an attorney and start getting paperwork ready to adopt Addisyn. We found an amazing attorney to represent us and she began drawing up everything we would need for adoption.

During this time we began to develop a relationship with Addies birth mom. I sent her pictures and updates periodically and she mailed us letters to give to Addie when she is older. She expressed her gratitude to us for caring for sweet Addie and we did our best to express our gratitude to her for blessing us with such an amazing little girl, though theres no way to every thank her for that beautiful gift.

March 21st, 2022, we gathered in a courtroom to officially make Addisyn our daughter. The room was filled with people we love: parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, caseworkers, and even Addies biological grandparents. We hired a photographer to capture every moment of this special day so we would never forget.

We promised to love, care for, and provide for Addisyn, just as we would Claire and Piper, for her entire life. There were tears, smiles, fist bumps, and cheers because Addisyn was officially an Emmons! Addisyn Kay Jean Emmons, forever.

Our days are chaotic but full of love. Claire is 5, Addie is 2, and Piper is 1.5. They wear Jared and I out every single day, but we wouldnt have it any other way. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would have daughters just seven months apart in age, but God had other plans for our family!

Our foster care license is temporarily suspended so we can focus on our three young children and not losing our sanity. Im not sure what the future looks like for us as foster parents, but we love to help any way we can. There is a great need for loving people in the foster care system and even if you cant foster, you can still help. Adopt, foster, donate, or volunteer. Everybody can do something to make the world a little brighter for our future.

This article was submitted to Love What Matters by Taylor Emmons of Rolling Prairie, IN. You can follow her on Instagram. Join the Love What Matters family and subscribe to our newsletter.

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They chose us. Theyre coming in two hours!: Couple shares unexpected sibling adoption from foster care

We got a call for an 8-month-old boy. There were no details. If were going to do it, we might as well just do it!: Woman details journey becoming foster parents

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Orphan: First Kill, directed by William Brent Bell (The Boy, Brahms: The Boy II), was released in 2022 and is a prequel to the 2009 flick, Orphan. Like its predecessor, First Kill follows the exploits of the murderous Leena (Isabelle Fuhrman), a 31-year-old woman with a hormonal disorder called hypopituitarism that gives her the appearance of a 10-year-old child. Leena uses this to her advantage, scheming her way into different families who have a first date with their Maker once the gloves (or in this case, the teeth) come off and Leena reveals her true intentions. While the story is loosely based on a case in real life, the campy set-up suggests a film that doesnt take itself too seriously and audiences shouldnt either. Note: I will be discussing spoilers from Orphan and Orphan: Kill, so consider this your official spoiler warning.

Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther in Orphan: First Kill from Paramount Players, eOne, and Dark Castle Entertainment. Photo Credit: Steve Ackerman/Paramount Pictures

Orphan: First Kill has the benefit of leaning into all the campy elements in the first film, which had to play them off as slightly more serious and presented Leena as a straightforward villain. I think the first film is well-made, definitely thrilling, and pretty shocking with some of the material it presents, and not just with Leenas twist. However, First Kill is where the fun begins and it centers the attention directly on Leena rather than the family shes infiltrating.

First Kill opens with Lena staging her escape from the Saarne Institute by seducing one of the guards and killing the institutes art therapist Anna. Because audiences are already familiar with the twist, First Kill wastes no time in presenting Leena as a homicidal, but calculated maniac. Leena researches missing American children with whom she bears a resemblance, choosing to pass herself off as Esther.

Within no time and hardly any investigation later, Esther is the in the states with her family the Albrights: mother Tricia (Julia Stiles), father Allen (Rossif Sutherland), and their son Gunnar (Matthew Finlan). Julia Stiles steals the spotlight as the matriarch of the Albright clan, and while Vera Farmigas character in Orphan was beaten down and broken by tragedy, Stiles Tricia is the opposite: calculated, cruel, manipulative, and straight-up evil.

You see, the twist of First Kill is that Julia was responsible for killing her own daughter Esther and staging her kidnapping to protect the reputation of her equally as awful son Gunnar. Leenas arrival as Esther presents Julia with an unexpected opportunity, to save her marriage with her unaware husband and position her family back to the top of the social ladder. Julia wastes no time in letting Leena know shes on to her, suddenly forcing the audience to take Leenas side as she faces off against someone whos just as manipulative and cruel.

First Kill takes the psychological elements present in Orphan and turns them on their head for a ridiculous slasher film that allows itself to have fun with its premise. Sure the film might have some plot holes and other elements worth critiquing, but at the end of the day, its an entertaining outing with Esther, who I would love to see in more films. A certain suspension of disbelief is required when tuning in to films like Orphan: First Kill.

Sometimes its okay to have fun with a movie and relax the expectation that each new film will break the mold or be the next huge thing. To be honest, I was grinning the entire movie because its just what I like in a horror flick, unapologetic fun, and off-the-rails insanity.

Orphan: First Kill is currently streaming on Paramount+.

Do you think Orphan: First Kill deserves a spot on your October watch list? Tell us why or why not in the comments section.

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31 days of horror movies: Orphan: First Kill is a reminder to have fun with movies - 1428 Elm

The fourth edition of the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of urogenital tumours (WHO "blue book"), published in 2016, contains significant revisions. These revisions were performed after consideration by a large international group of pathologists with special expertise in this area. A subgroup of these persons met at the WHO Consensus Conference in Zurich, Switzerland, in 2015 to finalize the revisions. This review summarizes the most significant differences between the newly published classification and the prior version for renal, penile, and testicular tumours. Newly recognized epithelial renal tumours are hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) syndrome-associated RCC, succinate dehydrogenase-deficient RCC, tubulocystic RCC, acquired cystic disease-associated RCC, and clear cell papillary RCC. The WHO/International Society of Urological Pathology renal tumour grading system was recommended, and the definition of renal papillary adenoma was modified. The new WHO classification of penile squamous cell carcinomas is based on the presence of human papillomavirus and defines histologic subtypes accordingly. Germ cell neoplasia in situ (GCNIS) of the testis is the WHO-recommended term for precursor lesions of invasive germ cell tumours, and testicular germ cell tumours are now separated into two fundamentally different groups: those derived from GCNIS and those unrelated to GCNIS. Spermatocytic seminoma has been designated as a spermatocytic tumour and placed within the group of non-GCNIS-related tumours in the 2016 WHO classification.

Patient summary: The 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) classification contains new renal tumour entities. The classification of penile squamous cell carcinomas is based on the presence of human papillomavirus. Germ cell neoplasia in situ of the testis is the WHO-recommended term for precursor lesions of invasive germ cell tumours.

Keywords: Male genital organs; Urogenital tract; WHO classification.

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The 2016 WHO Classification of Tumours of the Urinary System and Male ...

Most species of squirrels -- rodents that inhabit various regions across the globe -- can be grouped as tree or ground squirrels. Information about each groups behaviors and physical traits provides insight needed to determine whether the squirrel of that group is male or female. The sex of a squirrel is difficult to determine if attempting to go by obvious physical characteristics, because male and female squirrels are usually of the same size, shape and color.

Both male and female squirrels are communal, interacting with other squirrels within their immediate living area. However, the nesting habits of male and female tree squirrels differ. Males can be observed nesting together during winter months. It is uncommon for some female tree squirrels, such as fox squirrels, to nest together. An adult squirrel observed interacting with a litter is likely to be the mother of the litter. Male squirrels of any kind do not participate in the rearing process.

Female ground squirrels emerge from hibernation later than their male counterparts. For this reason, ground squirrels observed the soonest after a hibernation period are more likely to be male. Juvenile ground squirrel males exhibit much more movement, exploration and boldness compared to juvenile females. In accordance with this increased movement and exploration, all male juvenile ground squirrels leave the area in which they are born by the time they are one year old. Female ground squirrels stay near the burrows they were born in and form communes with other related females.

The squirrel mating ritual involves a single male or multiple males chasing a female. The males also compete with each other by chasing each other. The most dominant male is the one who typically mates with the female first. The female will sometimes mate with additional suitors afterwards. For some species of tree squirrels, the mating window is so short that the female only remains in estrus, the period of time when pregnancy is possible, for a few hours.

Certain telltale traits of male and female squirrels emerge during the mating season. The scrotum of male squirrels becomes visible because it enlarges and descends. During non-mating periods, the testes are withdrawn into the body. The nipples of adult female squirrels become more prominent during the mating season. The location of the genitals differs between male and female squirrels. The male reproductive organs are located closer to the navel, while the females' are located closer to the anus.

To prevent injury to themselves or the rodents, people should avoid attempting to handle wild squirrels. Feeding squirrels with human food or even a squirrel feeder is discouraged for several reasons. These reasons include accidentally providing food for invasive species, diminishing squirrels' protective fear of humans or providing unhealthy food to the squirrels.

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How to Tell If a Squirrel Is Male or Female | Sciencing

Since the dawn of civilization, people have searched for the secret to long life. Famously, Gianni Pes, Michel Poulain and Dan Buettner proposed that diet drives a persons longevity. Other researchers have favored a genetics based explanation for longevity. Recently, a study published in Science found that a mouses genes determine its lifespan, and that there are human orthologs, or analogous genes. The study also found that female and male mice have different genes controlling their lifespans, which is interesting considering that female mice have longer lifespans. The study firmly lands on the side of those who have argued that genes directly determine lifespan. This means that reducing the risk of disease alone is not enough to increase longevity.

While the idea of aging is universal, in scientific terms, it does not have a precise measure. Much as Socrates asked us to investigate the real meaning of widely discussed concepts, scientists have had to work out ways to measure aging, and, this implies, asking what aging really is. Broadly, as the authors of the study note, it is a progressive decline in physical, mental and reproductive capacities, in which a person accumulates morbidities and the risk of dying increases. However, it is not known what the exact interplay is between genes, sex and environment, in determing lifespan.

Researchers have measured aging through a number of traits, such as lifespan, and age-related disease onset. Researchers believe that if they can figure out what the genetic and nongenetic drivers of longevity are, they can develop treatments to improve not just quality of life, but longevity.

A team of scientists led by Robert Williams, looked at the determinants of longevity in 3276 UM-HET3 mice, a type of, or genetically diverse mice that the National Institute on Agings (NIA) Interventions Testing Program (ITP) had been studying. The NIAs TIP had collected this data in 2003, when they were trying to see if dietary interventions would affect the longevity of mice. The mice were raised in closely controlled, homogeneous conditions, and the program collected tissue from them, so they could isolate the impact of genes on the lifespan of mice. The diversity of mice was a result of the need to mirror the diversity in the human genepool. Typically, mice do tend to inbreed, and this warps studies on longevity.

The NIAs TIP did not study the genetic drivers of longevity, and that is the point at which Robert WIlliams and his team began their study. The team were charged with figuring out whether the genetic drivers of longevity are related to sex and age, and whether the nongenetic drivers, such as litter size, or having a good diet from early in life, was important to longevity. In studying these drivers, they were able to classify the changes in liver gene expression of mice in the same genetic cross, according to whether they were driven by age or genotype. The last step in the study was to bring those results together with the orthogonal or itnesecting datasets, to undertake quantitative trait locus mapping, associating phenotypes with genotypes. This would allow the team to figure out which genes are associated with increased longevity.

The team was able to determine genetic loci important for longevity. Sevel of these loci were found in female mice, but, at first, no genetic loci linked specifically to longevity in male mice, were found. When the scientists removed the data for male mice who died at the beginning of the study, they then found genetic loci associated specifically with longevity in male mice. They also found that the factors such as body weight and litter size also impact longevity. For instance, mice with larger body weights and who grew up in smaller litters, died earlier. Consequently, genes linked to body weight and litter size could arguably be linked to longevity. Longevity could be indirectly impacted by the effect of these genes on those factors. However, it is important to note that not all longevity genes are correlated with those factors, opening up the door to the possibility that there are other genes influencing longevity.

The goal of this study was to say something meaningful about longevity in humans, so the study then went to human genome biobanks, and the researchers found sequences that mirrored those in mice. In addition, there was a similar relationship between early development and longevity. They then looked at genes in worms, to see if a similar relationship existed, and if broader conclusions could be drawn about the association of these genes and longevity. Ultimately, they concluded that genes are the primary determinants of longevity.

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The Genetic Drivers Of Longevity In Mice, Humans And Worms - Science 2.0

When youre trying to conceive or dealing with fertility issues, it may be tempting to reach for one of the many supplements marketed to boost male fertility. However, research on the safety and efficacy of these supplements is limited.

Since supplements arent regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the way medications are, it can be challenging to know if a supplement contains what it says it does, and what effect it will have on the body, explains Philip Cheng, M.D., a male infertility doctor and urologist with Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey. In order to get the nutrients you need to support healthy sperm production, he recommends focusing on a healthy diet.

Research suggests the following supplements may improve sperm quality, especially if you arent getting enough of the nutrients they provide through your dietbut remember, its always a good idea to check with your physician before adding new supplements to your regimen to avoid interactions with any medications you are taking.

Research notes Coenzyme Q10, also known as ubiquinol, is one of the most studied and promising supplements for improving male fertility. Coenzyme Q10 is an antioxidant naturally produced in your body and stored in your mitochondria (the energy factories in your cells). Its antioxidant properties may help protect sperm from damaging free radicals.

One review found that men who supplemented with CoQ10 experienced significant increases in sperm concentration and sperm motility compared to those who took a placebo.

Russell Hayden, M.D., a Harvard-trained urologist with a sub-specialty in male infertility and microsurgery, recommends 300 milligrams to 400 milligrams of a generic coenzyme Q10 supplement daily to his male infertility patients.

When it comes to supplements for male fertility, DHA omega-3 fatty acid supplementation appears to have some of the strongest data supporting its use, says Lauren Manaker, a registered dietitian and author of Fueling Male Fertility.

Fatty acids like docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are important components of sperm cell membranes, and omega-3 fatty acid intake directly correlates to sperm qualityso the more you consume, you may have higher quality of sperm.

A recent review on the effects of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA on male infertility found that men who took omega-3 treatments had significantly increased sperm motility compared with men who took a placebo.

If your intake of omega-3s from foods like fatty fish, walnuts, chia and flax seeds is low, you might benefit from taking a supplement.

Women who are trying to conceive are routinely advised to take a prenatal vitamin, but mens prenatals are starting to become popular as well, notes licensed dietitian Becca Romero, a functional nutritionist specializing in fertility. She recommends mens prenatal multivitamins WeNatal For Him and Needed to her patients.

WeNatal For Him is a prenatal supplement for men that is formulated to support overall sperm health. It contains a range of vitamins and minerals along with other ingredients and antioxidants that are marketed to boost male fertility, like maca, CoQ10 and acetyl L-carnitine.

Needed Mens Multi is recommended for men before conceiving and in the years that follow. It contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals, as well as an organic antioxidant blend of foods like grape, cranberry, pomegranate, blueberry, apple, mangosteen, bilberry, chokeberry and goji berry.

A male prenatal multivitamin can fill any nutrition gaps in your diet and help you avoid deficiencies that could impact your sperm quality. When choosing a mens prenatal supplement, steer clear of formulations that contain unstudied ingredients or excessive amounts of vitamins and minerals.

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A Guide To The Best Fertility Supplements And Vitamins For Men - Forbes

House of the Dragon fans were left scratching their heads last week when the children of a Targaryen and Velaryon union had dark hair.

Viewers saw how the children of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan) were fair skinned, brunette ladsthe complete antithesis of their platinum haired parents.

Laenor also happens to be black, adding further mystery to the children's appearance.

House of the Dragon quickly explains the anomaly, revealing the boys were the result of Rhaenyra's affair with Ser Harwin Strong.

In George R. R. Martin's book upon which House of the Dragon and its predecessor Game of Thrones are based, the Targaryens are described as having silver-gold hair with purple eyes that was so distinct it almost looked white thanks to their Valyrian heritage.

Even knowing the boys' true lineage, their brunette coloring still does not entirely explain why their mother's half-siblingsAegon II (Ty Tennant), Helaena (Evie Allen) and Aemond (Leo Ashton)sport the trademark Targaryen blondeness.

They are also the products of a mixed-race union, that of King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), a very brunette queen.

In fact, another famous Targaryen from the original Game of Thrones series, Jon Snow (Kit Harrington), was well known for his luscious locks of dark curly hair.

Born as Aegon Targaryen, Snow was the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, a fact only revealed towards the final episodes of the HBO series.

Plenty of fans have theorized over the years as to why some of the most important Targaryens are not blonde at all.

Using 'real world' genetics they analyzed how it would be possible for some mixed race Targaryens are born fair-haired while others do not.

The fans used genome knowledge of dominant and recessive genes to make their conclusions. A dominant gene "refers to the relationship between two versions of a gene," according to the National Genome Research Institute.

Individuals receive two versions of each gene from each of their parents and if the genes differ, the dominant gene will present in their offspring, whether it be in hair color, susceptibility to disease, or other markers.

Fans concluded the Targaryen genes were recessive, but when it came to children of a Targaryen male and non-Valyrian mother their first would be born with darker features, while subsequent offspring were blonde.

"Targaryen males somehow transfer Targaryen traits to their wives and lovers, so second child of the couple inherits Targaryen traits from both mother and father and has Valyrian look. Targaryen genes are somehow "infectious," wrote one fan on a Game of Thornes forum.

This theory works well to explain Snow's dark hair, but is not conclusive because the law of recessive and dominant genes do not seem to be applied consistently across Westeros.

Game of Thrones blogger, Lady Knits A Lot, pointed out that in the original books, three of the five children of Ned and Catelyn Stark were born with the "'Tully look' of red hair and blue eyes, and both of these traits are recessive traits."

"[But] Ned's parents, grandparents and damn near the entire North are described as dark haired and grey eyed," they added.

"So maybe recessive traits are a furphy that we should ignore in Westeros?"

This point was reinforced by Robert Oliver, co-host of The Longest Night podcast dedicated to talking all things Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.

Oliver told Newsweek the inconsistencies across the shows come down to the fact that how these characters look is key to a plot point.

Rhaenyra's children prove she had an affair, and Jon's very dark hair helped hide the fact he was a Targaryen until the final season.

"It's just storytelling, it needs to be done to move a plot forward," he told Newsweek.

In the case of the House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra's children portrayed as brunette are critical to the conflict which is about to ensue within the dynasty.

"For the purposes of the show, I think what it's doing is it's helpful for Alicent who is trying to implore and impress upon everybody that surrounds her that Rhynaera is not worthy and her children aren't worthy," she said.

"And that it's her children [Alicent's] who should rule after Viserys."

Oliver's assertion comes after Martin himself admitted things don't always add up in the books or series, because it's a fictional world.

"What the fans have to keep in mind... but we're making this s**t up," he told the History of Westeros YouTube channel.

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Why Not All 'House of the Dragon' Mixed Race Targaryens Are Blonde - Newsweek

Like a few other plant species, cannabis plants can be male or female and sometimes hermaphrodite. For growers of these dioecious plants, its crucial to determine their gender on time.

To the untrained eye, these plant genders have no obvious differences. However, expert growers can identify some early tell-tale signs of the plants gender.

Thus, contrary to popular belief, you can tell a plants gender even before its flowering. After a while of growing cannabis plants, it becomes easier to tell which of your plants are male and female.

Even after four weeks of germination, while plants are still in a vegetative phase, some signs could help you identify the gender of your cannabis plants. The difference between both genders is apparent in the appearance of their pre-flowers, just 3 to 6 weeks after germination.

The gender of a cannabis plant would determine its potency. Female cannabis plants grow highly resinous buds that are rich in cannabinoids such as delta-9 THC. On the other hand, male cannabis plants have low levels of THC.Some of the delta-9 THC products include delta-9 gummies, vapes and tablets.

For this reason, many growers focus on growing only female plants. Growers would prefer the entire crop to be female cannabis to prevent seed production due to male and female plant fertilization.

Plants that have been fertilized have a lower cannabinoid content than unfertilized female plants. With fertilized female buds, youll find more seeds in the crop and fewer THC-rich buds.

The seedless female plant, Sinsemilla, is loved by many for its high THC content and for the duration of time it keeps producing buds.

Some growers use feminized seeds to ensure that every one of their plants is female. If you plant regular cannabis seeds, your harvest will likely be equal parts male and female.

An important identifier of the male cannabis plant is that it does not produce buds. Instead of buds, the sex organ of these male marijuana plants produces pollen sacs. These pollen sacs are responsible for fertilizing the female buds to produce seeds.

Growers do all to avoid having seedy female buds, as these buds produce poor-quality cannabis. This cannabis is not potent and has low levels of cannabinoids. Growers are wary of this situation.

Thus, they always remove the male and hermaphrodite cannabis plants from the crop. If you do this early enough, you can protect your female buds and reap a bountiful harvest.

During a cannabis first sign of flowering stage, you can identify a female plant by its buds. The plants teardrop-shaped buds begin to produce white hairy strands called stigma.

These stigmas protrude from the buds of a female plant, forming a part of the female reproductive organ (pistil). The pistils are located at the plants node, which is the point where the branches grow out of the plants stalks.

These wispy white hairs appear four to six weeks after germinating a cannabis plant. Over time, the white hairs begin to get darker.

Depending on several factors, the female plants pistils and stigma can grow at the top or lower regions of the marijuana plant. However, it is more common to see them growing at the top part of the plant, close to the light source.

The sex organs of the male and female cannabis plants differ significantly. You can identify that a cannabis plant is male as early as four weeks after germinating. This is unlike the female plant that often gets to six weeks before revealing its sex.

Unlike female plants, male cannabis plants produce pollen sacs. These sacs are situated at the points between the nodes and the plants stalk. At first, these sacs appear to look like female buds.

However, they do not have the white hairs that female sacs are known to produce. Also, the male pre-flowers often resemble the shape of a spade, unlike young female buds that have a teardrop shape.

Besides these, there are other morphological features that each plant produces that can help you easily identify their gender. One of these identifiers is the length of the plant. More often than not, male plants tend to grow taller than female marijuana plants.

Also, the stalks of the male marijuana plant would be much thicker to provide support for the plants weight. Generally, a female plant would look shorter and bushier than a male plant.

These attributes are, however, not a conclusive way to identify gender. Some conditions could cause your plant not to appear how it should. The surest way to identify your plants gender remains by the appearance of buds or pollen sacs.

Certain conditions can cause a cannabis plant to become hermaphrodite. Such a plant would have both male and female reproductive organs. Deficiencies in nutrients, disease and other stressful conditions can often lead to a plant forming both sex organs.

The first way to identify a hermaphrodite plant is when it grows both male pollen sacs and female buds. Another sign is when anthers begin to grow among the plants buds. An anther has a yellowish color and is shaped like a banana.

These anthers are capable of fertilizing the female plant as soon as they start forming. Thus, its important to look out for any appearance of anthers in your female crop and trim them off to protect your female plants.

Inspecting your female plants to ensure they do not have male sacs is crucial, as this could lead to self-pollination. Its essential to do this, as even just one hermaphrodite plant can pollinate your entire crop of plants and reduce the quality of your yield.

Even to expert growers, it is impossible to tell the gender of a seed by simply looking at it. The only way to tell its gender is to plant it and wait some weeks for it to mature. The growth of buds or sacs will help you easily identify your male and female plants.

However, some seeds called feminized seeds are bred to grow only female plants. You can even grow some of the top rated CBD strains or weed strains to sell them and earn profit. Thus, if you acquire feminized cannabis seeds from a reputable vendor, you are certain to grow female plants.

Note, however, that it is possible for a small percentage of feminized seeds to sprout hermaphrodite plants. This might be a result of less-than-ideal growing conditions and genetics.

All in all, always ensure to check your female crops frequently to ensure that none are becoming hermaphrodites. If you purchase feminized seeds, also ensure to check your crop to ensure that your vendor mistakenly added no male seeds to the feminized seeds.

Chemical leaf testing has become a popular means of identifying the gender of a cannabis plant. Its become a popular alternative to visual inspection, as the plants can take up to six weeks to reveal their gender.

A chemical test can be carried out on the plants leaves to determine its gender just a few days after germinating.

This chemical test involves the use of DNA and can identify other features of the plant, like its cannabinoid content. Chemical tests have become the go-to choice for expert growers who wish to identify their plants gender early.

To reduce the likelihood of producing hermaphrodite plants, avoid any stress and triggers when the plant is flowering.

To ensure optimal growing conditions, you should observe perfect hygiene and use a balanced nutrient solution to water the plants.

Some growers will retain their male plants for genetic pool diversity. Inbreeding plants and self-pollination can increase the future probability of hermaphrodite plants.

Thus, some growers might keep male plants for that purpose. However, it would be best if you did not keep the male plants close to the female or handle the female plant after contacting pollen grains.

These male plants also produce some terpenes that are great for pest control. Unlike female flowers, male flowers could also contain limited amounts of cannabinoids like CBD and THC and can be used to make hashish.

If you are a hobbyist or expert cannabis grower, you already know that female plants are the most desirable. They produce high-quality cannabis rich in cannabinoids like THC. Thus, its necessary to find out the gender of your plants on time.

Wispy white hairs on the nodes of your plant signify a female cannabis plant, while pollen sacs signify a male plant. However, since these signs can take up to six weeks to show, you might want to consider chemical leaf testing.

All in all, ensure to check your crop often to identify male or hermaphrodite plants and cut them off.

Multiplex Content Recommendation - 1

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Early Signs Of Male Plant And Female Plant-How To Identify The Difference? - The Island Now

Identification of the CYCD and CDK gene families in Populus tomentosa

To identify CYCD and CDK genes in P. tomentosa, hidden Markov models (HMMs) and Blastp were used to query the whole genome. After the elimination of redundant sequences and examination of domains, we finally identified 43 CYCD and 27 CDK family members (Table S1). A phylogenetic tree was constructed with 24 CYCD and 18 CDK in Populus trichocarpa (PtrCYCD and PtrCDK) to classify and name the successfully identified members12 (Fig.1). Results showed that 47 PotomCYCDs were divided into six subclasses, of which 12, 4, 10, 6, 9 and 2 members belonged to D1, D2/4, D3, D5, D6 and D7 subclasses, respectively. A total of 27 PotomCDKs were divided into seven subclasses, which belonged to 2 members of the CDKA subclass, 1 member of the CDKB subclass, 5 members of the CDKC subclass, 4 members of the CDKD subclass, 4 members of the CDKE subclass, 2 members of the CDKF subclass, and 9 members of the CDKG subclass. The identified members of the P. tomentosa gene family were named in accordance with the gene family members of P. trichocarpa. Considering that P. tomentosa is an allodiploid, a was added to the name of the gene searched from subgenome A (PtA), and b was added to the name of the gene searched from subgenome D (PtD). In phylogenetic tree analysis, most of genes had their alleles with close relationships. However, we found PotomCYCD6;3a was closer to the orthologs gene PtrCYCD6;3 rather than its allele PotomCYCD6;3b. This phenomenon was also found between PotomCYCD3;5, PotomCYCD5;1, PotomCYCD7;1, PotomCDKA;1, PotomCDKE;1 and PotomCDKF;1 and there corresponding orthologs, which revealed that these alleles differentiated during the evolutionary process. An interesting finding was that a small number genes PotomCYCD6;2b, PotomCDKG;2a, PotomCDKC;2a, PotomCDKC3;b, PotomCDKC4;b and PotomCDKB1;1a were lack of their alleles. We speculated that it was the chromosomal variation and transposon insertion that resulted in the loss of these alleles. All these evidences indicated that PotomCYCDs and PotomCDKs were both conserved and differentiated.

Phylogenetic tree analysis of D-type cyclin (CYCD) and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) gene family in P. tomentosa and P. trichocarpa. A PotomCYCA gene from P. tomentosa genome was selected as an outgroup gene. (a) Phylogenetic tree analysis of 43 PotomCYCDs and 22 PtrCYCDs. All CYCDs were classified into six distinct groups on the basis of the subfamily of P. trichocarpa CYCDs (from D1 to D7) and were distinguished by different colours. (b) Phylogenetic tree analysis of 27 PotomCDKs and 18 PtrCDKs. All CDKs were classified into seven distinct groups on the basis of the subfamily of P. trichocarpa CDKs (from CDKA to CDKG) and were distinguished by different colours.

To analyse the sequence differences of alleles from different subgenome, we analysed the protein sequence identity of all members of the two gene families. Results showed that in the PotomCYCD gene family, PotomCYCD1;3a and PotomCYCD1;3b (99.0%) had the highest sequence similarity, and PotomCYCD1;2a and PotomCYCD1;2b (80.6%) had the lowest sequence similarity (Table S2). In the PotomCDK gene family, the highest sequence similarity was PotomCDKE;2a and PotomCDKE;2b (99.5%), and the lowest sequence similarity was PotomCDKA;1a and PotomCDKA;1b (82.4%, Table S3). At the same time, we also investigated the basic characteristics of the two family members, such as their AA length, isoelectric point (PI), molecular weight (MW), and subcellular localization (Table S4). Results showed that the AA length of PotomCYCD gene family varied from 256 to 408 AA. The largest protein was PotomCYCD2;1b (45.24kDa), and the smallest protein was PotomCYCD6;2b (29.51kDa). The PI of most CYCD proteins varied around 57. Subcellular localisation prediction results indicated that all PotomCYCD proteins were located in the nucleus. The difference was that the basic characteristics of different subclasses of proteins in the PotomCDK gene family varied remarkably, but the characteristics of different members of the same subclass were relatively similar. The CDKG subclass (except PotomCDKG;2a) had the largest protein (78.6589.63kDa), and the CDKA and CDKB subclasses had the smallest protein (33.7936.53kDa). Although PotomCDKG;2a is only 117aa in length, it contains part of the conserved domains required by CDK, and it is speculated that it might not be functional due to its short length or mutated during evolution. The protein PIs of different CDK subclasses different but were very similar in the same subclass. Subcellular localisation prediction results showed that all PotomCDK proteins were located in the nucleus and that PotomCDKA;1b might also be located in the cytoplasm. PotomCDKG;4b might also be located in the cell membrane and cytoplasm. PotomCDKG;5a might also be located in the cell membrane.

Gene structural diversity and conserved motif divergence are possible mechanisms for the evolution of multigene families43. To further study the gene and protein structure of the CYCD and CDK gene family, we analysed the number and distribution of exons. The results of gene structure analysis showed that the structures of PotomCYCD genes were similar and that the number of exons varied from 4 to 7. The number of exons in the D3 subclass was 4, and the number of exons in other subclasses except PotomCYCD2;1b and PotomCYCD2;2a was 5 or 6 (Fig.2a). The results of the gene structure analysis of PotomCDK genes showed that the number of exons in CDK ranged from 1 to 13. The gene structure amongst members of the same subclass was relatively conserved. For example, none of the four members of CDKE were introns. Amongst the nine members of CDKG, eight members consisted of 1 long exon and 5/6 short exons. A high number of exons were found in CDKA and CDKC, whereas only 3 exons were observed in the CDKF subclass (Fig.2c).

Gene structure and conserved motif compositions of PotomCYCDs and PotomCDKs. (a) Exon/intron structures of PotomCYCDs. (b) Architecture of conserved protein motifs of PotomCYCDs. (c) Exon/intron structures of PotomCDKs. Yellow boxes and black lines indicate exons and introns, respectively, at each CYCD and CDK gene. (d) Architectures of conserved protein motifs of PotomCDKs. These coloured boxes indicate distinct motifs and their corresponding positions in each CYCD and CDK protein sequence. The detailed characteristics of each motif are shown in Table S5.

To elucidate the distribution of the motifs in CYCD and CDK proteins and their function, ten types of motifs and their distributions of CYCDs and CDKs were predicted using the MEME program (Fig.2). Our results indicated that CYCDs contained similar motif types. However, some differences existed amongst different subclasses. Motifs 15 were contained in all subclasses. Motif 6 was unique to D1 and D2/4 subclasses. Motifs 7 and 8 were contained in most subclasses except D5 and D7. Motif 9 was only D7 subclass Class missing. Motif 10 was included in most subclasses except D1 and D2/4 (Fig.2b). In the CDK gene family, motif 1, 2 and 68 were included in all subclasses. Motif 3 was included in most subclasses except CDKA and CDKB. Motif 4 was not found in CDKA subclasses. Motif 5 was not found in CDKF. Motif 9 was only found in CDKE and CDKG subclasses. Motif 10 was unique to CDKG (Fig.2d). Some interesting findings appeared in some alleles. The PotomCYCD5;1a has one more exon than its allele PotomCYCD5;1b and motif 3 presented in the former but not the latter. PotomCYCD6;2b without allele was lack of motif 7 when comparing to other PotomCYCD6. PotomCDKB1;1a, the only one member in PotomCDKB, had almost the same motifs but an extra motif 4 than the PotomCDKA;1. PotomCDKC;4b was lack of the motif 3 and motif 5 when comparing to other PotomCDKC. These findings revealed that some special alleles might have different gene structures and conserved motifs leading to different functions.

At the same time, we analysed the domains and conserved motifs of CYCDs. LxCxE is a key motif for CYCD binding to RBR33. The PEST sequence, a region full of P(Pro), E(Glu), S(Ser) and T(Thr), might result in itself degradation and were often found in D-type cyclins32,33,34. Results showed that all PotomCYCD proteins had Cyclin_N and Cyclin_C domains. No LxCxE motif was observed in the CYCD6 subclass, and the LxCxE motif existed in other subclass proteins. Most CYCD proteins had the PEST motif, but the position of the PEST motif was not fixed (Fig. S1). Multiple sequence alignment with P. trichocarpa CDK gene family proteins showed that their conserved domains were highly consistent with their orthologous proteins in P. trichocarpa (File S1). Amongst them, CDKA had PSTAIRE, CDKB had PPTALRE or PPTTLRE, CDKC had PITAIRE, CDKE had SPTAIRE, and CDKG had PLTSLRE9. However, PotomCDKC;3b and PotomCDKC;4b were not observed with this characteristic motif.

Specific cis-element motifs can be recognised by transcription factors and participate in gene expression regulation. To further study the potential regulatory mechanisms of PotomCYCDs and PotomCDKs in a diversified biological process, particularly in plant hormones and specific expression, 2.0kb upstream sequences from the translation start sites of CYCD and CDK genes were submitted to the PlantCARE database to detect cis-elements. Results showed that the types and numbers of various cis-acting elements of genes in PotomCYCDs and PotomCDKs were similar, thereby implying their functional relatedness. Multiple hormone-responsive elements, such as ABA responsive (DRE1, ABRE, ABRE2, ABRE3a, ABRE4, TCA-element), auxin and/or salicylic acid activation (as-1), auxin responsive (TGA-element), ethylene responsive (ERE), gibberellin responsive (GARE-motif, P-box, TATC-box) and MeJA responsive (CGTCA-motif, TGACG-motif) elements, were found in cis-acting elements in two gene families. Cis-acting element prediction results showed that the two gene families had similar responses to hormones and had the most responsive elements responsive to ABA followed by ethylene responsive. The numbers and positions of various hormone responsive elements on the promoters of each gene are shown in the Fig. S2S3. In the CYCD gene family, the numbers of ABA responsive and ethylene responsive elements in the D7 subclass with only 2 members were 13 and 10, respectively, but no gibberellin responsive and auxin responsive elements were found in the D7 subclass, which might suggest that the D7 The subclass predominantly responded to ABA and ethylene. The number of MeJA responsive elements in the D5 subclass with 6 members was 18, which was the largest amongst all subclasses. This result might suggest that the D5 subclass predominantly responded to MeJA. In the D6 subclass with only 9 members, 16 Gibberellin responsive elements were found, accounting for the largest proportion and suggesting that the D6 subclass predominantly responded to gibberellin. The auxin responsive element was found in all D1D5 subclasses but not in D6 and D7 subclasses (Fig. S2). In the CDK gene family, the number of ABA and ethylene responsive elements in CDKD subclasses with only 4 members was as high as 20 and 17, but gibberellin responsive and auxin responsive elements were not found in CDKD subclasses, which might imply that CDKD subclasses responded to ABA and ethylene. The numbers of MeJA responsive, gibberellin responsive and auxin responsive elements accounted for 8, 3 and 2, respectively, in CDKF subclasses with only 2 members and had the largest proportion. Auxin responsive element was not found in CDKA, CDKB and CDKD subclasses (Fig. S3).

A number of specific expression elements was also found in cis-acting elements in the two gene families, and the proportions of specific expression elements in the two gene family members were also similar. Pollen specific activation elements were the most numerous, with 49 and 41 in CYCD and CDK families, respectively. In addition, two families also included some different cis-acting elements, such as the seed specific regulation element (RY-element) that only existed in the CDK gene family and the cell cycle regulation element (MSA- like) that only existed in the CYCD gene family (Fig. S2S3).

On the basis of the information from the P. tomentosa genomic database, we determined the chromosomal distributions of CYCD and CDK genes (Table S4). Results suggested that CYCD genes were distributed on 26 chromosomes, whereas CDK genes were mapped onto 21 chromosomes (Fig.3). Although 35 chromosomes contained CYCD or CDK genes, the overall distribution was mostly nonuniform. Chromosomes 2A, 2D, 14A and 14D all contained three CYCD genes, whereas only one CYCD gene was distributed on chromosome 4A. Chromosomes 12A and 12D both contained 3 members of CDK genes, whereas chromosome 1A contained only one CDK gene. Interestingly, chromosomes 16D, 17A and 17D did not contain any CYCD or CDK gene.

Circos figure for chromosome distribution with synteny links. Grey and colourful lines represent synteny blocks and duplicated CYCD and CDK gene pairs, respectively, in P. tomentosa. The gene ids in red font are members of the PotomCYCD gene family, and the gene ids in blue font are members of the PotomCDK gene family.

We constructed a synteny analysis between CYCD and CDK genes in P. tomentosa (Table S6). The synteny blocks and the duplicated CYCD and CDK gene pairs were showen by the grey and colourful lines (Fig.3). All CYCD genes and 24 of 27 CDK genes were identified as collinear genes involving WGD or segmental duplication, whereas 2 CDK genes (i.e. PotomCDKC;4b and PotomCDKG;2a) were considered as dispersed genes, and 1 CDK gene (i.e. PotomCDKB1;1a) was considered as a singleton gene (Table S6). Remarkably, some CYCD and CDK genes were associated with at least five syntenic gene pairs, which implied that these genes might be involved in some critical roles during the evolutionary process. Interestingly, tandem duplication events were not found between CYCD and CDK genes in P. tomentosa. Evidence suggested that WGD or segmental duplication led the expansion of CYCD and CDK genes in P. tomentosa.

To further explore the evolutionary relationships of the CYCD and CDK gene families, we performed syntenic analyses amongst Arabidopsis, P. trichocarpa and P. tomentosa (Table S7). Between Arabidopsis and P. trichocarpa, 7 CYCD and 11 CDK gene pairs were found. A total of 81 CYCD and 38 CDK gene pairs were identified between P. trichocarpa and P. tomentosa (Fig.4). We found that 4 of 7 CYCD gene pairs and 9 of 11 CDK gene pairs between Arabidopsis and P. trichocarpa, respectively, were distributed on chromosome 1 and 4 in Arabidopsis. In P. trichocarpa, CYCD gene pairs were predominantly distributed on chromosomes 1, 2, 7, 9, 14 and 19, whereas CDK gene pairs were predominantly located on chromosomes 1, 3, 8, 10 and 12. The situations of CYCD and CDK gene pair distributions on chromosomes in P. tomentosa were similar to P. trichocarpa. Between P. trichocarpa and P. tomentosa, although abundant gene pairs were identified, 1 CYCD (i.e. PotomCYCD6;3b) and 2 CDK (i.e. PotomCDKC;4b and PotomCDKG;2a) genes did not find any syntenic gene.

Synteny of CYCD and CDK genes in Arabidopsis, P. trichocarpa and P. tomentosa. Red and blue lines represent duplicated CYCD and CDK gene pairs, respectively.

To investigate the possible roles of the PotomCYCDs and PotomCDKs, the expression levels of 43 CYCD and 27 CDK genes were determined by transcriptome results in three various tissues, i.e. leaf, stem and root41. Our results indicated that CYCD and CDK genes showed similar expression profiles in different tissues. Most genes were expressed in all three tissues, and alleles from different subgenomes had similar or even the same expression pattern (Figs. S4S5). In CYCD and CDK gene families, most genes showed this expression trend, with the highest expression in stems, followed by roots and leaves. In the CYCD gene family, most D3 subclass gene expression levels conformed to this trend. However, CYCD3;1a, CYCD3;2a and CYCD3;2b gene expression levels were highest in roots, and the expression of CYCD3;2b in leaves was highest amongst all genes. In terms of the overall expression levels of genes in different subclasses, D3 subclass genes had the highest expression, followed by the D1 and D2 subclasses, whereas the D7 subclass was not expressed in all tissues. In the CDK gene family, the expression trends of CDKA and CDKB subclass genes were the same as those mentioned before. The genes of other subclasses are also highly expressed in leaves and roots, such as CDKC;1a/b and CDKG;1a/b had the highest expression in leaves and CDKC;2a/b and CDKG;4a/b had the highest expression in roots. In terms of the overall expression levels of genes in different subclasses, the CDKA subclass had the highest gene expression followed by the CDKG subclass. These results suggested that CYCD and CDK genes had similar expression patterns, implying their functional relevance, and the overall expression level of CYCD genes was lower than that of CDK genes. These results might also indicate that alleles with the same function as in an allodiploid species co-regulated the growth and development of the organism.

In order to analyze the interaction between different CYCD and CDK proteins, the STRING website was used to predict the interaction between different CYCD subclasses and CDK proteins. First, all PotomCYCD and PotomCDK genes were compared with the Arabidopsis database of the STRING website. The comparison results and annotation information are shown in Table S8. The interaction between different subclasses of CYCD and CDK was predicted and the line thickness indicates the strength of data support (Fig.5). Results showed that CDKA (CDC2) was at the core of the interaction relationship. The protein interaction prediction results showed that the D1 subclass could interact with CDKA, CDKD1;1 and CDKE;1 and had the strongest interaction with CDKA. The D2/4 subclass only could have a strong interaction with CDKA. In the D3 subclass, the proteins CYCD3;1 and CYCD3;3 were obtained from the alignment and could interact with CDC2 and CDKE;1, and the interaction with CDKA was stronger. The D5 subclass could interact with CDKA, CDKB1;2, CDKD1;1, CDKD1;3, CDKE;1 and CAK1AT (CDKF). The D6 subclass could interact with CDKA, CDKB1;2, CDKD1;1 and CDKD1;3 has an interaction relationship. The D7 subclass only had a weak interaction relationship with CDKA (Fig.5). These results suggested that different subclasses of CYCD proteins might differ in gene sequence and protein properties and in their interaction with CDKs.

Prediction of the interaction between different subfamilies of PotomCYCDs and PotomCDKs gene family proteins by using the STRING website. (a) Interaction between D1 subfamily and CDKs. (b) Interaction between D2/4 subfamily and CDKs. (c) Interaction between D3 subfamily and CDKs. (d) Interaction between D5 subclass and CDKs. (e) Interaction between D6 subfamily and CDKs. (f) Interaction between D7 subfamily and CDKs. Line thickness indicates the strength of data support.

Previous in vitro yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) experiments and molecular docking experiments showed that PtoCYCD3;3 protein interacts with 12 PtoCDK proteins, of which the strongest interaction is PtoCDKE;212. To verify the reliability of the in vitro Y2H results, in vivo validation in plants was performed using the Bimolecular Fluorescent Complimentary (BIFC) assay. The 12 PtoCDKs screened by Y2H and PtoCYCD3;3 were fused to the N- and C-termini of YFP to construct fusion vectors (YFPNPtoCDKs and YFPCPtoCYCD3;3), and transient infection mediated by Agrobacterium in two fusion proteins were co-expressed in the lower epidermal cells of tobacco. If the two proteins interacted, the two fragments of the fluorescent protein will be close to each other in space, complementary to each other and reconstructed into an active and complete fluorescent protein molecule, thereby generating fluorescence. At the same time, GUS was fused to the N-terminus of YFP (YFPNGUS) and co-expressed with YFPCPtoCYCD3;3 as a negative control. The 12 PtoCDKs (PtoCDKA;1, PtoCDKB1;1, PtoCDKB1;2, PtoCDKB2;1, PtoCDKB2;2, PtoCDKC;2, PtoCDKD;1, PtoCDKD;2, PtoCDKE;2, PtoCDKF;1, PtoCDKG;3 and PtoCDKG;4) and PtoCYCD3;3, showed fluorescence in the nuclei of tobacco epidermal cells (Fig.6). The results indicated that PtoCYCD3;3 also interacted with these 12 PtoCDKs proteins in plants.

BiFC validation in tobacco epidermis. PtoCYCD3;3 connects pSPYCE(MR) vector and PtoCDKs connects pSPYNE(R)173 vector. After co-expression in tobacco leaf epidermal cells, the fluorescence signal was observed under a laser confocal microscope. YFPC-PtoCYCD3;3+YFPN-GUS were used as negative control.YFP: yellow fluorescent signal; NLS-mCherry: nuclear signal localisation label; Bright field: brightfield vision; Merge: superposition of fluorescence signals, bar=50m.

Our previous research found that transgenic PtoCYCD2;1 and transgenic PtoCYCD3;3 poplars have completely opposite phenotypes. Transgenic PtoCYCD2;1 plants have reduced plant height, curled leaves and thin stems42, whereas transgenic PtoCYCD3;3 poplar plants have increased height, curled leaves, thickened stem and branched in advance12. Cloned PtoCYCD2;1 and PtoCYCD3;3 genes were combined with the CYCD gene families of P. tomentosa and P. trichocarpa to construct a phylogenetic tree. Results showed that PtoCYCD2;1 and PtoCYCD3;3 belonged to the D2 and D3 subclasses, respectively, and closely related to the PotomCYCD gene (Fig. S6).

In order to find out the interaction between PtoCYCD2;1 and PtoCDKs, in vitro Y2H and in vivo BIFC experiments were used to detect the interaction. Y2H vectors (pGBKT7PtoCYCD2;1 and pGADT7PtoCDKs) were constructed and co-transformed into yeast AH109 competent cells, and the successfully identified positive yeast strains were spread on different AA-deficient media for Y2H experiment. As a competitive inhibitor of HIS3, 3-AT can inhibit the expression of HIS3 to a certain extent by adding this substance to the culture medium. The growth rates on SD-Trp-Leu-His+10/20mM 3-AT and SD-Trp-Leu-His-Ade culture media were observed to detect the interaction strength between PtoCYCD2;1 and different PtoCDKs proteins. During the 6day observation period, PtoCDKD;3, PtoCDKF;1 and PtoCDKG;5 could grow on SD-Trp-Leu, SD-Trp-Leu-His+10/20mM 3-AT and SD-Trp-Leu-His-Ade culture media, suggesting the strongest interaction. PtoCDKA;1, PtoCDKB1;1, PtoCDKB2;1, PtoCDKB2;2, PtoCDKD;2, PtoCDKE;1, PtoCDKE;2 and PtoCDKG;1 could grow on SD-Trp-Leu, SD-Trp-Leu-His+10/20mM 3-AT culture media, suggesting a strong interaction. PtoCDKC;1, PtoCDKD;1, PtoCDKG;3 and PtoCDKG;4 could only grow on SD-Trp-Leu culture medium, but not on SD-Trp-Leu-His+10/20mM 3-AT and SD-Trp-Leu-His-Ade culture media, indicating that no direct interaction between these proteins (Fig.7). The growths on the SD-Trp-Leu-His+10/20mM 3-AT and SD-Trp-Leu-His-Ade culture media for 3 and 6days were photographed and observed, and the interaction strength of the PtoCDKs gene family members with PtoCYCD2;1 was observed to have the following relationships: PtoCDKD;3=PtoCDKF;1=PtoCDKG;5>PtoCDKA;1>PtoCDKG;1>PtoCDKE;2>PtoCDKE;1>PtoCDKB2;1>PtoCDKB2;2>PtoCDKD;2>PtoCDKB1;1.

Proteinprotein interactions of PtoCYCD2;1 with PtoCDKs. Yeast cells were co-transformed with pGBKT7 and pGADT7 constructs carrying the corresponding genes and grown on SD-Trp-Leu, SD-Leu-Trp-His+10mM 3-AT, SD-Leu-Trp-His+20mM 3-AT, SD-Leu-Trp-His-Ade. AD+BD, AD+BD-PtoCYCD2;1 and AD-PtoCDKs+BD, were used as negative control. Day represents the number of days of growth on the corresponding medium. The triangle represents dilution in a 0.1-fold gradient (1,0.1 and 0.01).

To verify the interaction between PtoCYCD2;1 and PtoCDKD;3, PtoCDKF;1, PtoCDKG;5 and the fastest-growing PtoCDKA;1 on SD-Trp-Leu-His+10/20mM 3-AT culture medium in plants, we successfully constructed BIFC vectors (YFPNPtoCDKs and YFPCPtoCYCD2;1), which were transiently expressed in the lower epidermis of tobacco through Agrobacterium-mediated transient infection. Results showed that only PtoCDKA;1 and PtoCYCD2;1 showed fluorescence in the nuclei of tobacco cells and that PtoCDKD;3, PtoCDKF;1, PtoCDKG;5 and PtoCYCD2;1 co-expressed no fluorescence signal (Fig.8). These results indicated that PtoCYCD2;1 only interacted with PtoCDKA;1 in plants.

BiFC validation in tobacco epidermis. PtoCYCD2;1 connect pSPYCE(MR) vector and PtoCDKs connect pSPYNE(R)173 vector. After co-expression in tobacco leaf epidermal cells, the fluorescence signal was observed under laser confocal microscopy. YFP: yellow fluorescent signal; NLS-mCherry: nuclear signal localisation label; Bright field: bright field vision; Merge: superposition of fluorescence signals. Scale bars forYFPC-PtoCYCD2;1+YFPN-PtoCDKD;3, 50m; for others, 25m.

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Study on the interaction preference between CYCD subclass and CDK family members at the poplar genome level | Scientific Reports - Nature.com

Researchers performed a nationwide cohort study of the use of calcium-channel blockers and adenosine modulators and risk of hospitalization in bipolar disorder.

CASE VIGNETTE

Mr Amir is a 48-year-old male from the Balkans with a 17-year history of bipolar I disorder with psychotic features. He was last hospitalized for affective symptoms at age 35. He has chronic insomnia, low energy, impaired concentration, and suspiciousness. He also has episodic irritability and anger. He has been on a stable psychotropic regimen of quetiapine 100 mg in the morning and 400 mg at bedtime, and valproic acid 750 mg daily. Mr Amir was diagnosed with comorbid hypertension after multiple elevated readings at his outpatient psychiatry visits. He does not have a primary care physician, so his psychiatrist started him on amlodipine, which was titrated to 10 mg daily. His blood pressure control subsequently improved, without any change in his psychiatric symptoms.

Inadequate response and treatment resistance remain issues in bipolar disorder.1 One approach to identifying novel treatments is drug repurposing, whereby a drug approved for 1 disease is investigated for its potential for a new indication. Previous reviews include the adenosine modulator allopurinol2 and calcium-channel blockers (CCBs)3 for potential repurposing in bipolar disorder, although evidence for the latter has been inconclusive. Allopurinol and dipyridamole are adenosine modulators that may have potential in the treatment of bipolar disorder and other severe mental illnesses.4 Allopurinol is a xanthine oxidase inhibitor used to treat gout and hyperuricemia.4 Dipyridamole is an antithrombotic and vasodilator that inhibits adenosine reuptake.5

The Current Study

Lintunen and colleagues6 investigated the risk of psychiatric hospitalization associated with CCBs (dihydropyridines, verapamil, diltiazem) and adenosine modulators (allopurinol, dipyridamole) in a nationwide Finnish cohort of individuals with bipolar disorder. They identified individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder between 1987 and 2018 from inpatient, specialized outpatient, sickness absence, and disability pension registers. Follow-up started on January 1, 1996, or at the date of diagnosis, and ended at death, diagnosis of schizophrenia, or on December 31, 2018 (whichever occurred first).

The primary exposures were use of CCBs and adenosine modulators. Thiazide diuretics were used as a negative control. Information on medication use was obtained from the Prescription Register and modeled with PRE2DUP method, which predicts periods of use and non-use.7 The primary outcome was hospitalization due to affective symptoms, based on the Hospital Discharge register. Secondary outcomes were hospitalization due to manic or depressive symptoms or any psychiatric hospitalization. The risk of non-psychiatric hospitalization was also analyzed to consider potential adverse somatic effects of CCBs or adenosine modulators.

Data were analyzed using within-individual models, where individuals act as their own control, based on periods of exposure and non-exposure, using stratified Cox regression. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for hospitalization-based outcomes comparing periods when the individual was using versus no using the medication. Models were adjusted for use of antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, antidepressants, temporal order of treatments, and time since cohort entry.

The study cohort included 60,045 individuals, with a median follow-up of 8.4 years. Approximately 9056 individuals (15%) used primary dihydropyridines (91%). The most commonly used dihydropyridine was amlodipine (64%). Approximately 2967 individuals (5%) used adenosine modulators (57% allopurinol and 43% dipyridamole). Thiazides were used by 1286 individuals (2%).

Use of CCBs was associated with a decreased risk of hospitalization due to affective symptoms (aHR=0.83, 95% CI 0.78-0.88). The beneficial effect was associated with diltiazem and dihydropyridines, but not verapamil. Results were similar for hospitalization due to depressive symptoms or any reason. However, verapamil and dihydropyridinesbut not diltiazemwere associated with decreased risk of hospitalization due to mania.

Use of adenosine modulators was associated with a decreased risk of hospitalization due to affective symptoms (aHR=0.87, 95% CI 0.79-0.96). Effects were similar for both allopurinol and dipyridamole. Results were similar for any psychiatric hospitalization. Allopurinol, but not dipyridamole, was associated with a decreased risk of hospitalization due to depressive symptoms. There was no association between adenosine modulators and hospitalization due to manic symptoms. Allopurinol was associated with an increased risk of non-psychiatric hospitalization (aHR=1.10, 95% CI 1.03-1.17). The decrease in risk of hospitalization with these medications was greater in individuals under versus over 40 years of age.

Study Conclusions

The authors found that CCBs and adenosine modulators were associated with a decreased risk of hospitalization due to affective symptoms in individuals with bipolar disorder. Study strengths include the large nationwide cohort, long follow-up period, and use of within-individual models, which control for time-invariant factors (eg, genetics). Study limitations include the absence of ratings of symptom severity, the fact that the authors did not adjust for psychosocial treatments, and the potential for selection bias in observational studies.

The Bottom Line

Findings support potential roles for calcium, the purinergic system, and adenosine modulators in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder. CCBs and adenosine modulators warrant further study in these individuals.

Dr Miller is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at Augusta University in Augusta, Georgia. He is on the Editorial Board and serves as the schizophrenia section chief for Psychiatric TimesTM. The author reports that he receives research support from Augusta University, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Stanley Medical Research Institute.

References

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2. Bartoli F, Cavaleri D, Bachi B, et al. Repurposed drugs as adjunctive treatments for mania and bipolar depression: a meta-review and critical appraisal of meta-analyses of randomized placebo-controlled trials.J Psychiatr Res. 2021;143:230-238.

3. Cipriani A, Saunders K, Attenburrow MJ, et al. A systematic review of calcium channel antagonists in bipolar disorder and some considerations for their future development.Mol Psychiatry. 2016;21(10):1324-1332.

4. Hirota T, Kishi T. Adenosine hypothesis in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial of adjuvant purinergic modulators.Schizophr Res. 2013;149(1-3):88-95.

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6. Lintunen J, Lhteenvuo M, Tanskanen A, et al. Allopurinol, dipyridamole and calcium channel blockers in the treatment of bipolar disorder - a nationwide cohort study.J Affect Disord. 2022;313:43-48.

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Continued here:
Calcium-Channel Blocker and Adenosine Modulator Use and Risk of Hospitalization in Bipolar Disorder - Psychiatric Times

'Israel is advanced in research related to aquaculture and has the capacity to create adequate innovation'

Ahead of a groundbreaking international conference organized by Israels Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry on Marine Aquaculture and Food Technology, i24NEWS had the honor of visiting companies leading in innovation.

Specializing in marine and desert agriculture, the companies have developed solutions to alleviate global food insecurity at a time when certain animal species are threatened with extinction.

Given the rate of population growth, global warming, climate change, rising sea levels, and diminishing fertile areas for agricultural crops, a significant part of the futures food must come from the sea and the desert.

With this in mind, the conference to be held in the southern Israeli resort town of Eilat from October 18 to 20 will bring together agriculture ministers scientists, and major entrepreneurs from Israel, Bahrain, Malta, Morocco, and Jordan.

"We are all aware of the problem of food insecurity and that is why we are trying to provide more protein in our diets, Michal Levy, scientist and senior deputy director general of Israels Agriculture Ministry, told i24NEWS.

Climate change and its influence on agriculture and new forms of food are subjects that we must be concerned about today. We know that Israel is very advanced in research related to aquaculture, and has the capacity to create fish and develop adequate innovations, she said.

The current government is emphasizing programs for students focusing on aquaculture in the Eilat region, which has many advantages in terms of seaweed and fish farming. Additionally, it is encouraging the creation of infrastructure in order to improve the ecosystem of Eilat as well as the rest of Israel to then export such knowledge abroad.

At the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment in Rehovot of central Israel, the team of Dr. Lior David an expert in animal sciences is carrying out advanced studies in fish production to increase sustainability.

In fish, David is studying the genetics of resistance to infectious diseases and sex determination. Knowledge from their basic research is then used to select genetically improved strains of fish to solve problems that hinder fish farming.

"We want to control the male-female ratio by producing more females to produce more births, through hormone injection methods, David explained.

Aquaculture has become the main source of protein production from fish, but the appearance of diseases 20 years ago, in Europe and Israel, which now affect the whole world, complicates the process.

At the Faculty, researchers are particularly working to develop a vaccine that could be injected into fish to reduce the spread of disease. They also inject specific genes into fish eggs to control reproduction and increase the quantity of fish, as well as for cultured fish meat which makes it possible to create real meat by growing animal cells directly from fish.

Spirulina to replace meat?

i24NEWS traveled to the village of Tel Mond near Netanya in central Israel where Simpliigood is located, the first company in the world to exploit a large-scale biomass production technology of spirulina, algae with high nutritional quality.

Through a multidisciplinary approach involving biology, engineering, chemistry, and computer science, Simpliigood is creating the most efficient natural food source on earth Spirulina, one of the most nutritional and plant-based sources of protein on the planet.

About 74 percent of Simpliigoods spirulina is made from crude protein, which provides 18 of the 20 amino acids needed for the body to function properly. It contains three times more protein than meat and helps fight anemia.

"Our company started about ten years ago with the aim of taking spirulina from a luxurious dietary supplement to a staple in our diet; then we started to market it, Bach Baruch CTO at Simpliigood, told i24NEWS.

We are trying to produce yogurts, cheese, ice cream, fish, and even meat from spirulina thanks to solar energy, salt, and water essential to cultivate it.

Spirulina can also replace gluten, create textures, or serve as an emulsifier, but its main purpose is to make diets healthier and richer.

"We harvest fresh spirulina with natural methods without antibiotics or hormones. We can also add flavor and customize colors to make it look like the real thing, Bach said.

At Simpliigood, it is grown in two micro-farms with state-of-the-art technology in 50-degree freshwater ponds to maintain an ideal growth environment.

The company offers a sustainable, affordable, and clean, minimally-processed food alternative with immense value.

Vertical greenhouses: Growing out of season

Producing strawberries in winter? This is one of the missions given to the startup Vertical Field, created in 2006 near the central Israeli city of Raanana.

Using state-of-the-art technology, it meets the needs of the growing population by growing produce in any indoor or outdoor urban space.

The company designed integrated vertical platforms and quickly achieved international success with more than 500 projects worldwide. We are the future in agriculture because we can grow produce out of season, said Gilad Marek, chief agronomist at Vertical Field.

They thus circumvent the disadvantages linked to the climate without entering into competition with farmers. On the contrary, Marek assured that "they work together."

"We use 90 percent water, no pesticides or chemicals, to grow herbs such as basil, lettuce, mint, parsley, coriander, and eventually we hope to produce strawberries, mushrooms, or even cherry tomatoes, Ronen Redel, VP of Business Development at Vertical Field, told i24NEWS.

"We wanted to set up a method that is as close as possible to nature. This technology has several advantages, based on air control, irrigation, and lighting that allow plants to be given the conditions and nutrients they need to grow in 21 days.

Farmers can also supply themselves daily from the container.

Vertical Field developed pilot projects in Australia, Vienna, and the United States, as well as in Ukraine and Russia before the war broke out.

"We can also play with day and night lighting to promote growth, and easily monitor the development of each of the plants. By isolating them from the environment, the plants are thus protected from the parasites and dust responsible for their deterioration, Marek emphasized.

Will Israel's sustainability know-how succeed on the world stage?

Original post:
Israel, A Pioneer In Agriculture Of The Future - I24NEWS - i24NEWS

The Irish Limousin Cattle Societys 50th Anniversary Extravaganza took place in Carrick-on-Shannon last weekend, beginning on Friday (September 30) and drawing to a close on Sunday (October 2).

There was plenty of excitement over the weekend, with the commercial show, pedigree show, heifer sale and Mega Moo raffle being some of the highlights.

A number of sponsors form the agricultural sector contributed to the event including Agriland Media Group, which sponsored a class in the commercial show ring.

The event not only drew crowds from the four corners of Ireland, it witnessed a large delegation from both the UK, Europe and in particular France the home of the Limousin breed.

Prior to the show day, the society offered 100 tickets at a price of 100 each for the Mega Moo draw, the winner of which was Donal Moloney, who selected Eoghan Breslins heifer as his first choice.

The owner of the chosen heifer, Breslin, received a prize of 10,000 from the society, while Moloney walked away from the event with a commercial Limousin heifer for 100.Donal Moloney with his chosen Mega Moo heifer and pictured with owner Eoghan Breslin

Topping the Pre-Inspected Elite Heifer Sale was Co. Cavan breeder Eddie Lynch with his Ernevalley Sweetheart ET which sold for 11,000.

Sample prices from the Elite Heifer Sale:

In the pedigree show classes, the judges on the day were Rikke Benoit from France and Chris Penny from the UK.

The Senior Male Champion went to Killcastle Pierson, owned by Alan and Paul Kelly. This March 2019-born Ampertaine Commander son was out of Killcastle Izzy Monique ET.Killcastle Pierson owned by Alan and Paul Kelly

The Intermediate Male, Overall Male and Overall Limousin Reserve Champion title went to Carrickmore Schumacher ET, owned by the Connell Brothers. This impressive bull is out of Baileys Iceprincess and sired by Sympa.

Carrickmore Schumacher ET was sold privately in the yard for 30,000.Carrickmore Schumacher ET owned by the Connell Brothers

It will be another weekend to remember for William Smiths Milbrook Limousin Herd based in Oldcastle, Co. Meath.

It was Milbrook Nikkiespice ET, a daughter of the famous Milbrook Gingerspice, who was tapped out as Overall Limousin Champion of the Show after earlier being crowned Senior Female Champion and Overall Female Champion.

It was a clean sweep for the Milbrook Limousin Herd in the Overall Female Championship as the reserve champion was also awarded to William Smith for his April 2021-born heifer, Milbrook Senorita ET.

This heifer is a Wilodge Tonka-sired heifer out of Milbrook Enya. She was also crowned Intermediate Female Champion on the day.Milbrook Senorita ET owned by William Smith

The Reserve Champion in the Senior Female Championship was again awarded to William Smith and the Milbrook Herd for Milbrook Nenya ET, a Wilodge Vantastic-sired cow out of Milbrook Enya.Milbrook Nenya ET owned by William Smith

In the Junior Female Championship, it was Co. Cavan man Eddie Lynch with his heifer, Ernevalley Sweetheart ET, who took home the champion sash. This December 2021-born heifer was sired by Nenuphar out of Ernevalley Nadine ET.Ernevalley Sweetheart ET owned by Eddie Lynch

Reserve Champion went to Thomas OShea with his heifer Templequain Selena. She was first in the twelfth class and was sired by Whinfellpark Lomu and out of Templequain Mabelle.Templequain Selena owned by Thomas OShea

With the pedigree males, Castlebrock Trafford ET, a March 2022-born bull bred by Gerard Davis, was awarded Reserve Overall Male Champion.

Trafford was sired by Mereside Godolphin and out of Lomond Lexie. He was earlier tapped out as Junior Male Champion.Castlebrock Trafford ET, Gerard Davis

James OGrady, with his June 2020-born bull Meenross Ring Leader ET, was awarded the Reserve Senior Male Champion sash. This bull was sired by Hatcliff Dancer out of the dam Castleview Felicity.Meenross Ring Leader ET owned by James OGrady

The Connell Brothers took the top spot in the Intermediate Championship, but Darragh OMeara secured reserve champion with his bull Hurricane Scat Man ET who was sired by Ampertaine Foreman and out of Hurricane Lady Hawk ET.Hurricane Scat Man ET owned by Darragh OMeara

The Junior Male Champion was awarded to Gerard Davis, but Padraic Golden took the reserve title with his November 2021-born bull, Clew Bay Smokey.

This bull was sired by Plumtree Fantastic and out of the dam Clew Bay Laoise.Clew Bay Smokey owned by Padraic Golden

The Milbrook Herd finished the day in style by winning the Best Pair of Limousins by the same breeder, while it was A and P Kelly who won Best Group of Three by the same breeder.

The society thanked all who made the event a huge success and gave a particular mention to the council, breeders, organising committee and all who helped out over the weekend.

A special word of thanks was also mentioned to the title sponsors FBD Insurance, and the partner sponsors ABP, Univet, Progressive Genetics and Munster Bovine, as well as all class sponsors on the day.

Read more:
Results: Limousin society's 50th anniversary show and sale - Agriland

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Drug resistance and population structure of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax in the Peruvian Amazon | Scientific Reports - Nature.com

Hair supplements seem like the golden ticket to great hair: all you have to do is pop a pill, sit back, and wait for glossy, thicker hair to reveal itself, right? The reality is a little more complex. When supplements do work, they take time to work, and not all supplements are created equal. Supplements arent regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which means its difficult to tell which brands are using the highest quality ingredients and which rely on a lot of inexpensive fillers that may sound impressive, but arent going to target your hair follicles in any meaningful way. Unfortunately, a supplements price tag doesnt always tell an accurate story, either.

So, how much should you expect from a hair supplement and what are its limitations? Do supplements actually help hair growth? We asked an expert.

First and foremost, no one treatment will work for all people. Its important to consider the reason why you are shedding hair before finding a solution that works for you (and thats something that should ideally be determined with the help of a board-certified dermatologist).

Hairsupplementsshould be customized to the cause ofhairloss, says Dr. Yoram Harth, board certified dermatologist and medical director ofMDhair. Women with postpartum or stress-relatedhairloss should get a different kind ofsupplementthan women after 40 with post-menopausal or genetic-relatedhairloss. Well-chosensupplementscan help provide the first group with the micronutrients essential forhairregrowth. The second group should look forsupplementsthat include,in addition to essentialvitaminsand minerals, DHT blockers that counteract the effect of dehrdotestoren on thehairfollicles, and plant-like ashwagandhaand reishi and maitake mushrooms can helphairregrowth by reducing inflammation and stress.

There are no miracles in a bottle. And many supplement brands try to skate by adding less-than-effective filler ingredients to their formulas. Knowing the limitations of certain supplements can help temper your expectations and save you money.

Unfortunately, some overhypedhairsupplementscan do more damage than good, says Dr. Harth. Examples are sugary gummysupplementsthat maintain high amounts of biotin. Biotin is a good ingredient, but there is evidence that using it as a single ingredient significantly affectshairregrowth. The high amount of sugar in most of these gummies can hurthairregrowth and its other health disadvantages.

In people with pregnancy, stress, or nutrition related, the most effective ingredients to look for arevitaminsand minerals, according to Dr. Harth. Good addition in these cases in collagen peptide, preferably sourced from wild-caught fish. People with genetically relatedhairloss need to look forsupplementsthat contain natural DHT-blockers combined with thesevitaminsin minerals.

Ready for a shock? Despite how often we hear about the benefits of biotin, it is one of the most hyped hair growth ingredients. Biotin is a good ingredient, but there is evidence that using it as a single ingredient significantly affectshairregrowth, Dr. Harth says. In very high amounts, it can also cause acne breakouts.

The common causes forhairloss in women are genetics, postpartum (pregnancy), crash diets, wrong hairstyling, autoimmune diseases, and hormonal imbalances Dr. Harth says.

The bestsupplementsto help regrowhairare the ones that target the root cause of yourhairloss, Dr. Harth says. Here are some ingredients that Dr. Harth says can aid in hair growth for a number of different hair shedding culprits.

The best naturalsupplementsfor genetic, age, and hormonal-relatedhairloss are plants that can reduce the effect of male hormones, mainly dihydrotestosterone (DHT), on thehairfollicles, Dr. Harth says.

Examples of those plants are:

Saw palmetto is a plant extract believed to block the effects of male hormones on thehairfollicle and reduce excessivehairshedding. These ingredients can be found in topical scalp serums and oralhairsupplements.

Ginseng: A few types of ginseng are believed to help withhairgrowth. For optimal results, look forhairsupplementsplants-based serum that contains the Panax Ginseng Root.

Pygeum Bark Extract: Rich in phytosterols that block the effect of DHT onhairfollicles to enhancehairgrowth.

Broccoli Powder contains antioxidants that reduce free radical damage to the scalp. Bvitaminsin broccoli extract help reduce stress, contributing tohairloss.

The best naturalsupplementsfor Postpartumhairloss will need to replenish thevitamins, minerals, and micronutrients that were depleted during pregnancy, Dr. Harth says and these samesupplementsshould also be safe for breastfeeding women.

Examples of ingredients needed:

Iron helps boost circulation and carries oxygen to the roots of thehair, which allows thehairto grow faster and longer. An iron deficiency can lead tohairloss.

VitaminsC, D, E Having the right amount of thesevitaminsis required for a healthy scalp and regrowth of healthier, thicker newhair.

Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Helphairfollicles regenerate and heal faster to produce new healthierhair.

Iodine, Magnesium, Zinc, Selenium, Manganese, and Chromium Having the right amount of these minerals is required for a healthy scalp and regrowth of healthier, thicker newhair.

Calcium An essential mineral that helps reducehairbreakage, dry scalp, and brittle nails.

Vitamin K2 By stimulating blood flow to the scalp, it enhances healthyhairregrowth.

Combiningvitamins, minerals, and adaptogens can reduce this type ofhairloss, Dr. Harth says. Examples of natural adaptogens are the Maitake and Reishi Mushrooms. Potent adaptogens, immunomodulatory, and inhibitors of 5-reductase, these mushroom extracts support a healthy scalp and regrowth of newhair.

Hair supplements can be extremely helpful but only if they are targeting your hair loss concern and contain effective ingredients for your personal needs. Before you start any new supplement, check with your doctor. Get a thorough exam to determine the cause of your hair loss and be patient it can take time to experience the benefits of a quality supplement.

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Do Supplements Help Hair Growth? We Asked An Expert - SheFinds

Around 264,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Its one of the most common types of cancer in American women.

Heres what you need to know to protect your breast health.

Your body is growing new cells all the time. Usually, these cells die off when you dont need them any longer. Cancer is a group of abnormal cells that mutate and grow out of control when your body doesnt need them. They usually form a lump or mass.

Breast cancer describes any cancer that begins in the breast. It can affect both women and men, although it is rare in men. Out of every 100 breast cancers diagnosed, there is around one case found in a man.

The breast is made of lobules (milk glands), ducts, fat, tissue, lymph nodes and blood vessels. Cancer can start anywhere in the cells of the breast but is most likely to start in the lobules and ducts.

Experts dont know exactly what causes breast cancer, but they have identified some risk factors that make you more likely to get it.

Some risk factors are things you cant change, including:

Breast cancer usually isnt painful. If youre experiencing breast pain or discomfort, its more likely your menstrual cycle is the cause.

If your breast pain is severe or lasts longer than a few weeks, see your health care provider. Breast pain is rarely the main symptom of breast cancer, but it could still happen. Your provider will help you identify the cause of your breast pain and how to treat it.

In early stages, breast cancer can be too small to cause symptoms. This is what makes breast cancer screenings so important. Catching breast cancer early means its more treatable and less likely to have spread to other parts of the body.

As breast cancer grows, it can cause changes in your breasts such as:

If you notice any changes in your breasts, see your health care provider right away.

Find a Sanford Health provider.

There are steps you can take to help prevent breast cancer:

Having children also helps reduce your risk of getting breast cancer, especially if you have children before the age of 30.

The best way to protect your breast health is through regular screenings. Sanford Health recommends getting a mammogram every year starting at age 40. These screenings are important for catching breast cancer early when its most treatable.

Depending on your risk factors, you may need to get screened earlier than age 40. Talk to your doctor to learn when you should start screenings based on your personal risk.

Medical review by Michael Bouton, MD, a breast surgeon at the Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, North Dakota; Andrea Kaster, MD, a family medicine physician in the Edith Sanford Breast Center Fargo in Fargo, North Dakota; and Christina Tello-Skjerseth, MD, a radiologist at the Sanford Clinic in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Posted In Cancer, Cancer Screenings, Women's

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Breast cancer: What you need to know - Sanford Health News

Clinical guidelines greatly influence how doctors care for their patients. By providing recommendations on how to diagnose and treat particular situations, guidelines can help standardize the care patients receive. For instance, when a patient is suffering from an infection, a physician can consult the relevant guidelines to confirm that antibiotics are the appropriate treatment. Regulators, insurance payers and lawyers can also use guidelines to manage a doctors performance, or as evidence in malpractice cases. Often, guidelines compel doctors to provide care in specific ways.

We are physicians who share a common frustration with guidelines based on weak or no evidence. We wanted to create a new approach to medical guidelines built around the humility of uncertainty, in which care recommendations are only made when data is available to support the care. In the absence of such data, guidelines could instead present the pros and cons of various care options.

We got together an international team of physicians and pharmacists to create a guideline on creating guidelines. We call this new type of guideline a WikiGuideline, not affiliated with Wikipedia but similarly opening collaboration to all people. The idea was to enable any qualified practitioner to have a voice in guideline construction, rather than limiting authorship to academics who are politically active in specialty societies in wealthy countries.

The clinical guidelines movement first began to gain steam in the 1960s. Guideline committees, usually composed of subspecialty experts from academic medical centers, would base care criteria on randomized clinical trials, considered the gold standard of empirical evidence.

Unfortunately, many committees have since started providing answers to clinical questions even without data from high-quality clinical trials. Instead, they have based recommendations primarily on anecdotal experiences or low-quality data.

Medical guidelines made with insufficient data can lead to patient harm.

For example, guidelines once instructed doctors to prescribe hormone replacement therapy to all post-menopausal women to prevent breast cancer. However, a subsequent large randomized controlled trial showed that giving hormone replacement therapy actually increased the risk of breast cancer. While guidelines have since been updated to narrow down who would benefit from hormone replacement therapy, prior practices have likely resulted in breast cancer for many patients.

Other poorly made guidelines have also seen similar results.

A guideline that instructed doctors to use higher doses of an antibiotic called vancomycin for bacterial infections was later shown to not be more effective and also increase the risk of kidney failure. Likewise, a guideline that promoted aggressive, rapid administration of antibiotics to patients who may have pneumonia was found to not improve outcomes and cause side effects for patients who did not actually end up diagnosed with pneumonia.

Another guideline promoted the use of medications called beta blockers for certain types of surgeries before researchers learned that they increased the risk of heart attacks during and after the procedures. Similarly, a guideline promoting the use of intensive insulin therapy in the ICU was later shown to cause blood sugar levels to drop to dangerously low levels.

To create a new form of medical guideline that takes the strength of available evidence for a particular practice into account, we gathered 60 other physicians and pharmacists from eight countries on Twitter to draft the first WikiGuideline. Bone infections were voted as the conditions most in need of new guidelines.

We all voted on seven questions about bone infection diagnosis and management to include in the guideline, then broke into teams to generate answers. Each volunteer searched the medical literature and drafted answers to a clinical question based on the data. These answers were repeatedly revised in open dialogue with the group.

These efforts ultimately generated a document with more than 500 references and provided clarity to how providers currently manage bone infections. Of the seven questions we posed, only two had sufficient high-quality data to make a clear recommendation on how providers should treat bone infection. The remaining five questions were answered with reviews that provided pros and cons of various care options.

The recommendations WikiGuidelines arrived at differ from current bone infection guidelines by professional group for medical specialists. For example, WikiGuidelines makes a clear recommendation to use oral antibiotics for bone infections based on numerous randomized controlled trials. Current standard guidelines, however, recommend giving intravenous antibiotics, despite the evidence that giving treatment orally is not only just as effective as giving it intravenously, but is also safer and results in fewer side effects.

Providers benefit from careful review of a clinical case. When there isnt enough data to make a clear recommendation, laying out what data is available can help inform their clinical judgment.

We believe that more inclusive guideline committees that open participation to qualified practitioners instead of just those within specialty societies could help make for better medical guidelines. The WikiGuidelines Group now has over 110 members from over 14 countries, many of which are lower- and lower-middle-income countries. We are currently working on a guideline for managing heart valve infections.

It is our hope that future guidelines can avoid the errors of the past by incorporating the humility of uncertainty into the process, acknowledging when the evidence is unclear and only issuing clear recommendations when high quality data can support them.

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Medical guidelines that embrace the humility of uncertainty could help doctors choose treatments with more research evidence behind them -...

In a time where political partisanship is at an all-time high, and even highly personal issues such as gender or sexual identity policies are moving into either right or left camps, politicians should be cautious in considering their positions on this issue.

Legislation passed this week that was tied to increasing the capacity of behavioral health care for children in the state, came with some strings attached primarily that state funding for life-altering transgender treatments for youth would be restricted. The legislation states that no money may be spent by the University Hospitals Authority for the benefit of any facility owned by the University Hospitals Authority or University Hospitals Trust performing gender reassignment medical treatment on any patient younger than 18.

The controversy swirls mostly around the University of Oklahoma Childrens Hospital, which operates a program that provides gender-affirming scope of treatment that includes using puberty blockers, managing gender-affirming hormone therapy and finding surgeons who perform gender-reassignment surgeries.

There still is so much to understand and learn about what many young people are facing when it comes to gender and sexual identity. We believe hospitals and physicians should be a part of working with children and families on those issues; however, when it comes to performing these life-altering procedures on children, there is legitimate concern in medical circles to exercise great caution.

A recent New York Times article points out that these procedures raise definite ethical questions, and some experts urge caution in treating children with puberty-blocking drugs and hormones.

The article states some clinicians have pointed to the rising demand and the turmoil of adolescent development as reasons for doctors to slow down before offering irreversible procedures. Although medical experts believe the likelihood to be small, some patients come to regret their surgeries.

This is not an issue of not trusting parents or physicians judgment regarding the needs of their children or patients, as some Democratic supporters suggest. Any type of life-altering surgery performed on a minor should be very carefully considered. We understand these issues put parents and caregivers in a sensitive position because they want to do what they can to help their children; however, children under the age of 18 do not have the judgment needed to make such drastic decisions.

Lawmakers have the right to withhold taxpayer funding for these types of programs performed at state-funded hospitals. However, outlawing or criminalizing medical facilities and professionals should not be on the table. Instead, lawmakers take the time and effort to further study the issue with care and honest consultation with physicians and families.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

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EDITORIAL: Political stances on gender reassignment treatment for minors need to be carefully considered - Enid News & Eagle

EL PASO, Texas, Oct. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With more than 20 years of experience providing comprehensive healthcare and programs to Texas women, Superior HealthPlan is urging members to schedule routine appointments and screenings to help prevent breast cancer. This is part of a larger effort by Superior in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

"This national awareness campaign serves as an important reminder to those in need of a mammogram to contact their physician for support," said Dr. David Harmon, Chief Medical Director at Superior. "Early detection and treatment are essential in the fight against breast cancer, and we want to encourage everyone to get the care they need."

This year alone, an estimated 20,000 women in Texaswill be diagnosed with breast cancer, and nearly 3,400 of those women will die from the disease. Women older than 40 should consider beginning annual breast cancer screenings with mammograms, and potentially earlier if they have a family history of breast cancer. Below are a few ways to lower risk and take preventive steps:

Along with early prevention and other steps, Superior offers several programs and support for women. This includes Care Management specifically for women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. This program is featured in a new videothat explores the story of Autumn, a Superior HealthPlan member who has a history of breast cancer in her family.

Superior can help members connect with their primary care physician, either through telehealth or in-person visits. Members can use the "Find a Provider" tool or call Superior at 1-800-783-5386.

For more about Superior's services and benefits, visit http://www.SuperiorHealthPlan.com.

Founded in 1999,Superior HealthPlanis a managed care company that delivers quality healthcare throughout Texas. Committed to transforming the health of the community, one person at a time, Superior supports active local involvement in all 254 Texas counties with 3,000 employees throughout the state. Superior is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, a leading healthcare enterprise that is committed to helping people live healthier lives. More information on Superior can be found at http://www.SuperiorHealthPlan.com.

SOURCE Superior HealthPlan

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Superior HealthPlan Promotes Breast Cancer Screenings this October - PR Newswire

Hormone Replacement Therapy Market report focuses on the market size, segment size (mainly covering product type, application, and geography), competitor landscape, recent status, and development trends. Furthermore, this research report is spread across 112 Pages and provides detailed cost analysis, supply chain, exclusive information, vital statistics, trends, and competitive landscape.

The Hormone Replacement Therapy Market size to grow from USD 16398.52 million in 2021 to USD 32290.63 million by 2027, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.96% during the forecast period. Global Hormone Replacement Therapy market report aims at estimating the market size and growth potential of the market across different segments, such as components, deployment mode, organization size, types, application, and region. The Hormone Replacement Therapy market has been segmented into major regions: United States, Europe, China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and MEA. This report covers an in-depth competitive analysis of the key players along with their company profiles, key observations, product and business offerings, recent developments, and key market strategies.

Get a sample PDF of the report at https://www.industryresearch.biz/enquiry/request-sample/21512865

The report evaluates and categorizes global vendors in the Hormone Replacement Therapy Market based on Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that helps businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.

Which are the prominent Hormone Replacement Therapy Market players across the globe?

Top Key Players covered in the report are:

This is accomplished by current information on the most vital drivers, current trends, risks and restrictions, opportunities, and the most promising development areas. It will also help in analyzing new business strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period.

Get A Sample PDF Of The Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Report

Short Summary About Hormone Replacement Therapy Market:

The global Hormone Replacement Therapy market size was valued at USD 16398.52 million in 2021 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 11.96% during the forecast period, reaching USD 32290.63 million by 2027.

The report combines extensive quantitative analysis and exhaustive qualitative analysis, ranging from a macro overview of the total market size, industry chain, and market dynamics to micro details of segment markets by type, application, and region, and, as a result, provides a holistic view of, as well as a deep insight into the Cobalt Tetroxide market covering all its essential aspects.

For the competitive landscape, the report also introduces players in the industry from the perspective of the market share, concentration ratio, etc., and describes the leading companies in detail, with which the readers can get a better idea of their competitors and acquire an in-depth understanding of the competitive situation. Further, mergers and acquisitions, emerging market trends, the impact of COVID-19, and regional conflicts will all be considered.

In a nutshell, this report is a must-read for industry players, investors, researchers, consultants, business strategists, and all those who have any kind of stake or are planning to foray into the market in any manner.

Which region is expected to hold the highest market share in the Hormone Replacement Therapy Market?

Geographically, the report includes several key regions, with sales, revenue, research on production, consumption, market share, and growth rate, and forecast (2017 -2027) of the following regions:

Inquire or Share Your Questions If Any Before Purchasing This Report https://www.industryresearch.biz/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/21512865

The report focuses on the Hormone Replacement Therapy market size, segment size (mainly covering product type, application, and geography), competitor landscape, recent status, and development trends. Furthermore, the report provides detailed cost analysis, and supply chain. Technological innovation and advancement will further optimize the performance of the product, making it more widely used in downstream applications. Moreover, Consumer behavior analysis and market dynamics (drivers, restraints, opportunities) provide crucial information for knowing the Hormone Replacement Therapy market.

Based on types, the Hormone Replacement Therapy market from 2017 to 2027 is primarily split into:

Based on applications, the Hormone Replacement Therapy market from 2017 to 2027 covers:

Whats Included in the Report

TO KNOW HOW COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND RUSSIA UKRAINE WAR WILL IMPACT THIS MARKET REQUEST SAMPLE

Some of the key questions answered in this report:

Following Chapter Covered in the Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Research:

Chapter 1 mainly defines the market scope and introduces the macro overview of the industry, with an executive summary of different market segments ((by type, application, region, etc.), including the definition, market size, and trend of each market segment.

Chapter 2 provides a qualitative analysis of the current status and future trends of the market. Industry Entry Barriers, market drivers, market challenges, emerging markets, consumer preference analysis, together with the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak will all be thoroughly explained.

Chapter 3 analyzes the current competitive situation of the market by providing data regarding the players, including their sales volume and revenue with corresponding market shares, price and gross margin. In addition, information about market concentration ratio, mergers, acquisitions, and expansion plans will also be covered.

Chapter 4 focuses on the regional market, presenting detailed data (i.e., sales volume, revenue, price, gross margin) of the most representative regions and countries in the world.

Chapter 5 provides the analysis of various market segments according to product types, covering sales volume, revenue market share, and growth rate, plus the price analysis of each type.

Chapter 6 shows the breakdown data of different applications, including the consumption and revenue with market share and growth rate, with the aim of helping the readers to take a close-up look at the downstream market.

Chapter 7 provides a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses of the market size and development trends in the next five years. The forecast information of the whole, as well as the breakdown market, offers the readers a chance to look into the future of the industry.

Chapter 8 is the analysis of the whole market industrial chain, covering key raw materials suppliers and price analysis, manufacturing cost structure analysis, alternative product analysis, also providing information on major distributors, downstream buyers, and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

Chapter 9 shares a list of the key players in the market, together with their basic information, product profiles, market performance (i.e., sales volume, price, revenue, gross margin), recent development, SWOT analysis, etc.

Chapter 10 is the conclusion of the report which helps the readers to sum up the main findings and points.

Chapter 11 introduces the market research methods and data sources.

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Years considered for this report:

Detailed TOC of Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Forecast Report 2022-2027:

1 Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Hormone Replacement Therapy Market1.2 Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Segment by Type1.2.1 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Sales Volume and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (2017-2027)1.3 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Segment by Application1.3.1 Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Consumption (Sales Volume) Comparison by Application (2017-2027)1.4 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Market, Region Wise (2017-2027)1.4.1 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Size (Revenue) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2017-2027)1.4.2 United States Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Status and Prospect (2017-2027)1.4.3 Europe Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Status and Prospect (2017-2027)1.4.4 China Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Status and Prospect (2017-2027)1.4.5 Japan Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Status and Prospect (2017-2027)1.4.6 India Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Status and Prospect (2017-2027)1.4.7 Southeast Asia Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Status and Prospect (2017-2027)1.4.8 Latin America Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Status and Prospect (2017-2027)1.4.9 Middle East and Africa Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Status and Prospect (2017-2027)1.5 Global Market Size of Hormone Replacement Therapy (2017-2027)1.5.1 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Revenue Status and Outlook (2017-2027)1.5.2 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Sales Volume Status and Outlook (2017-2027)1.6 Global Macroeconomic Analysis1.7 The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the Hormone Replacement Therapy Market

2 Industry Outlook2.1 Hormone Replacement Therapy Industry Technology Status and Trends2.2 Industry Entry Barriers2.2.1 Analysis of Financial Barriers2.2.2 Analysis of Technical Barriers2.2.3 Analysis of Talent Barriers2.2.4 Analysis of Brand Barrier2.3 Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Drivers Analysis2.4 Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Challenges Analysis2.5 Emerging Market Trends2.6 Consumer Preference Analysis2.7 Hormone Replacement Therapy Industry Development Trends under COVID-19 Outbreak2.7.1 Global COVID-19 Status Overview2.7.2 Influence of COVID-19 Outbreak on Hormone Replacement Therapy Industry Development

3 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Landscape by Player3.1 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume and Share by Player (2017-2022)3.2 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Revenue and Market Share by Player (2017-2022)3.3 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Average Price by Player (2017-2022)3.4 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Gross Margin by Player (2017-2022)3.5 Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Competitive Situation and Trends

4 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume and Revenue Region Wise (2017-2022)4.1 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume and Market Share, Region Wise (2017-2022)4.2 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Revenue and Market Share, Region Wise (2017-2022)4.3 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022)4.4 United States Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022)4.5 Europe Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022)4.6 China Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022)4.7 Japan Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022)4.8 India Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022)4.9 Southeast Asia Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022)4.10 Latin America Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022)4.11 Middle East and Africa Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2017-2022)

5 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume, Revenue, Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2017-2022)5.2 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Revenue and Market Share by Type (2017-2022)5.3 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Price by Type (2017-2022)5.4 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume, Revenue and Growth Rate by Type (2017-2022)

6 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Consumption and Market Share by Application (2017-2022)6.2 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Consumption Revenue and Market Share by Application (2017-2022)6.3 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Consumption and Growth Rate by Application (2017-2022)

7 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Forecast (2022-2027)7.1 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume, Revenue Forecast (2022-2027)7.1.1 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume and Growth Rate Forecast (2022-2027)7.1.2 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast (2022-2027)7.1.3 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Price and Trend Forecast (2022-2027)7.2 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume and Revenue Forecast, Region Wise (2022-2027)7.3 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Sales Volume, Revenue and Price Forecast by Type (2022-2027)7.4 Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Consumption Forecast by Application (2022-2027)

8 Hormone Replacement Therapy Market Upstream and Downstream Analysis8.1 Hormone Replacement Therapy Industrial Chain Analysis8.2 Key Raw Materials Suppliers and Price Analysis8.3 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis8.3.1 Labor Cost Analysis8.3.2 Energy Costs Analysis8.3.3 RandD Costs Analysis8.4 Alternative Product Analysis8.5 Major Distributors of Hormone Replacement Therapy Analysis8.6 Major Downstream Buyers of Hormone Replacement Therapy Analysis8.7 Impact of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war on the Upstream and Downstream in the Hormone Replacement Therapy Industry

Continued

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Fast fashion may go easy on your wallet...but is it secretly tough on your health? Here's why one toxicology doctor says she's "most concerned" about what you and your family are putting on.

Fast fashion may cycle through trends at the speed of lightbut it certainly has staying power. As PC Magazine reported this past July, the online retailer Shein dethroned Amazon as the most popular shopping app in the world. But the meteoric rise of some comparable fashion brands is troubling some health experts. In 2021, a team of researchers at the University of Toronto ran tests on some popular clothing and accessories brands. For one fast fashion brand in particular, they found that one in every five items contained unsafe levels of lead.

Why Lead May Be Lurking in Your Favorite Lipstick

And its not just fast fashionor, just leadthat areprompting concern about unsuspectedtoxins in our everyday products. The University of Toronto report also identified another group of chemicals, called phthalates,that the researchers stated were present in some of the clothing they tested. Plus, earlier this year, Environmental Protection Agency-certified labs detected PFAs (per- and polyfluorinated substances) in activewear from popular consumer brands that also may contain PFAS, according to the non-profit consumer organization Fashion FWD.

From cosmetics and soaps to plastic bottles and even our food, were surrounded by chemicals in our daily lives. But just how much should we worry about the chemicals lurking in our clothes?

GetThe Healthy @Readers Digestnewsletterfor the latest health news delivered daily

At the federal level, the US regulates only two chemicals for the fashion industrylead and phthalatesand thats only for childrens clothing. According to Fashion FWD, The Toxic Substances Control Act requires more stringent testing and oversight around chemicals used in clothing made in the US. It sounds reassuringhowever, apparel made in the US only accounts for about 3% of American fashion.

As Kelly Johnson-Arbor, MD, a medical toxicology physician and the co-medical director at the National Capital Poison Center explains: Fast fashion clothing is often manufactured in developing countries that may not have stringent standards for keeping harmful chemicals out of clothing.

This means that almost all of the clothing items in our closets and drawers are more or less unregulated, meaning were relying on retailers to self-police their factories chemical usage. And according to the 2021 Fashion Revolution Transparency Index, only 26% of the worlds major clothing brands use a Manufacturing Restricted Substances List, which aims to eliminate hazardous chemicals in their factories.

Its worth noting that back in the US, restrictions may be tightening up at the state level. In both California and New York, legislators are pushing for stricter regulation around PFAS in textile products. Federally, the US still lags miles behind the European Union, which currently restricts 33 chemicals in textiles.

Lead is often used by manufacturers for dyeing fabricsparticularly those that are brightly colored, says Trevor Cates, ND, a naturopathic physician and author of the September 2022 book,Natural Beauty Reset.

PFAS generally turn up in clothing items as a coating to make products waterproof, stain-resistant, and breathable, according to a study by the Colorado Public Interest Research Group.

Phthalates work to soften plastic and make it more durable, and so theyre sometimes spun into fabrics to make them soft and pliable, according to the Office of Science and Society at McGill University. Theyre also common in waterproof items like rain jackets, faux leather, screen-printed t-shirts, and see-through accessories, like clear shoes, bags and umbrellas.

The goal of the 1978 ban on leaded paint was implemented to prevent accidental lead ingestion, such as from kids putting paint chips in their mouths or inhaling lead-containing dust. Lead is definitely associated with adverse health effectsincluding developmental delays, Dr. Johnson-Arbor explains.

A 2018 study published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research Internationalillustrated what can happen even if lead is not consumed by mouth. The study suggested that chemicals from clothing can transfer to, penetrate and accumulate in our skin. (The study authors noted that more research was needed for a closer analysis of each specific hazardous chemical of concern.) However, a 2019 peer-reviewed study looked specifically at phthalates in infant clothing and found that clothing does play an important role in exposure to textile chemicals.

Lead is a heavy metal, Dr. Cates says. And what happens with heavy metals is that our body takes them up and stores them in our bones, our blood, and our tissues. So, while exposure to high levels of lead is dangerous (lead poisoning can cause anemia, weakness, kidney failure, brain damage and death, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention)prolonged, low-grade exposure can grow problematic.

As lead stores up in our bodies, chronic symptoms can start to emerge, Dr. Cates explains. These may include abdominal pain, constipation, forgetfulness, nausea, and depression. Lead in particular has been connected to infertility, she adds. The CDC says that people with long-term exposure to lead are also at a greater risk for high blood pressure, kidney disease, and heart disease.

These symptoms can also worsen with ageespecially for women. When estrogen levels drop after menopause, bones can start to deteriorate, Dr. Cates says. The lead thats stored in the bones will then start to be released in the bloodstream, its like you become toxic all over again.

10 Surprising Health Risks that Happen After Menopause

These are known as forever chemicals,' Dr. Cates says. They persist in the environment, and they also dont easily get out of the human body.

PFAS are also considered endocrine-disrupting chemicals because they can mimic hormones in the bodyand theyre extremely common in our lives. In fact, almost all adults in the United States have some level of PFAS in their bloodstreams, says Dr. Johnson-Arbor.

The 5 Best Hormone-Safe Sunscreens, Recommended by Doctors

Dr. Cates says that since the use of PFAS became so widespread, signs of hormonal imbalances are on the rise: greater rates of thyroid disease, breast and prostate cancer, breast development in young boys and the number of women having menstrual problems.

The CDC adds that current research suggests high levels of PFAS exposure may also cause high cholesterol, low infant birth weight, changes in liver enzymes, increased risk of pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure) in pregnant women, decreased vaccine response in children and an increased risk of kidney and testicular cancer.

Phthalates are another group of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. While Dr. Johnson-Arbor emphasizes there is still plenty to learn about the health effects of phthalates (and PFAS), a 2022 review of research found strong evidence that phthalate exposure is associated with low semen quality, childhood asthma and neurodevelopment problems. The researchers said that theres also moderate evidence that phthalates can increase the risk of low infant birth weight, endometriosis, low testosterone, ADHD, Type 2 diabetes, and breast or uterine cancer.

Plus, here are 10 toxic things you didnt know you were feeding your kids

You cant sell a $4 t-shirt without cutting some health and safety corners, so Dr. Cates main recommendation to limit your chemical exposure is to avoid fast fashion retailers altogether. Look for sustainable brands that prioritize natural fabrics and materials, such as cotton, linen, hemp, silk or bamboo. And keep a lookout for chemical keywords such as stain-resistant, waterproof, and shrink-proof.

Since lead is most harmful to young children, people can avoid dressing their infants and children in fast fashion clothing to avoid childhood exposures, adds Dr. Johnson-Arbor. I am most concerned with childrens potential exposure to these chemicals, specifically lead.

Follow the Healthy on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Live betterkeep reading:

Sources

People:

Trevor Cates, ND, a naturopathic physician and author of the upcoming book Natural Beauty Reset

Kelly Johnson-Arbor, MD, a medical toxicology physician and the co-medical director at the National Capital Poison Center

Websites:

PC Magazine: "Shein Unseats Amazon as Most Downloaded US Shopping App"

CBC: "Experts warn of high levels of chemicals in clothes by some fast-fashion retailers"

Mamavation: "Non-Toxic Activewear Guide: PFAS "Forever Chemicals" in Workout Leggings & Yoga Pants"

Fashion FWD: "Going out of fashion: US apparel manufacturers must eliminate PFAS "forever chemicals" from their supply chains"

Fashion FWD: "US policies fall short"

Fashion Revolution: "Fashion Transparency Index 2021"

DLA Piper: "California and New York propose banning textiles containing PFAS; California moves to impose significant reporting obligations"

European Chemicals Agency: "Substances we don't want in our clothes"

Colorado Public Interest Research Group: "Going Out of Fashion: U.S. apparel manufacturers must eliminate PFAS 'forever chemicals' from their supply chains"

Office of Science and Society at McGill University: "Are we at risk from wearing clothing with detectable amounts of PFASs or phthalates?"

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "Health Problems Caused by Lead"

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "What are the effects of PFAS?"

Journals:

Environmental Science and Pollution Research International: "Chemicals from textiles to skin: an in vitro permeation study of benzothiazole"

Science of the Total Environment: "Phthalates in infant cotton clothing: Occurrence and implications for human exposure"

Environment International: "Human health impacts of exposure to phthalate plasticizers: An overview of reviews"

See the article here:
3 Major Toxins Have Been Found in Popular Clothing BrandsHere's What to Know - The Healthy

Under the Cures Act, patients can access their medical results instantly, allowing them to be more active participants in their own care. But some patients have received sensitive results, including cancer diagnoses, before they can speak to their doctors, leading to "emotional and mental harm," Danielle Friedman writes for the New York Times.

To standardize how patients receive results and increase transparency, the Cures Act, which was passed in 2016, included a provision requiring all medical testing centers to release patients' results "without delay." In addition, HHS in April 2021 began to enforce a rule that made "blocking" patients from their own health information against the law, leading to fines for doctors and hospitals.

According to Friedman, the provision on medical records was intended "bring health care into the modern era" by giving "patients easy access to their medical records, empowering them to play a more active role in their care by eliminating the doctor as gatekeeper."

For the most part, patients say they appreciate being able to access their health information directly.

"I feel more in control," said Yasi Noori-Bushehri, a 32-year-old engineer who has Graves' disease, an autoimmune disorder that affects her thyroid hormone levels. In fact, Bushehri said having access to her medical information has given her confidence to ask her doctor to change her treatment plan.

Similarly, Teresa Christopherson, a 59-year-old who routinely gets updated about the status of her breast cancer online, said receiving test results ahead of time allowed her to feel more prepared before speaking with her doctor.

"You can go into the next appointment having done your homework," Christopherson said, which helped her "ask the right questions" about potential next steps.

"Everyone has the right to their own medical information in real time, not on the doctor's time," she added.

Although having instant access to medical results can be beneficial in some ways, there are times where patients have "learned about life-altering diagnoses and developmentsfrom cancer to chronic illness to miscarriagethrough emails and online portals" instead of through their doctors, who could have eased them into the information, Friedman writes.

For example, Nicki Swann, a 38-year-old professor in Oregon, learned she had colon cancer through an app after she had polyps removed. "I couldn't imagine that anything but good news would be shared in that way," she said.

Although Swann immediately called her doctor's office, the physician was unavailable at that time, and they did not speak about her diagnosis until the following week. "Any cancer diagnosis is going to cause trauma," she said. "But I think it was much worse to receive it in that way."

According to Emily Porter, an ED and sexual health physician in Texas, when difficult medical diagnoses are instantly delivered to patients online, "it cuts off any opportunity for doctors to get ahead of things."

"When information is just given in black-and-white type on MyChart, that's not the full expression of compassionate care," said Elizabeth Comen, an oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "Yes, it is immediate care, but it's care out of context."

"We have to honor the reality that waiting can feel impossibly hard," Comen added. "But I don't think anything replaces a doctor holding your hand and looking you in the eye and saying: 'I'm going to go through every aspect of this with you in real time. You can ask me your questions. I will read your body language. I will give you tissues. I will be there with you.'"

According to a survey of 1,000 patients from the American Medical Association (AMA), around 42% said they wanted to see their test results as soon as they were available, while 43% said they preferred to speak with their doctors first. However, among patients who preferred instant access, more than half said they would want to speak to their doctor first in the case of a "debilitating, life-limiting or terminal illness."

Currently, the medical results provision includes a "preventing harm exception" that allows doctors to delay a result, but "the bar for what counts as harm is high: The provider must be able to anticipate that the test results could lead a patient to harm himself or herself," Friedman writes. In addition, any exceptions must be requested by a patient beforehand, which may not be possible when an unexpected result is found through a routine test.

To allow providers more control over sensitive test results, AMA has urged HHS to make "common sense" exceptions to the current rule. In a statement published last month, AMA requested language be added to "explicitly allow physicians, using their professional judgment, to withhold some information if immediate or proactive release could cause a patient mental or emotional harm."

Micky Tripathi, the national coordinator for health information technology at HHS, said adjusting to having instant access to medical results "is a really big transition for all of us," but added that officials hoped the Cures Act would encourage patients to be more active in their own care and talk with their doctors about how they want to receive medical information.

Tripathi said officials hoped to see health care apps introduce more flexible options that allow providers to designate a patient's preferences on specific cases or ways to allow patients to opt out of receiving certain results right away.

For now, Friedman recommends patients who are undergoing medical tests and concerned about the potential results ask their doctors "for expectations around timing both in terms of when results might be released electronically and when you can expect to hear from the doctor's office, so you can prepare mentally and emotionally." (Friedman, New York Times, 10/3)

Read more here:
Instant access to medical records sounds like a good thing. Is it? - The Daily Briefing

Therapeutic developments have been aimed at enhancing outcomes for patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), an aggressive form of prostate cancer that may rapidly become castration resistant.1 Advances in the understanding of the genomics and biological functions of prostate cancer have resulted in the emergence of several new classes of agents that have improved outcomes in men with prostate cancer, including mHSPC.1 For example, several next-generation androgen receptor (AR) signaling inhibitors have recently received expanded FDA approval to include treatment of men with mHSPC.1-5

Although clinicians have welcomed the addition of novel AR-targeted agents to the mHSPC management arsenal, they have also faced the conundrum of how to best select among them when treatment intensification is needed.

During a recent OncLive Peer Exchange, panel of experts in genitourinary cancer provided an overview of the FDA-approved novel AR-targeted agents for mHSPC, including the pivotal trials that led to their approval. They also shared the factors they consider when selecting among these agents and the rationale for using triplet therapy in some patient subgroups with mHSPC.

Targeting the androgen-signaling axis remains the most effective strategy for treating patients with prostate cancer, which can encompass multiple approaches, including targeting gonadotropin-releasing hormone to prevent release of luteinizing hormone, targeting cytochrome P450 (CYP) 17A1 to restrain androgen synthesis, and directly targeting AR transcriptional activity.1 Four AR-targeted therapies have received approval for the treatment of patients with mHSPC (Table).2-9 Of these treatments, abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) targets CYP17A1, and darolutamide (Nubeqa), enzalutamide (Xtandi), and apalutamide (Erleada) target AR transcriptional activity.1

Darolutamide is the latest AR-targeted therapy to receive expanded indication for the treatment of men with mHSPC.2 Approval for this indication was based on data from the phase 3 ARASENS trial (NCT02799602), which randomly assigned 1306 patients with mHSPC to receive darolutamide 600 mg orally twice daily plus docetaxel 75 mg/m2 intravenously every 3 weeks for up to 6 cycles (n = 651) or docetaxel plus placebo (n = 655).10 The primary end point was overall survival (OS), which was assessed in the primary analysis after 533 patients had died (229 in the darolutamide arm and 304 in the placebo arm).

The primary analysis showed a 32.5% lower risk of death in the darolutamide arm vs the placebo arm (HR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.57-0.80; P < .001). At 4 years, the OS was 62.7% (95% CI, 58.7-66.7) in the darolutamide arm and 50.4% (95% CI, 46.3-54.6) in the placebo arm. Additionally, darolutamide was associated with significantly greater benefits than placebo for several secondary endpoints, including time to castration-resistant prostate cancer, time to pain progression, symptomatic skeletal eventfree survival, time to first symptomatic skeletal events, and time to initiation of subsequent systemic antineoplastic therapy.10

The FDA approval of enzalutamide for mHSPC was based on data from the phase 3 ARCHES trial (NCT02677896), which randomly assigned 1150 patients with mHSPC to receive enzalutamide plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) or placebo plus ADT. Patients were stratified by disease volume and prior docetaxel chemotherapy. The studys primary end point was radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS).

In the ARCHES trial, we showed that enzalutamide delays rPFS, which led to the FDA approval of that therapy, said Andrew J. Armstrong, MD, MSc, who was an ARCHES study investigator. Radiographic progression or death was reduced by 61% in the enzalutamide plus ADT arm vs the placebo plus ADT arm (HR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.30-0.50; P < .001), and the median rPFS was not reached in the enzalutamide arm vs 19 months in the placebo arm. Benefit with enzalutamide was observed across prespecif ied subgroups, with similar benefit regardless of disease volume (ie, low vs high) and prior docetaxel use. Superiority of enzalutamide vs placebo was also shown in key secondary end points, including time to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression, time to initiation of new antineoplastic therapy, PSA undetectable rate, and objective response rate.11

From the 5-year data that was presented at ASCO 2022, we see that many of these men are now being treated successfully for 5-plus years, still on drug, and still going where medians havent even been reached. This is phenomenal for our patients. It emphasizes the need for survivorship, Armstrong said.

The 5-year data come from the updated OS analysis of the phase 3 ENZAMET trial (NCT02446405), which randomly assigned 1125 men to receive testosterone suppression plus open-label enzalutamide (n = 563) or a standard nonsteroidal antiandrogen therapy (ie, standard-care group; n = 562).12 Prior to randomization, up to 12 weeks of testosterone suppression and 2 cycles of docetaxel were allowed. At a median follow-up of 68 months, the HR for death was 30% lower among the enzalutamide arm vs the standard care arm. No major differences were found in enzalutamide efficacy across subgroups. Although benefit was most apparent for patients with low-volume mHSPC not deemed to require docetaxel, patients with synchronous high-volume mHSPC necessitating docetaxel still showed benefit. Exploratory analyses suggested additional benefit with triplet therapy, adding enzalutamide to testosterone suppression and docetaxel.12

Apalutamide was approved in mHSPC based on data from the phase 3 TITAN trial (NCT02489318), which randomly assigned 1052 men with mHSPC to receive apalutamide plus ADT (n = 525) or placebo plus ADT (n = 527).13 At the final OS analysis, which included a median follow-up of 44.0 months, the median treatment duration was 39.3 months with apalutamide, 20.2 months with placebo, and 15.4 months with crossover.

Apalutamide vs placebo reduced the risk of death by 35% (HR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.53-0.79; P < .0001) and by 48% when adjusting for crossover (HR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.42-0.64; P < .0001). The median OS was not reached in the apalutamide arm vs 52.2 months in the placebo arm. Patients who crossed over were analyzed as part of the intention-to-treat population in the placebo plus ADT group. At 48 months, the OS rates were 65.1% for patients who received apalutamide and 51.8% for those who received placebo. Updated analyses of secondary end points based on the f inal data cutoff showed apalutamide plus ADT delayed second PFS and castration resistance (P < .0001 for both).13

Data from the phase 3 LATITUDE trial (NCT01715285) supported the approval of abiraterone acetate for patients with mHSPC. Investigators randomly assigned 1199 patients with mHSPC to receive abiraterone acetate plus prednisone and ADT (n = 597) or matching placebo plus ADT (n = 602).14 Patients had not received prior chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery for metastatic prostate cancer and were stratified based on the presence of visceral disease and ECOG performance status. There were 2 primary end points: OS and rPFS.

At the final OS analysis, which was performed after a median follow-up of 51.8 months, 618 deaths had occurred (275 patients in the abiraterone arm and 343 in the placebo arm). Patients in the abiraterone arm had a significantly longer OS compared with the placebo arm (53.3 months vs 36.5 months; HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.56-0.78; P < .0001). Analysis of OS by subgroups found an OS benefit across most subgroups, with the exception of those with an ECOG performance status of 2 and those with a Gleason score below 8. The final analysis did not include a reanalysis of the rPFS, which was 33 months (95% CI, 29.6-not reached) in the abiraterone arm versus 14.8 months (95% CI, 14.7-18.3) in the placebo arm (HR for radiographic progression or death, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.39-0.55; P < .001) in the preplanned interim analysis.14

With many novel AR-targeting therapies to select from, choosing the best one for each patient can pose a challenge for physicians. From the medical oncology perspective, I spend a lot more time taking a good medical history than maybe I was doing when there were fewer options. Especially when I meet a new patient for the first time, I spend a [significant] amount of time taking [a detailed] cardiovascular history, but also general medical health history, MaryEllen Taplin, MD, said. She explained that she looks at factors such as exercise tolerance, baseline respiratory status, and whether patients have had any falls over the past 2 years because these provide clues that help her select the best drug for each individual patient.

If I have a patient who is [older], [is] relatively sedentary, and had a fall 6 months ago, I might shy away from enzalutamide. But 1 of the other 3 choicesapalutamide, darolutamide, or abirateronemight be better for that particular patient. Ill put in the prescription and try to get the prior authorization and copay information based on that, she said. Regarding abiraterone acetate, Taplin said she would avoid it in patients with a compensated cardiac status and diabetes or trending toward diabetes.

In those with a condition such as congestive heart failure, she said, the risk of fluid retention is a contraindication in her opinion, and for patients with diabetes, she has concerns that the concomitant prednisone would affect patients glucose tolerance. For patients who are good candidates for any of the available agents, the panelists noted that decision-making usually revolves around finances. Once you find out what the co-pay is when you submit that prescription, you want to make sure your patient can afford their medication, Tanya B. Dorff, MD, said. Armstrong agreed and noted that costs among these agents may vary considerably. Paradoxically, abiraterone acetate is generic, but it has some of the hardest co-pays because there are very few assistance programs for it. Darolutamide might be easier because of co-pay assistance [access], he said.

He also suggested that COVID-19 vaccination may factor into decision-making with use of abiraterone acetate because of its concurrent administration with prednisone. A small dose of physiologic replacement prednisone would impair the vaccine efficacy, but we dont have a lot of great data there, he said.

Although mHSPC is generally considered an aggressive prostate cancer, it is still a heterogeneous disease that requires an individualized treatment approach to optimize outcomes. Patients who tend to do worse are those with high-volume, de novo metastatic disease, which is different from those who also have metastatic disease but happen to [have a recurrence] years later and theyve finished treatment, Pedro C. Barata, MD, MSc, said. He noted that patients who tend to do worse have been shown to benefit from treatment intensification approaches, such as a triplet regimen that adds docetaxel and an AR-targeted therapy to ADT, as well as strategies such as concomitant radiotherapy of the primary tumor.

To ensure he identifies patients who would benefit from treatment intensification, Barata said he sequences all patients up front. When I have [a patient with] an aggressive molecular profile, it makes me think about treatment intensification at that point, he said. Another trigger he noted is a low PSA level. Its not concurrent with the amount of disease that you see, he said.

During the discussion, Armstrong explained that an analysis of the ARCHES study found that many patients receiving enzalutamide had radiographic progression despite not showing PSA progression, a finding he noted that could be applied to any AR therapy.15 Were all used to lying back and not doing imaging very often when you see that PSA [level] go down. But we saw that approximately one-third of patients with imaging showing progression at soft tissue or new bone metastasis didnt have any rise in PSA [level] at all, and thats kind of a scary thought, he said.

Barata noted that the next step will be identifying all the patient subgroups who would benefit from treatment intensification approaches such as triplet therapy, as well as which intensification approach may be best suited to each subgroup. Ongoing studies are anticipated to help shed light on these areas.

Go here to see the original:
Novel AR-Targeted Therapies for Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer: Which One to Choose - OncLive

Limerick woman Fiona Robinson experienced symptoms of menopause for eight years until she finally joined up the dots and now she wants to help prevent other women from making the same mistake she did.

When she was in her mid-40s, the mum of one started to feel unusually exhausted, with aches in her ankles, but put it down to age and her busy job.

She told RSVP: I would have been very active previous to this. I played basketball and I was always on the go! I was working full-time as an executive assistant and it was very busy, I spent a lot of time on the road.

Then I started having these symptoms I was exhausted, and getting out of bed in the morning was nigh-on impossible. Id put my feet on the ground and my ankles would ache. When I did get up and go to work, after Id come home Id basically just go to bed again.

Read more: Dublin woman Catriona Doyle diagnosed with two cancers after experiencing menopause symptoms

After a while, Fiona also started to experience low motivation, anxiety and hot sweats.

She said: I went to the doctor with a list of complaints, and he took bloods but they didnt show that my symptoms were connected to oestrogen depletion. We now know that bloods arent going to give you the right answer because your hormones fluctuate so much!

One day she was playing basketball and by chance, she got chatting to a woman named Loretta Dignam, who told her that she had quit her marketing job to set up a clinic called The Menopause Hub.

She was talking about the different symptoms of menopause and perimenopause and it finally clicked, Fiona admitted.

She went into The Menopause Hub, where she got seen by a doctor who prescribed hormone replacement therapy.

I couldnt believe the difference it has made. My ability to get up and do things has definitely improved, and the sore ankles and achy bones are much better.

Weight gain has been huge for me, unfortunately. That was partly down to the fact that for so long, I just had no motivation to do anything. If I did, I was so tired the day after that I decided it wasnt worth it, or I wasnt going to do it again. Im going to see a nutritionist to see if I can balance things out.

Fiona says many women out there are in a similar position to her, and dont realise or want to believe that they are going through menopause.

She added: A lot of women dont want to recognise that they are menopausal. They are like No, dont mention that, that means Im getting old!

I know someone who came out in a rash on her chest, and she had sore, dry eyes. I said Thats oestrogen depletion and she just did not want to hear it! We can be our own worst enemies.

Im 58 now and I still have bleeds. I get told I have a lovely healthy womb and Im like Yeahit can stop working now! [laughs]"

Theres also the issue that many doctors dont have much understanding of menopause.

Its like they did a one-hour tutorial on menopause and then that was it! And then there was all the bad publicity around HRT and the inaccuracies around the links to breast cancer.

I was put on anti-depressants to try to relieve my anxiety, and I stayed on them for years, when really my anxiety was down to lack of oestrogen. Hopefully doctors are getting better educated on how to treat it and deal with menopause.

Fiona is glad that menopause is less of a taboo subject than it was, and she believes that talking about it more will help women.

If we talk about it honestly, that makes a big difference, she said. Barbara Taylor M.D. has a great quote: If it was a male issue, there would be an ATM every corner an Automatic Testosterone Machine on every corner..

Sharing her advice for others, Fiona said: Dont be afraid of menopause. You cant stop it, you cant change it, its going to happen, and you should listen to the symptoms that others have had. There are so many different help groups out there now you dont have to go through it on your own.

Visit The Menopause Hub's website here for more information.

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Limerick mum says hormone replacement therapy has changed her life after menopause - RSVP Live

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2098 by Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell), whichwill punish physiciansand surgeons for unprofessional conduct for advocating for the potential benefits of early treatment with off-label drugs, or those who dare to ask questions about COVID vaccine safety.

Assembly Bill 2098 puts unconstitutional restrictions on free speech by medical professionals. Under AB 2098, doctors will be subject to disciplinary actions by the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California if they do not adhere to the approved COVID treatment consensus.

Who approves the consensus, Dr. Peter Mazolewski said last week to the Globe. The medical board? Public health officials? Neither all of the members of the Medical Board nor all of Californias public health officials are licensed medical doctors.

In his signing statement, Gov. Newsom said, To be clear, this bill does not apply to any speech outside of discussions related to Covid-19 treatment within a direct physician patient relationship, as if its constitutional to limit the censorship of doctors to one medical issue. Imagine if doctors were censored over various cancer treatments or heart ailments.

The Governor of the State of California is telling the states licensed physicians that when they are treating a Covid patient, they must remain in the lane of the consensus of the CDC or CDPH treatment protocols.

Laura Powell, founder ofCalifornians for Good Governance explains in a June AB 2098 opposition letter:

There is no question that the bill is aimed at restricting speech based on its content. As such, it would be presumptively invalid and could only be upheld if the government could prove that the law is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest.

Which it does not.

Physicians would be punished simply for doing what they believe is best for their patients, sharing legitimate medical information necessary for their patients to make a true risk/benefit analysis.

The bill is aimed at physicians who acknowledged the 1% mortality rate, questioned mandatory masks, school closures, and challenged the claim that the vaccine would shield patients from getting or spreading Covid. It is also aimed at physicians whochose to prescribe therapeutic treatments during COVID.

Censorship and criminalization are not the bulwarks of a free society, attorney Leigh Dundas said at the AB 2098 protest rally Friday at the State Capitol. The stark reality is if we are to remain a Constitutional Republic, then doctors must remain free to practice medicine.

Science and medicine are constantly evolving by challenging the status quo, Dundas added.

And Dundas warned that if this bill to censor Californias doctors is allowed to stand, guess who is next on the chopping block the press.

Tech entrepreneur Steve Kirsch addressed the AB 2098 protesters Friday. Im labeled a misinformation superspreader, but (Senator) Dr. Pan cant silence me because Im not a doctor.

Its [AB 2098] unconstitutional and anti-science, Kirsch continued. Tenure was created in universities to allow people to speak out without retribution. This is a special law targeted at misinformation for Covid-19, and thats not science.

As Laura Powell noted, The bill does not address the problem identified. The bills authors and supporters point to the problem of doctors who widely amplify falsehoods about Covid-19, but silencing them would violate the Constitution. To remedy the constitutional problems, it would have to be pared down to the point that it would simply duplicate existing law. Proponents are unable to cite a single example of a harm that could be prevented.

As Dr. Pete Mazolewski said, the purpose of Assembly Bill 2098is to circumvent due process against doctors over Covid misinformation conduct.

AB 2098will punish physiciansand surgeons for unprofessional conduct for advocating for the potential benefits of early treatment with off-label drugs, or those who dare to ask questions about COVID vaccine safety.

Does the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decide approved COVID treatment consensus? EvenCDC Director Rochelle Walensky recently admittedher agencys failures during the COVID-19 pandemic during a message to her staff in August. ABC reported,To be frank, we are responsible for some pretty dramatic, pretty public mistakes. From testing, to data, to communications, Walensky said.

We know there were a lot of problems with the CDC if we speak out right now, we run the risk of losing our licenses, Dr. Mazolewski said.

View original post here:
Gov. Newsom Signs Bill to Censor CA Doctors Accused of Spreading COVID Misinformation - California Globe