Yearly Archives: 2015
Color is not the whole story – varieties of deep purple sweet potatoes and their health properties
Purple plant foods (e. g. purple cabbage, purple cauliflower, blueberries) contain high amounts of anthocyanins, which are antioxidants responsible for the strong blue – purple colors. There are > 500 different anthocyanin molecules, some of which have
Bioactive properties of milk proteins in humans
The importance of the diet in human health has been recognized for centuries. Milk is the primary source of nutrients for infants. It provides a nutritionally balanced source of both macronutrients (proteins, fats and carbohydrates) and micronutrients
Fit rats can stomach menopause
Women enter menopause when their ovaries stop making the hormone estrogen. The longer a woman is postmenopausal (without estrogen), the more likely she is to gain weight and fat storage moves from the hips and thighs to
Can disruptive behaviors observed from age 1½ to 5 years predict children’s adjustment in first grade?
Disruptive behaviors (DB) embedded in psychiatric’ Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) categories of Attention – Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder ( ADHD ), Oppositional Defiant Disorder ( ODD ), and Conduct Disorder ( CD ) are the most frequent behavior disorders
A relationship between Idiopathic Adolescent Scoliosis and motion sickness
Advances the understanding of this disease? Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is a three-dimensional deformity of the spine observed in 2 % of the adolescent population aged 10–16 years (Fig 1A). It is a serious medical condition, susceptible of
How to improve outcome in patients with primary appendiceal mucinous cancer
Appendiceal mucinous cancers are extremely rare cancers. The management of mucinous appendiceal tumors is mainly based on single-institution experiences. A challenge in the treatment of this disease is that a large number of patients present with disease
Bureaucrapathologies
Although regulatory bureaucracies are necessary to perform society’s business, these institutions frequently display dysfunctional organization patterns that interfere with efficient and effective conduct of the work they are presumably supposed to accomplish. We have coined the whimsical
Digging out self-assembly process of molecules by scanning tunneling microscopy
Molecules are known to spontaneously self – assemble into supramolecular structures in solution, on surface, and also at interface. An appropriate understanding of the process of self – assembly is of critical importance to make sophisticated nanostructures.
Why does BCG fail to protect against tuberculosis?
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) is the microbe that causes tuberculosis (TB), a disease that kills one human every 18 seconds. In the last 80 years, only one vaccine has proven somewhat effective at preventing the development of TB
Chloroquine inhibits the malignant phenotype of glioblastoma
Glioblastoma (GBM), the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor, is characterized by excessive growth and infiltration of the normal brain which prevents the complete surgical resection. These tumors also are refractory to standard treatment strategies, which
Another beneficial role for insulin in the brain: keeping the brain immune responses in check
Brain disease is an umbrella term, which is used to describe a broad variety of diseases ranging from epilepsy to Alzheimer’s disease to multiple sclerosis and everything in between. Brain diseases differ from each other at the
Uncovering mechanisms underlying Parkinson’s disease pathology
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a severely debilitating motor disorder characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons and an increase of α-synuclein in a brain region known as the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). Although much progress has been
What is the quality of our river ecosystems? The new emerging stressors
An ecosystem is a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit (e.g. coral reefs, wetlands, rainforests, boreal forests, cultivated farmlands). The Ecosystem services are the benefits that
Electrocardiogram screening in athletes:
A Good Return on Investment? In Austin, Texas, a bill requiring an electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG) as part of high-school athletes almost passed. An ECG is a non-evasive electrical tracing of the heart, which can reveal underlying heart conditions
AMPK: Common mechanism of action linking HIV-1 latency and Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome
Although any connection between HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, and Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that exhibits symptoms of accelerated aging in children, would appear unlikely, splicing of the latent ( i. e. dormant)
Natural history of multiple system atrophy in USA
Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare, fatal brain disorder exhibiting a combination of parkinsonism and/or cerebellar gait unsteadiness and autonomic failure. Autonomic failure, manifest as orthostatic hypotension, severe constipation and urinary incontinence or retention, as well
Phospholipases have a second job, regulating their G proteins
Can we make a weak heart healthy? Can we prevent decline in memory and cognitive ability? The answer may depend on a class of enzymes, phospholipase C (PLC), and their under-investigated ability to directly regulate their specific
Chip-based microacoustic aerosols generators
Aerosols consist of a large quantity of either liquid droplets (fog, mist) or solid particles (dust, smoke) dispersed in a surrounding gas (e.g. air). They occur naturally and they can as well be generated artificially, e.g. by
Ergothioneine prevent UVA – induced skin damage through its potent antioxidant property
It is well – known that continuous exposure to ultraviolet ( UV ) radiation from sunlight can cause mild to severe skin damage, characterized by wrinkles, inflammation, photoaging, pigmentation, photo – carcinogenesis, photo – dermatoses etc. Most
Nanocarrier-based antioxidant therapy: promise or delusion?
It has been well established that the damage produced by Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), which are highly reactive molecules with an unpaired electron, plays an important role in a large number of human diseases. Because of this
