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FDA advisory panel's conclusion that oral phenylephrine is ineffective means consumers need to think twice when buying cold and flu meds

Retrieved on:

Thursday, October 26, 2023

The ramp-up to cold and flu season is a bad time for consumers to learn that some of their most trusted go-to products don’t actually work.

Key Points:

The ramp-up to cold and flu season is a bad time for consumers to learn that some of their most trusted go-to products don’t actually work.
The 2023 FDA advisory panel met to review growing evidence that oral phenylephrine is an ineffective treatment for nasal congestion.
Consumers may also question whether combination cough, cold and flu products will still be safe and effective for use at home.

The backstory

The most recent analysis is not the first time an FDA advisory panel has scrutinized oral phenylephrine.
A 2007 panel examining its use concluded that more studies were needed to make a final decision regarding the effectiveness of phenylephrine.

Safety concerns

No safety issues with oral phenylephrine alone were documented in the 2023 advisory panel conclusion.
However, researchers and advisory panel members have raised concerns about the possibility of products containing ineffective phenylephrine remaining on pharmacy shelves.
Even if oral phenylephrine is safe, taking an ineffective medication could cause consumers to spend money on products that work no better than a placebo.

The story behind pseudoephedrine

Luckily, the nonprescription oral nasal decongestant pseudoephedrine – which is known to be effective – has been commercially available for many years.
Pseudoephedrine is a nasal decongestant that is taken by mouth to relieve a stuffy nose.
If the FDA acts on the advisory committee’s conclusions that oral phenylephrine is not an effective nasal decongestant, pseudoephedrine may be the only remaining oral medication available without a prescription to treat nasal congestion.

Pseudoephedrine should not be used in doses higher than those that are recommended on the label. Use of products containing pseudoephedrine should be stopped and a health care provider consulted if dizziness, nervousness or sleeplessness occurs.
Pseudoephedrine should not be used by consumers with heart disease, high blood pressure, thyroid disease, diabetes or an enlarged prostate without talking with a health care provider like a pharmacist or a physician.
Products with pseudoephedrine should not be used while taking, or within two weeks of stopping, a prescription monoamine oxidase inhibitor, which is most commonly used to treat for depression or Parkinson’s disease.

Other treatments

These products are sold under the brand name Afrin and others.
All of these non-drug approaches can help sooth the nasal passage to provide temporary relief from congestion.
If symptoms of congestion continue for more than two weeks, or if signs of an infection arise, go see your doctor.

Lucas Berenbrok is part owner of the consulting company, Embarx, LLC. Colleen Culley and Karen Steinmetz Pater do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

I studied 1 million home sales in metro Atlanta and found that Black families are being squeezed out of homeownership by corporate investors

Retrieved on:

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Critics say this practice drives up home prices and worsens the housing shortage, making it harder for families to afford to buy.

Key Points:

Critics say this practice drives up home prices and worsens the housing shortage, making it harder for families to afford to buy.
So I analyzed more than 1 million property sales in the Atlanta metropolitan area from 2007 to 2016.
I found that global investment firms buying up local properties are indeed hurting Atlanta families – specifically, Black ones.

Neighborhood transformations

For an average neighborhood, home purchasing by large corporate investors explained one-quarter of that decline.
They’re even more concentrated in predominantly Black neighborhoods, where more than 10 houses in a row can be owned by the same corporation.
In my study, I found that large investors tend to snap up housing in majority-nonwhite, lower-income suburban neighborhoods.

Home is where the financial security is

Despite this, the national homeownership rate declined by 5.5 percentage points between 2007 and 2016, reaching a five-decade low of 62.9%.
To be sure, policies like racial covenants, discriminatory mortgage lending practices and redlining fueled low homeownership rates for Black Americans long before the Great Recession.
But global investors’ growing control of single-family homes only widens existing racial gaps in homeownership and wealth.

Directions for new research

While my study focused on Atlanta, it’s not the only place where residents are competing with global investors for housing.
Investment firms’ single-family rental portfolios are largely concentrated in Sun Belt metro areas, including Phoenix, Charlotte and Jacksonville.
Many investment firms have recently been switching from a buy-to-rent business model to a build-to-rent model, which could complicate matters.

An open-source tool for housing policy research

It’s been hard for researchers to identify corporate-owned, single-family homes, since it requires proprietary real-estate data and labor-intensive number crunching.
Using data-driven approaches like this is an important step toward developing policy solutions.

Brian Y. An does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

#UsToo: How antisemitism and Islamophobia make reporting sexual misconduct and abuse of power harder for Jewish and Muslim women

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Ever since, #MeToo has been shorthand for people’s experiences with sexual harassment and assault, from film sets and office buildings to college campuses and religious communities.

Key Points:

Ever since, #MeToo has been shorthand for people’s experiences with sexual harassment and assault, from film sets and office buildings to college campuses and religious communities.
Many articles about #MeToo and religion focus on large churches, such as the Southern Baptist Convention – spaces that are mostly white and Christian.
These women face added challenges when they break the silence around sexual misconduct and abuse of power, as I document in my book “#UsToo.” Many Jewish and Muslim women of color navigate three kinds of oppression simultaneously: sexism, racism and antisemitism or Islamophobia.

’Dirty laundry’

This problem is not exclusive to Jewish or Muslim communities but rather a general problem for all subcultures.
Publicly airing communal “dirty laundry” is seen as precarious, both for the individual and for the ethnoreligious group.
Jewish and Muslim women in the United States are diverse, from different levels of religious observance to ethnic identity.

Risks of silence and interdependence

The insularity, sense of connection and interdependence within some minority communities can be conducive to abuses of power.
Word spread quickly in the Jewish community, and other women came out of the woodwork about his behavior.
Sacred Spaces, incorporated in 2016, is another organization that brings Jewish values to its work addressing and preventing abuse.

Walking a tightrope

Nevertheless, some Muslim women affected by sexual misconduct have been working for years to bring it out of the communal closet and into the public eye.
Many of the women I interviewed live on a tightrope: calling out the patriarchy and sexual misconduct they experienced, while defending their community against anti-Muslim stereotypes.
HEART, a sexual health and reproductive justice organization founded in 2009, offers education and resources to discuss sexual relationships and violence.
Despite this progress, many Jewish and Muslim women are still apprehensive about reporting coreligionists, as are women in larger Christian communities.

Quantum dots are part of a revolution in engineering atoms in useful ways – Nobel Prize for chemistry recognizes the power of nanotechnology

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

The 2023 Nobel Prize for chemistry isn’t the first Nobel awarded for research in nanotechnology.

Key Points:

The 2023 Nobel Prize for chemistry isn’t the first Nobel awarded for research in nanotechnology.
But it is perhaps the most colorful application of the technology to be associated with the accolade.
This year’s prize recognizes Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov for the discovery and development of quantum dots.
Quantum dots brilliantly fluoresce: They absorb one color of light and reemit it nearly instantaneously as another color.

Skip chemical bonds, rely on quantum physics

For instance, some of the earliest dyes started with a clear substance such as analine, transformed through chemical reactions to the desired hue.
Rather than depending on chemical bonds to determine the wavelengths of light they absorb and emit, they rely on very small clusters of semiconducting materials.
Early quantum dots were often based on cadmium selenide for instance – the component materials of which are toxic.
And yet, quantum dots are a pivotal part of a technology transition that’s revolutionizing how people work with atoms and molecules.

‘Base coding’ on an atomic level

This concept is intuitive when it comes to computing, where programmers use the “base code” of 1,s and 0’s, albeit through higher level languages.
This ability to work with base codes also extends to the material world.
Here, the code is made up of atoms and molecules and how they are arranged in ways that lead to novel properties.
Bawendi, Brus and Ekimov’s work on quantum dots is a perfect example of this form of material-world base coding.

How do astronomers know the age of the planets and stars?

Retrieved on:

Monday, October 2, 2023

Technology, Travel, Solar System, Kid, Life, Method, Uranium, Moon, Omega, Temperature, Apollo, Wind, Retirement, Friction, Planet, Soil, Time, Water, Pleiades, Erosion, Hand, Color, Centauri, Toy, Phosphorus, Lithium, Surveying, Mars

How do we know the age of the planets and stars?

Key Points:

How do we know the age of the planets and stars?
– Swara D., age 13, Thane, India
How do we know the age of the planets and stars?
Planet properties like temperature are often set by the star they orbit rather than their own age and evolution.

Sussing out a star’s age

With very accurate measurements, astronomers can compare these measurements of a star to mathematical models that predict what happens to stars as they get older and estimate an age from there.
Over time, their spinning slows down, similar to how a spinning wheel slows down when it encounters friction.
A steady decline in magnetic activity from a star can also help estimate its age.

Piecing together a planet’s age

As natural clocks, radionuclides help scientists determine the ages of all kinds of things, from rocks to bones and pottery.
Similarly, soil brought back from the Moon during the Apollo missions had radionuclide ages of up to 4.6 billion years.
Although studying radionuclides is a powerful method for measuring the ages of planets, it usually requires having a rock in hand.
We cannot yet directly measure the ages of planets outside our solar system with current technology.

How accurate are these estimates?

Astronomers believe planets are roughly the same age as their host stars, so improving methods to determine a star’s age helps determine a planet’s age as well.
By studying subtle clues, it’s possible to make an educated guess of the age of an otherwise steadfast star.
We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

What is an abaya − and why does it cause such controversy in France? A scholar of European studies explains

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Islam, Christianity, Hair, Clothing, Horn, Woman, Society, Color, Face, Muslims, Culture, Norm (mathematics), Jewellery, Fashion design

Through the abaya, women can express their religious identity and dedication to following Islamic guidelines regarding modest attire.

Key Points:

Through the abaya, women can express their religious identity and dedication to following Islamic guidelines regarding modest attire.
In more conservative social circles, the abaya is part of expected dress conforming to social norms and culture.
In Saudi Arabia, for example, women were required to wear an abaya until 2018.
Worn over everyday clothing, the abaya is typically paired with a headscarf to cover the hair.

Hip-hop on trial: When can a rapper's lyrics be used as evidence in a criminal case?

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

McDaniel, who uses the social media handle TheBiggestFinn4800, had previously been considered a person of interest in the case.

Key Points:

McDaniel, who uses the social media handle TheBiggestFinn4800, had previously been considered a person of interest in the case.
Lawyers have used rappers’ lyrics as evidence in criminal cases since shortly after the rise of gangsta rap in the late 1980s.
In fact, researchers at the University of Richmond documented at least 500 cases from 2009 to 2019 where rap lyrics were introduced as evidence in criminal trials.

Rap lyrics as criminal evidence

If prosecutors can show that a rapper’s lyrics establish motive, intent or identity related to an alleged crime, then most judges will allow for the evidence to be used.
But case law regarding using rap lyrics as evidence of a crime can vary from state to state, and judge to judge.
In 2014, the New Jersey Supreme Court found that the introduction of a defendant rapper’s lyrics should not have been admitted into evidence, because the lyrics were general in nature and did not demonstrate motive or intent.

Criminalizing Black artists

During the trial, the defendant rapper claimed he was not aware of the contents of the suitcase.
As a result, allowing a rap artist’s lyrics to be used as evidence of a crime risks weaponizing an art form dominated by Black and other people of color.
As it is, Black Americans are already incarcerated in state prisons at nearly five times the rate as white Americans.

Protecting artistic expression

In recent years, lawmakers in California and New York have sought to limit the use of rap lyrics in evidence of criminality.
In July 2022, Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia introduced the Restoring Artistic Protection Act, or RAP Act.
The federal legislation aims to limit the admissibility of artistic expression as evidence.

Case for caution

The probability of prejudice against defendants who are rappers in any scenario, unfortunately, in 2023 is still too high.
Prohibiting the use of lyrics can help ensure that not “one innocent suffer.”

On Sukkot, the Jewish ‘Festival of booths,’ each sukkah is as unique as the person who builds it

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

The harvest holiday, which begins on Sept. 29, 2023, lasts for seven days when celebrated in Israel and eight days when celebrated elsewhere.

Key Points:

The harvest holiday, which begins on Sept. 29, 2023, lasts for seven days when celebrated in Israel and eight days when celebrated elsewhere.
As a Jewish Studies scholar, much of my work looks at how diverse Jewish American identities are today.

Harvest holiday

Held during the autumn harvest, Sukkot likely has origins in huts that ancient farmers erected so they could sleep in the fields.
For Jews who observe the holiday, tradition says to start building the sukkah as soon as possible after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; some people even start building the structure are soon as they have broken their 25-hour fast.
The makeshift walls, of which there must be at least three, can be made out of anything one wants, from pre-made walls printed with blessings said during the holiday to tablecloths or rugs.
In the United States, many families decorate their sukkot with classic elements of the American harvest season: corn husks, colorful dried ears of corn, harvest gourds and even the occasional bale of hay.

Our yard, our holiday

Many people entertain guests there: I have been to many a meal – and one graduate seminar – in sukkot all over the country.
It is the fact that so much of Sukkot is held at home that accounts for the holiday’s immense flexibility.
Like at Passover, most Jews who celebrate Sukkot encounter it in spaces where people can honor their values, cultures or histories.
Accompanied by pungent cheeses and other nibbles, this festival of whiskey offered him a way to make the holiday his own.
Indeed, some Jews are finding ways to realize the social justice potential in the holiday.

Microphone check − 5 ways that music education is changing

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

School, Technology, Music, University, Student, Education, Collective, Phonograph, Belmont University, Record, Human, Research, Disc jockey, Radio, Growth, Color, Nursing, Nightclub, Tutoring

Music education – which traditionally has been heavily reliant on large ensembles and classical music – is changing with the times.

Key Points:

Music education – which traditionally has been heavily reliant on large ensembles and classical music – is changing with the times.
Not since the introduction of the school wind ensemble in the 1920s or the growth of marching band in the 1950s has music education undergone such a transformation.

1. Students are making their own songs

In 2021, Florida became the first state to offer an All-State Popular Music Collective for students in high school.
As of now, 15 states are offering a similar type of experience for their students.
There are a growing number of opportunities for students to study hip-hop at the collegiate level.

2. Smaller ensembles

In the middle of the 20th century, school music focused on large ensembles performing primarily classical music arrangements.
Modern bands have popped up in schools all over North America, featuring smaller, more contemporary instrumentation, modern musical instruments and tools that sometimes includes turntables and effects processing.

3. Teaching that focuses more on the student

Instructors across the U.S. and Canada teach marching bands made up of 200-plus students.
Music instructors are some of the only teachers in the school who want more students in their classes.
With smaller ensembles comes more room for multiple student creativities and more flexible performances.

4. Technology driven performances

Music education has become more and more technology driven, both in its performance and delivery.
In smaller ensembles and in pop music, it’s important to understand how mixers, public announcement systems and all digital instruments work.
You do not have to know how to set up a mixing console to have a successful traditional concert band performance.

5. Recording in addition to performing

The life of a musician is made up of two primary focuses: performing and recording.
While performing is a part of school music education, recording has been almost entirely ignored as something that students do, until now.
We are in a new era when school recording studios are more the norm and contemporary and commercial music have entered schools of music.

How to create a college internship where students actually learn − and don't want to quit

Retrieved on:

Monday, September 25, 2023

When Angelica landed a prestigious internship with a major corporation just outside of Houston, she was ecstatic about the opportunity to launch her career in finance.

Key Points:

When Angelica landed a prestigious internship with a major corporation just outside of Houston, she was ecstatic about the opportunity to launch her career in finance.
Such optimism was warranted, as research shows that students with internships are almost twice as likely to graduate college, have a 12.6% higher likelihood of being invited to job interviews, and earn 6% higher wages than noninterns once they graduate.
But even with a decent paycheck and scholarships to cover her rent, Angelica considered leaving the internship within weeks.
In fact, research shows that internships can reinforce gender inequalities in the workplace, create unrealistic expectations for career advancement and even exploit student labor.

Common internship pitfalls

Unfortunately, the educational aspect of internships frequently gets overshadowed, with interns assigned mundane or repetitive tasks unrelated to their academic or professional interests.
This can hinder their career development, for example by diminishing their motivation to pursue a career in that field.
Based on our research, we offer four strategies for designing effective and welcoming internships for college students.

1. Set clear learning goals

In order to ensure interns acquire new knowledge and skills, supervisors can establish both long-term and short-term learning goals.
This is required in countries like France, where internships with companies are fully included in college curricula, but not in the U.S.. Learning goals can include specific tasks the intern will be expected to perform, technical knowledge they will gain and transferable skills like communication or teamwork that they should develop through the internship.
Documenting these goals using forms like this one from the University of Minnesota can help students discern where to concentrate and hone their skills during the internship.

2. Structure assignments from easy to hard

In our own study, we found that interns also benefit from starting their jobs with easier tasks and gradually transitioning to tasks that require less oversight.
Our research also shows that interns benefit from assignments that have clear expectations and deadlines and pose minimal consequences if performed incorrectly.

3. Keep communication open

Research confirms the importance of clear, regular and open lines of communication between interns and their supervisors.
Open communication can be especially important for interns who are new to a job, company or city.

4. Connect interns with appropriate mentors

Employees in general benefit professionally and psychologically from having workplace mentors with similar backgrounds and identities to their own.
Yet, workers from marginalized groups – especially women – often have a harder time finding supportive and relatable mentors.
However, simply pairing mentors and interns based on characteristics like race or gender may not be the best approach.