2013年5月28日星期二

High IQ children and adolescents with ADHD tend to suffer from significant executive function impairments



High IQ people is often envied by most of the people. It is recognized that high IQ people has so much advantages than the general population no matter in work or study nearly by all.It seems like they are entitled to special treatment.Is high IQ really unassailable?May be the damn research will subvert your impression on high IQ:
Method: From charts of 117 children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years with high IQ ( ≥ 120) who fully met DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for ADHD, data on 8 normed measures of executive function (EF) were extracted: IQ index scores for working memory and processing speed, a standardized measure of auditory verbal memory, and 5 clusters of the Brown ADD Scale, a normed, age-graded rating scale for ADHD-related executive function impairments in daily life. Significant impairment was computed for each individual relative to age-appropriate norms for each measure and comparisons were made to base-line rates in the general population.
Results: Sixty-two percent of participants were significantly impaired on at least 5 of these 8 markers of EF. Chi-square comparisons of scores from these high IQ participants were significantly different (p < 0.001) from standardization norms for each of the eight EF measures.
Through this experimentthe researchers conclude that high IQ children and adolescents with ADHD, despite their cognitive strengths, tend to suffer from significant impairments of executive functions that can be assessed with these measures; incidence of these impairments is significantly greater than in the general population. These results are fully consistent with data on high IQ adults diagnosed with ADHD.

(source:SCIRP/ Psychiatry)

Most popular papers about Psychiatry,you can get here.


2013年5月26日星期日

How does charcoal broiled meat damage our body?



We know charcoal broiled meat is bad for our health. Even though we struggled to control ourself not to enjoy it.Sometimes, our taste sense triumph over the sense.After the meal you may wonder what does the meal do to my body?
A research published in Food and Nutrition Sciences may satisfy your thirst for knowledge:
The effect of ingesting charcoal-broiled beefburgers (CBB) on the liver functions and nonenzymatic antioxidant levels in human blood was examined in twenty-nine healthy individually males (mean age 21.65 ± 1.32 years, range 20.32 - 22.42 years), non-smokers and had no occupational exposure to PAHs, who consumed two charcoal grilled beefburger per day (mean weight 70 gmper each) at lunch time over 28 consecutive days. The mean daily intake of PAH during the consumption period was 3431 ng and the mean daily intake of PAH per kg body wt/day was 46 ng. Blood samples were collected from each subject 7, 14, 21 and 28 days before, during, and after the beefburgers consumption period. glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic-pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were significantly higher in serum of subjects during CBB consumption period compared with those of before CBB consumption ones. All of the enzyme activities still increased upper the baseline levels, before CBB consumption period, by four week after charcoal broiled meat consumption ended. In contrary, the levels of non-enzymatic antioxidants include albumin (ALB), glutathione in serum (GSH-S) and erythrocytes (GSH-E) were significantly lower in subjects during CBB consumption period compared with those of before CBB consumption ones. All of the non-enzymatic antioxidant levels decreased to near baseline levels, before CBB consumption period, by four week after charcoal broiled meat consumption ended. Results suggested that non-enzymatic antioxidants defense system of serum and erythrocytes was depressed and the erythrocytes as well as liver cells were exposed to oxidant stress due to oral exposure of PAH.





2013年5月25日星期六

The Effects of Using Color Foods on Children-Immunity Properties and Liver



Synthetic color is often added to foods to replace natural color lost during processing.Yes,indeed it looks very attractive, however it also indeed do serious damage to children. How did it affect the health of children and how serious it is on earth?A study real the problem by experiment on rats.Let’s see the brief:
Synthetic color is added to foods to replace natural color lost during processing. It is causes health problems mainly in children that considered Avery venerable group. This study was carried out investigate the effect of using color foods (Color fruit juice for 6 - 12 hr. Tomato ketchup potato chips (TKPC) color sweet and color chocolate at low (15%) and high (30%)) concentration on serum biochemical, WBC (white blood cell)and histopathology of liver and kidney of rats for 13 week. The results indicated that no significant change in body weight gain, serum glucose, HDL and LDL cholesterol. TKPC (30%) showed that significant increase in total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol (TG). Low and high concentration of color chocolate and color sweet was exhibited significant increase of TG. The level of ALT and AST was significant increase of rat’s administration color fruit juice (for 12 hr.) and TKPC at 30%. High concentration of color foods and long time administration of color fruit juice showed significant increase in serum creatinine and albumin compared to control group. Both low and high consumed of color foods exhibited significant decrease in liver GSH. High concentration of color foods lead to increase number of WBC as the result to the response of the immune system to the inflammation. Color foods were reveled change in histological structure of liver and kidney. In conclusion, the use synthetic color in various foods has adverse effect on some of biochemical analysis; and the liver and kidney histopathological structure.




2013年5月23日星期四

The ring that glows when your fiancé is near





What gift to give to your honey on birthday, valentine's day,ect?Maybe everyone has ever been bothered by this problem. Creative is crucial.Let’s see a gift full of love:
A San Francisco engineer has created a unique hi-tech ring to propose to his fiance - which lights up when he is nearby.
36 year old Ben Kokes, who works for an electronics firm, spent five months perfecting the ring before finally giving it his fiance Julie Nicolai, 35 - and said she was so excited by it she didn't let him finish his proposal speech.
Hidden inside the ring are tiny LEDs which light up when Kokes is nearby, illuminating the stones in the titanium ring.
Kokes told MailOnline creating the ring took five months.
'I knew I wanted to build it, but didn't know  how - I'm an engineer, so think about this kind of thing all the time,' he said.
'I spent a lot of time thinking about how to propose, and started to think about the ring you see today. I started work on it in January, and then finally proposed in mid-May.'
Wrapped within the interior of the ring is a coil of copper, which generates a current when exposed to an alternating magnetic field.
To supply the field, Kokes built a wrist-mounted device that he could wear and easily conceal, as well as surreptitiously activate when the time came.
'It is quite bulky, and you need to be within 3-4 inches, but I managed to hide it under my jacket, he said.
'Several designs were considered and were rejected because of exotic material requirements, machining geometry limitations or violating the laws of physics.
'It was a fun exercise to explore potential and unique designs, but at the end of the day, I still needed to make her something that I could present and that didn't look like it was carved with a spoon,' he said.
However, the proposal did not go according to plan.
'We live in San Francisco, and across the bay is a hill, so I wanted to hike there at dusk, and propose. However, it was really foggy - so after hiking for an hour, we had to abandon the plan, so we can back to the city and I proposed there.'
Once the proposal finally happened, Ben said the only problem with Julie's reaction was that it didn't allow him to finish his speech.
'I had a little speech prepared, and she wouldn't let me get through it - she just started telling me how amazing it was.
'The plan was to present the ring then get a professional ring made - but she said she wanted a permanent version of this instead, so i am building that now, as unfortunately the electronics in this version made it slightly too small for her to wear every day.'
The permanent version will become Julie's wedding ring, he said.
The ring is a creative gifts, from a different perspective,maybe it is a early warning system.


(source:mailonline)


Mathematical modelling of a biofilm: The Adomian decomposition method




Biofilm is any group of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other on a surface. Biofilms may form on living or non-living surfaces and can be prevalent in natural, industrial and hospital settings. Biofilms have been found to be involved in a wide variety of microbial infections in the body, by one estimate 80% of all infections. Infectious processes in which biofilms have been implicated include common problems such as urinary tract infections, catheter infections, middle-ear infections, formation of dental plaque, gingivitis, coating contact lenses, and less common but more lethal processes such as endocarditis, infections in cystic fibrosis, and infections of permanent indwelling devices such as joint prostheses and heart valves.
Biofilm has a stubborn resistance to conventional sterilization, clean ,removal mechanisms, iust like spores.It often intimately adhere to reusable medical device surface and difficult to remove.Thus,the bacteria wrapped was protected well.There is a doubt,whether these b microorganisms will die?The death rate?
A mathematical treatment for analyzing biofilm for a square law of microbial death rate is put forward in a paper published in Natural Science. The nonlinear differential Equations in biofilm reaction is solved using the Adomian decomposition method. Approximate analytical expressions for substrate concentration have been derived for all values of parameters δ and SL. These analytical results are compared with the available numerical results and are found to be in good agreement.


(source: Scientific Research Publishing)

2013年5月21日星期二

3-D Food Printer to produce pizza,for Mars Missions



It would take a lot of food to get astronauts to Mars, but what if they could get whatever they wanted at the push of a button?
NASA is funding an ambitious 3-D printing food project that wants to make that happen, Quartz reports. The space agency's handing over to mechanical engineer Anjan Contractor and his company, Systems & Materials Research Corporation, to spend building a prototype universal food synthesizer. And it could make pizza.
Contractor's food synthesizer would print layers of food from cartridges of powders and oils, creating a perfectly nutritious meal. (It can actually print from any "organic" material with the right ingredients inside, so insect-based pizza may be the proteinaceous meal of choice.) Contractor has already made a chocolate printer as a proof of concept, and now is moving on to a pizza printer.
A pie's a good candidate for this because its made from discrete sections. Each print head would only have the job of printing : either the dough, which would be cooked by a hot plate while being printed; the sauce, which would be a mixture of tomato powder, oil, and water; or the ambiguous, gross-sounding "protein layer," which could be made from milk, animals, or plants.
The cartridges would all have a 30-year shelf-life, enough time for, say, a trip to Mars. The astronauts can switch to real cooking once they get there.
It is a report from popsci.In fact,maybe if this device is developed ,it can not only used in Mars,it is also useful and convenient on earth.



2013年5月20日星期一

Sunshine vitamin 'may treat asthma'



The amount of time asthma patients spend soaking up the sun may have an impact on the illness, researchers have suggested.
A team at King's College London said low levels of vitamin D, which is made by the body in sunlight, was linked to a worsening of symptoms.
Its latest research shows the vitamin calms an over-active part of the immune system in asthma.
However, treating patients with vitamin D has not yet been tested.
People with asthma can find it hard to breathe when their airways become inflamed, swollen and narrowed.
Most people are treated with steroids, but the drugs do not work for all.

Sunshine
"We know people with high levels of vitamin D are better able to control their asthma - that connection is quite striking," said researcher Prof Catherine Hawrylowicz.
Her group investigated the impact of the vitamin on a chemical in the body, interleukin-17. It is a vital part of the immune system and helps to fight off infections.
However, it can cause problems when levels get too high and has been strongly implicated in asthma.
In this study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, vitamin D was able to lower levels of interleukin-17 when it was added to blood samples taken from 28 patients.
The team is now conducting clinical trials to see if giving the sunshine vitamin to patients could ease their symptoms. They are looking at patients who do not respond to steroids as they produce seven times more interleukin-17 than other patients.
Prof Catherine Hawrylowicz told the BBC: "We think that treating people with vitamin D could make steroid-resistant patients respond to steroids or let those who can control their asthma take less steroids."
She said a culture of covering up in the sun and using sun cream may have increased asthma rates, but "it is a careful message because too much sun is bad for you".
Malayka Rahman, from the charity Asthma UK, said: "For the majority of people with asthma, current available medicines are an effective way of managing the condition but we know that they don't work for everyone, which is why research into new treatments is vital.
"We also know that many people with asthma have concerns about the side effects of their medicines so if vitamin D is shown to reduce the amount of medicines required, this would have an enormous impact on people's quality of life.
"We look forward to the results of the clinical trial."

2013年5月19日星期日

Special Issue on Hypertension and Cardiovascular Diseases





L. Degli Esposti, S. Saragoni, C. Veronesi, C. Cerra, P. Batacchi, C. Pagliaro, A. Sturani, E. D. Esposti…………………………1
E. Y. Cruz-Laguna, A. Ma. Gámez-Méndez, H. Vargas-Robles, A. Ríos, A. Méndez-Tenorio, B. Escalante………………………9
R. A. Virkus, B. Heitmann, E. Obel, T. Bergholt, E. Løkkegaard…………………………………………………………………16
N. N. Li, Y. Zhao, Y. R. Liang………………….…………………………………………………………………………………23
P. Singh, T. W. Fletcher, Y. C. Li, N. J. Rusch, F. Kilic……………………………………………………………………………31
N. M. Varda…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………40
A. Del Castillo, D. Godoy-Izquierdo, Mª L. Vázquez, J. F. Godoy…………………………………………………………………47
S. Siritunga, K. Wijewardena, R. Ekanayaka, P. Mudunkotuwa……………………………………………………………………59
P. Benharash, W. Zhou………………………………………………………………………………………………………………65
T. P. Novgorodtseva, Y. K. Karaman, T. A. Gvozdenko, M. V. Antonyuk, V. V. Knyshova………………………………………73
R. B. Silva, F. F. Mesquita, M. Andreo, H. B. Assalin, J. A. R. Gontijo, P. A. Boer………………………………………………78

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2013年5月17日星期五

Retirement 'harmful to health'? Not always



Let’s see an article from BBC first:
Retirement has a detrimental impact on mental and physical health, a new study has found.The study, published by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a think tank, found that retirement results in a "drastic decline in health" in the medium and long term.The IEA said the study suggests people should work for longer for health as well as economic reasons.The government already plans to raise the state pension age.The study, which was published in conjunction with the Age Endeavour Fellowship, a charity, compared retired people with those who had continued working past retirement age, and took into account possible confounding factors.Philip Booth, programme director at the IEA, said the government should go further to deregulate labour markets and allow people to work for longer.


In fact,I think this statement is only one-sided.Yeah,maybe to mental worker it is indeed so.There also a research found that who retired before the age of 60 express more boredom than those who retired later may be a support.However,there are lots of manual worker.They don't have the ability to do heavy physical labor as they grew older. For those weak constitution, early retirement or change a light work maybe a better choice.Money is undeniable important,but health is more important.

As to retirement affects mental and physical health,I think there are some other ways to remedy.For example ,they can learn to play chess,read books, take part in leisure activities to keep mental health.They can also take a walk for physical health.About the effects of leisure activities for the retiree,there is a specialized research.













2013年5月15日星期三

Is it really government drop the poisonous gas?How do you think?




A BBC correspondent who visited the northern town of Saraqeb was told by eyewitnesses that government helicopters had dropped at least two devices containing poisonous gas.
The government has vehemently denied claims it has used chemical agents.
The US has warned that such a development would be a "red line" for possible intervention.
However, President Barack Obama said the current intelligence on possible chemical weapon usage did not constitute sufficient proof.

Testing samples
In April, Saraqeb, a town south-west of Aleppo, came under artillery bombardment from government positions.
Doctors at the local hospital told the BBC they had admitted eight people suffering from breathing problems. Some were vomiting and others had constricted pupils, they said. One woman later died.
A number of videos passed to the BBC appear to support these claims, but it is impossible to independently verify them.
A doctor who treated the dead woman said her symptoms corresponded to organophosphate poisoning and that samples had been sent for testing.
Both the US and UK have spoken of growing evidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons.
Rebel fighters have also been accused of using them. They also have denied this.
The UN says estimates that the two-year-old conflict has left at least 80,000 people dead.

(source:bbc)

2013年5月14日星期二

Was the 2013 World Press Photo Of The Year A Fake?



In February, the winner of the prestigious World Press Photo of the Year award came under fire after allegations surfaced that it had been significantly altered. The organization has stood by the photo, but a forensic image analyst, Neal Krawetz, now claims his analysis proves that it is a composite of multiple photos.
The photo in question, an image by Swedish photographer Paul Hansen called "Gaza Burial," shows a group of men carrying the bodies of two children killed in an airstrike through Gaza City. According to the results of a forensic analysis published by ExtremeTech yesterday, it might be a composite of three different photos spliced together and then altered to illuminate the faces of the subjects. The photographer has denied the allegations.
Krawetz, a computer scientist and author who specializes in "non-classical computer forensics," blogged about his reservations with the photo, which he saw after a friend sent him an article on the controversy. By looking at the file's Photoshop save history, the shadow placement in the image and an error-level analysis of the pixels in the photo, Krawetz says he found that Hansen's image was significantly manipulated--a controversial topic in documentary photography.
ExtremeTech wrote:
Basically, as far as we can surmise, Hansen took a series of photos — and then later, realizing that his most dramatically situated photo was too dark and shadowy, decided to splice a bunch of images together and apply a liberal amount of dodging (brightening) to the shadowy regions.
Hansen responded today in an interview with news.au.com, denying that the image was a composite or in any way fraudulent. He explained his process like this:
In the post-process toning and balancing of the uneven light in the alleyway, I developed the raw file with different density to use the natural light instead of dodging and burning. In effect to recreate what the eye sees and get a larger dynamic range.To put it simply, it's the same file - developed over itself - the same thing you did with negatives when you scanned them.
World Press Photo has previously defended Hansen's work. Santiago Lyon, the director of photography at the Associated Press and chairman of the 2013 contest jury, said in a press conference earlier this year that "we are confident that the images conform to the accepted practices of the profession" and that some images had been disqualified from the competition based on alteration.
"Paul Hansen has previously explained in detail how he processed the image. World Press Photo has no reason to doubt his explanation," the organization stated to the Huffington Post UK today. But they will be doing some forensic sleuthing of their own in response. "However, in order to curtail further speculation - and with full cooperation by Paul Hansen - we have asked two independent experts to carry out a forensic investigation of the image file. The results will be announced as soon as they become available."


(source:popsci)


2013年5月13日星期一

UN urges more people to eat insects





Eating more insects could help fight world hunger, according to a new UN report.
The report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says that eating insects could help boost nutrition and reduce pollution.
It notes than over 2 billion people worldwide already supplement their diet with insects.
However it admits that "consumer disgust" remains a large barrier in many Western countries.
Wasps, beetles and other insects are currently "underutilised" as food for people and livestock, the report says. Insect farming is "one of the many ways to address food and feed security".
"Insects are everywhere and they reproduce quickly, and they have high growth and feed conversion rates and a low environmental footprint," according to the report.

The authors point out that insects are nutritious, with high protein, fat and mineral content.
They are "particularly important as a food supplement for undernourished children".
Insects are also "extremely efficient" in converting feed into edible meat. Crickets, for example, need 12 times less feed than cattle to produce the same amount of protein, according to the report.
Most insects are are likely to produce fewer environmentally harmful greenhouse gases than other livestock.
The ammonia emissions associated with insect-rearing are far lower than those linked to conventional livestock such as pigs, says the report.

Delicacies
Insects are regularly eaten by many of the world's population, but the thought may seem shocking to many Westerners.
The report suggests that the food industry could help in "raising the status of insects" by including them in new recipes and adding them to restaurant menus.
It goes on to note that in some places, certain insects are considered delicacies.
For example some caterpillars in southern Africa are seen as luxuries and command high prices.
Most edible insects are gathered in forests and serve niche markets, the report states.
It calls for improved regulation and production for using insects as feed.
"The use of insects on a large scale as a feed ingredient is technically feasible, and established companies in various parts of the world are already leading the way," it adds.



2013年5月12日星期日

The substitute food of animal sourced foods for Vitamin A- crops biofortified foods



Vitamin A deficiency is common in poorer countries.It often causes night blindness, Xerophthalmia, keratomalacia, and even complete blindness(especially childhood) since Vitamin A has a major role in phototransduction. Vitamin A deficiency also contributes to maternal mortality and other poor outcomes in pregnancy and lactation.  
Animal sourced foods is a good source of Vitamin A ,but the are too expensive for poor rural people.Is there substitute food?Yeah!A research published in <Food and Nutrition Sciences> by Scientific Research Publishing claimed that crops biofortified with provitamin A offer a convenient and accessible source of vitamin A:
Crops biofortified with provitamin A offer a convenient and accessible source of vitamin A. The other micro-nutrient programs of fortification and supplementation require more expensive inputs. Biofortification programs have developed crops that are rich in provitamin A. These crops include: maize, golden rice, cassava and orange fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). With exception of golden rice, the rest of the biofortified crops have received considerable acceptance among the communities. Both animal and human studies have shown that provitamin A from biofortified crops is highly bioavailable and have capacity to improve vitamin A status. After several years of research and promotion, it is time to fully commercialize provitamin A crops by encouraging farmers to start their large scale production and consumption.
 


2013年5月9日星期四

Vatican declares Mexican Death Saint blasphemous, might inevitable




Inevitable
According to a paper:
With globalization and widespread movements of populations struggling to maintain their identities within the contexts of both the old and new societies, changes of religion—including religious affiliation and religiosity—are inevitable.

Event
Santa Muerte
The president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, said worshipping Santa Muerte was a "degeneration of religion".
Cardinal Ravasi spoke at a series of events for believers and non-believers in Mexico City.
The cult, which reveres death, has been growing rapidly in Mexico.
It is represented by a cloaked female skeleton clutching a scythe.
It is particularly popular in areas of Mexico that have suffered from extreme violence carried out by the country's drug cartels.
The cult is believed to date back to colonial times.
It merges indigenous beliefs with the tradition of venerating saints introduced by Christian missionaries after the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

Anti-religious
Devotees pray to the saint at home-made altars and often offer votive candles, fruit and tequila in the hope Santa Muerte will grant their wishes.
Cardinal Ravasi said the practice was "anti-religious". "Religion celebrates life, but here you have death," he said.
"It's not religion just because it's dressed up like religion; it's a blasphemy against religion", he said.
The cardinal also referred to the fact that the cult is particularly popular among members of Mexico's drug cartels and accused "criminals" of invoking it.
Cardinal Ravasi said a country like Mexico, where more than 70,000 people are estimated to have been killed in drug-related violence over the past six years, had to send out a clear message to its young generation.
"The mafia, drug trafficking and organised crime don't have a religious aspect and have nothing to do with religion, even if they use the image of Santa Muerte," he said.
There are no reliable figures showing how many people worship Santa Muerte, but academics studying the subject say more and more Santa Muerte shrines have been popping up in Mexico and the US, where the cult is popular with Mexican immigrants.
Last year, police in northern Mexico arrested eight people in connection with the killing of two boys and a woman in ritual sacrifices which prosecutors said were linked to the cult of Santa Muerte.

2013年5月8日星期三

Is the mysterious 30 foot long rotting 'sea monster' with huge teeth really just a killer whale






A strange 30-foot long carcass washed up off the coast of the Bay of Plenty coast in New Zealand after storms in last month.
What you can see is its head and what appear to be flippers.Mos of the rest of the creature's body is missing. Take a close look at it,you may be shocked by its large, jagged blackened teeth.
Where it comes from and what is it?


On a video by Elizabeth Ann,she said: 'The huge marine creature washed up after a storm. It had been attacked by something in the water.’
As to what is it ?The bizarre prehistoric beast has stimulated lots of discussion and the views are very differently. Suggestions as to what the creature could be include a saltwater crocodile, a giant moray eel, a dolphin or a dinosaur. Marine mammal expert Anton van Helden rejected all these ideas and told New Zealand's Channel 3 that the creature's fin structure is similar to that of a killer whale.( Killer whales are common in and around Fiji and the Bay of Plenty.)
Photos of the animal have been sent to the New Zealand Department of Conservation and Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium for identification.


(via:mailonline)




Are there much more people high blood pressure in the US South than other regions of US?- caused by sexual health




Are there much more people high blood pressure in the US South than other regions of US?- caused by sexual health
Low birth weight is associated with hypertension in adult life.It is a hypothesis and a new research  also supports it.Meanwhile,a research about the state of sexual health in the US south also pointed out that:
Early 1 in 10 (9.6%) babies born in the 10 Southern states in 2008 were of low birth-weight (2500 grams) . This represents some 75,381 low birth- weight babies. Moreover, the South’s rate of low birth-weight is higher than that of any region in the nation. The lowest rate is
found in the West (7.0%). The US South rate (9.6%) was also higher than the US rate (8.2%).
If the hypothesis that birth weight is related to several adult disease is really right,does it mean people in the US south has more risk of high blood pressure?

2013年5月7日星期二

Test apparatus for performance evaluation of compressed air End-Use applications




Compressed air is often used as a source of power.And has very wide application. Any improvement in compressed air system will lead to reduction in utility cost.Whether it is indeed a good improvement?There  are no performance testing methods available for testing existing end use equipments. The effectiveness of utilization side of compressed air is usually dependent upon operator’s discretion.Maybe it is too subjective.A research from Scientific Research Publishing puts forward a test apparatus which can make up for the shortage:
A test apparatus for estimation of compressed air flow based on measurement of pressure reduction in a fixed volume cylinder in a given time is developed. The test apparatus is easy to build and simple to operate in an industrial environment. This can be used for measuring performance of any pneumatic end-use equipment and for benchmarking the performance. The test apparatus was used in a foundry for quantifying the performance of the old and new blow guns.
It seems it is a good device,whether it operates accurately and then provide an accurate assessment dataWelcome to your point of view.


(source:scirp/ Energy Efficiency)


2013年5月5日星期日

Moringa oleifera leaf powder, although nutritious, more is not better for your wheat bread



Moringa has many benefits for humans. Moringa leaves are the most nutritious part of the Moringa plant itself, is an important source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, provitamin A as beta-carotene, magnesium, and protein among other nutrients that have been studied in the lab. When compared with the general food, Moringa leaves are very high in nutrients it:
Comparison of the content of Moringa and other food
Food Nutrition - General Food Types - Content of General Food- Content of Moringa Leaves
Vitamin A - carrots - 1.8 mg - 6.8 mg
Calcium - Milk - 120 mg - 440 mg
Potassium - bananas - 88 mg - 259 mg
Protein - Yogurt - 3.1 g - 6.7 g
Vitamin C - Oranges - 30 mg - 220 mg
Because of its high nutritional value,it often used as supplementation on wheat bread.And the dosage must be kept in certain proportion,not the more the better,according to an article from Scientific Research Publishing:
The effect of Moringa oleifera leaf powder supplementation on some physico-chemical and sensory properties of wheat bread was determined. Bread was prepared from varying proportions of 100%, 99%, 98%, 97%, 96% and 95% wheat flour supplemented with 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% Moringa oleifera leaf powder respectively. The bread samples were allowed to cool at ambient temperature (30℃± 1) and analysed for some physical properties, proximate composition, and sensory attributes. Moringa leaf powder addition significantly (p < 0.05) increased the fibre (2.10% to 3.28%), ash (1.10% to 1.65%), protein (9.07% to 13.97%), and ether extract (1.51% to 2.59%), while decreasing moisture content (35.20% to 27.65%). Moringa leaf powder supplementation also significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the loaf volume, weight loss, loaf height and specific loaf volume from 796.70 to 496.70 cm3, 32.32 to 25.65 g, 7.00 to 5.83 cm and 4.70 to 2.65 cm3/g respectively, while the loaf weight increased from 169.20 to 185.86 g. There was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca) and Beta-carotene contents from 0.76 to 1.27 mg/100g, 3.67 to 6.07 mg/100g and 0.02 to 3.27 mg/100g respectively, while Iron (Fe) and Cupper (Cu) contents decreased from 2.74 to 1.25 mg/100g and 2.26 to 0.03 mg/100g respectively. Sensory evaluation showed that although there was significant (p < 0.05) improvement in nutritional composition, the acceptability of all bread samples decreased with increasing level of Moringa supplementation. This implies that despite the high nutrient content of Moringa oleifera powder, it is not a good substitute for wheat in bread production due to its physical characteristics and sensory attributes.
  

The findings and lessons of E-Learning System



E-Learning has many benefitsfor exampleImproved open access to education, including access to full degree programsetter integration for non-full-time students, and so on.
However, compared with traditional class room settings,is also has the following disadvantages:
potential distractions that hinder actually learning,ease of cheating,bias towards tech-savvy students over non-technical students,teachers lack of knowledge and experience to manage virtual teacher-student interaction, lack of social interaction between teacher and students, lack of direct and immediate feedback from teachers, asynchronic communication hinders fast exchange of question, danger of procrastination.
Combined with the problems the E-Learning system is facing,a research from Scientific Research Publishing concluded findings and lessons for us to help improve the E-Learning system:
This paper describes the implementation of the e-learning system at the School of Mathematics and Computer Science, National University of Mongolia. The paper includes in-house development of Edunet 1.0 e-learning system, comparative analysis on LMS, evaluation methodology, selection of e-learning systems, and comparative analysis on implementation of Edunet, Moodle and Canvas systems.



2013年5月2日星期四

Cannibalism: Early American Settlers Ate Each Other



The winter of 1609-1610 was a pretty horrible time to be a resident of Jamestown, the early English settlement in what is now coastal Virginia. How horrible? Aside from the rampant disease, the starvation, and attacks by surrounding native tribes, people were also EATING EACH OTHER.
So confirms new forensic evidence found at the Jamestown settlement site. Written accounts of the so-called Starving Time claimed that Jamestown settlers resorted to cannibalism to survive, but this is the first forensic corroboration of it. Scientists working with Bill Kelso, director of archeology for the Jamestown Recovery project, uncovered partial human remains -- a mutilated skull and a disarticulated leg -- in a midden heap mingled among the butchered remains of horses and dogs.
Suspicious markings on the bones suggested that this body had also been butchered. Anthropologist Douglas Owsley, of the Smithsonian Institution, conducted isotopic tests on the bones, revealing that the skull and leg belonged to an English girl, and the bones' physical characteristics showed that she was about 14 years old when she died. A variety of tool marks in the bone show someone, first tentatively and then forcefully, trying to deflesh her skull. A sharp puncture through the left temple and subsequent cracking show that someone eventually worked up the nerve or strength to pry her skull open. Finer knife marks along the cheekbone and jawline suggest that someone purposefully cut flesh off of the skull.
Owsley and colleagues compared these marks to those from other known cases of human cannibalism and found remarkable similarities--enough to conclude that this 14-year-old girl, who the scientists have dubbed "Jane," was cannibalized by other colonists after her death of (presumably) natural causes--a desperate, last-ditch effort to save the rest of the settlement from extinction.

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(source:popsci)

2013年5月1日星期三

How to help the nursing homes residents be energetic



Nursing homes adopt various people who need help. People include the elderly and younger adults with physical or mental disabilities. Unquestionable,some people homeless or unattended but need of care are well attended here.But there is a drawback: Lack of engagement in activities and apathy.This greatly reduces nursing homes residents’ quality of life.What are they interested in? A survey on 601 nursing homes residents made a conclusion:
Lack of engagement in activities is a common feature of nursing homes residents. As apathy is the most frequent behavioural disturbance, understanding residents’ interests is a milestone for tailored challenging interventions targeting engagement enhancement. Objective: To depict the activities interests of nursing homes residents. Method: An electronic version of the Test of Interest “TILT” which regroups 40 images of activities has been developed and adapted for the Ipad. Residents were asked to answer by yes or no to the question “are you interested by this activity”, for each activity found interesting, the patient had then to categorize it in either Work/ occupation-Personal-Leisure-Family. Population: A total of 601 residents from 19 nursing homes have completed the survey from March to May 2011. The surveyed nursing homes from the South East of France were comparable of nursing homes figures in France. Results: We interviewed 601 individuals (female, n = 484) aged 85.9 years, out of those, 56% had stayed more than one year in an institution. Nearly half of the population (45.3%) was from 80 - 89 year of age, followed by 36.1% from 90 - 99. The educational background was principally from primary school (36%) and high school (30.8%). Most of the residents were classified has having dementia (35.3%). From the 40 activities presented to each participant, “enjoying a good meal” has been found to be the most interesting activity by 83% of the population followed by “dressing up”, 75.9% and “watching TV”, 75.5%. Female participants reported more interest in place of worship, family pictures and being with grand children then males (p < 0.01). We found that the presence of “dementia” diagnosis” triggered the lack of interest compared to none demented or none cognitively impaired residents (p < 0.01). It was found that participants aged 55 - 69 were more the most interested to do video games (p < 0.05), though this may be interpreted as a positive step toward functional and cognitive rehabilitation program using virtual reality as a mean for intervention.

(source:scirp/ Aging Research)



2013年4月28日星期日

How to make the orange fleshed sweetpotato crisps taste good and be more nutritious



Today I read an article about how to make orange fleshed sweetpotato crisps at good nutrition.I think it is useful for foodies,share with you:

The study was carried out to determine the effect of salt on the sensory, nutritive and keeping quality of OFSP crisps. Crisps were made by deep frying slices of approximately 3.5 mm thickness treated with, 2% and 4% table salt. A control with no salt treatment was prepared alongside the treated ones. Two varieties of OFSP; Ejumula and Kakamega were used in the study. After deep frying, the crisps were cooled to room temperature, packed in paper-lined high density polythene pouches and stored in a dark cupboard at room temperature for three months. During the storage period, the crisps were analyzed for proteins, fat and carotenoid content. Changes in sensory attributes were analyzed using a semi-trained panel. Results indicated that freshly prepared crisps treated with 2% salt had the highest acceptability mean scores for all attributes while there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between crisps made from either Ejumula or Kakamega variety. Carotenoid content decreased with increase in salt concentration in both OFSP varieties. Shelf-life studies showed that the decline in sensory attributes started after 2 months of storage. The study shows that OFSP crisps treated with 2% salt are more acceptable and reasonably stable during storage.

The above is the brief,and you can read the full article for more details.

2013年4月25日星期四

Children likes tease mother more than father , this is a phenomenon over the world




Do you often tease mother or father when you are a child?I think most people may tell me :It is mother. It is very common in our life.
A research made by Nerea Portu-Zapirain  explores representational models in a sample of 111 children aged between 3 and 6.Finally confirm that security in the representation of attachment is higher with mothers worldwide.
Why?I think it is may be when we are a child,mother takes care of us more.There has been a research indicated that the baby's conscious and memory starting around 5 months after birth.So at the age of 6 month’s old,the baby may have a certain sense.
Besides, “The older the child, the greater the security manifested in their relations, and the younger the child, the greater the insecurity. ” Nerea Portu-Zapirain wrote in his paper.










2013年4月24日星期三

How to deal with problem child?A case that Obama warns daughters on “family tattoo”




In order to discourage teen rebellionBarack Obama has warned his daughters that if they get tattoos, he and his wife will get matching ones on the same place on their bodies.As US PresidentObama also have to consider education of children.

Indeed,children's education is of great importance for parents, especially the problem children.When we found our children deviating from the right orbit,we are anxious.For some parents,they are helplessness. Not everyone is Obama.Some parents don’t know how to effectively prevent children do the wrong thing,and how to deal with their “problem child”.

There is an article introduces a method or makes a research on this common phenomenon.I hope it can be helpful for parents and the researchers in this field.More and more better researches are excepted .


2013年4月23日星期二

Studying gaze abnormalities in autism: Which type of stimulus to use?



Background: Eye-tracking has been used to investigate social perception in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with variable results. This heterogeneity may be due to the types of stimuli used. In this study, we investigated whether the use of moving vs static stimuli or human actors vs cartoons characters would be more sensitive in detecting gaze abnormalities and discriminating children with ASD from typically developing children.
Methods: We studied 18 children with ASD (mean age = 12.9 ± 2.9) and 21 typically developing controls (mean age = 11.3 ± 2.5). Gazes were tracked using Tobii-T120 eye-tracker. Four different types of stimuli were presented: movie with human actors, cartoon movie, picture with human actors and cartoon picture. To identify the type of stimuli that best discriminate the ASD group from the control group, a two-way ANOVA was performed using ecological dimension [human-actors/cartoon] and presentation form [movie/picture] as factors.
Results: Children with ASD presented significantly less fixations to eyes and faces in the movie with human actors and in the picture with human actors. Children with ASD also presented significantly more fixations to non-social backgrounds in the movie with human actors and in the cartoon movie. A significant ecological effect was observed for the reduction in fixations to the eyes [human-actors > cartoon]. A significant presentation form effect was observed for the increased fixations to the non-social background [movie > picture].
Conclusions: The direct comparison of gaze behavior across four different types of stimuli demonstrates that gaze abnormalities in ASD depend on the type of stimuli that is used. Our results suggest that general gaze abnormalities in children with ASD are better detected when using dynamic stimuli, and finer details of these abnormalities, especially looking less to the eyes, are better detected in a more ecologically relevant situation presenting human characters.
Full PDF:click here


(source:SCIRP/Psychiatry)