Being Mental Wellness month, we thought we would post about an increasingly talked about topic; the link between social media and Mental Wellness. But what is Mental Wellness?
Many claim Social media is playing a progressively more harmful role in the mental health of teens and young adults. We have all heard of 'cyberbullying' and 'Facebook depression', so how can we protect ourselves and our loved ones from these damaging outcomes?
How does social media affect our emotional health?
There are many different theories as to why and how Social Media negatively impacts on our mental wellbeing. Despite these apps being designed to keep the world connected, many teens and young adults experience isolation and undergo symptoms of anxiety and depression.
The pressure to be relevant?
Studies point towards a link in between social media and multitasking. Researchers identified a correlation between using multiple social media platforms and anxiety. It is thought that the stress of maintaining and posting on multiple social channels can cause users to experience anxiety. One can, however, point to reverse causality; are people who already suffer from anxiety more likely to use multiple social media platforms?
Are we adopting utopian goals?
Digitally enhanced images used to only appear on glamorous magazines and were of the rich and famous. Now every smartphone comes with a wide choice of filters and applications to enhance our photos before uploading them. This steady stream of unrealistic images can force users to compare their own body, lifestyle, and career to these unrealistic images. Adopting these utopian goals can leaving these users with a taste of failure. Regularly comparing your life to someone else's is harmful and has the potential to build destructive competitiveness amongst peers.
Although the medical world has not yet recognized the addiction to social media, it has become a greatly discussed topic in the health industry. Harvard University conducted a study where they recorded participant's brain activity while they speak about themselves. This an activity that most social networking users do on a regular basis. They found that this activity stimulated the pleasure sensors of the brain. Social media, however, adds the constant craving for positive reactions to posts and pictures, the desire to grow online 'friends'. This increases the more the platform is used.
'Fear of missing out' occurs when platform users see 'friends' on vacations or enjoying days/nights out, giving the artificial impression of living life to the fullest. Regularly seeing these posts lead to feelings of loneliness, self-doubt and underachievement. These feelings can evolve to a 'compare and despair attitude'. This attitude can lead to a never-ending cycle of comparing one's life to the unrealistic expectations portrayed by users on social media.
How can we battle this?
Although the effects of social media on mental wellness may seem small, for some users are already suffering or recovering from a mental health disorder possibly brought on by social media. These effects could develop into much deeper problems.
1) Limit the number of social networks used. Only keep your profiles active on the sites that are the most relevant to your work and personal life.
2) Focus on following pages and people that really interest you. Decrease your network by only approving connections with users who have a link to you through mutual friends or common interests.
4) Be old-fashioned. Don't allow smartphones and laptops at your family dinner table and make sure you stick to your own rules.
5) Get out there. Stop viewing the world through a small LED window. Stop having conversations through messages and emojis. Go out to explore. Speak to your friends and family in person and encourage your children to do the same.
Although awareness of mental wellness is increasing, we can all be oblivious at times and the people who are suffering can go unnoticed.
If you think you know someone might need some extra support, please encourage them to contact a professional.


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Operation Round Up uses small change for big returns
Giving back has never been easier this holiday season and with Operation Round Up, it's the gift used year-round and given to those who need it most. Your contributions through joining Operation Round Up (ORU) have helped Co-op members in need keep the lights on.
"COVID-19 has impacted families so deeply throughout this year. We are so grateful to our members that give to this program," says Ashley Arnold, ORU administrator. "To those that give, it's around $6 a year, but for people who receive assistance, it's relief and peace of mind — a priceless gift during these times."
How ORU Works
ORU allows NOVEC members to round up their monthly electricity bills to the nearest dollar. For example, if a bill is $68.73, NOVEC will round it up to $69. NOVEC handles all administrative costs, allowing the extra 27 cents to go into the ORU fund. In time, ORU members' cents become thousands of dollars.
How ORU Helps
Money is distributed to organizations that distribute funds to low-income people who qualify for assistance. ORU currently partners with:
The Salvation Army in Loudoun, Fairfax, and Fauquier counties
Action in Community Through Service (ACTS), Prince William County
Western Fairfax Christian Ministries, Fairfax County
SERVE Inc., Stafford County
Northern Virginia Family Services, Prince William County
Agencies praise their partnership with NOVEC's ORU. "It is just amazing to me that in our first year of partnership, you provided us with the opportunity to serve 68 households in need of assistance with their NOVEC bills," says Harmonie Taddeo, Western Fairfax Christian Ministry's executive director. "Not only did ORU meet the needs of families related to NOVEC bills, but it also preserved our funds allocated for helping families with rent."
Joining and donating to Operation Round Up is easy
Join online or call the NOVEC Customer Care Center, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., at 703-335-0500 or 1-888-335-0500.
NOVEC members and nonmembers may donate in any amount at any time. Send a tax-deductible check payable to NOVEC Operation Round Up to: NOVEC ORU, P.O. Box 2710, Manassas, VA 20108.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home » Experts aim to get ahead of hackers who may target medical devices
Experts aim to get ahead of hackers who may target medical devices
Instances of criminals high jacking medical devices — or "medjacking," as some have dubbed it — are rare. But several experts in the field, representing everyone from NASA to academic medicine, aren't waiting around for the crime to take hold.
Marty Stempniak
A group of cybersecurity experts, representing everyone from NASA to academic medicine, formed a committee targeting the small but potentally lethal threat in which a hacker takes control of a medical device, an act known by some as "medjacking."
The Cybersecurity Standard for Connected Diabetes Devices steering committee began meeting in July, hoping to determine any possible vulnerabilities in devices, and ways to prevent them from being cracked.
David Armstrong, M.D., a surgeon, committee member and professor of surgery at the University of Arizona, says change is happening at a rapid pace in the field, and those involved want to stay ahead of any possible breaches. At the same time, members of the group, which is affiliated with the Diabetes Technology Society, want to make sure that any recommendations aren't onerous enough to inhibit innovation, he adds.
"We are moving into a new era," Armstrong says. "It's breathtaking the speed at which these medical devices, consumer electronics, wearables and implantables are all merging. The goal for this group, which is one of the first of its kind, is to try to get out in front of some of the big problems that could completely frighten people off and stifle not only innovation on the R&D side, but quality of care."
The initial focus of the committee will be on diabetes-related devices, but committee members eventually hope to spread their knowledge to other parts of medicine.
With a few meetings under its belt, the committee plans to discuss its initial findings at a meeting convened by the Diabetes Technology Society Oct. 23 in Bethesda, Md. A final report is expected to be issued midyear 2016, says David Klonoff, M.D., medical director of the Diabetes Research Institute at Mills-Peninsula Health Services and chairman of the committee.
Until then, Klonoff encourages hospital leaders to investigate their current security practices with respect to connected devices, patch up any vulnerabilities, and look to purchase any future devices based on their adherence to security standards.
"While you can't prevent a determined hacker from getting into a system, unless you use super-amazing methods, you can prevent a typical hacker from getting in by using simple, protective methods," Klonoff says. "There's the potential for a good return on investment with a few simple steps that can prevent the vast majority of threats from occurring."
MORE ON HACKING: The takeover of medical devices is just one aspect to the major threat posed to health care by hackers. For more on this topic, see "Outsmarting Data Thieves," Page 30.
TechnologyCIOCybersecurity
Video: Population Health Strategies, Cybersecurity Tactics and Medical Crowdsourcing
H&HN staff members recap the October 2015 issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, discussing approaches to population health, stepping up cybersecurity to prevent such things as medjacking, and how physician crowdsourcing is a growing clinical tool.
FDA Guidance Tackles Medical Device Cybersecurity Issues
As concern over security threats increases, more diligence is needed.
Top Six Actions to Manage Hospital Cybersecurity Risks
Here are the best ways to tackle security issues in your hospital.


You know you're officially a geek when you start playing crossword puzzles on your computer. Search engine giant Lycos offers a new, free crossword game (for both masters and regular folks) at this site daily. There's also a fun find the words puzzle game here, too.


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Check Your Mental Health
Killing Depression EBook
Students need to acknowledge social anxiety as a disorder
I dread walking to class, but it's not the mild foot pain waiting for me at the end of each trek that makes me anxious — it's the people. While I'm aware no one is actively seeking to ruin my day, every glance in my direction feels intentional, as if I were being observed under a microscope. It's an uncanny feeling. Each time I approach someone my heart rate spikes, and I begin to worry about my appearance, or whether everyone walking past secretly resents me.
And this is only the start of my day. By the end, I'm exhausted.
For students with social anxiety disorder like myself, attending a university with a massive student body poses a unique set of obstacles. Each day we're forced to bury our discomfort in order to function — yet our symptoms are consistently glossed over in discussions of stress culture. In UT's community, for instance, the most repeated cures for social anxiety are delivered through peppy slogans, such as "get out there and face your fears!"
If we want to help our peers cope with social anxiety disorder, however, we need to acknowledge social anxiety as a complex mental illness — a disorder distinct from nerves or generalized anxiety
disorder. In doing so, we can validate students' symptoms and provide assurance they may need in seeking professional treatment.
In conversation, we tend to swap the words stress and anxiety interchangeably, but the two are distinct. Stress is a temporary state, while anxiety disorders are pathological and long-term. Although social anxiety falls under the umbrella of anxiety disorders — which, according to the National Institute on Mental Health, are characterized by an ever-present fear — it is also separate from generalized anxiety disorder.
"One of the core diagnostic criteria of social anxiety disorder is fear of negative evaluation, fear of being judged by other people," said Michael Mullarkey, a researcher in UT's Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety Disorders.
Given this distinction, conflating stress or anxiety with social anxiety flattens each into a singular experience, ignoring the disorders' respective symptoms. With social anxiety, intense fear occurs in relation to a social setting or interaction: It has a source. But, similar to the confusion between generalized anxiety and stress, social anxiety cannot be mistaken for the occasional nerves one feels when meeting new people or going to a new place. This experience is largely manageable, whereas social anxiety is persistent and cannot be cured through repeated interactions. Regardless, exposure therapy seems like an obvious solution to many students.
"While I would never push someone with anxiety to do anything, I do think that stepping out of their comfort zone could help," physics freshman Steven Padua said.
The prevalence of this belief likely stems from the popularity of exposure therapy, a treatment in which patients interact with their fears in a structured setting. In some cases, these sessions are proven to be highly effective. "Just get out there" quips, on the other hand, can have the opposite effect.
As a result, students with social anxiety may feel pressure to pursue this form of self-treatment.
"I used to stigmatize myself whenever I didn't feel better after going outside or doing other common measures to alleviate my anxiety," said Anna Lee Carothers, Plan II senior and UT's National Alliance On Mental Illness president. "I was convinced that if I took medication it was indicative of failure."
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are highly treatable — but only 36.9% of those afflicted seek help. We can reverse this trend on a small scale at UT by recognizing social anxiety disorders on our campus. It may not seem like a lot, but doing so will allow those with social anxiety to seek the treatment they deserve.
David is an advertising sophomore from Allen.
View the original article here
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This Tuscan Sunrise Cocktail Recipe brought me right back to that time my husband and I were in Italy, sipping on a refreshing cocktail.
If you are looking for a light and refreshing Cocktail that is easy to put together with just 4 ingredients and will blow your guests away, then keep reading.
Spring and summer, is when we start to see the temperature rising and the humidity start to set in. There's nothing more refreshing than an Italian drink, specifically a "spritzy" type of drink. I put together this Tuscan Sunrise Cocktail Recipe after the wonderful people at Santa Margherita sent me a bottle of Prosecco Superiore DOCG .
You are going to combine the Sanpellegrino Blood Orange Sparkling Fruit Beverage, and Aperol in a large pitcher.
Then you are going to add the chilled Prosecco Superiore DOCG and stir. Squeeze juice of 1 large orange or blood orange. I was not able to find a blood orange so I really didn't have a choice.
On a side note: Blood Oranges are similar in taste and texture to a regular orange, but unlike traditional oranges, blood oranges aren't available year round. That's because they rely on certain kinds of weather to develop their red color.
Next you are going to pour this wonderful concoction into your glass of your choice with ice.
Garnish with Orange or Blood Orange slices and Enjoy!
I used this Prosecco Superiore DOCG which is a sparkling wine with a clean, pleasantly fruity bouquet, reminiscent of rennet apples and peach blossom. Its flavor is rounded and well-balanced. Perfect as an aperitif, Santa Margherita's Prosecco Superiore DOCG is ideal with seafood or cheese appetizers. Its mellow versatility also brings flavorful sparkle to a small plate brunch or your favorite rich dessert.
You can learn more about Santa Margherita and the different wine options they offer on their website.
In a large pitcher, combine the Sanpellegrino Blood Orange Sparkling Fruit Beverage, and Aperol.
Top with the chilled Prosecco Superiore DOCG and stir.
Pour into glass of your choice with ice.
Garnish with Orange or Blood Orange slices.
If you enjoyed this Tuscan Sunrise Recipe, be sure to check out our 20 Delicious Spring Cocktail Recipes that will have you salivating!
Cant Wait to try these!!
And i Did! one of the best! Thanks for sharing !


There's a reason why WhatsApp remains the most popular instant messaging platform. It continues to evolve with time and is actively bringing new features to the platform. It's no surprise that It has grown manifolds over the past year what's driving this growth is the announcement of features that are widely appreciated by one and all. One of the features rolled out by the company late last year was the ability to delete messages once they have been sent. However, it looks, like there is a hack how the receiving party can retain that deleted message.
As found by The Next Web, the deleted message can be retained by the ones who have received them. This can be done as soon as the receiver gets the message or at any point between seven minutes, after which the message cannot be deleted.
To keep the message even after it has been deleted on the platform, all users need to do is to select that particular text and quote it. So even after the original text is deleted by the sender, it will still be there in the quote. However, quoting the message after it has been deleted won't be of any use.
WhatsApp has not yet given an official statement about this bug in the particular feature that defeats the whole purpose of it. We expect the Facebook-owned instant messenger to rectify it in the coming days as a part of an update. Until then, make the most you can using this bug.
This is not the only bug found for the particular feature. According to a recent post by Spanish blog, AndroidJefe, users can still delete a message even after 7 minutes after sending it. The hack works for both read and unread messages. This means you can delete/recall a message even after it has been read. The process, however, may take a few extra minutes at times for the message to get deleted from the recipient's phone.


"At night you won't switch on the ceiling lamp. You'll switch on the window."
Glowing walls, windows and furniture will replace light bulbs in homes as OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology improves, according to Dietmar Thomas of Philips Lumiblade (+ movie). Update: this interview is featured in Dezeen Book of Interviews, which is on sale now for £12.
"Just imagine windows where transparent OLEDs are integrated," says Thomas. "During the day the sun shines into the room and at night you're not switching on the ceiling lamp or the wall lamp, you're switching on the window."
The low working temperature of OLEDs - around 30 degrees centigrade - mean that lighting source can be integrated into furniture, Thomas says, and even painted onto walls.
"OLED will open up completely new ways where light can be introduced to the customer," Thomas says. "In the far future, say five or 10 years or so, you'll paint the wall with a colour with OLEDs mixed into it, so when you apply a current, the whole wall lights up."
Thomas spoke to Dezeen at the Lumiblade Creative Lab in Aachen, Germany, where we were invited to make a film about OLED technology and its future uses.
OLEDs generate light when electricity is passed through layers of organic semiconductor material mounted on glass.
"OLED is the first light source that is a surface light source," Thomas says. "All other lights sources are point light sources, starting with the flame, the candle and going up to the light bulb and the LED. For the first time you don't need a system to spread the light. The system is built in."
Today's OLEDs are less than 2mm thin and their maximum size is 12 x 12cm but in the near future they will be less than a millimetre thin and up to a metre square, Thomas predicts.
While today they are relatively expensive, prices are expected to fall dramatically: "I expect OLEDs to be in the mass market within the next five years, so everyone can buy OLED systems at IKEA," says Thomas.
Lumiblade is the brand name of Philips' OLED lighting products and the Lumiblade Creative Lab is used to introduce designers to OLEDs and help them develop innovative uses for the technology. Products on show at the lab include prototypes by Tom Dixon, Jason Bruges and rAndom International.
Other future uses for OLEDs include in cars, where their thinness compared to LED technology will allow car designers to provide more internal space or design shorter vehicles.
Designs developed at the Lumiblade Creative Lab include Mimosa, an interactive piece by Jason Bruges (above).
OLEDs (Organic Light-Emitting Diodes) represent the next step forward in the evolution of new light sources, generating light by semiconductors, rather than using a filament or gas. Like LED lighting, OLEDs provide illumination that is more energy-efficient, longer-lasting and more sustainable. It also opens exciting new doors to how we can use, integrate and 'play' with light for decorative, design and ambience creation purposes in our cities – in homes, offices, shops or hotels.
A key difference is that OLEDs are created using organic semiconductors, while LEDs are built in crystals from an inorganic material. There are also visible differences between these two types of solid-state lighting. LEDs are glittering points of light – in essence, brilliant miniature bulbs. OLEDs, on the other hand, are extremely flat panels that evenly emit light over the complete surface. The illumination they produce is 'calm', more glowing and diffuse, and non-glaring.
The thin, flat nature of OLEDs also enables us to use and integrate light in ways that are impossible with any other light source. OLEDs will not replace LEDs – they have their own very specific and useful types of application. The two, however, complement each other very well, providing different options in a new era of digital lighting.
Philips was one of the first companies to make OLED lighting technology commercially available to architects and designers on a large scale through its Lumiblade OLED panels of different shapes, colors and structure, marketed under the name Philips Lumiblade. Furthermore, Philips' Lumiblade Creative Lab in Aachen, Germany, gives lighting designers, luminaire manufacturers and creative minds the opportunity to get hands-on experience of OLED light as a material, and to partner with Philips in creating customized OLED solutions.
The company also has OLED product development facilities in Brazil and China, enabling close collaboration with architects and designers all over the world, and announced a EUR 40 million investment to expand production capacity at its facility in Aachen last year.
In a highly competitive market, hotels, retailers and companies are constantly looking for ways to stand out from the crowd, as a distinct brand with a unique identity. Their image and identity are also communicated through the design and decoration of their shops, hotels or offices. Innovative lighting applications can play an important role in creating a unique ambience in these environments. Philips Lumiblade offers a range of such applications incorporating OLED lighting into eye catching products.
Philips' LivingShapes interactive wall, the world's largest OLED lighting installation that is commercially available today, consists of 72 OLED panels incorporating a total of 1,152 Lumiblade OLEDs. Each panel has a click-fit system, so customers can easily combine as many panels as they want, generating an interactive OLED installation within a few minutes. The installation is ideal for company headquarters, lounges, hotel lobbies or high- end residential constructions.
Philips will take interactive OLED lighting even further with the launch of the LivingShapes interactive mirror in 2012, shown for the first time at the LIGHTFAIR in Las Vegas. The interactive mirror is designed to enhance retail showrooms and enhance ambience in a hospitality setting.
Philips continues to lead the market in making OLED lighting brighter, larger and available for broader use with the introduction of its new high performance OLED Lumiblade GL350. The new OLED panel, shown for the first time in the US, offers an unprecedented combination of lumen output and size at an attractive price-performance ratio, making OLED lighting more viable than ever before for general lighting applications.
OLED lighting works by passing electricity through one or more incredibly thin layers of organic semiconductors. These layers are sandwiched between two electrodes – one positively charged and one negatively. The 'sandwich' is placed on a sheet of glass or other transparent material called a 'substrate'.
When current is applied to the electrodes, they emit positively and negatively charged holes and electrons. These combine in the middle layer of the sandwich and create a brief, high-energy state called 'excitation'. As this layer returns to its original, stable, 'non-excited' state, the energy flows evenly through the organic film, causing it to emit light. Using different materials in the organic films makes it possible for the OLEDs to emit different colored light.
The OLEDs currently available are mounted on glass. So far, glass is the only transparent substrate that sufficiently protects the material inside from the effects of moisture and air. However, scientists at Philips Research are investigating ways to make soft plastic substrates that will provide the necessary protection. This will open the way for bendable and moldable OLED lighting panels, making it possible for any surface area – flat or curved – to become a light source. We could see the development of luminous walls, curtains, ceilings and even furniture. Flexible OLED panels are likely to become available within 6 years.
Today, OLEDs generally have a reflective, mirror-like surface when not illuminated. Another current area of research is on the development of completely transparent OLEDs, which will open many new doors in application possibilities. Transparent OLED panels will be able to function as ordinary windows during the day, and light up after dark, either mimicking natural light, or providing attractive interior lighting. During the day, they could also function as privacy shields in homes or offices. Look out for transparent OLED panels within the next 2 years.
As a rule of thumb: we expect the efficiency to double every 2-3 years.


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Cruise NewsNorwegian Cruise Line News
Norwegian Cruise Line to Restart Cruises Out of Miami in August
Norwegian Cruise Line releases additional details on restarting operations from the US including cruises from Miami in August and Norwegian Encore to Alaska.
Modified Date: Jun 7, 2021
Image Courtesy: Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line has released further plans on resuming cruise operations from the US this summer. This includes sailings out of Miami starting in August and the Norwegian Encore being deployed for Alaska sailings.
NCL Out of Miami and Alaska
Norwegian Cruise Line has already released details on restarting operations to Alaska and out of five US ports through the fall. The cruise line has now released further details on a restart from the US in August with the newest ship in the fleet sailing to Alaska and cruises restarting from Miami.
Norwegian Gem will kickstart cruises out of PortMiami on August 15, 2021. The ship will sail seven-day itineraries to the Caribbean and a four-day voyage to the Bahamas in November.
Norwegian Encore, which is currently the newest and largest ship in the fleet, will replace the Norwegian Bliss in Alaska. The Breakaway-plus class vessel will replace the previously announced cruises for Norwegian Bliss from Seattle, Washington, starting on August 7, 2021.
Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line, said. "With these additional itineraries, we're providing travelers with more opportunities to set sail from some of their favorite homeports and to some of their preferred destinations." He continued to say, "We are very excited to sail in the U.S. again, and to sail first with our latest beautiful ship Norwegian Encore. We're able to reintroduce her to our guests and invite them to experience her world-class offerings, as she makes her debut in Seattle and Alaska."
Also Read: Norwegian Gem Cruise Ship Overview and Things to Do
Photo Credit: Wayleebird / Shutterstock.com
Itineraries From the US Open for Bookings
As Norwegian Cruise Line plans its big comeback from August and through the remainder of 2021, cruises have now opened for a range of offerings from the US. Itineraries have opened up for Norwegian Breakaway from New York to Bermuda starting on September 26, 2021.
There are even more cruise offerings, with Norwegian Bliss departing from Los Angeles on October 24, 2021, sailing Mexican Riviera cruises, and Norwegian Escape cruising out of Port Canaveral starting on November 13 to the Caribbean. You can read all the previously announced deployments covering 10 NCL ships right here.
Norwegian Cruise Line has already announced that all guests and crew members will need to be fully vaccinated on cruises that depart through October 31, 2021. Doing this relaxes the rules onboard and a much better experience if people were not vaccinated.
There are still strict health measures in place onboard to follow the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Conditional Sailing Order guidelines.