Slow-n- Low: issue 2 volume 2 pg 3

Slow-n- Low: issue 2 volume 2 pg 2

Slow -n- Low: issue 2 volume 2

BIRTH CONTROL FOR MALES

How long has birth control been in existence?

Good question. 

     Birth control methods have been utilized for thousands of years. In our present times, many safe and effective methods are easily available to us. Trying to choose is not as difficult if you take the time to research and learn about each method.  Have you considered birth control for males?

     Experimental steps toward a male preventive has made leaps and bounds.

     Recently, “…JQ1  successfully inhibited the production of sperm in lab mice.” (http://news.yahoo.com/science-takes-major-step-towards-creating-male-birth-155039405.html)

     This experimental cancer drug, that was being tested on mice, can serve as a hormone-free contraceptive pill for human men.  What is great about the findings as opposed to others is that the effects of JQ₁, were also found to be reversible.

What about when you don’t want to be sterile? 

Say: reversibility. 

     The effects were reversed through the mice by stopping the daily dosages.  Their sperm levels returned to normal. They were then able to fertilize their female partners and produce healthy offspring.

     According to lead researcher, Dr. Martin Matzuk of the Baylor College of Medicine Houston, "We envision that our discoveries can be completely translated to men, providing a novel and efficacious strategy for a male contraceptive.”

     Before these recent research results there was the first time hopes for a reversible male birth control option. This was earlier this year when the Los Angeles Times reported on a gel.  The gel decreased men’s sperm counts with minimal side effects. That gel contained the hormones testosterone and Nesterone (a man-made progestin).  (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/16/male-birth-control-jq1-sperm-count_n_1784361.html)

   In a study led by Dr. Martin Matzuk, director of the Center for Drug Discovery at Baylor, and Dr. James Bradner, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, found that JQ1, inhibited the amount and quality of sperm produced by male mice. Their study was published in August of the journal Cell.  Matzuk stated that, “We found that the JQ1 molecule causes a contraceptive effect in males,”, and he agreed that, “If you stop the drug, there’s complete reversibility.”  (http://www.webpronews.com/male-birth-control-pill-molecule-identified-2012-08)

     JQ1, in the rodents, impacted spermatogenesis via direct inhibition of the testis-specific bromodomain protein, BRDT.

     JQ1 altered sperm production. The blood-testis barrier was breached.  No separation of the  blood vessels and the seminiferous tubules. The male mice in the study mated normally, but were sterile, as the amount and quality of their sperm was low. Small molecules such as JQ1 can be used in pills similar to those used for female contraceptives.

     Matzuk importantly stated, also, that “JQ1 is not the pill for men, because it also binds other members of the bromodomain family”.  The bromodomain member is, BRDT.

    

     Matzuk emphasized the point, “However, the data is proof of principle that BRDT is an excellent target for male contraception and provides us with useful information for future drug development.”

     Members of the BET (bromodomain and extra terminal motif) family of proteins have been shown to be chromatin-interacting regulators of transcription.  In a BRDT experiment, a mutation was generated in the testis-specific mammalian BET gene Brdt (bromodomain, testis-specific) which disrupted spermiogenesis and male sterility.  (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22570411) 

     The experimental steps consisted of:

Germ cell separation

RNA purification and microarray analysis

Quantitative real-time PCR

Northern blot hybridization analysis

In situ hybridization

Immunoblot analysis

Immunofluorescence

Flag-BRDT pull down

Co-immunoprecipitation

     FYI:  The stages of sperm production are spermatocytogenesis, spermatidogenesism, and spermiogenesis. 

     During spermiogenesis, the spermatids begin to grow a tail, and develop a thickened mid-piece, where the mitochondria gather and form an axoneme. Spermatid DNA also undergoes packaging, becoming highly condensed. The DNA is packaged firstly with specific nuclear basic proteins, which are subsequently replaced with protamines during spermatid elongation. The resultant tightly packed chromatin is transcriptionally inactive. The Golgi apparatus surrounds the now condensed nucleus, becoming the acrosome. One of the centrioles of the cell elongates to become the tail of the sperm.  Maturation then takes place under the influence of testosterone, which removes the remaining unnecessary cytoplasm and organelles. The excess cytoplasm, known as residual bodies, is phagocytosed by surrounding Sertoli cells in the testes. The resulting spermatozoa are now mature but lack motility, rendering them sterile. The mature spermatozoa are released from the protective Sertoli cells into the lumen of the seminiferous tubule in a process called spermiation.  The non-motile spermatozoa are transported to the epididymis in testicular fluid secreted by the Sertoli cells with the aid of peristaltic contraction. While in the epididymis the spermatozoa gain motility and become capable of fertilization. However, transport of the mature spermatozoa through the remainder of the male reproductive system is achieved via muscle contraction rather than the spermatozoon's recently acquired motility.

     The BRDT role in spermiogenesis, is in chromatin remodeling.  This is one of the most dramatic chromatin remodeling processes. Indeed, during the postmeiotic maturation of male haploid germ cells, or spermiogenesis, histones are replaced by small basic proteins, which in mammals are transition proteins and protamines. (http://www.mendeley.com/research/role-histones-chromatin-remodelling-during-mammalian-spermiogenesis/)

    BRDT is similar to the RING3 protein family. It possesses 2 bromodomain motifs and a PEST sequence (a cluster of proline, glutamic acid, serine, and threonine residues), characteristic of proteins that undergo rapid intracellular degradation. The bromodomain is found in proteins that regulate transcription. Several transcript variants encoding multiple isoforms have been found for this gene.

     The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the BET protein family. BET proteins have two N-terminal bromodomains and one C-terminal extraterminal domain (ET domain). BET proteins regulate chromatin reorganization via binding to acetylated histones. This gene is thought to play a role in the transcriptional regulation of spermatogenesis. Although referred to as testis-specific bromodomain (Brdt) protein, RT-PCR indicates that this gene is expressed in both mouse oocytes and testes. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different proteins.

     So, controlling our reproduction is part of being human with intelligence.  We have been participating for quite some time.

     Don’t ask how long.

     To find your options for birth control, you can check at your friendly neighborhood CVS, or Walgreens.  Research online, too. 

     As far as birth control for males, it is in the process of being discovered.  This has to be perfected.  JQ1 is great and gives the reversibility of its potent effects.  Just stop taking the pill. Boom!  Loaded, and lethal!  BRDT is front runner.  This is where the future in drug development is for male contraception.

 

UNLIMITED VACATION TIME

It is time for us all to take a vacation together.  The beaches are beautiful this time of the year.  Remember our last vacation?  Let’s go! 

Yes, we are going on a vacation.  So, you can be the next to come to the office in a full body tan.  Like, “Sanket Naik took a six-week trip last year to Thailand and India to see his family, but he didn’t…”

How many days off at your job are available to you?  Why are you even keeping count?

Have you heard about the new trend?   …in the office. 

Well, think about your PRECIOUS allotted vacation time.  Go ask your boss.  You need to plan ahead of time in order to take some days off from work.  You have to ask yourself several quick questions that pertain to the smart use of your “unwell time”.  Will you need it, or won’t you need it? 

Wow, just imagine… Thoughts of summer vacations inspire visions of roasting marshmallows, tasteless T-shirts, and campfire sing-alongs.   LOL.  Remember Pamela Voorhees (Palmer) and her son at Crystal Lake. (http://m.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/06/the-25-best-summer-vacation-movies/friday-the-13th)

Corporate settings are adopting the notion to give employees unlimited days off.  Flexibility.  Keeping count of your sick days is an old concept.  Welcome to the world of “unlimited”.  Now, you can take you bike for a spin, take your girl out to Starbuck’s, and get her really wired up.

Unlimited vacation days at any job could change work output, no matter what a job consists of.  Think again.

Naik, senior director of cloud operations at Coupa said, “There’s the flexibility to travel or fulfill personal commitments without violating HR policies.  Coupa is one of a handful of companies, including The Ladders and Netflix, which have decided to offer the perk to employees.  Being a member of the unlimited vacation plan, you will still be held accountable for you responsibilities.  Angela Romano Kuo, vice president of human resources for the company. “Our salaried employees aren’t given a bank of vacation days; they take what they need,” she said. “If there’s a long weekend or a longer vacation that they want to take, they simply need to get their manager’s approval for the specific time off. Managers will ask the requesting employee for a plan of what will happen to his or her work during the absence, and if they’re confident that the workload will be covered, the request is approved, which it almost always is.”In the end, she said, “Our employees are responsible for the quality of their work, responsible for the hours they work, so they should also be responsible for the amount of vacation time they use.” (http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/19/12813563-latest-work-perk-unlimited-vacations?lite)

1.  Your vacation time is unlimited.

2.  Write it all off.

The trip is primarily for business purposes.  Those few days of pleasure will stay in Vegas; deducted it. Safe!

Unlimited vacation time should be at every job.  Mobility is normal.  With laptops, phones, and other devices the office is anywhere you want it to be.

“What Is Considered Tax Deductible?”

Tax deductible: airfare, lodging such as hotel stays, meals, entertainment, conferences, seminars, workshops, etc.  Let me reiterate, be sure to include transportation costs: airfare, train tickets, car rental, taxi rides, personal car, mileage at 50 cents a mile, etc.  Lodging costs, too. (http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2010/06/08/vacation-deduction/)

So, it is time for us all to take a vacation together.  The beaches are always beautiful at this time of the year.  Last year your vacation was awesome.    

Vacation time might still be precious to you, though. Just put it away, keep it hidden, and never speak of it.  No one knows, do they?

Bath salts are causing a craze from Salt Lake City, Utah all the way to Addicks, Texas.

     If you haven’t caught the news clip about the “living dead” in Florida that ate 75 – 80% of a person’s face like it was birthday cake, then you should perform a quick search.  This isn’t for the faint of heart.  The guy was on bath salt.  No, he didn’t hop out of the tub in a rage because his upstairs neighbor kept beating on the floor.  This was a person on the drugs entitled, bath salts.

“The injured man now needs a facial transplant. The unofficial cause for the depravity: bath salts, a synthetic cocktail that usually contains cocaine and speed (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=20741307&title=emergency-officials-call-effects-of-bath-salt-use-frightening&s_cid=featured-3; By Peter Samore, June 7th, 2012).

     These aren’t difficult to find.  This new high has taken an upward swing since approximately 2009.  The ease to which the consumer can acquire the drug fuels the progressive, chronic brain disease characterized by loss of control; drug use despite harm and denial: addiction.

     The active ingredients, M-Cat, bk-MDMA, and NRG-1, are deemed dangerous.  Thus far, there is a lack of laboratory tests to provide factual information about bath salts affects, but they have been classified as stimulants.  Stimulants increase activities which normally occur.  There is abnormally increased behavioral arousal and activity which results from the levels of norepinephrine in brain synapses.  Bath salts can also be classified as hallucinogens.  The bath salts cause distortions of senses, such as vision, to drive the user into fits of rage.  One could compare its affects to LSD or PCP.   Mephedrone and methylone have been tested, not on humans, though.

“Mephedrone and methylone are synthetic chemical derivatives of the psychedelic herb khat.  All three of the newly banned drugs share properties of stimulants, such as methamphetamine, and psychedelics (or empathogens), such as ecstasy (WebMD, http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20110908/bath-salts-used-to-get-high-are-now-illegal, September 8, 2011, By Daniel J. DeNoon, WebMD Health News)

     Amphetamine addiction leads to amphetamine psychosis.  This psychosis is very similar to schizophrenia.  The stages of abuse effects are accelerated with bath salts.

     -energized, aroused

     -restless, agitated, anxious

     -extreme behavioral excitation in attempt to achieve the initial high

     -depression, despair, intense drug craving, drug seeking

     -psychosis and drug toxicity become common

            (The Neurobiology of Addiction, James D. Stoehr, 2006)

     The buying and selling of these bath salts has become illegal, but chemists stay on the edge with the different combinations of legal drugs to arrive at the same illegal bath salt.  The only way to deem the drug illegal is to make that recipe illegal including its protocol for production.  The sellers, most of which are over the counter, such as head shops and smoke shops, have adopted the salts giving them new euphoric names; Cloud 9, Zoom, etc.  The prices have been jacked up, making them easy to identify.  If you are buying some bath stuff at $25-30 for 0.5g, or 500mg, then you are headed toward oblivion.  Put it back.  Question its origins.  Leave it alone if you get an answer like, “well uh, you know, uh…”

     More reports and research has to take place in order to educate society as to the damaging results of bath salt abuse.  When society is educated, more will be smart in perceiving the harm in using the drug.

     Speak up, who was sitting in the tub thinking, “What if someone sniffed this lavender sh..?”

ARE YOU SELF-MOTIVATED?

Strong Mind

     During self-motivation, you will experience self determination.  With enough self-discipline you will become completely self-propelled. 
“Motivation accounts for the level, direction, and persistence of effort expended at work (Schermerhorn, 2011).”      

     Hard work is the key.  An unmotivated person would not agree with that.  Individuals who are not determined to persevere enthusiastically will hold back, and only work to the minimum specifications of their job.





        Motivation is a concept.  The concept begins with an individual’s needs.  There are obviously different sets of needs, but generally all of these needs cause tensions that change attitudes and behavior.  Being self-motivated teaches you to satisfy the important needs through hard work.

People who possess self confidence are able to view difficult goals as a challenge. Positive thinking enables people to visualize a rewarding future.  A motivating environment provides opportunities for teamwork and creates a workplace where people are 'on the same page' ((http://www.examiner.com/article/motivation-13 ); Motivation An Essential Ingredient For Professional Success; Jerald H. Yatt, Arlington Workplace Issues Examiner) 

     Remain positive.  Maintain the belief that working hard will actually result in high task performance.  Then you will slowly work toward your goals.  Set some fairly specific goals.  Also, set some challenging goals.  Except those goals and then make a commitment.  Prioritize your goals.  As you realize that they are attainable, you reward yourself for all accomplishments.

     
     As you follow these steps, keep reminding yourself that you are determined to finish.  You will successfully create a condition under which you’re inspired to put forth an effort at a specific level and direction, consistently.