New evidence on how cranberry juice fights bacteria that cause urinary tract infections

Scientists reported new evidence on the effectiveness of that old folk remedy — cranberry juice — for urinary tract infections at the ACS’ 240th National Meeting. “A number of controlled clinical trials — these are carefully designed and conducted scientific studies done in humans — have concluded that cranberry juice really is effective for preventing urinary tract infections,” said Terri Anne Camesano, Ph.D., who led the study. “That has important implications, considering the size of the problem and the health care costs involved.”

Estimates suggest that urinary tract infections (UTIs) account for about 8 million medical visits each year, at a total cost of more than $1.6 billion. Camesano, who is with the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, said the study set out to shed light on how cranberry juice fights E. coli, the most common cause of UTIs. The study involved growing strains of E. coli in urine collected from healthy volunteers before and after consumption of cranberry juice cocktail. The scientists then tested the E. coli for their ability to stick together and form biofilms. Biofilms are thin, slimy layers that provide an environment for bacteria to thrive.

The scientists concluded that cranberry juice cocktail prevents E. coli from sticking to other bacteria and the surface of a plastic petri dish. E. coli that doesn’t stick has a better chance of being flushed out of the urinary track. The results suggest that the beneficial substances in cranberry juice could reach the urinary tract and prevent bacterial adhesion within 8 hours after consumption of cranberry juice.

via New evidence on how cranberry juice fights bacteria that cause urinary tract infections.

Imbalanced diet and inadequate exercise may underlie asthma in children

Even children of a healthy weight who have an imbalanced metabolism due to poor diet or exercise may be at increased risk of asthma, according to new research, which challenges the widespread assumption that obesity itself is a risk factor for asthma.

“Our research showed that early abnormalities in lipid and/or glucose metabolism may be associated to the development of asthma in childhood,” said lead author Giovanni Piedimonte, M.D., who is professor and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at West Virginia University School of Medicine, physician-in-chief at WVU Children’s Hospital and director of WVU’s Pediatric Research Institute. “Our findings also imply a strong and direct influence of metabolic pathways on the immune mechanisms, both innate and adaptive, involved in the pathogenesis of asthma in children.”

The research, which was published online ahead of the print edition of the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, implicates metabolic disorders directly in the development of asthma, and points to a new way of viewing diet and lifestyle as risk factors for asthma, even in children who are not obviously obese or overweight.

The researchers gathered demographic data, estimates of body mass index (BMI), and asthma prevalence on a sample of nearly 18,000 children from West Virginia who were four to 12 years old and were participating in the Coronary Artery Risk Detection in Appalachian Communities (CARDIAC) Project. Metabolic data was available for all children in the study, and the researchers investigated a suite of markers for early metabolic dysfunction, including triglyceride levels and evidence of acanthosis nigricans (AN), a brown to black hyperpigmented skin rash that is a biomarker for developing insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia.

They found that while asthma prevalence generally increased with BMI, it was significantly higher in obese and morbidly obese children than in children with healthy BMI, but that simple overweight status did not appear to be linked to increased asthma prevalence. However, after controlling for BMI and other confounding variables, asthma prevalence was significantly associated with triglyceride levels and the presence of AN independently of BMI.

“The metabolic problems we investigated may have confounded the widely publicized epidemiologic link between obesity and asthma, because high triglyceride levels (dyslipidemia) and AN (hyperinsulinemia) are very common in obesity and metabolic syndrome,” said Dr. Piedimonte.

The results suggest that only above a certain threshold metabolic factors participate in the disease process of airway inflammation and hyperreactivity, which ultimately leads to asthma. More importantly, the association between asthma, triglyceride levels and the presence of AN exists regardless of body weight, suggesting that children who are a healthy weight, and even those who are underweight, may be at risk for developing asthma because of a subtle metabolic dysfunction leading to increased triglyceride levels and the presence of AN.

“Both imbalanced nutrition and inadequate exercise may play a role in metabolic syndrome, and our experience suggests that degree of physical activity may be as important as nutrition,” said Dr Piedimonte. …

via Imbalanced diet and inadequate exercise may underlie asthma in children.

Spray on Clothes

Scientists at Imperial College London have developed a liquid clothing spray that hardens on the body and turns into a reusable garment.

Dr Manel Torres and Professor Paul Luckham have developed a spray that contains small fibres which are mixed with polymers to join them together and a solvent that keeps the fabric in liquid form in the can.

The solvent evaporates instantly as the spray touches a surface, creating a smooth clothing material that can be washed and re-worn.

The spray may in the future be used to create garments, medical dressings or upholstery for furniture.

via Telegraph

Not to be confused with spray on pancakes. Worried about the environment?

Aerosol cans now use a hydrocarbon gas, nitrogen or air depending on the material to be sprayed. There are still potential environmental and safety issues but the ozone related problems have been addressed. – wikianswers

‘Star Trek’ Inspires Cremation Urns

This certainly gives new meaning to the phrase “the final frontier.”

“Star Trek” fans worldwide — and there are millions of passionate “trekkers” out there — now have a chance to boldly go into the afterlife by purchasing a new line of “Star Trek” cremation urns for themselves or their loved ones.

Eternal Image, a manufacturer of brand-name memorial products, has created two cube-shaped, “Trek”-themed urns with separate themes: “To Boldly Go” and “The Voyage Continues.”Not that your remains will end up in outer space, like the ashes of the late “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry and “Trek” actor James “Scotty” Doohan, which were launched into space.

Eternal Image CEO and President Clint Mytych told AOL News why his company came up with a “Star Trek” design. “We hope that it makes the process of picking out funeral products a little bit easier — it’s already a painful process to go through,” he said. “Nothing seems to come close to ‘Star Trek’ in terms of staying power and worldwide appeal.”

The urns are made of a composite of minerals and metals, and, according to Mytych, “the box itself actually has white speckles in it, and it kind of resembles a star field.”

via ‘Star Trek’ Inspires Cremation Urns.

Tired? Blow Up Your Inflatable Pillow Tie and Take a Nap

The Pillow Tie is an invention of Tom Bowen, a former business student at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. According to the Daily Mail, it looks just like a normal tie, but has a larger knot. can be blown up with one breath and deflated in seconds.

Bowen’s friend and business partner, Shawn Baxter, said Bowen came up with the idea after his sister told him about a bad habit her son had of sleeping in church.

“He used to sleep in church by rolling up his tie as a pillow,” Baxter told AOL News. “Around that time, Bowen was taking an entrepreneurial class where the assignment was to create a new product.”

via Tired? Blow Up Your Inflatable Pillow Tie and Take a Nap.

It’s good to think – but not too much, scientists say

People who think more about whether they are right have more cells in an area of the brain known as the frontal lobes.

UK scientists, writing in Science, looked at how brain size varied depending on how much people thought about decisions.

But a nationwide survey recently found that some people think too much about life.

These people have poorer memories, and they may also be depressed.

Stephen Fleming, a member of the University College London (UCL) team that carried out the research, said: “Imagine you’re on a game show such as ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ and you’re uncertain of your answer. You can use that knowledge to ask the audience, ask for help.”

The London group asked 32 volunteers to make difficult decisions. They had to look at two very similar black and grey pictures and say which one had a lighter spot.

They then had to say just how sure they were of their answer, on a scale of one to six. Although it was hard to tell the difference, the pictures were adjusted to make sure that no-one found the task harder than anyone else.

People who were more sure of their answer had more brain cells in the front-most part of the brain – known as the anterior prefrontal cortex.

This part of the brain has been linked to many brain and mental disorders, including autism. Previous studies have looked at how this area functions while people make real time decisions, but not at differences between individuals. …

The study is the first to show that there are physical differences between people with regards to how big this area is. These size differences relate to how much they think about their own decisions. …

thinking a lot about your own thoughts may not be all good.

Cognitive psychologist Dr Tracy Alloway from the University of Stirling, who was not involved in the latest study, said that some people have a tendency to brood too much and this leads to a risk of depression. …

Those with poorer working memory, the 10-15% of people who could only remember about two things, were more likely to mull over things and brood too much.

via BBC News – It’s good to think – but not too much, scientists say.

Golf Ball Man Attacked by Amorous Alligator

On what could well have been the worst day of his life, Glenn Berger felt something hard and heavy crawl upon his back. It turned out to be an amorous alligator apparently hankering for a mate. At that moment, Berger entertained doubts about the wisdom of his chosen profession, diving for lost balls in Florida golf course ponds.

But the Golf Ball Man didn’t brood. “Alligators are a hazard in my line of work,” he remembers thinking, “but what are the chances of really getting mauled?” Probably small. “What are the chances of getting killed?” Even slimmer.

Still, there was the matter of the dinosaur on his back. At Ibis Country Club in West Palm Beach, as Berger scrambled out of the water that spring morning in 2007, the lovelorn 7-foot alligator slid off without giving him a hickey.

He escaped with a terrific story — and about 4,000 golf balls. Some were worth only a few cents, but 15 percent — about 600 — were Titleist Pro V1s and worth about $2 each, even used.

So what if a sex-starved alligator had tried to take a few liberties?

At Pelican Preserve Golf Course in Fort Myers, the Golf Ball Man pulls on his mask, adjusts his air tank and vanishes into a pond.

Two kinds of golf ball divers work in Florida: those who have experienced underwater unpleasantries and those who soon will. Berger, 35, has a decade of golf ball work and scary stories under his dive belt. His strategy for coping with fear? Denial.

“Really, the best thing you can do,” he says, when he surfaces minutes later with 125 balls, including a half-dozen Pro V1s, “is not to think too much. If you think too much you’ll scare yourself.”

via Golf ball hunter thrives on gaffes of Tiger Woods wannabees – St. Petersburg Times.

A human invading an alligator habitat, innit?

Urgent call on EU to stop invasion by aliens: certain ducks, hyacinth, mosquitos, etc.

Leading experts on invasive species are demanding Europe-wide legislation be put in place by next year to tackle the threat to native wildlife.

The researchers want urgent action from the EU to protect Europe’s indigenous species from these “alien invaders”.

Invasive, non-native animals, plants and microorganisms cause at least 12 billion euros of damage in Europe each year.

The scientists are meeting at the Neobiota conference in Copenhagen.

They are demanding Europe-wide legislation to be in place by next year to ensure the threat doesn’t worsen.

Invasive species are defined as those that are introduced accidentally or deliberately into a place where they are not normally found.

A European inventory in 2008 found more than 10,000 alien species in Europe, with 1,300 having some kind of impact. This impact was exerted either on the environment, economy or, on human health.

And numbers are on the rise. Research published this year in the journal Science found alien species in Europe have increased by 76% in the last 30 years alone.

Piero Genovesi is chair of the Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), a global network of experts on invasive species. He told BBC News that the figure of 12 billion Euros represents a significant underestimate of the impact of alien species.

Huge cost“For many species we have no idea what damage they cause or their economic impact. This is just a fraction of the actual cost,” he told BBC News.

And he added that this estimate does not include any assessment of the economic value of lost biodiversity caused by non-native species.

Scientists gathered at the conference are calling for urgent action by the European Union to implement laws similar to those that already exist in countries like New Zealand and Australia.

“We’re asking the EU to rapidly develop and approve a policy on invasive species, fulfilling the formal commitment agreed by the council of European ministers in June 2009,” Mr Genovesi told BBC News.

“This is urgent, we would like this to be in place by next year.”

… The Ruddy duck was introduced to Europe as an ornamental species. It is one of the worst culprits because of its aggressive courting behaviour and willingness to interbreed with endangered, native duck species.

via BBC News – Urgent call on EU to stop billion-euro ‘alien invasion’.

Feral pigs, ship rats, s, Cane Toads, and European Rabbits having nothing on the most invasive species on Earth:

Science News
Week of Oct. 13, 2007; Vol. 172, No. 15

Invasive, Indeed

One species-Homo sapiens-consumes nearly a quarter of Earth’s natural productivity

Sid Perkins

Some people live lightly on the land: Bedouin clans roam the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa; small groups of indigenous people follow reindeer herds across frigid Arctic terrain; and tribes of hunter-gatherers forage the plains of southern Africa and the forests of Amazonia and Papua New Guinea.

Then there’s the other 6.6 billion of us.

When we farm, clear forests, and build cities, dams, and roads, we dramatically alter the landscape. In some places, we increase the land’s productivity-measured as the amount of plant life at the base of the food chain-by adding immense amounts of water and fertilizer. New research indicates that on the whole, however, human presence significantly decreases Earth’s biological productivity. For instance, many of today’s cities occupy large patches of what had been some of the world’s most fertile land.

Of the biological productivity that remains, people are gathering an ever-increasing share, sometimes by boosting their quality of life, but often merely by dint of their burgeoning numbers. In some regions, each spanning millions of square kilometers, human activity consumes almost two-thirds of the biological productivity that would otherwise be available.

“We were surprised how intensively these regions were being affected” by human presence, says K. Heinz Erb, an ecologist at Klagenfurt University in Vienna. “Only one-third of the natural productivity is
left for all the other species.” …

While wilderness areas remain relatively unaffected by people, other parts of the world are packed cheek by jowl with cities, farms, and other human imprints.

Southern Asia, a 6.7-million-square-kilometer region that includes India, is one of the most densely populated and heavily irrigated regions on the planet, says Erb. There, human activity co-opts about 63 percent of the area’s natural productivity each year, he and his colleagues estimate. In eastern and southeastern Europe, people appropriate about 52 percent of the land’s productivity.

At the other extreme, in Australia, central Asia, and Latin America, the percentage of productivity that ends up in human hands ranges between 11 and 16 percent. Increasing the use of fertilizers and irrigation could boost those percentages and help meet the needs of a growing world population. However, long-term irrigation sometimes renders the soil too salty for crops, and fertilizer, if used unsparingly, runs off into rivers and streams and ends up in the ocean, where it overfertilizes algae and thus creates huge zones devoid of other life. “There’s no free biomass,” Erb cautions.

In the stampede to replace fossil fuels, some scientists have proposed the large-scale cultivation of crops that can be transformed into supposedly eco-friendly biofuels. That, too, might be ecologically unwise.

“If the whole world begins to look like Iowa cornfields, we’ll have to take an even larger share of global biological production into human hands, and that leaves a lot less for other things,” says Foley. “And those other things won’t be just pretty butterflies and tigers and charismatic animals, they’ll be things that matter to us, like the things that clean our water, preserve our soils, clean our atmosphere, and pollinate our crops.” …

Pope visit: Five men held over papal terror alert

Five men have been arrested in London by the Metropolitan Police in relation to a potential threat to Pope Benedict XVI’s visit.

The arrests were made at 0545 BST in London after counter-terrorism officers received intelligence of a potential threat.

The five men, all street cleaners in Westminster, were taken to a central London police station. Officers are searching a number of premises. None of the men are British.The men all worked for Veolia Environment Services, a major contract cleaning company that does work for Westminster Council.Armed officers arrested the men at the company’s Chiltern Street depot, Paddington, as they were preparing to go on shift.

In a statement from Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police said that the five men had been arrested in a Terrorism Act 2000 operation, launched by officers from the force’s Counter-Terrorism Command. The five were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. They are 26, 27, 36, 40 and 50 years old. Residential premises in north and east London are also being searched. Officers have not found any hazardous items.

It is not clear whether the investigations relate to a plot against the Pope himself, an element of the visit or events or other matters that may be connected to the visit. Most of the men are understood to be Algerian.

In the statement, the Metropolitan Police said: “Today’s arrests were made after police received information following initial inquiries by detectives. A decision was made to arrest the five men.

“Following today’s arrests policing arrangements for the papal visit were reviewed and we are satisfied our current policing plan remains appropriate. The itinerary has not changed. There is no change to the UK threat level.” …

via BBC News – Pope visit: Five men held over papal terror alert.

Algerian street cleaner terror plot ploy innit.