New Research Finds New Dangers from Vaping/E-Cigarettes

Posted on by

OSU scientists have taken a first look at bacteria in the mouths of young, healthy vaporizer (e-cigarette) users and they say the potential for future disease is very present. But that danger may not be what you think.

A culture of oral bacteria in daily vape users’ mouths is swimming with strong, infection causing organisms that put vapers at serious risk for disease ranging from gum disease to cancer, according to scientists.

The subjects didn’t have any active diseases their oral bacteria panel resembled that of people with periodontitis. This infection can cause tooth loss as well as leaving one at risk for heart and lung disease if not treated.

The presence of nicotine in the vaper’s “juice” (the liquid they vaporize and inhale) didn’t seem to make a difference in bacteria cultures. This lead scientists to believe it is the “juice” that may be the key culprit in creating a home in the mouths of vapers for this dangerous combo of bacteria.

Scientists even found that cigarette smokers in the study had a lower instance of the dangerous bacteria in their mouths when smoking cigarettes. After was little as 3 months and up to 12 months of vaping changed their bacteria profile a more dangerous level making vaping potentially more dangerous than smoking in some regards.

 

Specific Job Skills Training Positively Affects Low-Income Drug Use

Posted on by

New research at the Ohio State University suggests that low-income youth who receive job skills training makes them much less likely than others to use some illicit drugs.

The positive effect on drug use were seen in only those youth who received job-specific training and not youth who received general help like help in finding a job or getting through a GED program.

The results of the study showed that the use of drugs like cocaine and heroin (and not marijuana) went down for youth who received specific skills training down to 2.8% after 16 years. For those that got only general help illicit drug use went up by 5.2% over the same timeline.

This finding is important because many federal and state programs emphasize a what is called the “job-first” approach which means finding them immediate employment rather than focusing on developing any skills. According to the study this would not help people decrease their chances for avoiding drug misuse.

High Fat Foods May Immediately Affect Our Ability to Concentrate

Posted on by

Stress and other factors may lead us towards our favorite comfort foods—many of which are high in saturated fat. According to a new study from the Ohio State University has found that single meal high in saturated fat can disrupt our ability to concentrate.

The study observed how 51 women performed on an attention test after having eaten either a meal that was high in saturated fat or the same meal made with sunflower oil, which is high in unsaturated fat.

Both meals were created from eggs, turkey sausage and gravy. Both meals contained 60 grams of fat. One was cooked with a high saturated fat oil or the sunflower oil. The meals both totaled 930 calories.

When they observed the poor performance of the saturated-fat eaters compared to the unsaturated-fat eaters the researchers new there was a correlation between saturated food and the brain.

This immediate loss of focus was a surprise to researchers as most research on diet has looked at long-term effects rather than short-term effects. They also noted that even though the one meal was made with sunflower oil, while low in saturated fat, still contained plenty of dietary fat.

Researchers believe, based on this evidence, if a similar experiment were done comparing those who ate the high saturated fat meal and a truly low fat meal the results could be an even more dramatic difference in attention ability.

 

 

During the COVID-19 Shut Down Ohioans Are Speeding More

Posted on by

A new analysis at the Ohio State University has found that with less traffic on the roads during the pandemic Ohio drivers are putting the pedal to the metal.

Ohio State’s CURA (Center for Urban and Regional Analysis) compared traffic data in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus from March 28 to April 19 in 2019 and in 2020. These dates align with Ohio’s stay at home order in 2020.

The results of the CURA analysis showed that average or light speeding was up only slightly but levels of extreme speeding have gone up drastically. CURA researchers believe that the lack of traffic has released a desire to drive fast.

CURA used data from private transportation data company INRIX that showed speeds on segments of major roads and highways among the three cities in question.

The average speeding rate for all three cities one year ago was between 0.8 mph to 1 mph and have increased to between 2.1 and 2.6 mph during the pandemic. CURA noted in some places speeding has become quite extreme. In the west-side of Columbus on a section of I-270 where speeding has averaged between 7 to an astounding 28 mph above the average speed. Areas such these exist in both Cleveland and Cincinnati.

 

Researchers Study the Hidden Danger of Confidence

Posted on by

A new study suggests that feeling prepared or confident, for example for a big meeting or a job interview, that this confidence and preparedness may trickle into other parts of your life where you are not nearly so prepared, thereby creating false confidence.

The Ohio State University and other researchers conducted three studies to examine this phenomenon. Researchers found that feeling prepared in one area of life made people more confident in their beliefs about things that were completely different—whether those thoughts were positive or negative.

The findings are unsettling. Knowing that any given person’s confidence in one regard to make them overly confident when thinking about other issues.

One example researchers gave of how these findings could have real life impacts, if a person had been preparing for a big presentation at work. As they come to perfect their presentation it is coming time to vote on a political candidate. The person preparing for the presentation may have been unsure about their support for a candidate, but the leak over from their presentation conference may assure them of their choice and they will stop researching that candidate.