Unhealthy eating leads to increased depression |  |
- Unhealthy eating leads to increased depression
- Osmoreceptors in liver help increase blood pressure
- Touchscreens made of carbon
- Laboratories, universities unite to build radioecology expertise
| Unhealthy eating leads to increased depression Posted: 27 Jan 2011 06:47 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Researchers from the universities of Navarra and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria have demonstrated that the ingestion of trans-fats and saturated fats increase the risk of suffering depression, and that olive oil, on the other hand, protects against this mental illness. They have confirmed this after studying 12,059 SUN Project volunteers over the course of six years; the volunteers had their diet, lifestyle and ailments analyzed at the beginning of the project, over its course and at the end of the project. In this way the researchers confirmed that despite the fact that at the beginning of the study none of the volunteers suffered from depression, at the end of the study 657 new cases had been detected. Of all these cases, the participants with an elevated consumption of trans-fats (fats present in artificial form in industrially-produced pastries and fast food, and naturally present in certain whole milk products) "presented up to a 48% increase in the risk of depression when they were compared to participants who did not consume these fats," affirmed Almudena Sánchez-Villegas, Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, first author of the article. In addition, the study demonstrated a dose-response relationship, "whereby the more trans-fats were consumed, the greater the harmful effect they produced in the volunteers," the expert stated. Furthermore, the team, directed by Miguel Ángel Martínez-González, Professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of Navarra, also analyzed the influence of polyunsaturated fats (abundant in fish and vegetable oils) and of olive oil on the occurrence of depression. "In fact, we discovered that this type of healthier fats, together with olive oil, are associated with a lower risk of suffering depression," emphasized the researcher and director of the SUN Project. 150 million persons depressed worldwide Thus, the results of the... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| Osmoreceptors in liver help increase blood pressure Posted: 27 Jan 2011 06:17 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) For 60 years, scientists have puzzled over the possibility of a hepatic osmoreceptor that influences blood pressure regulation. Now, researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC) of the MDC and Charité and the Hannover Medical School (MHH) appear to have made a breakthrough discovery. Dr. Stefan Lechner and Professor Gary R. Lewin (both of MDC), Professor Friedrich C. Luft (ECRC) and Professor Jens Jordan (ECRC; now MHH) have discovered a new group of sensory neurons in the mouse liver which mediates the regulation of blood pressure and metabolism. This peripheral control center outside of the brain is triggered simply by drinking water and leads to an elevation of blood pressure in sick and elderly people. (Neuron, No. 69 (2) pp. 332-344) More than ten years ago Professor Jens Jordan, MD, then a research fellow at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, observed a phenomenon together with his colleagues, more or less by accident. Later, at the former Franz Volhard Clinic of the Charité in Berlin-Buch, Jens Jordan again observed that in patients with a damaged nervous system, blood pressure readings rose by as much as 50 mm Hg if the patients drank a half liter of water all at once. "In young people whose sympathetic nervous system was stimulated by drugs, water intake also caused blood pressure levels to rise," said Professor Friedrich C. Luft of the ECRC. "Even in healthy older people, water drinking triggers a regulator for blood pressure." The two clinicians invited neuroscientists at MDC to collaborate with them and started a joint research project. For 60 years researchers have suspected that there must also be a control center for the body's self-regulation located outside of the brain. Motivated by findings of recent studies, the researchers in Berlin-Buch therefore looked for sensory neurons specifically in organs peripheral... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| Posted: 27 Jan 2011 05:00 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Just touching it slightly with the tips of your fingers is enough. You can effortlessly write, navigate, open menu windows or rotate images on touchscreens. Within fractions of a second your touch is translated into control commands that a computer understands. At first glance, this technology borders on the miraculous, but in real life this mystery just is a wafer-thin electrode under the glass surface of the display made of indium-tin-oxide, ITO. This material is nothing short of ideal for use in touchscreens because it is excellent at conducting slight currents and lets the colors of the display pass through unhindered. But, there is a little problem: there are very few deposits of indium anywhere in the world. In the long term, the manufacturers of electronic gadgets are afraid that they will be dependent upon the prices set by suppliers. This is the reason why indium is one of what people call strategic metals. Therefore, private industry is very interested in alternatives to ITO that are similarly efficient. The researchers at Fraunhofer have succeeded at coming up with a new material for electrodes that is on the same level as ITO and on top of it is much cheaper. Its main components are carbon nanotubes and low-cost polymers. This new electrode foil is composed of two layers. One is the carrier, a thin foil made of inexpensive polyethylenterephthalate PET used for making plastic bottles. Then a mixture of carbon-nanotubes and electrically conducting polymers is added that is applied to the PET as a solution and forms a thin film when it dries. In comparison to ITO, these combinations of plastics have not been particularly durable because humidity, pressure or UV light put a strain on the polymers. The layers became brittle and broke down. Only carbon nanotubes have made them stable. The carbon nanotubes harden on the PET to create a network where the electrically conducting polymers can be firmly anchored. That means that... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
| Laboratories, universities unite to build radioecology expertise Posted: 26 Jan 2011 05:00 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) With the renewed and growing interest in nuclear energy, radioecology experts at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River National Laboratory recognized an immediate need to build the pool of radioecology expertise both here and abroad. To address this need, they worked with partners from universities across the U.S. and laboratories in France and the Ukraine to form the National Center for Radioecology (NCoRE), a network of excellence for environmental radiation risk reduction and remediation. Radioecology is the science that investigates the movement and effect of radionuclides released to the environment. It combines expertise in physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, ecology, and radiation protection. The growth in new nuclear energy capacity is going to require the ability to realistically assess the health and environmental impacts of nuclear facilities, said SRNL's Dr. Wendy Kuhne, one of the lead researchers for NCoRE. With that knowledge, we can locate, design and operate the facilities in a way that meets our energy needs without increasing the risk to the population or the environment. Radioecology knowledge is also important for understanding, assessing and managing the impact of other potential sources of radionuclides, including contaminated sites managed by the Department of Energy (DOE), the military and others. In addition, it is an important contributor in preparing responses to acts of terrorism involving radioactive materials. The increased need for radioecology, however, follows on the heels of many years' decline in educational opportunities in the field. There is currently no formal graduate program in radioecology in the United States since the retirement of Dr. Ward Whicker from Colorado State University (CSU), who is regarded as one of the founders of radioecology in the United States. Dr. Kuhne was Dr. Whicker's final PhD candidate to graduate from the program. One of the chief goals... http://www.rxpgnews.com |
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