Obesity may influence heart function through sex hormones

Apr. 27, 2013 ? New research suggests that changes in sex hormones as seen in obesity may have possible effects on the heart. The study by researchers from Belgium, presented at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Copenhagen, Denmark, suggests effects on heart function in healthy men with artificially raised estrogen levels and artificially lowered testosterone levels to mimic an obese state.

Estradiol, an estrogen, is primarily known as a female hormone but it also circulates at very low levels in men. Testosterone is converted to estradiol by the enzyme aromatase, the activity of which might be increased in obesity leading to raised estradiol and reduced testosterone.

To determine whether obesity might alter heart function via changes in sex hormones, Drs Maarten De Smet and colleagues at Ghent University in Belgium recruited 20 healthy men aged 20-40 and used an aromatase inhibitor and an estrogen patch to artificially alter the hormone levels to mimic sex hormone concentrations in obesity (high estradiol and low testosterone) vs contrast by an aromatase inhibitor (low estradiol, high testosterone). Prof Dr T De Backer, Cardiologist, assessed the heart function before and seven days after the intervention using ultrasonographic imaging with strain analysis, which measures the deformation of the heart between the resting and contracted states.

The men with obesity-related changes in sex hormones exhibited altered heart function. At baseline the global circumferential strain was -17.1% +/-3.9, which decreased significantly to -14% +/-2.5 (p=0.01). The contrasting group did not show any difference.

By artificially altering sex hormones in a small number of healthy men, Drs De Smet and colleagues have shown that an altered sex hormone profile as seen in obesity might be relevant for heart function. Adequately powered clinical trials with sufficient duration may establish the role of sex hormones in the heart function of obese men.

Maarten De Smet, Masters student in Medicine at Ghent University, Belgium, and first author said:

"Obesity is a major contributor to heart disease. By giving an aromatase inhibitor and estrogen to healthy men we mimicked the effect of sex hormones in obesity alone, in isolation from the rest of the obese metabolic state.

"In order to pump blood around the body the heart must fill with blood and then contract, pushing the blood out. We found that after increasing the estrogen levels and decreasing the testosterone levels in men for one week the deformation of the left heart chamber was significantly altered.

"Because the contributing factors to obesity, as well as the underlying biology, are so complicated it's a real challenge to tease apart one single aspect, so we think this study is of particular interest. As these results are from a small number of healthy men over one week, we hope to investigate sex hormone changes and the heart in the obese in the long term."

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/WqFSu6CkU-U/130428144857.htm

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Grizzlies beat Clippers 104-83, tie series at 2

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) ? When Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph click together, the Memphis Grizzlies are very, very tough to beat.

Gasol and Randolph had 24 points apiece and led a strong rebounding effort by the Grizzlies in a 104-83 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday that evened their first-round playoff series at 2-all.

"Their synergy is pretty amazing you know what I mean," Clippers guard Chris Paul said. "Z Bo on the inside and big fella Marc, that's another guard the way he passes the ball and shoots the ball. You just got to run them. You got to run them. You got to try to get them tired. You can't just leave them in a rocking chair."

Gasol also contributed 13 rebounds and Randolph had nine boards as Memphis won its second straight to ensure another stop in Tennessee for Game 6. Mike Conley had 15 points and 13 assists, and Tayshaun Prince scored 15 in his best game of the series.

"Now we got to go out there and try to get a win," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said.

Paul and Blake Griffin had 19 points apiece for the Clippers, and Griffin also grabbed 10 rebounds for his first double-double this postseason. Los Angeles' reserves outscored its counterparts again, 43-16. But DeAndre Jordan was the only other starter besides Paul and Griffin to score for the Clippers, and he had two points. Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler went a combined 0 for 10 from the floor in being shut out.

Game 5 is Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

"We got to go back, and we got to take care of business in Game 5 at home in front of our fans," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "But there's no question we're going to have to get back to playing the way we did the first couple games."

The team that controls the boards has won each game of the series so far, with Memphis owning a 45-28 advantage in Game 4. That led to a 22-2 difference in second-chance points, boosted by a 13-5 edge on offensive boards.

The Grizzlies used their prowess on the glass to beat the speedy Clippers when it came to fast-break points, 18-6.

Memphis' biggest advantage is its big men, and Randolph and Gasol each took turns helping the Grizzlies turn this into a best-of-three series. Gasol had six points at halftime, and Tony Allen said Hollins chewed out the 7-foot-1 Spaniard at the break, reminding him to score.

"The second half he was just phenomenal," Allen said.

Gasol said Hollins didn't tell him to try to score more because the center noted he had been trying to do just that in the first half.

"We had Zach going in the first half, so we played through Zach," Gasol said. "It doesn't matter who scores. At the end of the day, what matters is we win."

Randolph had 16 points and seven rebounds in the first half as Memphis got off to a quick start, leading 33-25 after the first quarter. Gasol scored 18 in the second half, using an effective jumper to avoid the paint after picking up his third foul with 7:54 left in the third. Randolph got his third 7 seconds later.

It didn't matter.

The Clippers never led by more than two, the last at 60-58 on a pair of free throws by Paul with 5:58 left in the third. Gasol then hit a 23-footer that beat the shot clock and made a pair of free throws to put Memphis ahead.

Ronny Turiaf's layup tied it for the sixth and final time. Gasol found Randolph for a layup that put the Grizzlies ahead to stay at 64-62 on the 10th and final lead change with 3:21 left in the third.

Memphis opened the fourth with a 19-5 surge and went up as much as 20, the first on a drive by Quincy Pondexter with 3:45 left at 96-76. The Grizzlies outscored the Clippers 33-16 in the quarter and 55-36 for the half.

Del Negro then subbed in from his bench with 3:02 remaining and had all his starters on the sideline for the final 2 minutes.

"They kind of blew us away in the fourth quarter," Billups said.

The Grizzlies set the tone from the start and led by as much as 12 in the first quarter. They went cold in the second when Paul scored nine of his 14 first-half points to help the Clippers to a 47-46 lead at halftime.

The Clippers wanted to be aggressive in what's been a physical series with lots of wrestling, especially between Randolph and Griffin. All the pounding appeared to take a toll in the second quarter as the Clippers had a chance to take their first lead only to have Griffin travel on back-to-back possessions. They couldn't even connect on a dunk as Prince tipped away a lob to Griffin.

Gasol was the key in the third. He even connected on a 23-foot jumper off an inbounds pass from Prince late in the shot clock. That tied it at 60 with 4:35 left and cranked new energy into the arena.

NOTES: The Grizzlies went 15-3 in the regular season when Gasol posted a double-double. ... Memphis improved to 17-1 when shooting at least 50 percent. ... The Grizzlies sold out their 12th straight postseason game. ... The Grizzlies played without veteran guard Keyon Dooling, who sat out with a strained muscle. ... Prince had only 10 points in the first three games combined. ... The Clippers shot 13 of 39 in the second half, compared to 20 for 35 for Memphis.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-27-Clippers-Grizzlies/id-2667b85271004d67964644bd849a6562

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Rethinking early atmospheric oxygen

Thursday, April 25, 2013

A research team of biogeochemists at the University of California, Riverside has provided a new view on the relationship between the earliest accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere, arguably the most important biological event in Earth history, and its relationship to the sulfur cycle.

A general consensus exists that appreciable oxygen first accumulated in Earth's atmosphere around 2.4 to 2.3 billion years ago. Though this paradigm is built upon a wide range of geological and geochemical observations, the famous "smoking gun" for what has come to be known as the "Great Oxidation Event" (GOE) comes from the disappearance of anomalous fractionations in rare sulfur isotopes.

"These isotope fractionations, often referred to as 'mass-independent fractionations,' or 'MIF' signals, require both the destruction of sulfur dioxide by ultraviolet energy from the sun in an atmosphere without ozone and very low atmospheric oxygen levels in order to be transported and deposited in marine sediments," said Christopher T. Reinhard, the lead author of the research paper and a former UC Riverside graduate student. "As a result, their presence in ancient rocks is interpreted to reflect vanishingly low atmospheric oxygen levels continuously for the first ~2 billion years of Earth's history."

However, diverse types of data are emerging that point to the presence of atmospheric oxygen, and, by inference, the early emergence of oxygenic photosynthesis hundreds of millions of years before these MIF signals disappear from the rock record. These observations motivated Reinhard and colleagues to explore the possible conditions under which inherited MIF signatures may have persisted in the rock record long after oxygen accumulated in the atmosphere.

Using a simple quantitative model describing how sulfur and its isotopes cycle through the Earth's crust, the researchers discovered that under certain conditions these MIF signatures can persist within the ocean and marine sediments long after O2 increases in the atmosphere. Simply put, the weathering of rocks on the continents can transfer the MIF signal to the oceans and their sediments long after production of this fingerprint has ceased in an oxygenated atmosphere.

"This lag would blur our ability to date the timing of the GOE and would allow for dynamic rising and falling oxygen levels during a protracted transition from an atmosphere without oxygen to one rich in this life-giving gas," Reinhard said.

Study results appear in Nature's advanced online publication on April 24.

Reinhard explained that once MIF signals formed in an oxygen-poor atmosphere are captured in pyrite and other minerals in sedimentary rocks, they are recycled when those rocks are later uplifted as mountain ranges and the pyrite is oxidized.

"Under certain conditions, this will create a sort of 'memory effect' of these MIF signatures, providing a decoupling in time between the burial of MIF in sediments and oxygen accumulation at Earth's surface," he said.

According to the researchers, the key here is burying a distinct MIF signal in deep sea sediments, which are then subducted and removed from Earth's surface.

"This would create a complementary signal in minerals that are weathered and delivered to the oceans, something that we actually see evidence of in the rock record," said Noah Planavsky, the second author of the research paper and a former UC Riverside graduate student now at Caltech. "This signal can then be perpetuated through time without the need to generate it within the atmosphere contemporaneously."

Reinhard, now a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech and soon to be an assistant professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, explained that although the researchers' new model provides a plausible mechanism for reconciling recent conflicting data, this can only occur when certain key conditions are met ? and these conditions are likely to have changed through time during Earth's long early history.

"There is obviously much further work to do, but we hope that our model is one step toward a more integrated view of how Earth's crust, mantle and atmosphere interact in the global sulfur cycle," he said.

Timothy W. Lyons, a professor of biogeochemistry at UCR and the principal investigator of the research project noted that this is a fundamentally new and potentially very important way of looking at the sulfur isotope record and its relationship to biospheric oxygenation.

"The message is that sulfur isotope records, when viewed through the filter of sedimentary recycling, may challenge efforts to precisely date the GOE and its relationship to early life, while opening the door to the wonderful unknowns we should expect and embrace," he said.

###

University of California - Riverside: http://www.ucr.edu

Thanks to University of California - Riverside for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127923/Rethinking_early_atmospheric_oxygen

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Metal detectors promised for Moscow track worlds

MOSCOW (AP) -- A top official for Russia's athletics federation says metal detectors will be used at the track and field world championships in Moscow in August.

Concerns about safety increased after last week's deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon.

General secretary Mikhail Butov told The Associated Press on Thursday that metal detectors will be set up at the entrances to Luzhniki Stadium, where all events except the marathon will be held.

He says the marathon presents less of a security challenge than in Boston because the one in Moscow will be four circuits of a course from the Kremlin to the stadium area.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/metal-detectors-promised-moscow-track-174449798.html

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Why do guppies jump?

Apr. 25, 2013 ? If you've owned a pet guppy, you know they often jump out of their tanks. Many a child has asked why the guppy jumped; many a parent has been stumped for an answer. Now a study by UMD biologist Daphne De Freitas Soares reveals how guppies are able to jump so far, and suggests why they do it.

Soares, an expert in the brain circuitry that controls animal behavior, decided to study jumping guppies while researching unrelated evolutionary changes in the brainstems of Poecilia reticulata, a wild guppy species from the island of Trinidad and the forebear to the familiar pet shop fish. During that 2011 project, a guppy jumped out of a laboratory tank and into Soares' cup of chai.

"Fortunately it was iced chai and it had a lid on, so he stayed alive," Soares said. "That was enough for me. I had to use a high speed camera to film what was going on."

Soares, an assistant professor of biology, and UMD biology lecturer Hilary S. Bierman used high speed videography and digital imaging to analyze the jumping behavior of nine guppies from the wild Trinidadian species.

In a research paper published April 16 in the online peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, Soares and Bierman reported the jumping guppies started from a still position, swam backwards slowly, then changed direction and hurtled into the air. By preparing for the jump -- a behavior never reported before in fish, according to the two biologists -- the guppies were able to jump up to eight times their body length, at speeds of more than four feet per second.

Soares and Bierman concluded that guppies jump on purpose, and apparently not for the reasons other fish do -- to escape from predators, to catch prey, or to get past obstacles on seasonal migrations.

The biologists hypothesize that jumping serves an important evolutionary purpose, allowing guppies to reach all the available habitat in Trinidad's mountain streams. By dispersing, they move away from areas of heavy predation, minimize competition with one another, and keep the species' genetic variability high, the researchers believe.

"Evolution is truly amazing," said Soares, who spent her own money on fish food, but otherwise conducted the study at no cost.

Video of jumping guppy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fryho0sIp3E

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Journal Reference:

1. Daphne Soares, Hilary S. Bierman. Aerial Jumping in the Trinidadian Guppy (Poecilia reticulata). PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (4): e61617 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061617

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/ui2IGSnDbdo/130425132814.htm

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Bush, Clinton speak on eve of library dedication

Former Governor Jeb Bush gestures as he speaks during a Dallas Council of World Affairs luncheon Wednesday, April 24, 2013, in Dallas. Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton are hitting the speakers' circuit on the eve of the opening of George W. Bush's new presidential library, stoking speculation about their own political futures. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Former Governor Jeb Bush gestures as he speaks during a Dallas Council of World Affairs luncheon Wednesday, April 24, 2013, in Dallas. Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton are hitting the speakers' circuit on the eve of the opening of George W. Bush's new presidential library, stoking speculation about their own political futures. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

George P. Bush, left, poses for photos with his dad, former governor Jeb Bush, right, before a Dallas Council of World Affairs luncheon where Jeb was the featured speaker Wednesday, April 24, 2013, in Dallas. Jeb Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton are hitting the speakers' circuit on the eve of the opening of George W. Bush's new presidential library, stoking speculation about their own political futures. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Former Governor Jeb Bush, left, gives his son George P. Bush, right a kiss on the cheek after George introduced him to attendees at the Dallas Council of World Affairs where Jeb was the featured speaker Wednesday, April 24, 2013, in Dallas. Jeb Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton are hitting the speakers' circuit on the eve of the opening of George W. Bush's new presidential library, stoking speculation about their own political futures.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Former Governor Jeb Bush gestures as he speaks to the a group in attendance at the Dallas Council of World Affairs Wednesday, April 24, 2013, in Dallas. Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton are hitting the speakers' circuit on the eve of the opening of George W. Bush's new presidential library, stoking speculation about their own political futures.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

DALLAS (AP) ? Former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush urged the nation to change its immigration and education systems to ensure a robust American economy in remarks Wednesday before the World Affairs Council in Dallas. A suburb away, former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was delivering her first paid speech since leaving the helm of the State Department earlier this year.

The dueling appearances came on the eve of the opening of George W. Bush's presidential library, stoking speculation about each of their political futures. Both are considered strong White House contenders should each seek the presidency in 2016.

Both of their families were gathering for the library dedication on the campus of Southern Methodist University, an event that will put five living U.S. presidents, including President Barack Obama, on the same stage.

Presidential politics were close to the surface in Dallas Wednesday.

During a question-and-answer session, one man told Bush he had met him in Florida. "Hopefully I'll meet you in Washington as the next president of the United States," the man said.

Asked by another questioner whether he might run for president in 2016, Bush pointed to his son, George P. Bush, a candidate for statewide office in Texas. "To be honest, I'm focused on the land commissioner race in 2014," Bush said with a smile.

Bush, who recently released a book promoting immigration changes, said the nation needed an agenda that would give Americans "the right to rise," whether in entrepreneurial ventures, through restructuring immigration or educational policies that help children attain success. He urged Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline that would stretch from Canada to Texas and pointed to fellow Texan Lyndon B. Johnson as a president who cajoled and persuaded Congress to enact his agenda.

"We need people to get outside their comfort zones. We need leaders to have humility to find consensus and compromise. If we do that we'll break the logjams in all sorts of areas of policies that right now don't seem to be working, and this country will take off," Bush said.

Meanwhile, Clinton was speaking during a private event to the National Multi-Housing Council's board of directors, a trade group that represents the apartment building industry. Terms of Clinton's compensation for the speech have not been disclosed, but it was expected to net six-figures.

Jim Lapides, a spokesman for the housing council, said the event was closed at the request of the former New York senator's speakers' group, the Harry Walker Agency, a common practice.

In recent speeches, Clinton has discussed ways of helping women and children flourish in developing nations but offered few hints about her political future. She is writing a book about her experiences as secretary of state, which will be released in June 2014.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-24-2016%20Politics/id-cf9eeafbb3524bddb994e5d69b683033

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Will the Internet sales tax bill help or hurt the small business retailer?

President Obama on Monday, said that the proposed Marketplace Fairness Act, which would require online retailers to collect sales tax, ?will level the playing field for local small business retailers that are in competition every day with large out-of-state online companies.?

Far be it for me to disagree with the President, but I don?t see it.

Let?s take this step-by-step. Brick and mortar stores say they?re going out of business because people are choosing to buy online instead of in their store. I believe this is true. I don?t think it?s a stretch to say that Amazon helped put Borders out of business.

On the other hand, we have my favorite grocery chain Fresh & Easy.? The British parent company says they lost over 2 billion dollars on the venture and they?re done. They?re going to sell the chain or close up 200 stores. What happened there? Very few Americans buy their groceries online, so you can?t blame the internet for that failure.

As far as sales tax goes, I?ve heard of people driving to the next state to save money on a big purchase, but I?ve never heard of someone going online to avoid paying tax. Think about it? You might save $5.00 but you?re paying $17.00 to ship, so tax free isn?t much of an incentive.

What?s really causing the collapse of the small business is the economy. The average person simply doesn?t have enough to go around, so they have to cut corners where they can which might mean buying online. It also could mean buying at Walmart instead of the mom and pop grocery store down the street. Or it means buying a used product on eBay instead of a new one at Walmart.

I might be more on board with the proposed act if the officials promoting the bill were more transparent about the reason behind it. It?s not about saving local businesses, it?s about collecting an additional $22 to $24 billion in sales tax. That?s money for schools and police and roads and social services. Who doesn?t want that?

Still, Senators backing the bill continue to say it?s all about helping small business. What about people who run a small business online. Are we really going to require that 2-man business to collect a different tax from every customer from another state? That?s an accounting nightmare.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has a comeback for that;

?We?re way beyond the quill pen and ledger days. Thanks to computers and thanks to software it is not that complex.?

Not complex? Four states don?t have sales tax at all so they?d have to create a sales tax department to handle the revenue from the new bill. (What?s that going to cost?) The New York Times article I read said the bill would only apply to online retailers who sell more than $1 million in goods to people in other states. So, are we talking Amazon as a whole or are we counting sales of each individual third party seller? Same goes for eBay.

Looking at this from the consumer side, I have to figure that my favorite online stores are going to have to raise prices to cover the additional accounting burden. Higher prices means I buy less. How is that helping the economy?

The only way to make this work is to create a sales tax just for the internet. A single percentage that everyone pays when they shop online. That would be less of accounting nightmare but it would still fly in the face of the states who don?t charge sales tax or only charge for certain types of items.

This week, the Senate voted 74 to 20 to take up the bill. We?ve had this discussion before and this time, I?m really worried.

What do you think? Is there any good news for anyone in this push to tax online sales?

Source: http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2013/04/will-the-internet-sales-tax-bill-help-or-hurt-the-small-business-retailer.html

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