A Tribute to Marco Simoncelli (1987-2011)

Good Bye Marco by ACNews and all those who will never forget You 

There are no words to express the sadness we feel Dear Marco Simoncelli (our dear Sic). We will never forget You, Your Sympathy, Your Contagious Enthusiasm and Joy of living, Your Courage and your Great Talent. Thanks for all!!!! You'll be always in our hearts!!!!

Thinking of You, it comes to my mind a quote from President Abraham Lincoln: "In the End, it's not the Years in Your Life that count. It's the Life in Your Years". Who did perfectly embody those words, if not You? Good Bye Marco!!!!

Marco Simoncelli 250cc Racing World Champion in 2008

http://youtu.be/sgOFh3tuXtk

FLASH NEWS: High-Tech Scans versus Excellent Clinical Skills of Doctors

Un-necessary Radiation of patients in the diagnostic process

An interesting study from Israel published in the Journal, 'Archives of Internal Medicine',  reveals something we have always suspected: Many of the ultrasound and CT scans done in Emergency Room helped in the diagnostic process only in one of three cases - roughly -  but added to Hospital bills.

Patients' history, physical exams, basic tests united to excellent clinical skills of physicians resulted the most important factors in making correct diagnoses. For the patients who also had CT scans, the doctors reported that the results helped in making a diagnosis only in one-third of the times.

Taking also into account that Research has shown that multiple CT scans might increase the risk of cancer development over the long run, perhaps it's better trying to recover the Art & Science of communication with Patients and rationalize the use of High-Technology in the diagnostic process. Not only our Hospital bills but also Patients' health will benefit greatly

For reading the article and for knowing more, go to:

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/171/15/1394 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/15/us-tests-idUSTRE77E0DL20110815

Natural Remedies against Cancer .....as proved in Academic Studies

Some foods are power-houses of Cancer Fighting Weapons...........

In this blog, we will examine which of them received approval from serious Academic Studies

Stay Tuned for the next news too!.................

Cancers don't like Onions

Good News for Onion lovers and for all others who will eventually become Onion Lovers after reading these news.  Food Scientists at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, found out that certain varieties of Onions are particularly rich in anti-cancer chemical compounds and have been shown to be more effective in inhibiting liver and colon cancer cell growth.

Food Scientist Rui Hai Liu, MD-PhD, with his team reported that Shallots, Pungent Yellow, Western Yellow and Northern Red onions have higher concentrations of anti-cancer chemicals than other varieties tested. In particular, they found out that Shallots, Western and Pungent Yellow onion varieties are especially effective against liver cancer cells, while Pungent and Western Yellow varieties showed the greatest effects on colon cancer cells.

The original article from Cornell University News, written by Susan Lang, reports a clarification about the name brand "NY Bold" initially appeared in the scientific paper published on the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.  That name was in a second time corrected and changed in the more appropriate "Pungent Yellow or Yellow Cooking Onion".

As reported by Prof. Liu in the interview you can find in the link below, in their study of ten Onion varieties and Shallots, it has been shown as both, Onions and Shallots,  have substances with potent anti-oxidant and anti-proliferation activities. In addition, he added that the more total Phenolic and Flavonoid content an onion has, the stronger its anti-oxidant activity and protective effect is. Phenolic and Flavonoids are Phytochemicals with anti-oxidant activity typically found in plants. These substances protect plants against Bacteria, Fungi and Viruses. They also help preventing cancer development, interfering with cell-damaging free radicals and inhibiting the production of reactive substances that could damage normal cells.

The Researchers found that Shallots have six times the Phenolic content of the Onion variety with the lowest content, known as Vidalia. They also found that Western Yellow Onions have eleven times more Flavonoids than the Western White variety, with the lowest content of Flavonoids.

Extracts from ten Onion varieties and Shallots were tested on Colon Cancer cells and the Pungent and Western Yellow showed the greatest anti-proliferative effect. On Liver Cancer cells, instead,  extracts from Shallot, Pungent and Western Yellow Onion varieties provided the strongest anti-proliferation effect.

As Prof. Liu reported, Flavonoid consumption has also been associated with a reduced risk of developing Heart Disease and Diabetes other than Cancer. Flavonoids, beside the protective activity against Cancer, are also known to have anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-allergenic and anti-inflammatory activities.

The bitter and more pungent Onions seem to have more Flavonoids and appear to be the healthiest varieties. In USA, at least three of the four Onion varieties with the greatest total Phenolic and Flavonoids content are grown in New York State.

What's the Lesson? May be it's better a little grimace by Pungent onions than by anti-cancer killer drugs.
Of course, this doesn't mean abandoning sound and solid medical protocols validated by results-oriented monitoring systems, but rather than onions can be considered an ingredient of choice in nutritional programs designed for cancer patients, both, in current protocols or more advanced, holistic and integrative approaches based on  EBM (Evidence Based Medicine).

To know more visit: the link:
http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/oct04/onions.cancer.ssl.html.

A Tribute to Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Good Bye, Dear Steve, Thank You for Changing our World!

Yesterday evening, October 5th - 2011, in his San Francisco home, one of the greatest creative geniuses, founder and innovator of the digital era left us. Good Bye, Steve Jobs! Thank You for leaving us not just the products of your work and creativity, but for your insipration, your example in facing life's obstacles with Vision, Clarity, Strength, Courage, Originality and Determination. 

I'd like to remember You with all the Readers of my Blog, listening to your own words, pronounced during one of your speeches at the 2005 Stanford Graduation ceremony, considered one of the greatest commencement addresses of all time: ".... Don't be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Do not let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They, somehow, already know what You truly want to become. Everything else is secondary....". 

 

If you  wish to share your thoughts, you may also go to http://www.apple.com/

and from there you'll be addressed at the proper email. 

Early Puberty Today

Studies investigate the potential causes of Early Puberty  

There's a time in the life of boys and girls when changes are taking place, more gradual for boys, almost sudden for girls, which introduce them to Puberty, the transition phase to adulthood. Studies in the last century, have highlighted an intriguing phenomenon, a steady decrease in the age during which puberty's changes are taking place. In some cases, with really curious consequences, as the ones happened at the Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir,  that became object of a brilliant Research. 


The  Royal Chapel Choir in Copenhagen is composed of young sopranos' voices educated at the Sankt Annae's Gymnasium since 1924. It has an historical tradition. In December 2003, a quite strange phenomenon was reported by the Director of the Choir, Abbe Munk, on an article of a renown Danish Journal.  He mentioned that he could register an earlier puberty in children that seemed to affect the sopranos' voices required by the Choir he was directing. The earlier puberty was modifying the quality of the children's voices. The sopranos he expected to hear, because of the age of children, were becoming tenors.


The News captured the attention of a brilliant Endocrinologist, Dr Anders Juul, who contacted with his team the Sankt Annae Gymnasium to establish a collaboration with the objective of understanding the causes of the earlier puberty occurred in the children composing the Choir.


The boys usually are admitted into the Choir at a pre-puberal age, when they are 8 years old. At that time, they have a light voice which they educate and prepare for singing in the Choir. In the last ten years, though, they registered pubertal changes in the voices of children occurring at least six months earlier than expected. The Choir, has been composed usually of children at twelve to fourteen years of age, but because of the earlier pubertal changes in their voices, it is now composed of younger boys.


The endocrinologist Lise Aksglaede reported that they analyzed the boys every six months with blood,  genetic tests and urinalyses to see when puberty is actually taking place. For better understanding what has been happening, it may help going back in history at the time of Johann Sebastian Bach. At that time, the pubertal changes in the voice of boys occurred roughly at eighteen years of age.


The girls are similarly affected by pubertal changes occurring earlier respect to the past. From the second half of the 18th century to the second half of the 19th century, the average age of girls at their first menstruation, in Northern Europe and USA, decreased from seventeen to fourteen. Today, girls can have pubertal changes even at only eight years of age, while boys, before the nine years of age.


The major problem with the early puberty changes is that boys and girls reach  sexual maturity much earlier than their psychological and mental maturity, necessary to protect themselves from life experiences. In general, the early changes in puberty are attributed to the improved quality of life of our days: the lower number of infections and diseases, the major availability of food everywhere, etc. But early puberty, though, is reaching an unexpected toll today. In the studies, an association has been made with obesity and resistance to insulin. Both the phenomenons could be contributing factors to the early changes occurring in boys and girls, lately. 


However, they are working on another hypothesis that considers the influence of the environment and lifestyle, the kind of food we eat and the chemical and industrial substances we are exposed to. It's hypothesized that some of these substances may act like hormones inducing the early changes we see in boys and girls today.


The Danish Research, not yet definitive, indicates, as major responsible of the early puberty changes, the Phtalates, components of plastic material that can be found everywhere, in toys of children, in the paintings, in pacifiers and in objects made of PVC, etc. The Phtalates may interfere with the endocrine system and be responsible of the early puberty changes observed. Toxic effects have already been observed by them in experiments on lab animals.


In conclusion, according to what has been found so far, bad lifestyle habits and the presence of Phtalates in the environment can both contribute to the Early Puberty observed Today. 
Nature had provided boys and girls a better  timing for matching the physical changes with the mental and psychological ones, but unfortunately, with our inconsiderate abuse of Mother Earth, we are causing changes not only in our environment but also in the most precious treasure we have, our children, our own Future. One more reason to reflect and reconsider our future plans of development.


To watch the Video on RAI 1 TV, go to: http://www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/programmi/media/ContentItem-22b31637-3368-4010-96d2-6c98d384519b.html
It's the second documentary in the Video played during the TV program Superquark, presented by Piero Angela
To know more, you may want to visit also: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/girls-hitting-puberty-early-age-study-suggests/story?id=11345321&page=2
I personally heard for the first time talking about the phenomenon of Early Puberty Today, during the programs on TBN TV by Dr. John McDougall