#Citrus fruit inspires a new energy-absorbing metal structureit has been said that nature provides us with everything that we need.
And the inspiration came from an unexpected source--the peel of the pomelo fruit (Citrus maxima.
Pomelo fruits have a mass of one to two kilograms but are able to withstand impact forces resulting from falls of over 10 meters.
The fruit's impact resistance is mainly due to the hierarchical structuring of the peel which is made up of a graded fiber-reinforced foam.
The new aluminum hybrid is the product of a bioinspired approach combining metals with different mechanical properties that reflect these naturally occurring structures and mimic the strength of the pomelo peel.
To make use of the pomelo's ability to absorb impact energy the block mold casting process was modified
and the pomelo foam's strut composition was transferred to a metal hybrid. This hybrid consists of highly ductile pure aluminum in the center and a high strength aluminum-silicon alloy in the outer shell.
Tables are filled with homemade cookies gingerbread hot apple cider Swedish meatballs and savory appetizers that are irresistible.
Fruit--pomegranates clementine oranges and cranberries--are terrific holiday dishes because they are pretty festive and best of all easy.
The majority of the state's young children also do not eat enough fruits and vegetables with only 57 percent of parents reporting that their child ate at least five fruit and vegetable servings the previous day.
A weekly happy meal is an unhappy solution especially for toddlers said Susan Holtby the study's lead author and a senior researcher at the Public health Institute.
The new study used data from several cycles of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) to examine dietary behaviors of very young children including their consumption of fast food sugar-sweetened beverages fruits
Asian children eat the fewest fruits and vegetables--Defying the stereotype of the vegetable-rich Asian diet Asian children were found to eat the fewest fruits
and vegetables of any group--only 40 percent ate at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day compared with 56 percent of all the state's children.
Poverty and influence--Parents living in the poorest households--those below 100 percent of the federal poverty level--were less likely than parents in all other income groups to say they have a lot of influence over
For example an educational campaign to encourage parents to swap fruit juice for actual fruit would go far in reducing unnecessary sugar and increasing fiber and other nutrients the authors noted.
Participants provided information on age race/ethnicity education smoking diet (fruit and vegetable intake) and other lifestyle characteristics self-rated health medical history and family history of leukemia or lymphoma.
and fruits level of exercise family history of leukemia/lymphoma and self-reported health status. Types of allergy medication participants used were controlled not for.
and Gynecology at LSU Health Sciences Center New orleans and its Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center has found that a super cocktail of six natural compounds in vegetables fruits spices
The research team tested ten known protective chemical nutrients found in foods like broccoli grapes apples tofu
and turmeric root (a spice used in Indian curry) before settling upon six#Curcumin known as tumeric Isoflavone from soybeans Indo-3-Carbinol from cruciferous plants C-phycocyanin from spirulina Reservatrol from grapes and Quercetin
a flavonoid present in fruits vegetables and tea. The researchers administered these six at bioavailable levels to both breast cancer and control cells.
#¢Roasted turkey and fried turkey have compounds in common with apples chocolate pumpkin pecans molasses honey parsley leaves ham tomatoes and roasted vegetables.
Although cranberries are very acidic the preparation involves the addition of sugar. It spoils more quickly than canned cranberry sauce
or lemon odour at the restrained locust while they spoon-fed it with artificial food.
do you prefer vanilla odour or lemon odour. We walk the locust on a rod that bifurcates into two arms:
one arm has lemon odour the other vanilla. So the locust has to make up its mind:
do I go to vanilla or to lemon. Without training locusts like vanilla more than lemon. But if you pair nutritious food with lemon during the training they will go to lemon.
And if you train solitary locusts with toxic food and vanilla they will also go to lemon.
The new results show how brains do not solve problems'in a vacuum'but in interaction with the environment.
Simply crowding a locust won't change its mind about the odour being'bad'the authors say:
However the reduction in mortality was similar both for peanuts and for tree nuts--walnuts hazelnuts almonds Brazil nuts cashews macadamias pecans cashews pistachios and pine nuts.
and more likely to exercise use multivitamin supplements consume more fruits and vegetables and drink more alcohol.
Researchers asked 852 participants about their average consumption over the previous year of 120 different foods including dairy fruits vegetables eggs meat breads beverages and baked goods.
#The closest relatives of papaya are four species from Mexico and Guatemalafor many decades researchers thought the closest relatives of papaya were certain trees from the Andes the so-called highland papayas.
A study employing DNA sequences from all species of the papaya family instead revealed that the closest relatives of papaya are three herbaceous species
and a small tree with stinging hairs occurring from Mexico to Guatemala and El salvador. The stingy-haired tree in fact is known only from cloud forests in the Sierra de Juarez in Oaxaca southern Mexico.
and provide a key to all taxa comprising the papaya sister group. Before our studies the closest relatives of papaya were known only by local people living along the areas where these plants are growing.
These people could never imagine they were eating a close relative of the famous papaya
because the fruits and leaves are very unlike. comments Dr. Carvalho. For some people is hard to believe that the highland papayas from the Andes are not closer related to papaya than are these Mesoamerican herbs.
However the fact that the closest relatives of papaya are endemic to Central america coincides with the distribution of the wild-form of the crop
which has much smaller fruits and thinner pulp than the ones we can buy in supermarkets.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Pensoft Publishers. The original story is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#Cows chomping on fresh grass, red clover produce omega milkfat is an important ingredient that has a material impact on the nutritional value texture taste shelf-life
and nutrition specifically eating more fruits and vegetables in addressing metabolic syndrome (MS) a common precursor to cardiovascular disease (CVD).
which is a composite summary of smoking fruit and vegetable consumption alcohol use physical activity and body mass index.
and to increase fruit and vegetable consumption stated Boucher. Our data suggests that there is a clear connection between increased body weight or the decrease in the consumption of fruits and vegetables and the development of metabolic syndrome a clustering of CVD risk factors.
In 2009 1059 of screened residents did not have MS with 123 (12%)going on to develop MS by 2011.
Changes in BMI and fruit/vegetable consumption were the OLS components most strongly associated with MS. People who became obese during the two-year time period were more than eight times more likely to develop MS
and people who reduced their intake of fruits and vegetables to less than 5 or more servings per day were four times more likely to develop MS. The Hearts Beat back:
Overall data demonstrates significant increases in the consumption of fruits and vegetables levels of physical activity and the daily use of aspirin.
Then we tested the efficacy of the modified unroller with several types of organic mulches for between-row weed control in organic watermelon.
and wheat straw mulch to between-row areas of'Crimson Sweet'watermelon in 2009 and 2010.
#Zinc sulfate, sugar alcohol zinc sprays improve apple qualityzinc is vital for the healthy growth and reproduction of all organisms.
and sugar and starch synthesis. Apple one of the world's most popular fruits tends to be highly susceptible to zinc deficiency.
in order to enhance fruit quality. Researchers sprayed'Gala'and'Fuji'apple trees in China with zinc sulfate (Znso4) and sugar alcohol zinc separately during four different developmental stages:
They then harvested the apples at maturity and analyzed the fruit for quality and zinc concentration.
According to the report zinc sprays during the four different developmental stages increased zinc concentration of peeled and washed fruit at harvest without phytotoxicity.
The treatments 3 weeks after bloom and 4 weeks before harvest increased average fruit weight of both'Gala'and'Fuji'apples.
Other combinations of treatments were determined to increase fruit firmness soluble sugar and Vitamin c levels in the cultivars.
The scientists said that the effects of sugar alcohol zinc applications were equal to and more pronounced than those of Znso4.
and the leaf zinc nutrition was at a low level continuing zinc sprays on these trees was required to increase fruit quality the researchers said.
or more effective than zinc sulfate at being absorbed by apple fruit tissue and improving fruit quality for trees grown under field conditions.
These experimental results offer new strategies for apple growers. Based on a cost analysis the authors recommend that growers spray Znso4 or sugar alcohol zinc with 0. 1%zinc and 0. 04%nitrogen in the spraying solution on the abaxial/adaxial surfaces of apple
leaves to runoff at 4 weeks before harvest. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by American Society for Horticultural Science.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#High tunnel, open-field production systems compared for lettuce, tomatoin the mild coastal climate of western Washington agricultural growers are learning more about the advantages of growing popular fresh-market vegetables in high tunnel production systems.
and the College of Agriculture and Life sciences of Texas A&m University recently announced the release of'Carotex-312'a new high-yielding orange-fruited Habanero type F1 hybrid pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.).
According to Kevin M. Crosby from Texas A&m University's Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center open-pollinated cultivars of Habanero peppers are used extensively by US growers
Transition to F1 hybrid cultivars such as jalapeã o bell and ancho has led to greatly increased yields earlier maturity and superior fruit quality.
Crosby said that'Carotex-312'should appeal to consumers of Habanero-type peppers because of the new cultivar's large attractive orange-colored fruit.
The results of three replicated field studies conducted at Charleston in 2009 and 2010 showed that the total yield of marketable fruit harvested from'Carotex-312'equaled
or exceeded the yields of total marketable fruit harvested from the'Tigerpaw-NR'parent or from the open-pollinated control cultivar Habanero.
Small quantities of'Carotex-312'seed are available for research purposes from Crosby at the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center at Texas A&m University.
#Bitter melon extract may have potential to fight head, neck cancerextract taken from an Asian vegetable may have therapeutic qualities to treat head
Ray found that bitter melon extract a vegetable commonly used in Indian and Chinese diets reduces the head and neck cancer cell growth in the animal model.
We wanted to see the effect of the bitter melon extract treatment on different types of cancer using different model systems said Ray who first tested the extract in breast and prostate cancer cells.
In this study the bitter melon extract treatment suppressed the head and neck cancer cell growth in the mouse model reducing the growth of the tumor.
In a controlled lab setting Ray found that bitter melon extract regulated several pathways that helped reduce the head and neck cancer cell growth in the animal model.
Bitter melon is a tropical vegetable that is commonly used in Indian and Chinese cooking. Ray who is originally from India often uses bitter melon in her meals.
People in Asia use this vegetable in stir fries salads and also drink its juice as part of a healthy diet.
Although more research is needed Ray believes the bitter melon extract may enhance the current treatment option.
It's difficult to measure the exact impact of bitter melon extract treatment on the cell growth
but a combination of things--existing drug therapy along with bitter melon--may help the efficacy of the overall cancer treatment Ray said.
because its fruits are removed by ants after falling. The authors are also working with colleagues from University of Sydney to investigate the taxonomic value of aromatic resins which also appear to have therapeutic value.
The two species can be distinguished readily by traits such as fruit morphology. Ongoing work by the authors and collaborators is likely to uncover additional undescribed species of Lepidosperma.
and will be tested to treat especially high viscous products such as condensed milk and whey concentrates as well as products with a high content of solids such as fruit yogurt fruit juice and fruit puree.
and consumption of healthy foods (i e. fruits vegetables whole grains) there was no appreciable improvement in dietary quality among SNAP participants after the initiation of benefits.
Likewise consumption of fruits and vegetables was low among all participants in the study but adults who received SNAP benefits increased their consumption of refined grains compared to those not receiving SNAP benefits.
(i e. fruits and vegetables) more cooking or nutrition education classes and restrictions for unhealthy foods specifically soda in order to help SNAP participants to eat better.
Warm weather during winter months reduces yields of blueberry peach and other crops that need cool temperatures for flower buds to break he said.#¢
and fat in foods and beverages as well as promote snack foods with more whole grains low-fat dairy fruits and vegetables.
or vending programs boosted their students'overall daily consumption of fruit by 26 percent vegetables by 14 percent and whole grains by 30 percent.
#Meteor Raspberry Pi cluster used to teach parallel computingresearchers at the San diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California San diego have built a Linux cluster using 16 Raspberry Pi computers as part of a program to teach children
Meteor and its Raspberry Pis provide us with a platform to develop methods that prepare middle
Beyond games students also developed hybrid applications that used both the CPUS (central processing units) on the Raspberry Pis in addition to the GPUS.
In particular the low cost of a Raspberry Pi means that each student can have dedicated access to their own small cluster for exploring.
what the Raspberry Pi is ideal for: taking a complex problem and allowing someone to solve it in a simple unconstrained environment as well as encouraging students to design new hardware that we haven't yet imagined.
and photo gallery 2. The Meteor project complements other educational programs at UC San diego using Raspberry Pi computers.
and a cognitive science doctoral candidate at UC San diego. Alexandre began tinkering with Raspberry Pis a computer that can fit in one's hand
A western diet rich in animal products and other acidogenic foods can induce an acid load that is not compensated for by fruit and vegetables;
while most fruits and vegetables form alkaline precursors that neutralise the acidity. Contrary to what is believed generally most fruits such as peaches apples pears bananas
and even lemons and oranges actually reduce dietary acid load once the body has processed them.
In our study the fact that the association between both PRAL and NEAP scores and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes persisted after adjustment for dietary patterns meat consumption
and intake of fruit vegetables coffee and sweetened beverages suggests that dietary acids may play a specific role in promoting the development of type 2 diabetes irrespective of the foods
And someone with a fruit allergy may be allergic to the seeds but not the pulp.
Different types of fruits and fish can often have substantial cross-reactivity meaning there may be several types that need to be avoided.
Rosaceae fruits which include apple apricot almond peach pear plum and strawberry showcase this cross-reactivity.
and difficulty breathing the next time they bite into a juicy apple. When patients with oral allergy syndrome take angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors for hypertension
Hay fever sufferers that experience an itchy mouth or scratchy throat after eating certain raw fruits
For example an individual may have a reaction to a raw apple but not to apples baked in a pie.
On one line cheesy eggs fried potatoes bacon cinnamon rolls low-fat granola low-fat yogurt and fruit were served in that exact order.
On the other line the order was reversed such that fruit was served first followed by low-fat yogurt low-fat granola etc.
As they entered the dining area the 124 attendees were assigned randomly to choose their breakfast from one of the two tables such that 59 served themselves from the fruit-first line
Specifically 86.4%of diners took fruit when it was offered first while 54.8%took fruit when it was offered last.
In the same vein 75.4%took cheesy eggs when presented first while 28.8%took cheesy eggs
Yet when fruit was offered first there was no evidence that taking fruit was correlated with the selection of any other item.
This highlights the cultural association of eggs with bacon and/or potatoes where fruit is associated not generally with any specific food.
#Health benefits of wild blueberries aboundwild blueberries are a rich source of phytochemicals called polyphenols
and Metabolism shows that regular long-term wild blueberry diets may help improve or prevent pathologies associated with the metabolic syndrome including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
We have documented previously the cardiovascular benefits of a polyphenol-rich wild blueberry in a rat model with impaired vascular health
According to the study wild blueberry consumption (2 cups per day human equivalent) for 8 weeks was shown to regulate
Our recent findings reported elsewhere documented that wild blueberries reduce chronic inflammation and improve the abnormal lipid profile
and endothelial function regular long-term wild blueberry diets may also help improve pathologies associated with the Mets. Story Source:
#Higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke in food desertthere is more to the cost of living in a food desert than higher prices for the few fruits
One of the stores sold fresh fruits and vegetables while another one had a basket with a few apples
and oranges Stone said. Selections of healthier foods were limited and what was available was more expensive than at a grocery store.
#Banana disease spreading: Panama disease spreads among bananas againpanama disease is causing significant damage in banana cultivation in Southeast asia.
Together with a number of partners scientists from Wageningen UR (University & Research centre) have demonstrated that the disease--caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense--has migrated now also to Jordan.
This means that Panama disease is becoming increasingly widespread and major banana-producing countries in Africa
The banana is not just the world's favourite fruit--for many people it is a vital important source of food.
During the twentieth century tens of thousands of hectares of banana plantations in Latin america were destroyed by Panama disease.
Banana plants died en masse and soils are contaminated for decades. The introduction of the resistant Cavendish banana variety saved the day
and clones of the Cavendish banana are cultivated now worldwide. Late last century however a new highly aggressive strain of the fungus was discovered in Southeast asia.
Tropical Race 4 (TR4) is starting to have a huge effect on the Cavendish cultivar in Southeast asia
and there is currently no way to protect the banana. There were suspicions a few years ago that some banana plantations in Jordan were infected with Panama disease.
The Jordanian Ministry of Agriculture later sent samples of the fungus to Professor Randy Ploetz of the University of Florida who forwarded them to Gert Kema a scientist at Wageningen UR.
Phd students from Gert Kema's research group infected different banana plants with the fungus from the Jordan samples.
These plants developed the same symptoms as banana plants infected with samples from Southeast asia. Subsequent DNA tests showed that the Jordan strains were identical to TR4.
Relatively few bananas are grown in Jordan--bananas are cultivated on around 1000-1500 hectares --but 80%of the plantations are infected now.
In Africa bananas are an important part of people's diet and the introduction and spread of Panama disease would threaten the food security of millions.
Professor Abbott and his group at University of Leicester are also developing new fillers for plastics based on orange and banana peel and eggshell.
or vouchers for fruits and vegetables aimed at getting people to eat a more healthful diet.
and peers affect fruit and vegetable consumption among African-american youths. In the study published in the Southern Economic Journal researchers found that parents generally mothers who ate more fruit influenced their children to do the same.
And children had a similar impact on their parents. However only parents seemed to affect their children's eating behaviors
In addition the price of fruits and vegetables were found to affect consumption. Researchers say understanding these family interactions in relation to price can help design more effective policy interventions.
Making fruits and vegetables more affordable and available can positively impact eating behaviors of parents
In this case knowing if these youths their parents or peers respond to price provides information we could use to develop effective ways to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables.
Also fruits and vegetables may be more readily available within the family context than when the youth and the best friend interact--for example
Based on the FACHS data 65 percent of parents and 61 percent of youths reported eating whole fruit or drinking a glass of 100 percent fruit juice at least once a day.
and eat fewer fruits and vegetables than other racial and ethnic groups in the United states researchers said.
and we should make it easy for families to get fresh fruits and vegetables. Impact of interventionfamily interactions can increase the effects of policy-related changes.
For example a program targeting parents to increase how often they eat fruit would indirectly increase fruit consumption among youths.
#Baking blueberries changes their polyphenol content, health benefitsblueberries are called a superfood for their high polyphenol content
and baking affect the increasingly popular fruit's polyphenols and reported their mixed findings--levels of some of these substances rose
Ana Rodriguez-Mateos and colleagues note that eating blueberries is associated with several health perks including improved thinking reduced risk for heart disease and reduced inflammation.
Research suggests that a set of natural plant compounds called polyphenols lend the fresh fruit these benefits.
But consumers don't always enjoy blueberries raw. Some methods of processing such as juicing and canning lower polyphenol levels by 22 to 81 percent.
whether using blueberries in breads muffins or pies affects their polyphenol content. Rodriguez-Mateos'team sought to test the stability of these health-promoting compounds during cooking proofing
They found that all three processes had mixed effects on blueberries'polyphenols including anthocyanin procyanidin quercetin and phenolic acids.
Due to their possible health benefits a better understanding of the impact of processing is important to maximize the retention of these phytochemicals in berry-containing-products the researchers state.
#Surprises discovered in decoded kiwifruit genomea new study that decoded the DNA sequence of the kiwifruit has concluded that the fruit has many genetic similarities between its 39040 genes
The kiwifruit is an economically and nutritionally important fruit crop. It has long been called'the king of fruits'because of its remarkably high Vitamin c content
and balanced nutritional composition of minerals dietary fiber and other health-benefits says Zhangjun Fei a scientist from the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University.
and may facilitate the breeding program for improved fruit quality and disease resistance Fei says.
when farmers in New zealand discovered the fruit and began breeding it as a commercial crop. It is a form of berry that grows on woody vines much like grapes
and belongs to the order of Ericales where blueberries tea bushes and Brazil nuts are classified also.
One of the most remarkable findings of the study was uncovered when scientists observed a high percentage of similarities within the kiwifruit DNA.
The duplication contributed to adding additional members of gene families that are involved in regulating important kiwifruit characteristics such as fruit vitamin C flavonoid
They then compared kiwifruit to the genomes of other representative plant species including tomato rice grape and the mustard weed Arabidopsis.
They uncovered about 8000 genes that were common among all five species. The comparison revealed important evolutionary relationships including the development genes related to fruit growth ripening nutrient metabolism and disease resistance.
when the fruits in your favourite food tree are gone and you don't know which other tree has produced new fruit yet?
An international team of researchers led by Karline Janmaat from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig Germany studied
whether chimpanzees aim their travel to particular rainforest trees to check for fruit and how they increase their chances of discovering bountiful fruit crops.
The scientists found that chimpanzees use long-term memory of the size and location of fruit trees and remember feeding experiences from previous seasons using a memory window
if their fruits emitted an obvious smell. Interestingly trees that were checked merely for edible fruit but where monitoring could not have been triggered by smell
or the sound of fallen fruit because the trees did not carry fruit were also larger.
The researchers found that chimpanzees checked most trees along the way during travel but 13%were approached in a goal-directed manner.
The present study on chimpanzees is the first to show that our close relatives use long-term memory during their search for newly produced tropical fruit
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