Voice!
Your voice. And dementia. They are connected. Saith researchers from Drexel in “Voice Disorders as Early Biomarkers of Cognitive Decline,” published recently in the Journal of Voice.
833,000 adults over 50 were studied. People who had been diagnosed with both voice and hearing issues had about double the risk of developing cognitive impairment or dementia, compared with a control group of people with neither diagnosis. Coming in second for risk were those with a voice
Joy!
If you are one of those patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), then you should laugh, they say, for your own health. “They,” meaning, researchers at Hacettepe University and Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Turkey. Or so they claimed in “Effect of Pursed-Lip Breathing and Laughter Therapy … in Individuals With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease,” that was presented recently at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona.
Hotdog!
The other day, The Wall Street Journal ran an essay by columnist Adam Chandler: “The Rise of the $100 Hot Dog.”
Egad!
The hot dog, says Chandler, “has been dogged” (!) by a lowbrow reputation: zero nutrition, hardly any quality, not at all unaffordable. But the edible canine is growing and glowing. Premium toppings, extravagant presentations and supersize varieties are pushing hot dogs into the realm of fine-dining, haute cuisine. (With prices to match.)
Chandler
Kids?
A recent article in The Washington Post had something interesting to say about a new industry in China: Adult children for hire!
An aging population in China is inspiring this trend and enterprising young men and women are making themselves available for hire as companions to lonely elders in their day-to-day activities. The historic demographic shift is driven by: declining fertility = ~1 birth/woman (you need it to be at least 2.1 to maintain a stable population); birth
Psalm 7:1–17
Facing false accusations, a violent hounding by enemies, the righteous trust in God, the righteous Judge and their protector and deliverer, to vindicate them and to take appropriate action against those enemies.
The psalm commences with a plea in 7:1–2. The songwriter’s foes “pursue” him (7:1) like a “lion” capable of “rending” and “dismembering” (7:2). But, what is worse, there is no help in sight, at least not from any human source!
In 7:3–5, the
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.