Published Science

00:46:11 - The Ketogenic diet creates so many benefits for various conditions, and yet those benefits can be increased by using the right kinds of fats along...

The fossil record of early hominins in South Africa is biased towards periods of drier climate, suggests a study of cave deposits published online today in Nature. This finding suggests there are gaps in the fossil record, potentially obscuring evolutionary patterns and affecting our understanding of both the habitats and dietary behaviours of early hominins in this region. South Africa's highest concentration of early hominin fossils comes from the 'Cradle of Humankind' caves northwest of Johannesburg.

Two archaeological assemblages from the Sierra de Atapuerca sites show evidence of anthropogenic cannibalism. These are the late Early Pleistocene level TD6-2 at Gran Dolina, and the Bronze Age level MIR4 in the Mirador Cave. Despite the

Start date: Jan 1, 2014 | FACE TO FACE: STUDY OF NEANDERTHAL BEHAVIOUR IN HIGH RESOLUTION CONTEXTS | The project "Face to face: Study of Neanderthal behaviour in high resolution contexts", coordinated between three research centres, has the main objective to characterize the variability of the behaviour of Neanderthals groups in the Middle Palaeolithic. We also propose to...

Fibre Introduction Surgery is getting more advanced and “high technology” is in common everyday usage, both in speech and in practice. Surgical science is not just about how to do surgery but also about the molecular basis for surgery as well as basic physiology, biochemistry and of course anatomy. The colorectal surgeon of course deals mainly with surgical diseases of the lower gastro-intestinal tract. In recent years, there have been great advancements made in every aspect of the science and medicine of the lower gastro-intestinal tract. With all these advances there often arise situations where surgeons realize that realities in everyday practice do not tie in with conventional 'wisdom". Back to basics is still a good clarion call. Therefore whilst not wanting to make a mountain out of a mole hill, we will not do well if we can’t see the wood for the trees either. One very important understanding is the relationship between eating and defaecation. One of the real hazards of living in the modern world is being constantly bombarded by information of all levels of trustworthiness. How and what to eat is something that we are being constantly manipulated by the media all around us. One problem with this sort of mass information dissemination is that many doctors are also swayed to believe them! One example of this is "you must eat fibre to defaecate!" Before we can understand why this is a problem, we have to understand the purpose of eating. Just why do we eat? There are four main reasons why humans eat. Firstly, we eat to get nutrition. Nutrition includes everything we need to grow and stay alive eg., proteins, fats, carbohydrate, minerals, vitamins. Secondly, we must eat to obtain our energy requirements for our daily work，play, reproduction, etc. Energy sources include carbohydrates, fats, etc. Thirdly we eat to satisfy our taste buds so that often times we something not because of nutritional needs or energy requirements but because we like the taste. Taste is individual and cultural. One man’s meat is another man’s poison. Lastly we also eat for social or community reasons. These sometimes include foods that taste bad to the eater but eaten because of the social environment. in-laws are not always good cooks! However, we should not be eating because we want to pass motion. Illogical to pass more faeces Food to the human body is like petrol to the car. It allows the machinery to function. Why then do we have an anus? It is for the same reason that cars have exhaust pipes. The foods we take in cannot be completely digested and therefore cannot be completely absorbed. These substances rejected by the body have to be excreted. There are also dead bacteria, shed cells and secretions which have to be discharged. One does not put petrol into cars to increase exhaust pipe emission. Similarly it is not logical to eat foods just to increase anal emission. It is enough for the body to discharge whatever parts of the food eaten for the four reasons listed above that it cannot digest and does not want retained as waste. Fibre becomes faeces In any case, undigested and unwanted parts of the food which need to be evacuated will be a minor portion of food if indigestible fibre is not consumed in excess. However, excessive dietary fibre is the major cause of constipation, abdominal pain and bloatedness I see in my practice and yet it remains the most prescribed treatment for these symptoms! One of the most well documented effects of dietary fibre is bulky stool or increased stool production1. The additional stool mass that occurs with larger fiber intakes may either be unfermented plant material or bacteria. Stool moisture concentration is usually not affected by added fiber. 1 Indigestible fibre results in more faecal bacteria than other diets1. Highly digestible fibre does not stimulate microbial growth at least in young healthy volunteers1. The fact of the matter is that fibre has weight and volume. Fibre is also indigestible. Therefore consumption offibre leads to a heavier and bulkier volume of faecal matter forming in the rectum. Note the appearance of minimally digested vegetables and seeds in faeces after ingestion. The basis of the additional stool after eating more fibre is additional dietary fiber 2-4. Production of faeces and evacuation of faeces are two different processes. Many surgeons realize that eating fibre produces faeces. This is true but it is illogical when patients with constipation are asked to take more fibre. Confused? To understand this concept we have to take a step back. The major cause as well as effect of idiopathic constipation is the accumulation and difficulty in the evacuation of stool. The question is what is this stool? As we have said before, a large part would be undigested fibre. Now fibre bulks up stool. Highly indigestible fibre has a very low water holding capacity1. Therefore fibre causes hard bulky stool as implied by the words roughage and bulking agents. Hard bulky stools are more difficult to pass than soft thinner stools and hence the tendency to constipation results. Yes, fibre becomes faeces but in people who are prone to constipation, evacuation does not occur and therefore constipation results. The additional mass caused by high fiber diets only becomes prominent compared to the liquid in stools in the distal colon and is not helpful for distal propulsion of lumenal contents in the small intestine nor in the right colon where the volume of fluid overwhelms whatever dietary fibre might be present. Two things may happen when patients are fed more fibre. Firstly, many people develop abdominal discomfort, bloatedness and cramps and are then labeled as constipation associated irritable bowel diseases. Others by virtue of mass action of the larger bulky faeces manage to push the more distal bulky faeces out. This however becomes a vicious cycle of constantly needing large amounts of dietary fibre to evacuate. It is much easier to pass only the small thin amount of stool that a normal low fibre diet results in. Unfermented plant material dilutes but does not decrease the amount of faceal bacteria and does not decrease the absorption of noxious substances. Dietary fibre had been said to add bulk to the faecal stream which would then dilute colonic luminal contents, and therefore reducing the concentration of noxious materials2. Fibre in any part of the colon excepting the rectum however actually drifts within the fluid faeces and hence has no diluting effect on any bacteria or noxious substances. Whatever bacteria or noxious or for that matter nutritious substances would have long been absorbed by the small intestines and right colon. If fibre can prevent absorption of noxious substances then it will prevent absorption of nutrients as well! Of course this does not happen just as prevention of the absorption of noxious substances has never been shown to happen with fibre ingestion. Furthermore, even if dilution occurs, this is not equivalent to decreasing the absolute amount of noxious substances or bacteria. In the right colon, fluid faeces overwhelm the amount of fibre no matter how much is ingested and whatever can be absorbed would have been absorbed long before the solid sort of faeces which can actually dilute noxious substances reach the rectum. Contrary to popular belief, fibre does not help ease constipation nor does it prevent the side effects of constipation. In fact it is one of the more important causes of constipation 5-6. Forsum E, Eriksson C, Goranzon H, Sohlstrom A. Composition of faeces from human subjects consuming diets based on conventional foods containing different kinds and amounts of dietary fibre. British Journal of Nutrition 1990: 64; 171-86. S Kurasawa, V S Haack, J A Marlett. Plant Residue and Bacteria as Bases for Increased Stool Weight Accompanying Consumption of Higher Dietary Fiber Diets. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2000: 19; 426-433. Stephen AM, Cummings JH: Mechanism of action of dietary fibre in the human colon. Nature 284: 283–284, 1980. Chen H-L, Haack VS, Janecky CW, Vollendorf NW, Marlett JA: Mechanisms by which wheat bran and oat bran increase stool weight in humans. Am J Clin Nutr 68: 711–719, 1998. Tan KY, Seow Choen F. Fiber and colorectal diseases: separating fact from fiction. World J Gastroenterology 2007;13: 4161-7 Chuwa EWL, Seow Choen F. Dietary Fibre. Br J Surg 2006: 93: 3-4

Download scientific diagram | Photos of traditional meat processing and preservation activities.  from publication: Understanding Traditional Meat Processing Knowledge among the Borana Pastoralist of Northern Kenya | Indigenous knowledge on food preparation is an activity practised in almost all agricultural production system. Amongst the Borana pastoralist of Northern Kenya, milk and meat production are the cornerstone of livelihood, and more often abundance occurs without possibility of... | Meat, Meat Products and Consumption | ResearchGate, the professional network for scientists.

A systematic review of published research found that financial payments from the drug industry to U.S. physicians was associated with increased prescribing of the paying drug company's drug. The association was consistent across all studies and several studies presented evidence that the association was not correlation, but causation, meaning the industry gifts caused physicians to prescribe differently. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

This plant-derived molecule may be beneficial in age-related neurological disorders

Fish Oil and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) Study - Full Text View.

Eating protein and vegetables before carbohydrates leads to lower post-meal glucose and insulin levels in obese patients with type 2 diabetes.

This book explores the challenges facing food security, sustainability, sovereignty, and supply chains in the Arctic, with a specific focus on Indigenous Peoples. Offering multidisciplinary insights with a particular focus on populations in the European High North region, the book highlights the imp

Fructose intake is known to induce obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to evaluate the effects of fructose drinking on gut leakiness, endotoxemia, and NAFLD and study the underlying mechanisms in rats, mice, and T84 colon cells. Levels of ileum junctional proteins, oxidative stress markers, and apoptosis-related proteins in rodents, T84 colonic cells, and human ileums were determined by immunoblotting, immunoprecipitation, and immunofluorescence analyses. Fructose drinking caused microbiome change, leaky gut, and hepatic inflammation/fibrosis with increased levels of nitroxidative stress marker proteins cytochrome P450-2E1 (CYP2E1), inducible nitric oxide synthase, and nitrated proteins in small intestine and liver of rodents. Fructose drinking significantly elevated plasma bacterial endotoxin levels, likely resulting from decreased levels of intestinal tight junction (TJ) proteins (zonula occludens 1, occludin, claudin-1, and claudin-4), adherent junction (AJ) proteins (β-catenin and E-cadherin), and desmosome plakoglobin, along with α-tubulin, in wild-type rodents, but not in fructose-exposed Cyp2e1-null mice. Consistently, decreased intestinal TJ/AJ proteins and increased hepatic inflammation with fibrosis were observed in autopsied obese people compared to lean individuals. Furthermore, histological and biochemical analyses showed markedly elevated hepatic fibrosis marker proteins in fructose-exposed rats compared to controls. Immunoprecipitation followed by immunoblot analyses revealed that intestinal TJ proteins were nitrated and ubiquitinated, leading to their decreased levels in fructose-exposed rats. Conclusion: These results showed that fructose intake causes protein nitration of intestinal TJ and AJ proteins, resulting in increased gut leakiness, endotoxemia, and steatohepatitis with liver fibrosis, at least partly, through a CYP2E1-dependent manner.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this qualitative review is to provide an update on the current understanding of the genetic determinants of lipedema and to develop a genetic test to differentiate lipedema from other diagnoses.

Genistein | C15H10O5 | CID 5280961 - structure, chemical names, physical and chemical properties, classification, patents, literature, biological activities, safety/hazards/toxicity information, supplier lists, and more.

Large mounded deposits of shell are prominent archaeological features across much of the north Australian tropical coast. Many of the shell mounds are composed almost entirely of the bivalve Anadara granosa (Linnaeus 1758), a food source for Aboriginal people in the past. A relatively long history of inquiry into the nature and significance of the shell mounds has focussed primarily on analysing the shell component as clues to Australian Aboriginal coastal economies in the past. This paper presents results of new analyses on the non-shell sediments, examining the physical and chemical signatures of depositional and post-depositional processes within shell mounds near Weipa in far north Queensland, Australia, with a view to obtaining insights into how they formed and for what purposes, and how their morphology, structure and content may have changed since they ceased accumulating. We also consider how such changes might relate to past and present environmental conditions. Physical and chemical analyses indicate that the primary purpose of mound building was most likely to discard the large volumes of shell resulting from A. granosa harvesting and consumption. Post-depositional diagenetic alteration has strongly influenced the present day composition and form of the shell mounds, in particular the accession of carbon and silica to the mounds by environmental burning aided by strong leaching under the seasonal high rainfall conditions. As such the mound chemistry is more likely to reflect modern environmental conditions rather than provide an archive of, or an opening to, the past.