Representative literature on the phytonutrients category: Phenolic acids

Research concerning the benefits derived from dietary polyphenols, a significant class within the family of phytonutrients, has increased considerably in the last decade. Prior to the late 1990s, the nutritional spotlight focused on the antioxidant capabilities of carotenoids, vitamins, and minerals. More recently, however, research has emerged in strong support of the antioxidant capacity of polyphenols and their role in the prevention and/or treatment of certain cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and inflammation. Polyphenols are categorized according to the nature of their carbon skeleton, ranging from basic phenolic molecules to highly complex compounds, such as flavonoids, the most common and widely studied of all phenolic compounds. The most prevalent phenolic acids include ellagic acid, gallic acid, tannic acid, and capsaicin.     

Purchase of contact lenses and contact-lenses-related symptoms following the Contact Lenses in Pediatrics (CLIP) Study

Background

The rate and reasons for discontinuation of contact lens wear by young patients are not well known. The Contact Lenses in Pediatrics (CLIP) Study surveyed participants 3 months after the final study visit to determine the percentage of participants who continued to wear contact lenses after study conclusion. The factors associated with continued contact lens wear and differences in behaviors between the children and teens were also determined to provide insights to practitioners who provide refractive correction for patients in those age groups.

Methods

Three months after the CLIP Study completion, participants and parents returned mailed surveys that assessed post-study lens purchase and symptoms related to contact lens wear if contact lenses wear had been continued. Responses were compared between the children and teens using χ² or Fisher's exact test.

Results

Almost 92% of the surveys were returned. Eighty percent of teens’ parents reported purchasing lenses after the study, vs. 63% of the children's parents (p = 0.02). Symptoms reported at the last study visit were not significantly associated with future purchase, though there was a trend towards more light sensitivity in those who did not purchase more contact lenses (23.1% vs. 11.8%). Satisfaction with contact lenses was high among both those purchasing additional contact lenses and those who did not. Both children and teens reported similar frequencies of symptoms such as burning, itching or tearing eyes 3 months following study completion. Teens reported having contact-lens-related dry eyes more frequently than children.

Conclusions

A large proportion of children and an even higher proportion of teens continued wearing their lenses 3 months after completing the CLIP Study. Children and teens reported similar contact lens comfort and low frequencies of most symptoms, though teens experienced more dry-eye symptoms. Overall, reports of symptoms in this sample were lower than had been reported in adult populations by other investigators.     

Cesarean childbirth and psychosocial outcomes: A meta-analysis.

A comprehensive literature review with meta-analysis examines the differences between vaginal and cesarean delivery on 23 psychosocial outcomes of childbirth. The most robust findings suggest that cesarean mothers, compared with mothers who delivered vaginally, expressed less immediate and long-term satisfaction with the birth, were less likely ever to breast-feed, experienced a much longer time to first interaction with their infants, had less positive reactions to them after birth, and interacted less with them at home. Some differences were also found between unplanned and planned cesarean sections; none were found between birthing methods for maternal confidence for infant caretaking soon after birth, maternal anxiety in the hospital and at home, maternal stress at home, maternal return to work, and continuation of breast-feeding once begun. Implications of these findings for theory, research, and childbirth practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression as the search for the lost self.

Explores depression as a narcissistic disturbance in which the self is unconsciously expected to accomplish grandiose expectations and is regarded as a failure when it does not. These omnipotent fantasies include the prevention of object loss and triumph over death. In the later years, difficulties in maintaining self-esteem can predispose a person to depression since aging unavoidably involves dwindling opportunities, failing health, and loss of loved ones. A psychotherapeutic approach is outlined, focusing on the treatment of depression as a search for the lost self in which the development of healthy narcissism is seen as activating arrested or inhibited ego functions. The development of a positive cathexis of the self is seen as a safeguard against the self-destruction implicit in deep depression. This psychotherapeutic approach is demonstrated in a clinical vignette of a suicidally depressed woman in her 60's. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organic redox-initiated polymerization process for the fabrication of hydrogels for colon-specific drug delivery

Organic-redox initiated polymerization technique based on the co-initiators system comprising benzoyl peroxide and N-phenyldiethanolamine was used at ambient temperature to fabricate pH-responsive hydrogels. The effects of changes in the concentration of the co-initiators system, the ratio in which the co-initiators combined, the type of the polymerization solvent, the pH of the hydrating medium, the concentration of the cross-linking agent based on azo-bond and the pH-sensitive cross-linking agent on the properties of the hydrogels were investigated. Increasing the concentration of the co-initiators system, decreasing the concentration of the two types of cross-linking agents, and replacing DMSO by ethanol as the polymerization solvent resulted in hydrogels with increased equilibrium swelling ratio and increased molecular weight between cross-links at pH 7.4. Increasing the concentration of N-phenyldiethanolamine while keeping the concentration of benzoyl peroxide constant gave hydrogels with increased equilibrium swelling ratios. The equilibrium swelling ratios of the hydrogels at pH 2.0 were not affected by the factors investigated. The polymerization technique may be suitable for the design of drug delivery systems containing thermolabile bioactive agents like peptides and proteins.     

Using a hand-drawn sketch to control a team of robots

In this paper, we describe a prototype interface that facilitates the control of a mobile robot team by a single operator, using a sketch interface on a Tablet PC. The user draws a sketch map of the scene and includes the robots in approximate starting positions. Both path and target position commands are supported as well as editing capabilities. Sensor feedback from the robots is included in the display such that the sketch interface acts as a two-way communication device between the user and the robots. The paper also includes results of a usability study, in which users were asked to perform a series of tasks.     

Nano-scale friction of polystyrene in air and in vacuum

Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), we measured friction between an AFM tip and a polystyrene surface at 25 °C, as a function of the sliding velocity and the applied normal load, both in air and under vacuum conditions. The objective was to analyze the influence of humidity on the frictional behavior of polystyrene. Our experimental results as a function of sliding velocity revealed a logarithmic increase of the friction force in air whereas a logarithmic decrease of this force is found in vacuum. Our comparative results unveil that two different dissipation mechanisms are dominating the frictional behavior of polystyrene in air and in vacuum. We propose a tentative explanation.     

Earning its place as a pan-human theory: Universality of the big-fish-little-pond effect across 41 culturally and economically diverse countries.

For more than 2 decades, big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) research has demonstrated that students in high-ability classes and schools have lower academic self-concepts than their equally able counterparts in mixed-ability schools. However, cross-cultural BFLPE research has been limited to mostly developed and individualist countries. Using the Program for International Student Assessment database (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2005a, 2005b), the present investigation assessed the BFLPE in 41 culturally and economically diverse countries. In support of the BFLPE, the effect of school-average self-concept was negative for the total sample (effect size = ?.49), negative for each of the 41 countries considered separately, and statistically significant in 38 countries. In this large, culturally diverse sample of countries, the BFLPE was evident in both collectivist and individualist cultures and in economically developing and developed nations. Implications for BFLPE theory and educational practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)