Grape intake may protect against metabolic syndrome-related organ damage

Apr. 22, 2013 ? Consuming grapes may help protect against organ damage associated with the progression of metabolic syndrome, according to research presented Monday at the Experimental Biology conference in Boston. Natural components found in grapes, known as polyphenols, are thought to be responsible for these beneficial effects.

The study, led by investigator E. Mitchell Seymour, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan Health System, studied the effects of a high fat, American-style diet both with added grapes and without grapes (the control diet) on the heart, liver, kidneys, and fat tissue in obesity-prone rats. The grapes -- a blend of red, green and black varieties -- were provided as a freeze-dried grape powder and integrated into the animals' diets for 90 days.

Specifically, the results showed that three months of a grape-enriched diet significantly reduced inflammatory markers throughout the body, but most significantly in the liver and in abdominal fat tissue. Consuming grapes also reduced liver, kidney and abdominal fat weight, compared with those consuming the control diet. Additionally, grape intake increased markers of antioxidant defense, particularly in the liver and kidneys.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together -- increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist or low HDL (the good cholesterol) and increased blood triglycerides -- significantly increasing the risk for heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. Intake of fruits and vegetables is thought to reduce these risks, and grapes have shown benefits in multiple studies. Metabolic syndrome is a major public health concern, and is on the rise in the U.S.

"Our study suggests that a grape-enriched diet may play a critical role in protecting against metabolic syndrome and the toll it takes on the body and its organs," said Seymour. "Both inflammation and oxidative stress play a role in cardiovascular disease progression and organ dysfunction in Type 2 diabetes. Grape intake impacted both of these components in several tissues which is a very promising finding."

This work extends and reinforces the findings of Seymour's previously published research which demonstrated that a grape-enriched diet reduced risk factors for heart disease and diabetes in obesity-prone rats.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Michigan Health System.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/HgWpkzXg2C4/130422111242.htm

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Taliban attacks kill 9 people in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? Insurgents killed six police officers at a checkpoint and a suicide bomber killed three civilians at a shopping bazaar in separate attacks Sunday in eastern Afghanistan, while an independent security group warned 2013 is on track to be one of the most violent years of the war.

April already has been the deadliest month this year for security forces and Afghan and foreign civilians as the U.S. and other countries prepare to end their combat mission by the end of next year. According to an Associated Press tally, 222 people have been killed in violence around the nation this month, including Sunday's nine fatalities.

The Taliban ambushed the checkpoint in the Dayak district of Ghazni province, killing six police officers, wounding one and leaving one missing, said Col. Mohammad Hussain, deputy provincial police chief. The checkpoint was manned by Afghan local police, forces recruited at the village level that are nominally under the control of the Afghan Interior Ministry.

On Friday, Taliban insurgents attacked a local police checkpoint in Andar, a district of Ghazni province neighboring Dayak. They killed 13 officers, according to Sidiq Sidiqi, the Interior Ministry spokesman.

The second attack on Sunday hit Paktika province, which borders Ghazni. A suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a shopping bazaar around midday, killing three people and wounding five civilians and two police officers, said Mokhlis Afghan, the spokesman for the provincial governor. Among the dead was Asanullah Sadat, who stepped down as the district's governor two years ago.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for Taliban, claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing. In an email to reporters, he said the Taliban used the bomber to target Sadat because of his close relations with the Afghan government and the U.S.

Hostilities have surged in Afghanistan as the spring fighting season begins. This year's is being closely watched because Afghan forces must operate with less support from the international military coalition. With foreign forces due to hand over combat responsibilities to the local forces next year, the current fighting is a test of their ability to take on the country's insurgency.

Reflecting the rise in bloodshed, the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office said Sunday there were 2,331 insurgent-initiated attacks in the first quarter of this year, a 47 percent increase over the same January-March period last year. "We assess that the current re-escalation trend will be preserved throughout the entire season and that 2013 is set to become the second most violent year after 2011," which suffered 2,755 such attacks in the first three months of the year, the report said.

The U.S.-led NATO coalition has stopped releasing statistics on insurgent attacks in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's Defense Ministry said the Afghan army carried out 2,209 military operations during a month-long period ending Sunday. During that time, 467 insurgents and 107 soldiers were killed, and 362 militants were arrested, the ministry said in a report issued Sunday.

The rise of violence that his organization reported in early 2013 should raise serious concern, especially since a negotiated solution with Taliban "is far from the horizon" and questions remain about whether Afghan forces can fill the gap being left by the reduction in U.S.-led international forces, said Tomas Muzik, the director of the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office.

The Taliban broke off formal talks with the Americans last year and have steadfastly rejected negotiations with the Afghan government, which they view as a puppet of foreign powers.

Afghanistan has about 100,000 international troops, including 66,000 from the United States. The U.S. force is to drop to about 32,000 by February 2014, making the No. 1 priority for the American military to do all it can to boost the strength and confidence of Afghan forces.

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Associated Press writer Rahim Faiez contributed to this report.

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Online: The ANSO report: www.ngosafety.org

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Follow Thomas Wagner on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/tjpwagner .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-21-Afghanistan/id-686dea5d881544eaa265d079ae6b76b3

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The exciting life cycle of a new Brazilian leaf miner

Friday, April 19, 2013

A new species of leaf miner from the important family Gracillariidae has been recently discovered in the depths of the Brazilian jungle and described in the open access journal Zookeys. The Gracillariidae family is an ancient one with fossils dating back its origins to around 97 million years. Among the leaf miners of this family there are some species with significance as economic factors as well as agricultural pests. The new species, Spinivalva gaucha, is associated with representatives of the Passiflora plant genus among which is the economically important and favorite to many passion fruit, also native to Brazil.

The name of the new species is derived from the Portuguese term "Ga?cho" used in Brazil to describe the native inhabitants of the fertile southernmost Brazilian lowlands, the pampas. What makes this species especially interesting are the fascinating stages of its early developments. Unlike most Brazilian gracillariids which are known only for their mature stages, the description of S. gaucha offers an insight in the complete life cycle of this intriguing leaf miner.

After the egg is laid on the surface of the leaf hatching occurs and the life history of the leaf miner begins. The new larva heads under the leaf surface to form a narrow serpentine shaped mine, which then expands with time and through the development stages to a blotch-like formation. Just before pupation the larva leaves the mine through a slit in the blotch to form a transparent cocoon on the leaf surface. Silk fragments are lined into a compact pattern to form a wall protecting the pupa. Another interesting phenomenon is observed during this stage of development, where the pupa discharges bizarre light yellow bubbles which are scattered along the periphery of the cocoon through a slit which closes soon after. When mature the new adult leaf miner emerges into the outside world head-first through the cocoon.

"Contrary to all known leaf-miner gracillarids whose larvae initially have modified mouthparts and feed on sap, this new species does not have a sap-feeding instar, the larvae presenting mandible of chewing type in all instars, and thus feeding on the upper leaf tissue since hatching" explain the authors of the study. "This discovery in particular will have important implications for future studies concerning the evolution of the wide diversity in feeding habits known to exist within this important family."

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Brito R, Gon?alves GL, Vargas HA, Moreira GRP (2013) A new Brazilian Passiflora leafminer: Spinivalva gaucha, gen. n., sp. n. (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae, Gracillariinae), the first gracillariid without a sap feeding instar. ZooKeys 291: 1, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.291.4910

Pensoft Publishers: http://www.pensoft.net

Thanks to Pensoft Publishers for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127820/The_exciting_life_cycle_of_a_new_Brazilian_leaf_miner

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Mommy Matters: Triad Baby Shower | MyFOX8.com - WGHP-TV 8

In Thursday?s edition of Mommy Matters, Shannon Smith spoke with Alicia Nicholson from Absolute Affairs about a public baby shower the group is hosting.

The Triad Baby Shower, which is free for expecting mothers, is set to be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday.

For more information about the event, visit triadmomsonmain.com.

Source: http://myfox8.com/2013/04/18/mommy-matters-triad-baby-shower/

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illicit snowboarding: The 10 Most Bonkers Snowboard Inventions ...

It's said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. For some people all they have is perspiration. Today we celebrate the efforts of these incredibly moist and flagrant folks...

10. Hula-Hoop Girdles

There's been a lot of chat recently about the lack of people taking up snowboarding over the last few years. One of the solutions would be to make learning to snowboard a little easier, anything that could make your first experience of snowboarding feel a little less like you'd just?naively?bent down to pick up the soap in the prison showers would be a massive bonus. That said, the answer has not turned out?to be dressing some poor?mug in a giant steering wheel.

This design did actually see the light of day and it's still around and finding a small niche in adaptive snowboarding as the puntastic Sno-Wing.? As soon as one person invents a sport, someone else tries to mash that sport up with another. Here's windsurfing bodged together with snowboarding.
Sailboard for snow and ice ? 1984?

And here's how that idea works in real life...

The major drawback of snowboard sailing is the music
Although that original patent amounted to very little, it's not stopped people from?continuing?to reinvent exactly the same thing, time and time again. In an article we produced some time ago we found that this little snowboard niche had expanded to include a plethora of sports you've never heard of including; Snow Kiting, Snow Kiteboarding, Sail Boarding, Wind Sking, Wind Boarding, Winter Windsurfing, Kitewinging, Ice Surfing, Iceboarding, Snowfering, Skywinging, Speed Riding and Speedflying.
Like wind-powered snowboarding, motorised snowboarding?attracts doomed?inventiors like shit attracts flies. We've also produced an article on their so far unsuccessful exploits and here's the latest idea that you won't see in a resort near you soon, or at least until someone can make one of these things weigh exactly nothing.
Powered Snowboard - 2012?

"One of the advantages of the loop strap is that it prevents ankle and knee injury due to the dangling of the board from one foot as the person rides the chairlift". ?-?Of all the dangers?inherent?in our sport, this one has to be the least.

Somehow the snowboard suspenders concept actually made it to market as the Legsaver?
6.?Emergency?Lighting Systems

Numerous inventors have explored the opportunities of adding lighting systems to snowboards, but the insurmountable detail that snowboarding is a daytime sport has so far put an end to the realisation of their dreams.

All things combined, this proved to be one massively?over-engineered?snowplough.

It didn't help that this patent application was written by Donald Rumsfeld; "When visibility is poor in cases such as in a snowstorm, when fog rises, or when snowboarding at night, it is hard for a back person in sliding persons using snow sliding equipments (hereinafter, a ?back sliding person?) to notice a front person (hereinafter, a ?front sliding person?). Therefore, when the sliding speed of the back sliding person is higher than that of the front sliding person, a collision between the front sliding person and the back sliding person can occur.?To avert such collision, it is considered to make the snow sliding equipment of the front sliding person luminous to draw attention of the back sliding person to the front sliding person."

5. Dinky Snowboards

Adding more stuff to snowboards isn't the only path open to tinkerers, the other alternative is to remove things or cut things in half.?

Individual? Snowboard for Each Foot ? 1997?

That's an image from the?original?patent for the absolute pony Dual Snowboards, bafflingly the most successful of these awful ideas, although in all?probability it will follow all these other ideas into dusty?oblivion. Interestingly in their various applications?the other referenced?patents?aren't snowboarding, instead they seem to have been inspired by a series of patents for snowblade precursors, including?this?beauty. It undermines the positioning of their product as an improvement on snowboarding when it was inspired by feet buckets.

As with all of these ideas, just because it's a bad idea?doesn't?seem to put others off from having a go too.

Articulated two-piece snowboard with rigid, flexible connector ? 2011?

This saw the light of day as the Trakboard, although?judging?by the antiquated website and videos this product has already gone the way of the step-in binding.

The bloke that produced the last patent seems to be a bit of a serial patentist. Here's another of his cracking ideas...

4. Snowboard Scooters

The premise for this is, despite all evidence to the contrary, handles would be a better way to control a snowboard than bindings. A really bad starting point, but people just love mashing shit up so they were sure to try this at some point.

Snow scooter and method of using snow scooter - 2003?

I was hoping they'd update their patent by submitting doodles they'd drawn on some ketchup-stained napkins, but rather?disappointing?by 2008 they'd tidied things up a little.

Here's a look at the?performance of snowboard scooters in an?incredibly?unsuccessful advert from the now defunct?Venom Switchboards.?

Question: What's better than a snowboard with an unnecessary handle??

Anserw: A snowboard with two unnecessary handles...

4. Two Handled Snowboards

12 - snowboard, 16 - front of snowboard, 18 - back of snowboard, 26 - just behind the front of snowboard, 28 - just in front of the back of snowboard, 37 - the most frontish bit of the snowboard possible, 38 - the furthest you can get from 37 , 14 - towards the back of snowboard, but not all that far back, more towards the middle, but not the middle itself, just behind that.

To see how these two-handled snowboards roll, here's a video from another patentee, Yibb Boards, the Netherlands biggest contribution to snowboarding, featuring lots of straight airs and hotel foyer music. The universal sign that you've just invented a crap snowboard is if you've also just developed a surprising and uncontrollable?desire to listen to easy listening jazz. 2. Hangboards While we're busy bodging?together?sports hows about the?incredibly?unlikely?combination?of hang gliding and snowboarding? Someone decided to go full Heath Robinson?on this shit, and amazingly this contraption is now?available?as the Hangboard.

?Wait till you see the next story, its about something that we?re pretty sure will take the extreme sports world by storm.?

That video was from three years back and the extreme sports world is still bracing itself for the storm.

In the patent application theirs also a design for a?seated?hangboard, which if it's possible, makes even less?sense. Hangboard are clearly not big fans of making sense...

Site highlight:?This guy has an?truly?immense head.

1. Catwalk Sticks?

In the past few days I've come across at least a dozen?separate?patents all trying to corner the market in snowboard poles. It makes you question the validity of patents when you can apparently patent a stick. At least three?of?these?things?are now available to buy at surprising high price points.?However?the winner in this cul-de-sac of snowboard design, and the winner of the?worst?snowboard idea ever?patented is...

Catwalk sticks for propelling a snowboarder ? 2000?

Source: http://www.illicitsnowboarding.com/2013/04/the-10-most-bonkers-snowboard.html

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Will Tom Cruise Have a Box-Office Blockbuster?

From Tom Cruise and Olga Kurylenko attempting to save Earth in Oblivion to Chadwick Boseman living out Jackie Robinson's career on the silver screen in 42, here are the movies to check out. Will you be grabbing your popcorn and catching one of them this weekend?

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/movie-reviews-what-see-weekend-oblivion/1-a-533629?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Amovie-reviews-what-see-weekend-oblivion-533629

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Retail Recon | Inside Warby Parker's First Offline Flagship - BoF ...

NEW YORK, United States ? Warby Parker is on the move. The trendy eyewear company launched online in 2010 ? which took on licensing giants like Luxottica with a vertically integrated model that offered consumers style-conscious glasses at significantly lower prices ? recently raised a $41.5 million round of financing from investors including American Express and J. Crew chief executive Mickey Drexler and is reportedly in talks with tech giant Google to bring a much needed sense of style to their wearable computing platform Glass.

Now, after experimenting with a series of successful ?shop-in-shops? and showrooms in several US cities, Warby Parker is making its first major push into offline commerce, with the launch of a physical flagship at 121 Greene Street, smack in the heart of New York?s Soho district.

When BoF visited the new store, three days after it opened to the public, it was already buzzing with a fleet of uniformed sales-staff and people of all ages, both locals and visitors, trying on eyeglasses and exploring the airy space. The deep, high-ceilinged interior was flooded with light and, on each side of the store, the walls were lined with 18-foot-high shelves displaying the brand?s fashionable frames, interspersed with a curated selection of books from independent, artsy imprints.

Inspired by great libraries, the terrazzo-floored flagship is punctuated with design touches that suggest a lighter version of the mid-century modern style popularised by television programmes like Mad Men. In the middle of the store, there is an optical station covered with rosewood panelling. Inside, Warby Parker?s full-time optometrists give customers $50 eye exams, appointments for which are displayed on a train-station-style board. At the end of the store, an original skylight has been beautifully preserved ? and here, amongst plants and modernist chairs, even more books are displayed on tables, including a Grace Coddington memoir and old issues of the Paris Review.

Clearly, the new flagship will enable customers to better experience the Warby Parker brand ? and touch, feel and try on the product. The store, with its prime Soho location and fashionable neighbours like Apple, Louis Vuitton and A.P.C., will also, no doubt, help the company raise brand awareness and signal its premium positioning.

But importantly, the new flagship, which shares inventory with the site, also aims to combine the tactile and sensory richness of a physical library with the efficiency and measurability of Warby Parker?s digital presence. Hidden sensors embedded in the store track how people use people the retail space, mirroring the kind of online analytics that measure how visitors interact with a website, Warby Parker co-founder Neil Blumenthal told BoF. Indeed, in partnership with analytics start-up Nomi, the company plans to marry information collected in-store with online data trails to create a single, unified view of their customers, online and offline, and deliver a seamless omni-channel experience.

The store also features a photo booth where customers can take, and then print or email, pictures of themselves trying on new glasses.?And if there?s not a cashier in sight, it?s because the flagship?s salespeople are armed with tablets running point of sale (POS) software, much like at the Apple Store across the street.

Warby Parker is certainly not the only e-tailer to launch or consider launching an offline presence. Online men?s apparel brand Bonobos, which has opened a number of showroom-style ?Guideshops,? last April announced a partnership with the 111-year-old department store Nordstrom. Meanwhile, technology giants Amazon, Google and eBay have all either experimented or expressed a desire to experiment with physical locations.

As Blumenthal put it, ?There is a convergence happening, it?s not either or, that your are either online or offline, you need to be in both places and they need to be seamlessly integrated.?

Source: http://www.businessoffashion.com/2013/04/retail-recon-inside-warby-parkers-first-offline-flagship.html

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