Body

Chevy Chase, MD— According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), just one night of short sleep duration can induce insulin resistance, a component of type 2 diabetes.

Chevy Chase, MD— According to a new study, long-term elite rhythmic gymnastics exerts positive effects on volumetric bone density and bone geometry in adolescent girls.

Evidence from observational studies indicates that diets rich in whole grain reduce risk of obesity and other diseases related to the metabolic syndrome e.g. type 2 diabetes and cardio-vascular disease. The mechanisms involved are only partially elucidated. Work within HEALTHGRAIN has revealed novel insights regarding some potential mechanisms.

Life without atrazine would complicate weed management in corn, especially for sweet corn growers. A study at the University of Illinois looked at 175 sweet corn fields in the Midwest to find out just how important this 50-year-old, broad-spectrum herbicide is in sweet corn grown for processing.

Farmers who don't rely on or want to minimize the use of chemical herbicides need creative solutions to win the battle against aggressive perennial weeds. In ongoing research at the University of Illinois on Canada thistle, Sudangrass is proving to be a worthy contender as a summer smother crop.

"Sudangrass get very tall. It outcompetes the thistle for light. The Sudangrass creates shade so photosynthesis cannot occur in the thistle," said U of I weed scientist John Masiunas.

Researchers have found evidence that "marine snow"--aggregates of organic material floating in water bodies--may act as microscopic, island-like refuges for pathogens, or disease-causing organisms. This detritus may skew water sampling procedures and mathematical models used to predict the transmission of waterborne diseases to humans.

Patients who can postpone non-cardiac surgery for at least six weeks after receiving a coronary stent are less likely to suffer reduced blood flow to the heart, heart attack and death than those who have surgery sooner, Scottish researchers report in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, an American Heart Association journal.

A new study led by the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute in Australia has ranked most of the world's countries for their environmental impact.

The research uses seven indicators of environmental degradation to form two rankings – a proportional environmental impact index, where impact is measured against total resource availability, and an absolute environmental impact index measuring total environmental degradation at a global scale.

Cereal grain kernels consist of three main parts: endosperm, bran and germ. In Europe and worldwide most cereal products, like white bread, are based on kernels or flour after removal of bran and germ, the two parts containing most of the dietary fibre and other bioactive components. In the past decade consumers have been rediscovering whole grain based products. As a result consumption of whole grain products is growing world wide and in Europe also in countries where whole grain products were hardly known.

Wheat aleurone is a novel wheat grain fraction with high levels of potentially healthpromoting compounds. New clinical trials with ready-to-eat cereals and bread containing wheat aleurone have been performed, and showed increased blood concentrations of tentatively beneficial compounds such as betaine, and decreased homocysteine and LDL-cholesterol which are both associated with heart disease risk.

Oats is a highly nutritious cereal, which can be tolerated by large number of celiac patients. A range of commercial oat flours as well as specific oat flours produced from single varieties have been evaluated for their suitability for bread-baking. Enzyme technology, bioprocessing as well as high-pressure processing technology have been successfully applied to improve the quality, safety and nutritional attributes of oat based foods.

A wide range of gluten free cereals have been studies in detail as part of the HEALTHGRAIN project of the European Union, and their impact on product quality has been assessed. Enzyme technology, bioprocessing as well as high-pressure processing technology have been successfully applied to improve the quality, safety and nutritional attributes of gluten free cereal products.

BOSTON—Seniors who consume a higher level of dietary protein are less likely to suffer hip fractures than seniors whose daily dietary protein intake is less, according to a new study by the Institute for Aging Research of Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Treatment to reduce recurrence of hepatitis B appears to improve liver transplant outcomes for some patients, according to a Mayo Clinic study presented at the American Transplant Congress under way May 1-5 in San Diego.

"We found that in patients with hepatitis B, the number of patients who were listed for a second transplant within three years decreased by 50 percent between 1996 and 2005," says Ray Kim, M.D., the senior investigator of the research team.