December 1, 2006, 4:49 AM CT

Obesity Epidemics

Obesity is a major health problem in the United States. Currently over half of the total population in the United States is said to be obese or overweight. Incidence of obesity continue to increase in males and females. Of all U.S. women twenty years and older, more than 64 million are overweight and about 34 million are will fall in to the catagory of obese women.

Obesity is associated with marked health risks and higher death rates. Obese individuals are more prone to develop heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke and a veriety of other medical conditions. It is very important that we all eat healhy food and maintain a program of exercise througout life. To lose weight and keep it off over time, try to make long-term changes in your eating and physical activity habits and active exercise.

Measuring the exact amount of someone's body fat is not an easy task. The most accurate measures of body fat are weighing a person underwater or in a chamber that uses air displacement to measure body volume, or to use an X-ray test called Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry. Body fat mesaurements need not be so complicated. There are many simpler methods to estimate body fat. One is to measure the thickness of the layer of fat located below the skin in several parts of the body. Another involves sending a harmless amount of electric current through a person's body. Results from these methods, however, can be inaccurate if done by an inexperienced person or on someperson with extreme obesity.........

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December 1, 2006, 4:47 AM CT

Weight Training Intensity And Growth Hormone Levels

A study reported in the recent issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism looked at different forms of growth hormone, used different testing methods, and varied weight training regimens. The research observed that the role of growth hormone in women's muscle development may be more complicated than previously thought.

"We observed that growth hormone was responsive to moderate and heavy exercise regimens having 3-12 repetitions with varying weight loading," said the study's principal author, William J. Kraemer. "Women need to have heavy loading cycle or workout in their resistance training routines, as it helps to build muscle and bone".

The study, "Chronic resistance training in women potentiates growth hormone in vivo bioactivity: characterization of molecular mass variants," was carried out by Kraemer, Jeff S. Volek, Barry A. Spiering and Carl M. Maresh of the University of Connecticut, Storrs; Bradley C. Nindl, U.S Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, Mass.; James O. Marx, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Lincoln A. Gotshalk, University of Hawaii at Hilo; Jill A. Bush, University of Houston, Texas; and Jill R. Welsch, Andrea M. Mastro and Wesley C. Hymer, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Penn. The The American Physiological Society published the study.........

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November 30, 2006, 9:34 PM CT

Importance of Archiology

Often archaeology provides the only means to learn of the existence and behaviors of people in the past. Many thousands of cultures and societies and millions of people have come and gone across the millennia of which there simply is little or no written record - no history - or for which written records may be misrepresentative or incomplete. Writing as it is known and understood today did not exist anywhere in the world until about 5000 years ago, and only spread among a relatively small number of technologically advanced civilisations. In contrast Homo sapiens have existed for at least 200,000 years, and other species of Homo for millions of years (see Human evolution). These civilisations are, not coincidentally, the best-known; they have been open to the inquiry of historians for centuries, while the study of pre-historic cultures has arisen only recently. Even within a civilisation that is literate at some levels, many important human practices are not officially recorded. Any knowledge of the formative early years of human civilisation - the development of agriculture, cult practices of folk religion, the rise of the first cities - must come from archaeology.

Even where written records do exist, they are invariably incomplete or biased to some extent. In many societies, literacy was restricted to the elite classes, such as the clergy or the bureaucracy of court or temple. The literacy even of an aristocracy has sometimes been restricted to deeds and contracts. The interests and world-view of elites are often quite different from the lives and interests of the rest of the populace. Writings that were produced by people more representative of the general population were unlikely to find their way into libraries and be preserved there for posterity. Thus, written records tend to reflect the biases, assumptions, cultural values and possibly deceptions of a limited range of individuals, usually only a fraction of the larger population. As such, written records cannot be trusted as a sole source. The material record is nearer to a fair representation of society, though it is subject to its own inaccuracies, such as sampling bias and differential preservation.........

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November 30, 2006, 9:28 PM CT

Zebra stripes

Zebra stripes are typically black stripes on white background.These stripes are typically vertical on the head, neck, forequarters, and main body, with horizontal stripes at the rear and on the legs of the animal. The zebra crossing is named after the zebra's white on black stripes.

Zoologists believe that the stripes act as a camouflage mechanism. This is accomplished in several ways. First, the vertical striping helps the zebra hide in grass. At first glance, this may seem absurd considering that grass is neither white nor black, but it makes sense because the zebra's main predator, the lion, is color blind. A zebra standing still in tall grass may not be noticed at all by a lion. However, zebras are herd animals and do not usually travel alone, so the second way the stripes help in camouflage is by confusing the lion - a number of zebras standing or moving close together may appear as one large animal, making it more difficult for the lion to pick out any single zebra to attack.

Stripes are also believed to play a role in social interactions, with slight variations of the pattern allowing the animals to distinguish between individuals.

A more recent theory, supported by experiment, posits that the disruptive coloration is also an effective means of confusing the visual system of the blood-sucking tsetse fly.[citation needed] Alternative theories include that the stripes coincide with fat patterning beneath the skin, serving as a thermoregulatory mechanism for the zebra, and that wounds sustained disrupt the striping pattern to clearly indicate the fitness of the animal to potential mates.........

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November 30, 2006, 5:09 AM CT

Mystery About Stradivarius Violins Solved

Answering a question that has lingered for centuries, a team of researchers has proved that chemicals used to treat the wood used in Stradivarius and Guarneri violins are the reasons for the distinct sound produced by the world-famous instruments.

The conclusions, reported in the current issue of Nature magazine, have confirmed 30 years of work into the subject by Joseph Nagyvary, professor emeritus of biochemistry at Texas A&M University, who was the first to theorize that chemicals not necessarily the wood created the unique sound of the two violins. Nagyvary teamed with collaborators Joseph DiVerdi of Colorado State University and Noel Owen of Brigham Young University on the project.

This research proves unquestionably that the wood of the great masters was subjected to an aggressive chemical therapy and the chemicals most likely some sort of oxidizing agents had a crucial role in creating the great sound of the Stradivarius and the Guarneri, Nagyvary says.

Like a number of discoveries, this one could have been accidental. Perhaps the violin makers were not even aware of the acoustical effects of the chemicals. Both Stradivari and Guarneri wanted to treat their violins to prevent worms from eating away the wood. They used some chemical agents to protect the wood from worm infestations of the time, and the unintended consequence from these chemicals was a sound like none other, he adds.........

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November 30, 2006, 5:02 AM CT

Go To Church To Breathe Easier

Going to church might help you breathe easier. A new study by Temple Universitys Joanna Maselko, Sc.D., found that religious activity may protect and maintain pulmonary health in the elderly.

Pulmonary function is an important indicator of respiratory and overall health, yet little is known about the psychosocial factors that might predict pulmonary function. At the same time, religious activity is emerging as a potential health promoting factor, especially among the elderly. We wanted to determine whether there was a connection between the two, Maselko said.

Religious Service Attendance and Decline in Pulmonary Function in a High-Functioning Elderly Cohort, published in the November 2006 issue of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, was conducted while Maselko, assistant professor of public health, was at Harvard University.

Using peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), researchers measured pulmonary function in 1,189 study subjects ranging in age from 70 to 79 years. They found that.

regular religious service attendance (at least weekly attendance) was associated with a slower pulmonary function decline among men and women, compared to those who never attend services. The findings could not be explained by differences in smoking or physical activity.........

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November 29, 2006, 9:25 PM CT

Electric Chevrolet Silverado

The Los Angeles Auto Show is truly the biggest thing happening in the Automotive Arena but there are a few more venues which we need to focus on owing to their importance to the automotive industry. Green revolution is the need of the hour thus trucks like the one introduced by UQM technologies at the Electric drive transport association Conference deserve thorough recognition.

The truck I am talking about was a Chevrolet Silverado, which ran on Electricity unlike its conventional versions. This truck was outfitted with a 160 hp UQM motor producing 480 lb-ft of torque. It was powered by a Lithium-ion battery pack. Valence Technology supplied this battery pack, which has a peak efficiency of 96 percent.

The US Airforce funded this project unveiled by the UQM technologies at the ETDA. This conference is running from the 28th to 30th of November and the panel gathered out there is discussing on incorporating such eco-friendly technology into Heavy and Medium Duty Markets , Mass transit and Off-Road vehicles.

Until date, the focus of equipping such technologies has been limited to cars thus this conference adds a much needed dimension/impetus to the Automotive World. It is equally important to equip other forms of transport with such futuristic equipment owing to the collective harm all prevalent forms of transport are causing to the environment.........

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November 29, 2006, 4:59 AM CT

Health Inequalities Are A Growing Problem

Global health inequalities are substantial, growing, and influenced by economic, social and health-sector variables as well as geography, a study concludes in the recent issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Particularly disturbing findings from this study are that countries with high mortality in young children are making slow progress, gaps in adult mortality are becoming wider, and countries with the highest adult mortality have reversed their trend from mortality reduction, said lead author Jennifer Prah Ruger, assistant professor of public health in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale School of Medicine.

This is the first systematic study of global inequalities in adult and child mortality to identify three distinct mortality groupsbetter off, worse-off and mid-levelusing cluster analysis methods to reveal new associations and structure in data, and examine the underlying risk factors associated with inequality in mortality. Unlike previous studies, this research focuses on gaps in health inequalities between countries, Ruger said.

The probability that a child will die before age five and an adult will die at an early age are disproportionately higher throughout sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan than in countries in any other geographic region, according to the study. The authors report that these countries have lower average incomes, more extreme poverty, higher inflation and less trade. They also have lower levels of investment in human and physical resources, more health risk factors and less effective disease prevention, and worse educational outcomes.........

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November 29, 2006, 4:56 AM CT

Painkillers May Threaten Power Of Vaccines

With flu-shot season in full swing and widespread anticipation of the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, a new University of Rochester study suggests that using common painkillers around the time of vaccination might not be a good idea.

Researchers showed that certain nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), also known as cyclooxygenase inhibitors, react with the immune system in such a way that might reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.

The research has widespread implications: study authors report that an estimated 50 to 70 percent of Americans use NSAIDs for relief from pain and inflammation, even though NSAIDs blunt the bodys natural response to infection and may prolong it.

For years we have known that elderly people are poor responders to the influenza vaccine and vaccines in general, said principal investigator Richard P. Phipps, Ph.D., a professor of Environmental Medicine, and of Microbiology and Immunology, Oncology and Pediatrics. And we also know that elderly people tend to be heavy users of inhibitors of cyclooxygenase such as Advil, aspirin, or Celebrex. This study could help explain the immune response problem.

The study is available online in the Dec. 1, 2006, Journal of Immunology, and was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. (See full study at: http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/content/full/177/11/7811).........

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November 29, 2006, 4:53 AM CT

Why Do Black And Latino Boys Lag Behind In Math?

Recent studies and public discussions have focused on female achievement in math, and an important new study in the recent issue of the American Journal of Education expands the literature to encompass racial disparity. Using new national data from the 1990s, Catherine Riegle-Crumb (University of Texas, Austin) explores how Black and Latino males fare in high school math classes compared to their female counterparts, finding that a tendency to ignore institutional cues can lead to both positive and negative outcomes. While Black males are not encouraged by high grades in freshman math classes, Black females are able to overcome potentially demoralizing scores.

Compared with white males, African American and Latino males receive lower returns from taking Algebra I during their freshman year, reaching lower levels of the math course sequence when they begin in the same position, Riegle-Crumb writes. This pattern is not explained by academic performance, and, furthermore, African-American males receive less benefit from high math grades.

Riegle-Crumb tracked the progression of more than 8,000 students who enrolled in Algebra 1 as freshmen in high school. Black and Latino groups have lower enrollment rates in math courses than Whites and Asian Americans, but attrition was unexpectedly high even among those who began in comparable positions. Black males seem to have little response to positive feedback or good grades, Riegle-Crumb finds, while Black females seem undeterred by low grades, despite their original disadvantage.........

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