#Strawberries, blueberries may cut heart attack risk in womenwomen who ate at least three servings of blueberries
and strawberries per week had fewer heart attacks. Blueberries and strawberries contain high levels of compounds that have cardiovascular benefits.
and strawberries per week may help women reduce their risk of a heart attack by as much as one-third researchers reported in Circulation:
what women eat every week said Eric Rimm D. Sc. senior author and Associate professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public health in Boston Mass.
Scientists from the Harvard School of Public health in the United states and the University of East Anglia United kingdom conducted a prospective study among 93600 women ages 25 to 42 who were registered with the Nurses'Health Study II.
During the study 405 heart attacks occurred. Women who ate the most blueberries and strawberries had a 32-percent reduction in their risk of heart attack compared to women who ate the berries once a month
or less--even in women who otherwise ate a diet rich in other fruits and vegetables.
We have shown that even at an early age eating more of these fruits may reduce risk of a heart attack later in life said Aedã n Cassidy Ph d. lead author
and head of the Department of Nutrition at Norwich Medical school of the University of East Anglia in Norwich United kingdom. The findings were independent of other risk factors such as age high blood pressure family history of heart attack
Plague outbreaks political conflicts and migration movements often matched periods of cooler temperatures. Moreover fluctuations in settlement activity appear to be linked to climate variability.
The Black death in the mid-14th century the Thirty years war between 1618-1648 and the Russian crusade of Napoleon in 1812 are three most prominent examples of climate-culture interactions.
#Amino acid studies may aid battle against citrus greening diseaseamino acids in orange juice might reveal secrets to the successful attack strategy of the plant pathogen that causes citrus greening disease also known as Huanglongbing or HLB.
Studies of these amino acids by U s. Department of agriculture (USDA) chemist Andrew P. Breksa III and University of California-Davis professor Carolyn M. Slupsky may pave the way to a safe effective
With further research the profiles may prove to be a reliable rapid and early indicator of the presence of the HLB pathogen in an orchard according to Breksa.
For instance if the HLB pathogen were causing havoc with the trees'ability to create use
which suggests that the HLB pathogen may have interfered with the tree's conversion of phenylalanine to cinnamic acid.
Although insecticides often show only short half-lives in the environment these highly toxic substances potentially enter water resources where they can be harmful to aquatic insects and other invertebrates.
It has developed resistance to against more than 50 insecticides including DDT Bt toxins among others making the use of chemicals as a control measurement become ineffective.
They investigated a set of genes preferentially expressed at the larval stage that contribute to odorant chemoreception food digestion and metabolic detoxification.
Insecticide tolerance or resistance may have contribution to the option of detoxification pathway in insect herbivores.
They identified in DBM obvious gene duplications of four gene families that participated in xenobiotic detoxification in insects including ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter families the P450 monooxygenases (P450s) glutathione
and carboxylesterase (COES). Notably the further analysis highlighted the potential role of ABC TRANSPORTERS in detoxification.
and then extrapolating the findings Dr à degaard explains. Greater diversity of flora means more speciesyet another interesting result of the study is that the number of arthropods can be determined based on the number of plants living in the forest.
According to Dr à degaard the most important argument is that the human race is entirely dependent on diversity in nature.
Though 2004 had a sharper production decrease per capita beef consumption that year increased nearly 2 percent because of a sharp drop in beef exports largely attributed to the first case of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy also referred to as BSE in the United states. Beef consumption may drop more sharply in 2014 with a 5
RAPID deterioration in mangrove health is occurring in the Sundarbans resulting in as much as 200m of coast disappearing in a single year.
ZSL's Dr Nathalie Pettorelli senior author of the paper says: Our results indicate a rapidly retreating coastline that cannot be accounted for by the regular dynamics of the Sundarbans.
#Schmallenberg virus genome engineered to understand how to reduce disease caused by the virusscientists engineer the Schmallenberg virus genome to understand how to reduce disease caused by the virus. Researchers from the MRC Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow in Scotland have developed methods to synthesize
SBV is discovered a recently pathogen of livestock such as cattle sheep and goats. The researchers have laid bare important ways by which this virus causes disease.
The full report about the study publishes on January 10 in the Open Access journal PLOS Pathogens.
SBV is of great concern because it causes stillbirths abortions and fetal defects in pregnant cows and ewes.
It has spread rapidly throughout Europe since its discovery in Germany less than eighteen months ago (in October 2011.
From these cells the researchers recovered virus with identical infection properties to the natural SBV.
and identify a gene (called NSS) involved in protecting the virus against the immune response of infected animals.
and control the SBV genome will allow the future development of new vaccines for this virus that is of great concern to European farmers.
and in some cases misleading according to a new study by Harvard School of Public health (HSPH) researchers.
Given the significant prevalence of refined grains starches and sugars in modern diets identifying a unified criterion to identify higher quality carbohydrates is a key priority in public health said first author Rebecca
The study appears in the January 4 2013 advanced online edition of Public health Nutrition. The health benefits of switching from refined to whole grain foods are established well including lower risk of cardiovascular disease weight gain
and type 2 diabetes. Based on this evidence the U s. Department of agriculture's (USDA) 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommend that Americans consume at least three servings of whole grain products daily
and the new U s. national school lunch standards require that at least half of all grains be whole grain-rich.
and guidance for consumers and organizations in their attempts to select whole grain products said senior author Steven Gortmaker professor of the practice of health sociology.
The above story is provided based on materials by Harvard School of Public health. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Abnormal proteins from buttock fat linked to metabolic syndromepeople who are shaped apple--with fat more concentrated around the abdomen--have long been considered more at risk for conditions such as heart disease
and diabetes than those who are shaped pear and carry weight more in the buttocks hips and thighs.
But new research conducted at UC Davis Health System published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology
and omentin-1 proteins that can lead to inflammation and a prediabetic condition know as insulin resistance in individuals with early metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome refers to a group of risk factors that occur together doubling the risk for heart disease
and increasing the risk for diabetes at least fivefold. Risk factors include having a large waistline low levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) or good cholesterol high blood pressure as well as high fasting blood sugar (insulin resistance) and high triglyceride levels.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention metabolic syndrome affects 35 percent of American adults over age 20.
Fat in the abdomen has long been considered the most detrimental to health and gluteal fat was thought to protect against diabetes heart disease
and metabolic syndrome said Ishwarlal Jialal lead author of the study and a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and of internal medicine at UC Davis. But our research helps to dispel the myth that gluteal fat is'innocent.'
'It also suggests that abnormal protein levels may be an early indicator to identify those at risk for developing metabolic syndrome.
The UC Davis team found that in individuals with early metabolic syndrome gluteal fat secreted elevated levels of chemerin
and low levels of omentin-1--proteins that correlate with other factors known to increase the risk for heart disease and diabetes.
High chemerin levels for example correlated with high blood pressure elevated levels of C reactive-protein protein (a sign of inflammation) and triglycerides insulin resistance and low levels of HDL cholesterol.
Low omentin-1 levels correlated with high levels of triglycerides and blood glucose levels and low levels of HDL cholesterol.
High chemerin levels correlated with four of the five characteristics of metabolic syndrome and may be a promising biomarker for metabolic syndrome said Jialal.
As it's also an indicator of inflammation and insulin resistance it could also emerge as part of a biomarker panel to define high-risk obesity states.
The good news is that with weight loss you can reduce chemerin levels along with the risk for metabolic syndrome.
To conduct the study Jialal and colleagues recruited 45 patients with early metabolic syndrome--defined as having at least three risk factors for metabolic syndrome including central obesity hypertension mild increases in glucose levels not yet in the diabetic range(<126 mg/dl
) hyperlipidemia without cardiovascular disease or diabetes. A control group of 30 subjects had less than two risk factors for metabolic syndrome with normal glucose and triglyceride levels.
Both groups were matched for gender and age. Complete blood counts lipid profiles and blood glucose blood pressure and C reactive-protein protein levels were measured in all participants.
Levels of four proteins secreted by adipose tissue--chemerin resistin visfatin and omentin-1--were measured also in plasma and in subcutaneous fat samples from gluteal tissue.
The researchers found that chemerin levels were increased and omentin-1 levels were decreased in both plasma
and gluteal fat of subjects with metabolic syndrome compared to those in the control group. The abnormal levels of these two proteins were also independent of age body mass index and waist circumference.
Future large epidemiological studies should focus on evaluating the role of chemerin as a biomarker for the development of diabetes
and cardiovascular disease in metabolic syndrome Jialal said. Other authors of the study entitled Increased Chemerin and Decreased Omentin-1 in Both Adipose tissue and Plasma in Nascent Metabolic syndrome include Sridevi Devaraj of Baylor College of Medicine Harmeet
Kaur of UC Davis Beverley Adams-Huet of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical center and Andrew A. Bremer of Vanderbilt University.
The study was supported by a grant from the American Diabetes Association. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of California-Davis Health System.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#New nanotech fiber: Robust handling, shocking performancerice University's latest nanotechnology breakthrough was more than 10 years in the making
but it still came with a shock. Scientists from Rice the Dutch firm Teijin Aramid the U s. Air force and Israel's Technion Institute this week unveiled a new carbon nanotube (CNT) fiber that looks
and acts like textile thread and conducts electricity and heat like a metal wire. In this week's issue of Science the researchers describe an industrially scalable process for making the threadlike fibers which outperform commercially available high-performance materials in a number of ways.
We expect this combination of properties will lead to new products with unique capabilities for the aerospace automotive medical and smart-clothing markets.
They also can serve as light-activated semiconductors drug-delivery devices and even sponges to soak up oil.
#Research revisiting the safety of GM weevil-resistant peas in mice contradicts previous risk assessment findingsresearchers at the Medical University of Vienna have conducted feeding trials with mice to investigate the allergenicity of genetically modified (GM) weevil-resistant peas.
The Meduni Vienna-team investigated immune responses in mice fed several varieties of beans non-transgenic peas
The mice showed similar levels of immune response no matter which food they consumed. Dr. Michelle Epstein the lead researcher said We observed that the immune response in mice was the same no matter
whether the inhibitor came from beans where it naturally occurs or from peas genetically modified to express the inhibitor and even in non-transgenic peas.
These results demonstrate that Î AI transgenic peas are no more allergenic than beans or non-transgenic peas in mice Dr. Epstein added.
because it illustrates the significance of repeating experiments in independent laboratories Dr. Epstein said. It is also vital that investigators are aware of potential unexpected crossreactive allergic responses upon the consumption of plant products as we found in the non-transgenic peas.
Dr. Epstein questions the utility of rodents for evaluating biotech crops and points out that the MUV results highlight the importance of a careful case-by-case evaluation of GM CROPS
and the role science can play in decision-making around the introduction of GMOS into the food system.
This research was conducted at the Medical University of Vienna as part of the European commission Framework 7-funded GMSAFOOD project.
The above story is provided based on materials by Medical University of Vienna. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
#Weight-control experts stress education, commitmentgenetics economics environment psychology and government policies have played all roles in why as a nation the United states has for a generation been getting heavier.
My job is to build a specialty program that deals with medical weight management providing a long-term care model to treat obesity as the disease it is said Dr. Jamy Ard co-director of the new adult Weight Management Center
at Wake Forest Baptist Medical center and leader of two nonsurgical weight-control programs. Ard's approach is shared by the leaders of other weight-control programs at Wake Forest Baptist including those for children and older adults.
All of these programs stress education--not just for the people facing weight issues but for their families too--and long-term commitment to changed habits in addition to healthier diet and exercise practices.
Some people view bariatric surgery as a quick fix for obesity but at Wake Forest Baptist more is expected of patients than just showing up for the procedure.
Patients are encouraged to lose weight or at least stay weight neutral in the month or so before undergoing bariatric surgery which reduces the size of the stomach or limits its capacity to process food.
By adopting new habits during this period most patients lose a significant amount of weight before the operation said Dr. Adolfo Fuzz Fernandez co-director of the Weight Management Center and head of its bariatric
surgery program. The goal is making those lifestyle changes''said Fernandez who was a classmate of Ard's at Duke Medical school.
Obesity is a disease. Surgery is the most successful treatment but without life modification--portion control healthy choices and exercise--even surgery will not be successful in the long term.
In other words patients who have undergone bariatric surgery can put weight back on if they haven't changed their habits.
We offer a monthly post-op support group--group therapy so to speak --and most of those patients do really well''Fernandez said.
We don't see a lot of recidivism. Susan and Allen Fletcher had bariatric surgery at Wake Forest Baptist after years of following diets that only worked for brief periods.
She was 288 pounds at her heaviest and now weighs about half that. She started by losing 50 pounds before having the surgery.
Her husband is down to 180 pounds from a high of 450. The benefits she said have been life-changing.
When she had a work conference in New orleans and her husband went with her she said they immediately discovered the pleasure of being able to fit comfortably in airplane seats.
Better yet she said during conference down time they were able to explore. New orleans is just the most amazing city Susan Fletcher said.
Every day after I finished classes we would walk for a couple of hours just exploring There's so much on that trip we would have missed
When it comes to young people with weight problems Dr. Joseph Skelton believes giving parents tools to raise healthier children is just as critical as working with the children themselves.
You improve those parenting skills you can improve the children's weight said Skelton director of the Brenner FIT (Families in Training program at Wake Forest Baptist's Brenner Children's Hospital.
She said she initially hoped that her arthritis pain would be reduced through the program something that hasn't happened.
As obesity rates have soared so too have related health problems such as heart disease and diabetes. Consequently Ard and his colleagues fear that the next generation may have a lower life expectancy than the current generation.
The above story is provided based on materials by Wake Forest Baptist Medical center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h
The above story is provided based on materials by University of Chicago Medical center. The original article was written by Matt Wood.
when treating tumors, research findsnew research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical center shows that patients suffering from aggressive brain tumors can be treated effectively with smaller radiation fields to spare the rest of the brain and preserve cognition.
For patients with glioblastoma we now know we can safely and effectively treat them with smaller radiation fields to spare the rest of their normal brain said lead investigator Michael D. Chan M d. assistant professor of radiation oncology at Wake Forest Baptist.
That's important because it lessens the symptoms from radiation toxicity like tiredness and nausea.
Chan said that a patient's cognition is related to how much normal brain is irradiated so focusing radiation on smaller areas of the brain may help preserve cognition
and does not seem to lead to an increase in the likelihood of the tumor recurring.
Overall while long-term survival rates for glioblastoma multiforme patients have not improved by much with treatment advances the ability to treat with smaller radiation fields preserves cognition
and provides the possibility of better quality of life. Recent research findings from Chan and colleagues appeared online last month ahead of print in the American Journal of Clinical Oncology.
While there have been other similar studies this one is the largest to compare smaller radiation margins to larger ones to document differences in patterns of failure for patients Chan said.
For this retrospective study records for 161 patients treated at Wake Forest Baptist over the last 10 years were reviewed.
We decided a few years ago that it would be worthwhile to look at whether using these tighter margins would affect the tumors coming back outside of the radiation field
or tell us if we are barely missing Chan said. We are the first to show definitively that people with smaller margins don't do any worse than those with larger margins.
Chan said that in the 1990s Wake Forest Baptist's Edward G. Shaw M d. professor of radiation oncology was part of a group that pioneered using smaller margins
because it was less toxic. Smaller radiation margins around the tumor do not seem to lead to an increase in the tumor returning just outside of the radiation field Chan said.
A smaller radiation field combined with modern treatment techniques like newer chemotherapy agents and radiation technologies provides physicians with more options.
Treatments have gotten better over time and people with GBM may live longer than they had in the past.
Our study found that the margins did not affect where the GBM came back or how long it took it to come back
and it did not affect the overall survival Chan said. This could potentially be practice changing.
The above story is provided based on materials by Wake Forest Baptist Medical center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
#Passive smoking increases risk of severe dementia, according to study in Chinaan international study by scientists in China the UK and USA has found a link between passive smoking and syndromes of dementia.
The study of nearly 6000 people in five provinces in China reveals that people exposed to passive smoking have increased a significantly risk of severe dementia syndromes.
and respiratory diseases including coronary heart disease and lung cancer. However until now it has been uncertain whether ETS increases the risk of dementia mainly due to lack of research.
Previous studies have shown an association between ETS and cognitive impairment but this is the first to find a significant link with dementia syndromes.
The study published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine is a collaboration between scientists at King's college London and Anhui Medical University China along with colleagues in the UK and USA.
According to the World health organization (WHO) nearly 80 percent of the more than one billion smokers worldwide live in low-and middle-income countries where the burden of tobacco-related illness
and death is heaviest; but only 11 percent of the world's population are protected by comprehensive smoke-free laws.
Since 2006 the Chinese government has promoted actively the introduction of smoke-free environments in hospitals schools on public transport
Recent data show that the prevalence of passive smoking is still high with over 50 percent of people exposed to environmental tobacco smoke on a daily basis. China also has the highest number of dementia sufferers in the world with increasing
Dr Ruoling Chen senior lecturer in public health from King's college London and colleagues interviewed 5921 people aged over 60 in the rural and urban communities of Anhui Guangdong Heilongjiang Shanghai
and Shanxi to characterise their levels of ETS exposure smoking habits and assess levels of dementia syndromes.
They found that 10 percent of the group had severe dementia syndromes. This was significantly related to exposure level and duration of passive smoking.
The associations with severe syndromes were found in people who had smoked never and in former and current smokers.
The data from the Anhui cohort which were collected at baseline in 2001-03 for dementia syndromes
and in the follow up in 2007-08 for ETS exposure and dementia further excluded the possibility that dementia syndromes caused people to be exposed more to environmental tobacco smoke.
Dr Ruoling Chen also a visiting professor at Anhui Medical University said:''Passive smoking should be considered an important risk factor for severe dementia syndromes as this study in China shows.
Avoiding exposure to ETS may reduce the risk of severe dementia syndromes.''China along with many other countries now has a significantly aging population
so dementia has a significant impact not only on the patients but on their families and carers.
It's a huge burden on society.''The findings from this study together with a second recent study by Chen and colleagues published in Alzheimer's
& Dementia on the links between passive smoking and Alzheimer's disease strengthen the case for public health measures to protect people from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.'
'At present we know that about 90 percent of the world's population live in countries without smoke-free public areas.
More campaigns against tobacco exposure in the general population will help decrease the risk of severe dementia syndromes
and reduce the dementia epidemic worldwide.''He added:''The increased risk of severe dementia syndromes in those exposed to passive smoking is increased similar to risk of coronary heart disease--suggesting that urgent preventive measures should be taken not just in China but many other countries.'
'Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by King's college London. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
The native Carolina Willow is also starting to strangle portions of the St johns river. Biologists at the University of Central Florida recently completed a study that shows this slender tree once used by Native americans for medicinal purposes may be thriving because of water-management projects initiated in the 1950s.
which is the compound behind the pain-relieving effect of salicylic acid found in aspirin. UCF professors Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio and John Fauth worked with Kimberli Ponzio
U s.,Russian researchers collaborate on solution to toxic groundwater woesgraphene oxide has a remarkable ability to quickly remove radioactive material from contaminated water researchers at Rice university
A collaborative effort by the Rice lab of chemist James Tour and the Moscow lab of chemist Stepan Kalmykov determined that microscopic atom-thick flakes of graphene oxide bind quickly to natural and human-made radionuclides
Graphene oxide's large surface area defines its capacity to adsorb toxins Kalmykov said. So the high retention properties are not surprising to us he said.
Graphene oxide introduced to simulated wastes coagulated within minutes quickly clumping the worst toxins Kalmykov said.
From a human health and environment point of view that's where they're least welcome. Naturally occurring radionuclides are also unwelcome in fracking fluids that bring them to the surface in drilling operations Tour said.
The ability to quickly filter out contaminants on-site would save a great deal of money he said. He sees even greater potential benefits for the mining industry.
Course leader Dr Mervyn Roy a lecturer at the University's Department of physics and Astronomy said:
Dr David Rydeheard from the School of Computer science said: This is an exciting development taking computing out of its box
Dr Andrew Robinson was amazed by the response of children. He said: It really fired their imagination.
#New company applies regenerative medicine to corneal transplantsocular Systems Inc. OSI) Wake Forest Baptist Medical center
The new approach not yet tested in patients involves isolating cells from banked donor corneas to grow replacement corneal tissue in the lab. The advantage is that cells from a single donor could potentially benefit multiple patients with impaired vision.
The company formed by OSI the sponsor and initial funder of the project Wake Forest Baptist Medical center
whose Institute for Regenerative Medicine is conducting the research and the North carolina Eye Bank is an example of the type of collaboration that is a strategic goal of the Piedmont Triad Research Park (PTRP).
and Drug Administration to begin studies in human patients. This is expected to take several years.
The current surgical technique is to replace a patient's damaged CECS with a very thin layer of tissue containing cells from a cadaveric donor cornea.
The goal of the new partnership is use regenerative medicine technology to meet this increased demand.
and scaffolds can theoretically be applied to almost any tissue in the body said Anthony Atala M d. director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
It is exciting that a collaboration based in the Piedmont Triad research Park right here in Winston-salem has the potential to create products that can bring benefits to patients throughout the world said Eric Tomlinson D. Sc.
Shay Soker Ph d. professor of regenerative medicine at Wake Forest Baptist is the lead scientist for the project.
Other team members are Tracy Criswell Ph d. instructor of regenerative medicine; Ocular Systems Inc. scientists Jin San Choi Ph d. and Belinda Wagner Ph d.;
and Wake Forest Baptist Department of Ophthalmology physicians Craig Greven M d. chair Matthew Giegengack M d. assistant professor and Keith Walter M d. associate professor.
Wake Forest Baptist Medical center and Keith Walter M d. receive royalties from OSI from sales of the Endoserter device
and Dr. Walter serves on OSI's Medical Advisory board and provides consulting for OSI. Story Source:
The above story is provided based on materials by Wake Forest Baptist Medical center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length t
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