Lunedì, 02 Ottobre 2017

Lunedì, 02 Ottobre 2017 14:29

Menopause and estrogen affect muscle function

According to a research conducted at the University of Jyväskylä, estrogen acts as a regulator of muscle energy metabolism and muscle cell viability. Menopause leads to the cessation of ovarian estrogen production concurrent to the deterioration of muscle function. After menopause, the risk of metabolic diseases also increases. Although a healthy lifestyle does not increase the amount of estrogen in circulation, it reduces risks. The well-known symptoms of menopause include hot flashes, mood swings and other so-called women’s troubles. The consequences of the menopausal withdrawal of estrogen production are, however, broader than commonly assumed. Menopause accelerates the aging changes of many tissues, of which perhaps the most known and well-studied is osteoporosis. The effects of estrogen on skeletal muscles are not yet well known. The study from the University of Jyväskylä discovered that estrogen acts as an upstream regulator for the energy metabolism and viability of muscle cells.

Pubblicato in Scienceonline

Lunedì, 02 Ottobre 2017 14:24

A new model of treatment for youth with anxiety

Research points to a new model of mental health service delivery that can save therapist time and money.

A stepped care model of treatment for youth with anxiety can be effectively delivered using at least 14% less therapist time than traditional treatment service, reports a study published in the October 2017 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP). In today's stretched economy, finding cheaper and more efficient ways to spend our public health dollars is critical. Mental health professionals can now treat young people with anxiety disorders effectively. But professional treatment comes at a cost. Standard, scientifically proven treatments for youth with anxiety usually require 15 to 20 hours of input from a mental health professional. Finding ways to reduce this time but still maintain good outcomes is the next research frontier.

Pubblicato in Scienceonline

Lunedì, 02 Ottobre 2017 12:40

Adulteration of Proprietary Chinese Medicines and Health Products Poses Severe Health Risks to Consumers

Traditional Chinese medicine is widely used as a form of complementary medicine all over the world for various indications and for improving general health. Proprietary Chinese medicines (pCMs)—which are composed solely of Chinese medicines and formulated in a finished dose form—are generally believed to be natural and safe, but a new analysis in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology reveals serious dangers.

Various reports have documented the adulteration of pCMs and health products with undeclared agents, including prescription drugs, drug analogues, and banned drugs. Such adulation can have serious and even fatal consequences. To examine the problem, Tony Wing Lai Mak, MBChB, MBA, FRCPath, FRCPA, FHKCPath, FHKAM(Path), Chor Kwan Ching, MBChB, MSc, FRCPA, FHKAM (Pathology), and their colleagues at the only tertiary referral clinical toxicology laboratory in Hong Kong retrospectively reviewed cases involving use of pCMs or health products adulterated with undeclared drugs referred to the centre from 2005 to 2015.

Pubblicato in Scienceonline

Lunedì, 02 Ottobre 2017 12:35

New insights into how sleep helps the brain to reorganise itself

A study has given new insights into how sleep contributes to brain plasticity – the ability for our brain to change and reorganise itself – and could pave the way for new ways to help people with learning and memory disorders.

Researchers at the Humboldt and Charité Universities in Berlin, led by Dr Julie Seibt from the University of Surrey, used cutting edge techniques to record activity in a particular region of brain cells that is responsible for holding new information – the dendrites. The study, published in Nature Communications, found that activity in dendrites increases when we sleep, and that this increase is linked to specific brain waves that are seen to be key to how we form memories. Dr Julie Seibt, Lecturer in Sleep and Plasticity at the University of Surrey and lead author of the study, said: “Our brains are amazing and fascinating organs – they have the ability to change and adapt based on our experiences. It is becoming increasingly clear that sleep plays an important role in these adaptive changes. Our study tells us that a large proportion of these changes may occur during very short and repetitive brain waves called spindles.

Pubblicato in Scienceonline

Lunedì, 02 Ottobre 2017 09:24

La scuola hi-tech in gara

Sulla scia del successo delle precedenti edizioni, il concorso ‘InvFactor - anche tu genio’, organizzato dall’Istituto di ricerche sulla popolazione e le politiche sociali del Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche (Irpps-Cnr) e dalla Rappresentanza in Italia della Commissione Europea, torna a selezionare le migliori invenzioni create dagli studenti nei laboratori scolastici. La premiazione dei tre vincitori 2017 si è tenuta il 28 settembre a Roma, presso lo Spazio Europa.

Primo classificato è il progetto proposto dall’Iti ‘G. M. Angioy’ di Sassari: ‘Sintesi e applicazione green di nanoparticelle di rame’. L’aspetto importante e innovativo di questo procedimento sta nel fatto che la sintesi, che ha lo scopo di creare un nuovo materiale conduttivo, è realizzata attraverso una ‘green way’, ovvero con l'utilizzo di prodotti naturali, a partire da un infuso di foglie di alloro. Tali nanoparticelle evidenziano proprietà conduttive se disperse in gomma arabica, pertanto si potrebbe pensare a un utilizzo di questo metodo ecocompatibile per la realizzazione di circuiti, resistenze e pannelli touch a basso costo.

Pubblicato in Scienza generale