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Wellness

Linguistic red flags from Facebook posts can predict future depression diagnoses
The new study reveals that indicators of the condition included mentions of hostility and loneliness, words like “tears” and “feelings,” and use of more first-person pronouns like “I” and “me.”

The new study reveals that indicators of the condition included mentions of hostility and loneliness, words like “tears” and “feelings,” and use of more first-person pronouns like “I” and “me.”

Linguistic red flags from Facebook posts can predict future depression diagnoses

The language people use in these social media posts can make these predictions as accurately as the tools clinicians use in medical settings to screen for the disease.

Michele W. Berger , Michele W. Berger , Katie Delach

Leading the subconscious to accept healthy encouragement
brain_image

Leading the subconscious to accept healthy encouragement

A study from the Annenberg School for Communication shows that individual's are more receptive to making healthy life choices when motivation stems from others, not the self.

Penn Today Staff

Growing a ‘culture of cultivation’ on campus
Penn Park Orchard

The Penn Park Orchard, located at the southeastern edge of campus, is home to fruit trees, herbs, perennial flowers, and more. Planting events set for this fall will expand the orchard's boundaries. (Photo: Cole Jadrosich/FRES)

Growing a ‘culture of cultivation’ on campus

Even on an urban campus, there are numerous places to coax food from the soil. From the Penn Student Garden on Spruce Street to the Penn Park Orchard, Facilities and Real Estate Services staff are expanding opportunities for the community to interact with an edible landscape.

Katherine Unger Baillie

A neural link between altruism and empathy toward strangers
University of Pennsylvania psychologist Kristin Brethel-Haurwitz studies extraordinary altruism through people who have donated a kidney to a stranger.

University of Pennsylvania psychologist Kristin Brethel-Haurwitz studies extraordinary altruism through people who have donated a kidney to a stranger.

A neural link between altruism and empathy toward strangers

Studying the brain activity of people who have donated a kidney to a stranger, psychologist Kristin Brethel-Haurwitz found a clear link between real-world altruism and empathy, particularly in regard to the pain and fear of strangers.

Michele W. Berger

A whol(istic) new approach to cancer treatment
holistic_healing

Wayne Mylin, (second from left) and Abby Wetzel, (second from right), celebrate a successful program with some of the spring 2018 Holistic Living Challenge participants.

A whol(istic) new approach to cancer treatment

At Pennsylvania Hospital, the Abramson Cancer Center’s seven-week Holistic Living Challenge program provides free access to holistic and traditional Chinese medicine resources, encouraging patients to focus on adopting wellness practices in a supportive group environment.

Penn Today Staff

How many American cities protect the rights of employed breastfeeding mothers?
A federal law, part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, requires that employers offer “reasonable break time” and a place that’s not the bathroom for expressing human milk. But there are many limitations that mean many women aren't covered.

A federal law, part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, requires that employers offer “reasonable break time” and a place that’s not the bathroom for expressing human milk. But the law’s many limitations mean many women aren’t covered.

How many American cities protect the rights of employed breastfeeding mothers?

In the United States, the majority of women have to work. But of the 151 largest U.S. cities, only New York and Philadelphia safeguard their rights.

Michele W. Berger

Dr. Benoit Dubé appointed Chief Wellness Officer
Dubé, Benoit

Dr. Benoit Dubé appointed Chief Wellness Officer

Provost Wendell Pritchett and Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum today announced the appointment of Dr. Benoit Dubé, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, as the University of Pennsylvania’s first Chief Wellness Officer.
Greening vacant lots reduces depression in city dwellers
Criminologist John MacDonald and emergency medicine physician Eugenia South of the University of Pennsylvania.

In the latest round of research on the effects of greening vacant lots, criminologist John MacDonald and emergency medicine physician Eugenia South found that people living within a quarter mile of greened lots had a 41.5 percent decrease in feelings of depression and a nearly 63 percent decrease in self-reported “poor mental health” compared to those who lived near the lots that received no intervention.

Greening vacant lots reduces depression in city dwellers

People living within a quarter mile of greened lots had a 41.5 percent decrease in feelings of depression and a nearly 63 percent decrease in self-reported “poor mental health,” compared to those who lived near the lots that received no intervention.

Katie Delach , Michele W. Berger