Monthly Archives: February 2016
You better know than no your money: are you saving enough for retirement?
Are we saving enough for retirement? What would help us better prepare for retirement? These questions and others are a subject to constant public debate and a major cause for concern. Most people do not save enough
Harmonine – the defense compound of the Asian lady beetle is active against Leishmania major parasites
The Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) is known to consume large numbers of aphids and mites and has been, therefore, used as biological control of these pests worldwide. However, some populations began to establish locally and H.
Global warming: implications for human brain evolution
Climate change is an inherent and complex phenomenon of our planet. Changes in global temperatures can occur directionally in the case of gradual increases or decreases in temperature, and also in terms of greater or lesser variation
Measuring walking in daily life: the impact of commercial wearables
Wearables or body worn monitors (BWM) provide continuous and objective measures of community-based walking and can be useful in clinical or population-based studies to monitor adherence to a rehabilitation strategy or generic public health guidelines, e.g. walk
Plasma filtering techniques for nuclear waste cleanup
The development and production of nuclear weapons throughout the cold war period led to the proliferation of radioactive waste. Significant quantities of liquid waste were released directly to the environment. Only the most highly radioactive fraction (in
Race horses submitted to reduced training may show similar lactate threshold
For Standardbred race horses, training starts already as 1-year-olds with the goal for horses to race at the age of two or three. However, injuries and health problems are common among horses in training and historically less
Wearables: walking the walk
How you walk, or your ‘gait’, is a simple test that can provide highly accurate and objective data about ones cognitive decline, falls status, quality of life and general health. Therefore, accurate measurement of gait is becoming
Quadriceps performance under activation of foot dorsal extension in healthy volunteers
The muscle (m.) quadriceps femoris on the front of the thigh stretches the leg in the knee joint and is the strongest muscle in the human body. It is important in activities of daily living as walking
Withaferin-A, a phytochemical, has potential to reduce liver injury due to acetaminophen overdose
Acetaminophen (APAP), also known as paracetamol, is the most popular over-the-counter drug used for common illnesses such as head and body ache, cold and fever. When administered in therapeutic doses (≤ 4 grams/24 h for an adult),
The matrix reloaded: how a self-produced extracellular matrix controls the development of multicellular microbial communities
In nature, many bacteria live in multicellular communities called biofilms. Biofilms offer their resident bacterial cells protection from environmental insults and assaults, and better attachment to hosts. For humans, they have medical and industrial costs, but also
Age-dependent impairments in spatial learning in mice with reduced BDNF levels
The protein BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) belongs to the family of nerve growth factors (neurotrophins). Therefore, one of its major functions is related to the maturation and differentiation of developing nerve cells in the brain. But BDNF
The evidence for wheat bran related to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease
Wheat is a leading human cereal crop. Wheat bran (WB) is a by-product of conventional milling of wheat grains and is a concentrated source of dietary fiber. Interest in WB as a source of dietary fiber and
Genetic complexity in Peninsular Malaysia: a great challenge for blood donor recruitment centres
Providing safe blood and blood products (e.g. packed red blood cells, platelets and fresh frozen plasma) are important measurement in the modern era of transfusion practices. Transfusion of blood and blood products from donor to patient requires
Time-saving and life-saving impact of a dedicated childbirth operating room in hospitals in Ghana
Despite global efforts to improve medical care in Sub-Saharan Africa, childbirth remains one of the most dangerous experiences that women and their babies can face. Delays in receiving appropriate emergency care during the crucial moments of childbirth
CKD affects mortality in TAVI patients
Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most frequent type of valvular heart disease in Europe and North America. It primarily presents as calcific AS in old people (2–7% of the population > 65 years). Calcific AS is a
The hierarchy of transcriptional activation: from enhancer to promoter
Disturbance of gene expression underlies many diseases. Deciphering how genes are normally switched on and off in healthy cells during development and cell differentiation is helping to shed light on the molecular basis of diseases such as
Meat traditions (and the co-evolution of humans and meat)
If food is indeed “good to think”, as in Lévi-Strauss’ famous maxim, then meat seems to be the supreme example. Meat is truly about us. Besides, the way we deal with meat needs urgent reconsideration due to
A vision trap: blind areas create confounding effects in studies of complex processes like reading
Local areas of damage to the brain can create very specific problems in visual perception, which appear to affect one type of function but leave many others intact. Understanding what kind of processes could be affected that
Biodegradable packaging films with improved mechanical and barrier properties
Conventional plastics pose major threat to environment because they are non – biodegradable and are derived from non – renewable resources. Despite this demand for conventional plastics has been rising steadily over the years. It is estimated
Anxiety linked to earlier alcohol involvement
Mental health and substance use disorders are common in the general population and the leading disorders within these are anxiety and alcohol use disorders, with approximately 20 – 30% of the population experiencing one during their lifetime.
