Gold helps deliver cancer drugs

THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Gold nanoparticles can be used as delivery vehicles for platinum anticancer drugs, improving targeting and uptake into cells, according to research published in the international journalInorganic Chemistry. Researchers at the University of Sydney's Faculty of Pharmacy investigated the appropriateness of different sized gold nanoparticles as components of platinum-based drug delivery systems such as cisplatin. The researchers studied the cancer drug's controlled synthesis, reproducibility, consistency of drug loading and stability. According to Dr Nial Wheate, senior lecturer in pharmaceutical chemistry and leader of the project, the effectiveness of the cancer drug cisplatin could be significantly improved by gold nanoparticles, which selectively pick up and drive the platinum-based drug into solid cancer tumours. Dr Wheate says the team conducted multiple testing regimes on the gold nanoparticles: "For any new drug to get approval for human clinical trials, it must demonstrate not only efficiency but also the capability of being reproducibly manufactured and stable in storage," he says. "Developing and making a drug is a lot like building and designing a car. You have to test and retest it for durability and all the safety features. "Previously, we have shown that platinum drugs can be attached to gold nanoparticles and that cellular uptake and effectiveness levels are greatly improved. "But we needed to be sure that the benefits of the drug would be consistent. We believed when developing gold nanoparticles as platinum drug-delivery vehicles, it was essential they were reproducible and stable to ensure consistent and safe doses were administered to patients." Cisplatin is the leading metallodrug used in the systemic treatment of solid tumours. "To date, however, its use has been limited by severe toxic side effects, attributed to the indiscriminate accumulation of the drug in both normal and cancerous tissue," says Dr Wheate. Cisplatin is currently used to treat several types of cancers including testicular, ovarian, bladder, oesophageal, lung, and cervical cancers and melanomas. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Maths helps understand disease

GARVAN INSTITUTE

The current challenge for systems biology, or the study of whole-body processes, is how to measure the changes that take place, moment by moment, among the roughly 12,000 proteins in a cell when that cell is exposed to a stimulus, such as the hormone insulin. Australian bioinformaticians have now created clever software that allows this kind of processing, enabling analysis of the vast quantity of data produced by an exquisitely sensitive new generation of mass spectrometers. The new software will even allow the re-processing of older data run in the lab, identifying at least 25% more proteins than previously identified. This is a giant leap forward in the not-so-exact science of systems biology, which sometimes struggles to ascertain whether or not a molecule is present in a sample. PhD student Pengyi Yang and Dr Jean Yee-Hwa Yang from Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the University of Sydney, respectively, have developed an algorithm that will allow scientists to identify specific proteins from hundreds of thousands of protein fragments in a sample. Details of the project are published in the Journal of Proteome Research. A tissue sample is ‘digested’ by an enzyme prior to being processed by a mass spectrometer, which breaks down the proteins into a peptide soup. Until now, it was only possible to ‘reassemble’ them (in a virtual sense) as members of protein groups. That is because over 2 million peptides are shared between two or more proteins within the 89,486 proteins recorded in the International Protein Index. The new software enhances protein identification and will enable scientists to investigate complex diseases (such as type 2 diabetes) as entire systems operate through time by monitoring the thousands of protein changes. “It’s now necessary to combine the disciplines of mathematics, computer science and biology to cope with the data being produced in systems biology,” said Pengyi Yang. “Previously, most labs focused on their favourite genes or proteins. Now, you need to look at all proteins and genes in a cell. When you try to do that, you need a computational methodology to analyse the information.” “For this project, we created a mathematical model and implemented it using a computational approach applied to biology.” Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

தலைகீழாக எடுக்கப்பட்ட வீடியோக்களை மாற்றுவதற்கு

கைபேசியில் கமெரா வசதி இருப்பவர்கள் எளிதாக வீடியோ எடுக்கலாம். ஒரு சில நேரங்களில் கமெராவின் கோணங்களை மாற்றி அமைத்து வீடியோக்களை எடுத்து விடுவர். இப்படி மாற்றி எடுக்கப்பட்ட வீடியோவை கணணியில் பார்ப்பதற்கு சிரமமாக இருக்கும். ஆனால் இதனை எளிதாக VLC பிளேயரில் அந்த நேரத்திற்கு மட்டும் Rotate செய்து பார்க்கலாம். இதனை நிரந்தரமாக மாற்றுவதற்கு X2X Free Video Flip and Rotate மற்றும் Free Video Flip and Rotate (DvdVideoSoft) என்ற மென்பொருள்கள் உதவி புரிகிறது. இந்த மென்பொருள்கள் வீடியோக்களை இடமிருந்து வலமாக, மேலிருந்து கீழாக மற்றும் கீழ்க்கண்ட வகைகளிலும் சுழற்றச் செய்து மாற்றம் செய்து தருகின்றன. - rotate video 90 CW. - rotate video 180. - rotate video 90 CCW. - flip video horizontal. - flip video vertical. - flip video vertical and rotate 90 CW. - flip video vertical and rotate 90 CCW. X2X Free Video Flip and Rotate: இந்த மென்பொருளின் மூலம் வீடியோக்களை உங்களது தேவையான அளவிற்கு வெட்டிக் கொள்ள முடியும். AVI, MPG, MPEG, MP4, WMV, ASF, MOV, QT, 3GP, 3G2, AMV, FLV போன்ற அனைத்து வகை வீடியோக்களையும் இந்த மென்பொருள் ஆதரிக்கிறது. மாற்றப்பட்ட வீடியோவை MP4 வகையில் கொடுக்கும். தரவிறக்க சுட்டி Free Video Flip and Rotate(DvdVideoSoft): இந்த மென்பொருளின் மூலம் வேகமாக வீடியோ சுழற்றச் செய்யலாம். மேலும் இது நாம் கொடுக்கும் வீடியோவை அதே போர்மட்டில் தருகிறது. தரவிறக்க சுட்டி

இதயத்தை பலப்படுத்தும் வெள்ளை நிற காய்கறிகள்

வெள்ளை நிறத்தில் இருக்கும் காய், கனிகளை தொடர்ந்து உண்பவர்கள் இதய நலத்துடன் இருப்பதாகவும், புற்றுநோயைத் தடுக்கும் எதிர்ப்பு சக்தி இவர்கள் உடலில் அதிகரிப்பதாகவும் ஆய்வுகள் தெரிவித்துள்ளன. வெங்காயத்திலிருந்து கிடைக்கும் அலிசின் என்ற வேதிப்பொருள் கொழுப்பையும், இரத்த அழுத்தத்தையும் குறைக்கும் சக்தி கொண்டது. காலிஃபிளவரில் உள்ள வெள்ளை அணுக்கள் புற்றுநோய் வருவதைத் தடுக்கிறது. பூண்டு, காளான்கள், இஞ்சி, வெள்ளை உருளை, முள்ளங்கி ஆகியவற்றிலும் புற்றுநோயைத் தடுக்கும் சக்தி இருப்பதாக ஆய்வில் கண்டறியப்பட்டுள்ளது. காளான்கள்: பூஞ்சை இனத்தை காளான்கள் காய்கறியாகவே கருதப்படுகிறது. இது உண்பதற்கு ஏற்ற உணவு. காளான்களில் பல்லாயிரக்கணக்கான வகைகளும் நிறங்களும் உள்ளன உணவிற்கு உகந்தவை வெள்ளை நிற காளான்கள் மட்டுமே. பளுப்பு நிறமோ அல்லது கறும் புள்ளிகளோ கொண்டவை வயதில் முதிர்ந்த இனப்பெருக்கத்தில் ஈடுப்பட்டுள்ள காளான்கள் என்பதனை குறிக்கும். காளான்களில் அதிக புரதம் காணப்படுகின்றது. உலகம் முழுவதும் சுமார் 200 வகையான உண்பதற்கு உகந்த காளான்கள் உள்ளன, பெரும்பாலும் அனைத்து நாடுகளிலும் இதனை உணவாக பயன்படுத்துகின்றனர். இதற்குக் காரணம் அவற்றில் அடங்கியுள்ள சுவை, மணம் மற்றும் ஊட்டச்சத்துக்களே ஆகும். இதில் எண்ணற்ற ஊட்டச்சத்துக்கள் காணப்படுகின்றன. இதில் உள்ள பொட்டாசியம் புற்றுநோய் செல்களின் வளர்ச்சியை தடுக்கிறது. உருளைக்கிழங்கு, வாழைப்பழம்: உருளைக்கிழங்கும், வாழைப்பழமும் ஒரே மாதிரியான ஊட்டச்சத்தினை கொண்டுள்ளன. இதில் அதிக அளவில் கார்போஹைடிரேட், பொட்டாசியம் போன்றவை காணப்படுகின்றன. இது மனிதர்களுக்குத் தேவையான சக்தியை அளிக்க வல்லது. வெள்ளைப்பூண்டு: வெள்ளைப்பூண்டு நோய் எதிர்ப்பு திறன் கொண்டது. இது ஆன்டிபாக்டீரியல், ஆன்டிபங்கல், மேலும் ரத்த நாளங்களில் படிந்துள்ள கொழுப்புகளை அகற்ற உதவுகிறது. இதயத்தை ஆரோக்கியமாக வைத்திருப்பதில் வெள்ளைப் பூண்டு முக்கிய பங்காற்றுகிறது. காலிஃப்ளவர்: காலிஃப்ளவர் வைட்டமின் சத்து நிறைந்தது. இதில் உள்ள வெள்ளை அணுக்கள் புற்றுநோய் வராமல் தடுக்கிறது. இதில் குறைந்த அளவு கலோரிகளே காணப்படுகின்றன. டர்னிப்: பீட்ரூட், காரட் போல டர்னிப் வேரில் கிடைக்கும். இந்த வெள்ளைநிற காய்கறியில் வைட்டமின் சி சத்து அதிகம் காணப்படுகிறது. இதை பச்சையாக சாலட்போல சாப்பிடலாம். இந்த வெள்ளை நிற காய்கறிகளை தினசரி உணவுகளில் சேர்த்துக் கொள்வதன் மூலம் ஆரோக்கியம் அதிகரிக்கும் என்கின்றனர் உணவியல் நிபுணர்கள்.

Seeing movement: Why the world in our head stays still when we move our eyes

Scientists from Germany discovered new functions of brain regions that are responsible for seeing movement.

When observing a fly buzzing around the room, we should have the impression that it is not the fly, but rather the space that lies behind it that is moving. After all, the fly is always fixed in our central point of view. But how does the brain convey the impression of a fly in motion in a motionless field? With the help of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scientists from the Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen have identified two areas of the brain that compare the movements of the eye with the visual movements cast onto the retina so as to correctly perceive objects in motion.

The two areas of the brain that are particularly good at reacting to external movements, even during eye movements, are known as V3A and V6. They are located in the upper half in the posterior part of the brain. Area V3A shows a high degree of integration: it reacts to movements around us regardless of whether or not we follow the moving object with our eyes. But the area does not react to visual movements on the retina when eye movements produce them. Area V6 has similar characteristics. In addition, it can perform these functions when we are moving forwards. The calculations the brain has to perform are more complicated in this case: the three-dimensional, expanding forward movement is superimposed onto the two-dimensional lateral movements that are caused by eye movements.

The scientists Elvira Fischer and Andreas Bartels from the Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics have investigated these areas with the help of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). fMRI is a procedure that can measure brain activity based on local changes in blood flow and oxygen consumption. Participants in the study were shown various visual scenarios whilst undergoing fMRI scanning. For example, they had to follow a small dot with their eyes while it moved across a screen from one side to the other. The patterned background was either stationary or moved at varying speeds, sometimes slower, faster or at the same speed as the dot. Sometimes the dot was stationary while only the background moved. In a total of six experiments the scientists measured brain activity in more than a dozen different scenarios. From this they have been able to discover that V3A and V6, unlike other visual areas in the brain, have a pronounced ability to compare eye movements with the visual signals on the retina. "I am especially fascinated by V3A because it reacts so strongly and selectively to movements in our surroundings. It sounds trivial, but it is an astonishing capability of the brain", explains Andreas Bartels, project leader of the study.

Whether it is ourselves who move or something else in our surroundings is a problem about which we seldom think, since at the subconscious level our brain constantly calculates and corrects our visual impression. Indeed, patients who have lost this ability to integrate movements in their surroundings with their eye movements can no longer recognize what it is that ultimately is moving: the surroundings or themselves. Every time they move their eyes these patients feel dizzy. Studies such as this bring us one step closer to an understanding of the causes of such illnesses.

More information: Elvira Fischer, Heinrich H. Bülthoff, Nikos K. Logothetis, Andreas Bartels (2012) Human areas V3A and V6 compensate for self-induced planar visual motion, Neuron, doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2012.01.022

Provided by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

"Seeing movement: Why the world in our head stays still when we move our eyes." March 21st, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-movement-world-eyes.html

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Robert Karl Stonjek

சோனி நிறுவனத்தி​ன் அதிநவீன வீடியோ றெக்கோர்டர்

இலத்திரனியல் உற்பத்தியில் மக்களின் நம்பிக்கையை வென்ற ஜப்பானிய நிறுவனமான சோனி நிறுவனம் அதி நவீன தொழில்நுட்பத்தில் உருவாக்கப்பட்ட தனது வீடியோ றெக்கோர்டர் ஒன்றை அறிமுகப்படுத்தியுள்ளது. விளையாட்டு நிகழ்ச்சிகள் போன்ற வேகமாக இடம்பெறும் நிகழ்வுகளை துல்லியமாக பதிவு செய்யக்கூடியவாறு உருவாக்கப்பட்டுள்ள இந்த வீடியோ றெக்கோர்டர் அதி உயர் பிரிதிறனைக் 2.7 அங்குல கொண்ட தொடுதிரை வசதியை கொண்டுள்ளது. இதில் 5.1 மெகாபிக்சல் கமெரா பொருத்தப்பட்டுள்ளதுடன் 1080 பிக்சல் பிரிதிறன் கொண்ட வீடியோக்களை பதிவு செய்யமுடியும். மேலும் 16 அடி ஆழம் வரையான நீரிற்குள் பாதுகாப்பாக இருக்கக்கூடியது. எனினும் இதனை விட ஆழம் அதிகரிக்கும்போது நீர் உட்புகுந்து பாதிப்பை ஏற்படுத்தலாம். இதில் காணப்படும் 4GB நிலையான நினைவகம் மூலம் தொடர்ச்சியாக இரண்டு மணித்தியாலங்களுக்கு வீடியோப் பதிவை மேற்கொள்ள முடியும். இதன் பெறுமதி 179.99 அமெரிக்க டொலர்கள் என தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

உலகின் சிறிய சலவை இயந்திரம்

நம் ஆடைகளை சுத்தம் செய்வதை இலகுவாக்குவதற்காக உருவாக்கப்பட்ட சலவை இயந்திரம் தற்போது மிகச்சிறிய அளவில் வடிவமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. மேலும் இது பை வைடிவில் அமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. 180 கிராம் நிறையை கொண்டுள்ள இந்த சலவைப்பையானது இடத்திற்கு இடம் எடுத்துச்செல்லமுடியும் என்பது விசேட அம்சமாகும். இதில் ஓரே தடவையில் 2 தொடக்கம் 3 லீட்டர் வரையிலான நீரை பயன்படுத்த முடிவதுடன் சம்போ, சலவை தூள்கள் போன்றனவற்றை பயன்படுத்தி 20-40 செக்கன்களில் சலவை செய்ய முடியும். இவை எதிர்வரும் ஏப்ரல் மாதத்தில் சந்தைப்படுத்தப்படவுள்ளன என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

வேம்பின் மருத்துவ குணங்கள்

வேம்பின் இலை, காய், கனி என அனைத்தும் மருத்துவத்தில் சிறந்து விளங்குகிறது. வேப்பந்தழையின் இலை வீக்கம், கட்டிகளைக் கரைத்தல், மஞ்சள் காமாலை, நீரிழிவு, தோல் வியாதிகள், பூச்சிக் கொல்லியாகவும் பயன்படுகிறது. வேம்பு இலையை அரைத்துக் கட்டி வர ஆறாத ரணம், பழுத்து உடையாத கட்டி, வீக்கம் தீரும். வேம்பின் சாறில் 10 அரிசி, நெய், தேன், வெண்ணெய், பாலில் 2 மண்டலம் கொடுக்க எந்த மருந்தாலும் கட்டுப்படாத நோய்கள், இளைப்பு தீரும். உடம்பு கெட்டிபடும், நரை மாறும். வேம்பு இலையுடன் சிறிது மஞ்சள் சேர்த்துத் தடவி வரப் பித்த வெடிப்பு, கட்டி, பரு, அம்மைக் கொப்புளம் ஆகியவை குணமாகும். வேப்பிலையை அரைத்து முகப்பரு உள்ள இடத்தில் பூசினால் வெகு விரைவில் மறைந்து விடும். வேப்ப மரத்திலிருந்து உதிர்ந்த பூக்களைச் சேகரித்து வைத்துக் கொண்டு ஒரு வருடம் கழித்து இந்தப் பூவைக் கொண்டு ரசம் வைப்பார்கள். இந்த வேப்பம் பூ ரசம் பித்த சம்பத்தப்பட்ட நோய்களைக் குணப்படுத்தும். வேப்பிலைக் கசாயம் கிருமிகளைக் கொன்று காய்ச்சலைக் கட்டுப்படுத்தும் தன்மை கொண்டதாகும். தினமும், காலை வேளையில் பத்து வேப்பிலைக் கொழுந்து எடுத்து ஐந்து மிளகுடன் சேர்த்து மென்று சாப்பிட்டு வந்தால் மலேரியாக் காய்ச்சல் குணமாகும். நீரிழிவு நோயாளிகள் தொடர்ந்து சாப்பிட்டு வர மாத்திரை எதுவும் இன்றிக் குணமாகும். வேப்பிலை, எலுமிச்சம் பழச் சாற்றில் அரைத்துத் தலைக்குத் தேய்க்க, பித்த மயக்கம் குணமாகும். வேப்பிலையுடன் மஞ்சள் சேர்த்து அரைத்துப் பூச பித்த வெடிப்பு, கால் பாத எரிச்சல் குணமாகும்.

Brain's involvement in processing depends on language's graphic symbols

Readers whose mother tongue is Arabic have more challenges reading in Arabic than native Hebrew or English speakers have reading their native languages, because the two halves of the brain divide the labor differently when the brain processes Arabic than when it processes Hebrew or English. That is the result of a new study conducted by two University of Haifa researchers, Dr. Raphiq Ibrahim of the Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities and the Learning Disabilities Department, and Prof. Zohar Eviatar of the Department of Psychology.

"It emerges that the contribution of the two halves of the brain to processing written language depends on the graphic and linguistic structure of these languages," noted Dr. Ibrahim.

The two halves of the brain, called hemispheres, govern different types of activities: The right hemisphere specializes more in processing spatial tasks and the holistic (pattern) processing of messages, while the left hemisphere is responsible for processing verbal messages and local processing of messages.

In order to examine the interaction between the two hemispheres while reading Hebrew, English and Arabic, two experiments were conducted with subjects divided into three groups: those with Arabic as their mother tongue, those with English as their mother tongue and those with Hebrew as their mother tongue. Each group was tested in their native language.

In the first experiment, words and pseudowords (strings of letters that have no literal meaning) were presented on a screen, and the subjects were asked to figure out whether the stimulus was a real word; their response time, accuracy, and sensitivity were measured with every key pressed.

In the second experiment, the subjects were presented with various words on the right or the left side of the screen, which directs the information to be processed by the opposite hemisphere (i.e., when the proper or nonsense word is screened on the right side of the screen, it will be processed by the left side of the brain, and vice versa, a stage called "unilateral"). The various words were then shown on both sides of the screen, while under the target word there was a symbol that indicated that this was the word that they should treat, while the other stimulus appeared on the other side of the screen in order to distract the brain processing (this stage is called "bilateral").

A comparison of both experiments establishes the degree of interaction between the two hemispheres during the brain's processing of the language being checked.

The results show that for readers of Hebrew and English, both hemispheres of the brain are independently involved in the task of reading, such that neither side is dependent on the other. By contrast, for the Arabic readers, it emerged that the right hemisphere was not able to function independently in the reading assignments without using the resources of the left hemisphere.

According to Dr. Ibrahim, the significance of the findings is that despite the similarities between Arabic and Hebrew, when reading the former the right brain can't function independently and the cognitive burden becomes especially heavy, making it more difficult to read the language, even for those whose mother tongue is Arabic.

"This proves that the Arabic language doesn't behave like other languages when it comes to anything connected with decoding its graphic symbols," said Dr. Ibrahim.

"The study's results show once again that on the word reading level the structural shape of Arabic orthography, that is, the graphic contours of the written language, activates the cognitive system differently. Thus, the question is again raised as to whether in the modern world those who speak certain languages have an advantage over those who speak other languages; and the role of pedagogy in improving reading skills among regular readers and those having difficulty is brought once again to the fore."

More information: http://www.behavio … 1/3/abstract

Provided by University of Haifa

"Brain's involvement in processing depends on language's graphic symbols." March 21st, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-brain-involvement-language-graphic.html

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Robert Karl Stonjek

Unexpected discovery reveals a new mechanism for how the cerebellum extracts signal from noise

Research at the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) has demonstrated the novel expression of an ion channel in Purkinje cells – specialized neurons in the cerebellum, the area of the brain responsible for movement. Ray W. Turner, PhD, Professor in the Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy and PhD student Jordan Engbers and colleagues published this finding in the January edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

This research identifies for the first time that an ion channel called KCa3.1 that was not previously believed to be expressed in the brain is actually present in Purkinje cells. In addition, these researchers demonstrate the mechanism by which this ion channel allows Purkinje cells to filter sensory input in order to coordinate the body's movements.

The discovery was unexpected, as Engbers explains, "we didn't specifically go looking for this channel. A lot of time was spent trying to identify the source for an electrical current that we were observing and we finally found ourselves asking 'what evidence is there that KCa3.1 isn't in the brain?' So we ran some tests and all the pieces really fell into place."

In the cerebellum, sensory input activates neurons called Purkinje cells that have to filter the information and respond only to relevant inputs to produce an appropriate movement response. Although this function of Purkinje cells has been well documented, Engbers and Turner take our understanding a step further by demonstrating that the KCa3.1 ion channel plays a key part in this process - acting as a gatekeeper to filter the enormous amount of incoming information.

As Turner explains, "these cells receive hundreds of thousands of signals every second from the body's sensory systems. KCa3.1 then allows the cells to filter out the background noise and respond to only the three or four inputs that are particularly relevant".

Engbers further describes the mechanism by which KCa3.1 filters out the unwanted information, "these channels are activated by an influx of calcium, which generates an inhibitory influence until the correct input is detected. Once the appropriate input is detected, the Purkinje cell responds with a burst of nerve impulses, which in turn initiates the proper motor response."

This research fills a substantial gap in understanding how neurons in the cerebellum process information. Engbers and Turner expect that continued research will identify KCa3.1 in other areas of the brain and that it will be responsible for several still unexplained phenomena observed in neuronal recordings.

"What we have found will help us understand how the cerebellum functions normally. Now that we have shown the scientific community this new information, we expect that it will become clear that KCa3.1 plays a much wider role in brain function," says Engbers.

Provided by University of Calgary

"Unexpected discovery reveals a new mechanism for how the cerebellum extracts signal from noise." March 21st, 2012.http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-unexpected-discovery-reveals-mechanism-cerebellum.html

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Robert Karl Stonjek

How the smell of food affects how much you eat

Bite size depends on the familiarly and texture of food. Smaller bite sizes are taken for foods which need more chewing and smaller bite sizes are often linked to a sensation of feeling fuller sooner. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Flavour, launched today, shows that strong aromas lead to smaller bite sizes and suggests that aroma may be used as a means to control portion size.

The aroma experience of food is linked to its constituents and texture, but also to bite size. Smaller bites sizes are linked towards a lower flavour release which may explain why we take smaller bites of unfamiliar or disliked foods. In order to separate the effect of aroma on bite size from other food-related sensations researchers from the Netherlands developed a system where a custard-like dessert was eaten while different scents were simultaneously presented directly to the participants nose.

The results showed that the stronger the smell the smaller the bite. Dr Rene A de Wijk, who led the study, explained, "Our human test subjects were able to control how much dessert was fed to them by pushing a button. Bite size was associated with the aroma presented for that bite and also for subsequent bites (especially for the second to last bite). Perhaps, in keeping with the idea that smaller bites are associated with lower flavour sensations from the food and that, there is an unconscious feedback loop using bite size to regulate the amount of flavour experienced."

This study suggests that manipulating the odour of food could result in a 5-10% decrease in intake per bite. Combining aroma control with portion control could fool the body into thinking it was full with a smaller amount of food and aid weight loss.

BioMed Central's open access journal Flavour, launched today is a peer-reviewed, open access, online journal that publishes interdisciplinary articles on flavour, its generation, perception, and influence on behaviour and nutrition. Flavour aims to understand the psychophysical, psychological and chemical aspects of flavour, which include not only taste and aroma, but also chemesthesis, texture, and all the senses.

More information: Food aroma affects bite size, Rene A de Wijk, Ilse A Polet, Wilbert Boek, Saskia Conraad and Johannes HF Bult, Flavour (in press)

Provided by BioMed Central

"How the smell of food affects how much you eat." March 20th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-food-affects.html

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Robert Karl Stonjek

Middle school teacher support lowers risk for early alcohol use

Anxiety, depression, stress and social support can predict early alcohol and illicit drug use in youth, according to a study from Carolyn McCarty, PhD, of Seattle Children's Research Institute, and researchers from the University of Washington and Seattle University. Middle school students from the sixth to the eighth grade who felt more emotional support from teachers reported a delay in alcohol and other illicit substance initiation. Those who reported higher levels of separation anxiety from their parents were also at decreased risk for early alcohol use. The study, "Emotional Health Predictors of Substance Use Initiation During Middle School," was published in advance online in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.

Relatively few studies have examined support for youth from nonfamily members of the adolescent's social support network, including teachers. "Our results were surprising," said Dr. McCarty, who is also a University of Washington research associate professor. "We have known that middle school teachers are important in the lives of young people, but this is the first data-driven study which shows that teacher support is associated with lower levels of early alcohol use." Middle school students defined teacher support as feeling close to a teacher or being able to talk with a teacher about problems they are experiencing.

Youth that are close to or even cling to parents can have separation anxiety and may be less susceptible to negative influences from peers, including experimentation with risky behaviors like alcohol use. "Teens in general seek new sensations or experiences and they take more risks when they are with peers," said Dr. McCarty. "Youth with separation anxiety symptoms may be protected by virtue of their intense connection to their parents, making them less likely to be in settings where substance use initiation is possible," she said.

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The study also found that youth who initiated alcohol and other illicit drug use prior to sixth grade had significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms. This suggests that depression may be a consequence of very early use or a risk factor for initiation of use prior to the middle school years. Depression was defined by asking youth about their mood and feelings, and asking them if statements such as "I felt awful or unhappy" and "I felt grumpy or upset with my parents" were true, false or sometimes true during a two-week timeframe.

"Based on the study and our findings, substance use prevention needs to be addressed on a multidimensional level," said Dr. McCarty. "We need to be aware of and monitor early adolescent stress levels, and parents, teachers and adults need to tune into kids' mental health. We know that youth who initiate substance abuse before age 14 are at a high risk of long-term substance abuse problems and myriad health complications."

Dr. McCarty Offers Tips for Parents to Help Reduce Early Alcohol Use

• Know where your child is, and check in with your child on a regular basis
• Get to know your child's friends, and who your child spends time with
• Teach stress management skills
• Help your child feel connected with adults at school

Dr. McCarty and the research team analyzed data from the Developmental Pathways Project, a longitudinal study of 521 youth sampled from the Seattle Public Schools. Researchers analyzed the effects of depression, anxiety, stress and support on initiation of substance use, which was measured at five different time points between sixth and eighth grade.

Seattle Children's Research Institute, in collaboration with the University of Washington and Seattle University, will continue to study this topic, next looking at the timing between youth substance use and depression, as well as how intervention programs for depression impact substance use.

More information: "Emotional Health Predictors of Substance Use Initiation During Middle School," study in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors:http://psycnet.apa … 11-22905-001

Provided by Seattle Children's

"Middle school teacher support lowers risk for early alcohol use." March 21st, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-middle-school-teacher-lowers-early.html

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Robert Karl Stonjek

A new take on the games people play in their relationships

Human nature has deep evolutionary roots and is manifested in relationships with family members, friends, romantic and business partners, competitors, and strangers more than in any other aspects of behavior or intellectual activity, contends a University of Chicago behavioral biologist.

"Social behavior is, in part, genetically controlled and evolves by natural selection," said Dario Maestripieri, Professor of Comparative Human Development and Evolutionary Biology.

In some cases, natural selection has come up with the same solutions to similar social problems in organisms as evolutionarily distant as people and fish. In other cases, humans use the social strategies they genetically inherited from the ancestors shared with other primates. As a result of this shared inheritance, some of the "games" people play in their social relationships are also played by monkeys and apes.

In his new book, Games Primates Play: An Undercover Investigation of the Evolution and Economics of Human Relationships, Maestripieri shows that human social behavior can be explained by using the theories that economists and evolutionary biologists developed, and by looking at the behavior of monkeys and apes.

Game theory models used by economists, for instance, explain under what circumstances people and monkeys choose to cooperate or cheat with their partners, and when they choose to pick a fight with a bully or to retreat.

"The same cost-benefit analyses that explain different strategies used by male macaques to become the alpha male in a group they have just joined can also explain different strategies new employees can use to climb the power ladder in their company," he said.

"The same laws of supply and demand that determine how people pair up in the marriage market or the online dating market also regulate the social markets in which monkeys trade grooming for sex or other services with one another," he added.

Maestripieri has studied primate social behavior for 25 years and said he wrote the book because he has been fascinated by the behavior of people around him all his life. Looking at human relationships through the lens of primate behavior provides insights into a variety of everyday experiences, Maestripieri points out.

When strangers ride in an elevator, for instance, they act like two unfamiliar monkeys that have been placed together in a cage. In both cases, the two individuals avoid eye contact at all costs to reduce risk of aggression, or they exchange grooming (or its human equivalent, small talk) to alleviate the tension of the situation.

Maestripieri suggests that when people exchange emails with someone they know, certain unspoken rules about dominance explain how quickly they reply to messages, how long the replies are, and whether they are likely to terminate the email conversation — the same rules regulate the exchange of grooming behavior between dominant and subordinate individuals in rhesus macaques or chimpanzees.

"Show me your emails, and I will tell you whether you are on the fast track to become a leader of your company, or whether it's unlikely that you will have secretaries answering your email anytime soon," Maestripieri writes.

Both people and monkeys, Maestripieri argues, sometimes use intrusive, annoying, stressful or risky behaviors to test the strength of their social bonds with their partners. Exchanging intimacies such as passionate kisses, for instance, allows two lovers to test each other's willingness to tolerate impositions, and therefore their commitment to the relationship. It is similar to how a capuchin monkey tests the strength of its bond with another monkey by sticking a finger up the other's nose and waiting for a reaction.

Cooperative relationships — whether marital relationships, business partnerships or political alliances — play a major role in survival and success in human societies. "Natural selection has favored emotional processes that motivate and enhance an individual's ability to engage in, and profit from, cooperative enterprises," Maestripieri writes. Finding a good partner for cooperation, maintaining a reciprocal exchange of favors and avoiding being cheated are examples of the social problems with which humans cope.

Since many social problems are ancient, humans use ancient solutions to solve them. "When we confront everyday social problems, we resort to the ancient emotional, cognitive and behavioral algorithms that crowd our minds, and often let this automatic pilot help us navigate through the difficult and dangerous, but always fascinating, waters of human social affairs," Maestripieri concludes in his book which is published by Basic Books.

Provided by University of Chicago

"A new take on the games people play in their relationships." March 21st, 2012. http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-03-games-people-relationships.html

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Robert Karl Stonjek

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

  

Nothing is permanent in this world, not even our troubles. Fallen flowers can't grow back on the tree, but if the root is strong new flowers certainly can... Life is not about what you could not do so far, it is what you still can. Never hate people who are jealous of you, Instead love them because they're the ones, who think you are better than them. Silent lips may avoid many problems, But smiling lips may solve many problems, So always have a smile on your face in the beautiful journey called "LIFE".                                      o

Trees may electrify the air

QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

The researchers found twice as many positive and negative ions in heavily wooded areas compared to open grassy areas. Image: borchee/iStockphoto Plants have long been known as the lungs of the Earth, but a new finding has found they may also play a role in electrifying the atmosphere. Scientists have long suspected an association between trees and electricity but researchers from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) think they may have finally discovered the link. Dr Rohan Jayaratne and Dr Xuan Ling from QUT's International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health (ILAQH), led by Professor Lidia Morawska, ran experiments in six locations around Brisbane, including the Brisbane Forest Park, Daisy Hill and Mt Coot-tha. They found the positive and negative ion concentrations in the air were twice as high in heavily wooded areas than in open grassy areas, such as parks. Dr Jayaratne, who is also a member of QUT's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), said that natural ions in the air were mainly created by ionisation due to two processes - radiation from the trace gas radon in air and cosmic radiation from space. Radon is a by-product of the radioactive decay of radium which is present in minute quantities in rocks and is continually exhaled by the ground. "Because radium is found in rocks and radon is soluble in water, ground water is particularly rich in radon," he said. "Trees act as radon pumps, bringing the gas to the surface and releasing it to the atmosphere through transpiration - a process where water absorbed by the root system is evaporated into the atmosphere from leaves. This is especially prevalent for trees with deep root systems, such as eucalypts." The QUT scientists estimated that, in a eucalyptus forest, trees may account for up to 37 per cent of the radon in the air when transpiration rates were highest. Dr Jayaratne said though there was still a lot more research which needed to be done in relation to the role of ions, the findings, which were published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, have potentially important implications for the atmosphere, climate and human health. "Although there is an established link between airborne particles and human health, the role of ions is largely unknown," he said. "However, we do know that approximately one-half of the particles that we inhale during normal breathing are retained in our respiratory system and it has been shown that charged particles were more likely to be deposited in the lungs than uncharged particles. "We do not believe that ions are dangerous - the danger comes from the pollutants. If there are no dangerous particles in the air to attach to the ions there is no risk of ill health." Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

AARTI SAI BABA