In the new study postdoctoral researcher Clare Rittschof used drugs to suppress key steps in oxidative phosphorylation in the bee brains.
But the drugs had no effect on chronically stressed bees--they were not able to increase their aggression in response to an intruder.
 Something about chronic stress changed their response to the drug which is a fascinating finding in and of itself Robinson said.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of all available clinical trials found that people felt 31 per cent fuller after eating on average 160 grams of dietary pulses compared with a control diet according to senior author
Dr. John Sievenpiper of St michael's Hospital's Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre.
Dr. Sievenpiper said that despite their known health benefits only 13 per cent of Canadians eat pulses on any given day
and most do not eat a full serving which is 130 grams or  cup.
Dr. Sievenpiper noted that 90 per cent of weight loss interventions fail resulting in weight regain
or her next meal these findings support longer term clinical trials that have shown a weight loss benefit of dietary pulses.
Dr. Sievenpiper said another bonus from eating pulses is that they are Canadian crops. That means eating local being more sustainable
and receiving many health benefits he said. Dr. Sievenpiper's systematic review and meta-analysis included nine clinical trials involving 126 participants out of more than 2000 papers screened.
This trial was funded by Pulse Canada and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. Another recently published systematic review
and meta-analysis by Dr. Sievenpiper's research group found that eating on average one serving a day of beans peas chickpeas
or lentils can also reduce bad cholesterol by five per cent and therefore lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by St michael's Hospital. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference n
#Strawberry monitoring system could add $1. 7 million over 10 years to some farmsa University of Florida-developed web tool can bring growers $1. 7 million more in net profits over 10
when to spray fungicide to ward off diseases. Growers can use the system by logging onto www. agroclimate. org/tools/strawberry
Ekaterina Vorotnikova a doctoral student in food and resource economics worked on the study to identify how much the web tool could increase profits and yield by reducing spraying for anthracnose and botrytis two of the crop's deadliest diseases.
For example if conditions do not induce diseases growers sprayed unnecessarily wasting chemicals and labor and increasing production costs.
Third too much fungicide helps build chemical resistance for the disease Vansickle said. The study written by Vorotnikova Borisova
--but there's still only limited evidence on their potential health risks or their advertised benefits in helping people to quit smoking according to a research review in the July/August Journal of Addiction Medicine the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. Based on their review Alison B. Breland Phd of Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond and colleagues write V ery little is known about the acute and longer-term effects of ECIG use for individuals
and the public health especially given the dramatic variability in ECIG devices liquids and user behavior.
The work was funded by the National Institute on Drug abuse of the National institutes of health and the Center for Tobacco Products of the U s. Food and Drug Administration.
Potential Health Concerns But Limited Data on ECIG Safety Also known as electronic nicotine delivery systems ECIGS consist of a heating element that turns an e-liquid solution into vapor
which the user inhales. The ECIG solutions typically contain nicotine but not always. E-cigarette models vary widely in design
Since nothing is burned ECIG vapor does not contain many of the toxins present in tobacco smoke.
Some potentially toxic substances are found in ECIG vapor but they are present at much lower levels than in tobacco smoke.
which range from absent or minimal to potentially toxic levels. Some laboratory studies suggest ECIG use has short-term effects on lung function similar to those produced by cigarette smoking
while other studies report no acute impairment The effects of inhaled nicotine in ECIG vapor can be similar to that of nicotine in tobacco smoke.
The authors write No existing studies address the extent to which the inhalation of ECIG vapor hundreds of times every day over a period of multiple years influences human health particularly pulmonary function.
So far the best available studies--two randomized clinical trials--have shown no significant difference in quit rates among in ECIG users.
However research however shows that the societal price of addiction to nicotine is high--tobacco use in the US is implicated in more deaths each year than alcohol and illicit drugs combined.
Given the substantial knowledge gaps the authors highlight the need for further research on the health effects of ECIGS.
and populations all stakeholders in the ECIG debate regardless of their opinions concerning the public health effects of ECIGS must acknowledge that there is much to be learned about this rapidly evolving product categoryâ#generalization in the absence of data is speculation not science.
The above story is provided based on materials by Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Note:
#Flavor trumps health for blueberry buying, study showstaste trumps health benefits for blueberry buyers sending a strong message that fruit consumers value flavor most new University of Florida research shows.
About 61 percent of blueberry consumers buy the fruit for its flavor while 39 percent do so for psychological reasons according to two national online surveys.
because they believe the fruit which contains antioxidants provides health benefits. UF horticultural sciences assistant professor Jim Olmstead will use the data as he breeds new types of blueberries.
and disease resistance said Thomas Colquhoun an environmental horticulture assistant professor and study co-author. Developing a new blueberry variety can take more than 10 years so before investing that time scientists
#New methods to identify MRSA in pigsit is important to keep the number of MRSA infections at a low level.
Traditionally MRSA has been associated with severe infections which occur in hospitals and result in prolonged diseases and increased mortality.
However in recent years MRSA has spread to the rest of the community e g. MRSA CC398 is found in pig production.
MRSA is resistant to the antibiotics with which we normally use for treatment of Staphylococcus infections.
In her Phd project at the National Food Institute Phd student Mette Theilgaard exploited the latest technologies within whole genome sequencing
Transfer of disease from animals to humansthe fact that MRSA can spread from animals to humans where they may result in infections has caused great concern in recent years.
LA-MRSA ST398 is zoonotic i e. it can be transferred directly from animals to humans and cause disease.
Thus it is not sufficient to eradicate the bacteria from humans. LA-MRSA ST398 has proven to be particularly successful in colonisation of pigs.
When bacteria are exposed to antibiotics they protect themselves by developing resistance. They do this by changing their genes either by mutating
It is therefore important not to overconsume antibiotics but only to use the necessary amount.
Staphylococcus aureus may cause various infections ranging from superficial wounds and abscesses to severe infections such as bone inflammation and infection of the heart valve.
In hospitals Staphylococcus aureus is the most frequent cause of infections following surgery. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Technical University of Denmark (DTU.
and lose weight as participants are trained as good as experts at correctly rating the healthiness of foods and giving feedback on them indicates research published online in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
Being able to track energy intake and getting personalized feedback on diet have been linked to greater weight loss
This app enables users to rate their meals on a basic sliding'healthiness'scale from'fit'(healthy) to'fat'(unhealthy)
Three public health students all of whom had completed course work in dietary assessment were asked to rate the same pictures using a more complex scale based on a set of nutritional standards--the 2010 US Dietary Guidelines--with points
and vegetables a higher healthiness score and the'eat less of'foods such as processed and fast foods and sugar sweetened drinks a lower healthiness score.
The researchers say that their study represents the first step in assessing how reliable crowdsourcing might be for feedback on diet.
The above story is provided based on materials by BMJ-British Medical Journal. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Giving hope against cancer? The state of Nayarit in Mexico is one of the major producers of soursop (Annona muricata) at national and global level
because in Mexico cancer is a disease that is increasing among the population and scientific research shows that the compounds found in this fruit can encapsulate tumors
but this depends on the how much is consumed. Montalvo Gonzã¡lez indicates that once the results are obtained the process could lead to the development of products derived from the soursop as ice cream yogurt juice or puree;
#Eating resistant starch may help reduce red meat-related colorectal cancer riskconsumption of a type of starch that acts like fiber may help reduce colorectal cancer risk associated with a high red meat diet
according to a study published in Cancer Prevention Research a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Red meat and resistant starch have opposite effects on the colorectal cancer-promoting mirnas the mir-17-92 cluster said Karen J. Humphreys Phd a research associate at the Flinders Center
for Innovation in Cancer at Flinders University in Adelaide Australia. This finding supports consumption of resistant starch as a means of reducing the risk associated with a high red meat diet.
The above story is provided based on materials by American Association for Cancer Research. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
but that any harm to kangaroo populations by hunting is outweighed by what they gain from a landscape with small patches of different ages of post-fire vegetation.
#Potential treatment, prevention of Parkinsons diseaseparkinson's disease affects neurons in the Substantia nigra brain region--their mitochondrial activity ceases and the cells die.
They also showed that the two substances rescued the toxic effects of the weed killer Paraquat.
which is known to cause a Parkinson's like harm of mitochondria recovered after the addition of the two substances.
This gene originally thought of as an oncogene has been linked to Parkinson's disease since 2003. Recent studies showed that DJ-1 belongs to a novel glyxolase family.
and thus can prevent the degeneration of neurons implicated in Parkinson's disease. Their experiments proved that both substances are lifesavers for neurons:
Adding them to affected cells in other words cells treated with the environmental poison Paraquat or with a down-regulated DJ-1 decreased the toxic effect of the herbicide restored the activity of the mitochondria
and thus ensured the survival of the neurons. We do not yet understand how exactly D-lactate
It could serve as a protection against Parkinson's and is actually very tasty at the same time! This is why the researchers have filed a patent for their finding.
Many diseases are associated with a decline in mitochondrial activity not only Parkinson's. Thus the researchers believe that the DJ1-products could have a general role in protecting cells from decline.
#Clues to flus mechanisms uncovered: Scientists analyze how influenza-related proteins help infect cellsa flu virus acts like a Trojan horse as it attacks
and infects host cells. Scientists at Rice university and Baylor College of Medicine have acquired a clearer view of the well-hidden mechanism involved.
Their computer simulations may lead to new strategies to stop influenza perhaps even a one-size-fits-all vaccine.
The discovery detailed this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows the path taken by hemagglutinin a glycoprotein that rides the surface of the influenza virus as it releases fusion peptides to invade a host cell.
The release mechanism has been the subject of many theories but none have explained experimental observations as well as the new work led by biophysicist Josã Onuchic at Rice
Hemagglutinin is folded completely at the start of the process of interest to researchers who study viral infection Ma said.
Ma said the key to stopping the flu could be to attack these intermediate structures.
Ma said frequent mutations to the cap help the virus avoid antibodies; this is the reason people need flu shots every year.
But he suspects the inner part of the protein is conserved more highly. We're targeting the part that the virus cannot afford to change.
Therefore it provides more hope for developing therapeutic agents he said. Such agents could lead to a universal flu vaccine that would last a lifetime.
He said the membrane fusion mechanism is shared widely among many biological systems which makes influenza a good model for studying other diseases.
HIV has one. Ebola has one. And it's also shared by intercell transport in the nervous system Ma said.
He noted the work could not have been done without CTBP which moved to Rice from the University of California San diego three years ago to take advantage of collaborations with Texas Medical center researchers--one of Rice's Priorities for the New Century.
This demonstrates a very interesting collaboration between TMC and Rice Ma said. We're very happy with that.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) the Welch Foundation the National institutes of health the Gillson-Longenbaugh Foundation and the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas supported the research.
and human health than previously thought. It has long been known that biomass burning--burning forests to create agricultural lands burning savannah as a ritual slash
and wildfires--figures into both climate change and public health. But until the release of a new study by Stanford university Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Mark Z. Jacobson the degree of that contribution had never been quantified comprehensively.
and human health issues than previously thought. We calculate that 5 to 10 percent of worldwide air pollution mortalities are due to biomass burning Jacobson said.
Exposure to biomass burning particles is associated strongly with cardiovascular disease respiratory illness lung cancer asthma and low birth weights.
As the rate of biomass burning increases so do the impacts to human health. Story Source:
Previous research based on anatomical features hypothesized that butterflies are close relatives of large moths but the new tree suggests butterflies are more closely related to small (micro) moths Kawahara said.
or found to have many external wounds. Jacobs presented her research two weeks ago at the North america Congress for Conservation Biology in Missoula Mont.
but this species belonging to such a unique endemic island lineage is more special than that said Dr. Art Medeiros biologist with the U s. Geological Survey on Maui.
#Engineering a protein to prevent brain damage from toxic agentsresearch at New york University is paving the way for a breakthrough that may prevent brain damage in civilians
and military troops exposed to poisonous chemicals--particularly those in pesticides and chemical weapons. An article in the current issue of the journal Chembiochem outlines the advancement in detoxifying organophosphates
a thermo-stable protein with a longer half-life that retains all the detoxification capabilities of the original version.
and make therapeutic applications a reality. The possibilities for this reengineered protein are considerable. Montclare explained that
in addition to therapeutic formulations which could prevent nerve damage in the event of a gas attack
when stores of toxic nerve agents need to be decommissioned. Oftentimes chemical agent stockpiles are decommissioned through processes that involve treatment with heat
Plans are under way to begin developing therapeutic applications for this modified phosphotriesterase and the research team believes that its methodology--using computational biology to identify potentially beneficial modifications to proteins--could point the way to future breakthroughs in engineered proteins.
Dr Natalie Hempel de Ibarra Senior Lecturer in Neuroethology at the University of Exeter said:
Dr Elizabeth Nicholls a former Phd student at The University of Exeter and now a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Sussex said:
Lead author Dr Lucy Cramp from the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at Bristol University said:
Fellow researcher Dr Volker Heyd added: Our results show a clear link between an incoming prehistoric population milk drinking
and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of death from any cause particularly from cardiovascular disease
These results conflict with a recent study published in BMJ's Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggesting that seven
or more daily portions of fruits and vegetables were linked to lowest risk of death. There is growing evidence that increasing fruit
and vegetable consumption is related to a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. However the results are not entirely consistent.
and the United states decided to examine the association between fruit and vegetable intake and risk of all-cause cardiovascular and cancer deaths.
Higher consumption of fruit and vegetables was associated significantly with a lower risk of death from all causes particularly from cardiovascular diseases.
In contrast higher consumption of fruit and vegetables was associated not appreciably with risk of death from cancer.
and vegetables the adverse effects of obesity physical inactivity smoking and high alcohol intake on cancer risk should be emphasised further.
and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of mortality from all causes particularly from cardiovascular diseases.
and vegetables to promote health and longevity. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by BMJ-British Medical Journal.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#Eating tree nuts results in modest decreases in blood fats and sugars, survey findseating tree nuts appears to help reduce two of the five markers for metabolic syndrome a group of factors that raise
the risk for heart disease and other health problems such as diabetes and strokes a new research paper says.
The paper found a modest decrease in blood fats known as triglycerides and blood sugars among people who added tree nuts to their diets compared to those who ate a control diet.
The paper by Dr. John Sievenpiper a physician and researcher in the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre of St michael's Hospital was published today in the journal BMJ Open.*
*Dr. Sievenpiper said he believes this is the first systematic review and meta-analysis examining all of the collective evidence of randomized clinical trials on the effect of tree nuts on metabolic syndrome.
After screening 2000 articles published in peer-reviewed journals he found 49 randomized control trials with 2000 participants.
A person is considered to have metabolic syndrome if he or she has three of the following risk factors:
low levels of good cholesterol; high triglycerides; high blood pressure; high blood sugar; extra weight around the waist.
Dr. Sievenpiper said the biggest reductions in triglycerides and blood glucose were seen when tree nuts replaced refined carbohydrates rather than saturated fats.
He said there was no adverse impact on the other risk factors for metabolic syndrome or weight gain
even though nuts are high in calories. Nuts also have a high fat content but it's good or unsaturated fat.
In the randomized control studies patients ate about 50 grams of nuts a day or about 1-1/2 servings.
or as a substitute for animal fats or refined carbohydrates Dr. Sievenpiper said. The U s. Food and Drug Administration has granted tree nuts a qualified health claim for cardiovascular disease risk reduction.
Tree nuts are recommended also as part of the Mediterranean Portfolio and DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets for cardiovascular disease prevention and management based on their ability to reduce bad cholesterol.*
*This study received funding from the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research and Education Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by St michael's Hospital. The original article was written by Leslie Shepherd.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal References c
#When it comes to gluten-free diets, unfounded beliefs aboundwhile necessary for some many people eat gluten-free diets
because they believe they'll gain certain health benefits but these beliefs are supported not all by research a University of Florida nutrition expert says.
Those with celiac disease or about 1 percent of the U s. population must follow a gluten-free diet
The $10. 5-billion gluten-free food and beverage industry has grown 44 percent from 2011-13 as the rate of celiac disease diagnoses increases along with awareness of gluten-free foods
thus helping some lose weight many health experts say a gluten-free diet is no healthier than a conventional diet except for those with celiac disease.
For example 57 percent of participants believed gluten-free diets can be used to alleviate medical conditions
and 32 percent said doctors prescribe them for weight loss. Thirty-one percent believed gluten-free diets improve overall health 35 percent believed them to improve digestive health
and 32 percent felt that eating them would improve their diet. Gluten a protein is found in grains such as wheat barley rye and triticale a cross between wheat and rye.
A gluten-free diet is prescribed for those with celiac disease a condition that can damage the lining of the small intestine.
and prevent the host of health economic and social problems associated with hunger and malnutrition.
and more resistant to environmental stress in West african environments than Asian varieties Wing said. African rice already has been crossed with Asian rice to produce new varieties under a group known as NERICA which stands for New Rice for Africa.
because many of the genes code for traits that make African rice resistant to environmental stress such as long periods of drought high salinity in the soils and flooding.
and plant pathogens Wing explained. One example he said would be adding disease resistance genes from all of the wild rice varieties to a species of cultivated rice creating a new super-crop that is resistant to diseases and pests.
Wing is also working with Quifa Zhang from Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan China to create a set of super-crop science
After decades of promoting high-yielding Asian varieties the emphasis now is on developing types that combine the former's higher yields with glaberrima's tolerance of environmental stress Carney noted.
#Stress-tolerant tomato relative sequencedthe genome of Solanum pennellii a wild relative of the domestic tomato has been published by an international group of researchers including the labs headed by Professors Neelima Sinha and Julin
The beneficial health effects of dietary antioxidants have prompted the idea of developing commercial antioxidant-rich beverages.
A number of studies support the intake of local herbs to prevent diseases mainly caused by oxidative stress.
and assist the pharmacological effects of the herbs. Known to be rich in Vitamin c the mango is regarded as one of the most popular fruits from the tropics.
This traditional herb is a plant from the Family moraceae that has been used traditionally for its medicinal properties.
Mas cotek is used for example to treat pneumonia diabetes hypertension diarrhoea and gout. We found that dried Ficus deltoidea leaves extracted with water at 50 degree celsius for 20 hours yielded an aqueous extract with the highest content of flavonoids and total phenolics.
and 50%mas cotek--has the potential to be developed as a new health drink. This product was exhibited at the Invention Innovation and Design Expo 2014.
From Foods to Nutrient Interactions on Bone and Skeletal muscle Health is now available in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition the Official Publication of the American College of Nutrition and a publication from Routledge.
While bone health is associated often with calcium alone Calcium's interactions with inorganic phosphate Vitamin d and protein are important components of beneficial dairy consumption.
Combined Vitamin d and calcium supplementation has been shown to reduce the incidence of hip and other non-vertebral fractures among older populations with some studies suggesting that Vitamin d actually leads to lower rates of falling in subjects.
and muscle degeneration-related injury in older adults. Dairy products are a convenient way to work them into a diet as they contain Ca Pi
and is known not to cause disease but it had only been reported before in Europe and Asia.
porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and porcine deltacoronavirus both of which were detected in China in the same time frame prior to the U s. Both porcine epidemic diarrhea virus
and characterize pathogens. The technique will soon be offered at the laboratory. As we isolate viruses we can completely sequence their genomes Hause said.
Hause's most recent work has led to the discovery of an influenza virus in cattle.
A swine sample came in that we thought was influenza but all other tests were said negative Hause.
We found instead that this was an entirely new type of influenza. Subsequent research has shown that it is widespread in cattle not just pigs.
Now we're studying the association of this strain of bovine influenza with respiratory disease in feedlots.
and characterizing pathogens. As a virus mutates and changes next-generation sequencing can be used to help update vaccines
so they are still effective Hause said. Through this technology we can build a database with a collection of viruses based on where they came from and
what kind of clinical presentation was seen. Then we can mine that dataset to match the vaccines
or to get additional information on the pathogen. Some diseases such as flu mutate and change rapidly
and can jump from humans to pigs and back to humans so it's important for both animal health
and human health that we monitor and understand these viruses as much as possible. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Kansas State university.
The original article was written by Joe Montgomery. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
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