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"The results of the uniquely-constructed ERA JUMP Study were just released, a fascinating study of the relationship of omega-3 fatty acids to coronary and carotid plaque. The study adds insight into why the Japanese experience only one third of the heart attacks of Americans, and why Japan occupies the bottom of the list for least heart attacks among all developed countries. The Electron-Beam Tomography, Risk Factor Assessment Among Japanese and U.S. Men in the Post-World War II Birth Cohort Study (ERA JUMP), a collaborative U.S.-Japanese effort, compared three groups of men: -- 281 Japanese men living in Japan -- 306 non-Japanese men living in the U.S. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) -- 303 Japanese Americans (having both parents Japanese without "ethnic admixture") living in Hawaii. The last group represents a group that is genetically similar to the group in Japan, but exposed to an American diet and lifestyle. Three main measures were compared: -- Blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA) -- Carotid intimal-medial thickness (CIMT, the thickness of the carotid artery lining that can serve as an index of body-wide atherosclerosis) -- Coronary calcium (heart scan) scores."

Marine-derived n-3 fatty acids and atherosclerosis in Japanese, Japanese-American, and white men: a cross-sectional study. Sekikawa A, Curb JD, Ueshima H, El-Saed A, Kadowaki T, Abbott RD, Evans RW, Rodriguez BL, Okamura T, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Nakamura Y, Masaki K, Edmundowicz D, Kashiwagi A, Willcox BJ, Takamiya T, Mitsunami K, Seto TB, Murata K, White RL, Kuller LH; ERA JUMP (Electron-Beam Tomography, Risk Factor Assessment Among Japanese and U.S. Men in the Post-World War II Birth Cohort) Study Group. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008 Aug 5;52(6):417-24. PMID: 18672160 Conclusions Very high levels of marine-derived n-3 FAs have anti-atherogenic properties independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and may contribute to lower burden of atherosclerosis in Japanese in Japan, which is unlikely due to genetic factors.

"July 10, 2008 | Shelley Wood New York, NY - Despite eating a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, Alaskan Eskimo are developing subclinical atherosclerosis at an early age, likely due in large part to heavy smoking, a new study shows [1]. According to investigators, in a paper published online July 10, 2008 in Stroke, rates of carotid atherosclerosis in the mostly young to middle-aged subjects participating in the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN) study were significantly higher than those reported in US population-based studies of other ethnic groups. But as Dr Alexis Cutchins (Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY) and colleagues report, rates of current smoking among the Eskimo population studied were also four to six times higher than that of other US populations in similar studies. "I don't think there's anything very surprising here, but I guess what is novel is that the findings relate to a population that has not been studied much, if at all, in this regard," study coauthor Dr Mary J Roman (Weill Cornell Medical College) told heartwire. "And I think that the message is one that has public-health implications for everybody else: this is basically a reiteration of the fact that smoking is a very potent cardiovascular risk factor, and I think the indoctrination that most of us have received about the ills of smoking have clearly not penetrated the Alaska Eskimo population.""

"Numerous studies link Vitamin D and influenza, as well as Vitamin D and respiratory infections more generally. This vitamin up-regulates genetic expression of various endogenous antimicrobial peptides (AMP), which exhibit broad-spectrum microbicidal activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Reports discussed below indicate that susceptibility to influenza is reduced with higher levels of sun exposure or vitamin D supplementation. Seasonal variation of vitamin D levels in humans can help explain the seasonality of flu epidemics."

The summer season each year brings wafting memories of a juicy and luscious fruit called litchi. The origins of Litchi lie in southern China where as a crop it has been cultivated uninterruptedly for close to 2500 years. Its geographical propagation has been rather slow, which is due to the short life-span of its seed and the peculiar soil and climatic requirements associated with the plant.A classical instance of this is India which is the second largest producer just behind China, but litchi farming is chronologically speaking, very recent having been introduced only sometime in the middle of the 1700's. Together China and India between themselves produce more than 90% of the world's Litchi, leaving the rest of the world far behind. In the backdrop of all this it is interesting to know the various cultivars and varieties which dot the world of Litchi farming. Most or all of them have their genesis probably in China but have been suitably bred and modified to thrive in countries of their adoption.

The terms 'cultivar' and 'variety' have often been used interchangeably but this convention often seems to ignore the obvious differences which exist between the two. A 'cultivar' is bred with the help of vegetative propagation, which could include cutting, grafting,budding and tissue culture and is a product of human effort and ingenuity. A 'variety' on the other hand is a natural phenomenon and is bred through seedlings. A 'variety' will always produce clones of the parent plant, but in a cultivar,there may be slight variation in a progeny compared to the parent particularly in the case of hybrids. The Litchi cultivars in India number about 40 out of which around 12 or 13 are commercially cultivated.The same cultivar or variety may be known by different names in various parts of the country. In China there are about 200 known cultivars although only 20 or so are in commercial farming, which means the genetic repository is much more widespread compar

Indian Bioscience is an independent DNA testing company, which is providing a level of professionalism and customer service in the DNA testing,Dna testing for immigration purposes include maternity tests, siblingship tests, grandparentage tests and paternity testing to the many areas of India.

Perls TT. The different paths to 100. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Feb;83(2):484S-487S. Review. PMID: 16470017 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Novel role of the vitamin D receptor in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal mucosal barrier. Kong J, Zhang Z, Musch MW, Ning G, Sun J, Hart J, Bissonnette M, Li YC. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2008 Jan;294(1):G208-16. Epub 2007 Oct 25. PMID: 17962355 These observations suggest that VDR plays a critical role in mucosal barrier homeostasis by preserving the integrity of junction complexes and the healing capacity of the colonic epithelium. Therefore, vitamin D deficiency may compromise the mucosal barrier, leading to increased susceptibility to mucosal damage and increased risk of IBD.

Role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Palomer X, González-Clemente JM, Blanco-Vaca F, Mauricio D. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2008 Mar;10(3):185-97. Review. PMID: 18269634 DOI: 10.1111/j.1463-1326.2007.00710.x Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to alter insulin synthesis and secretion in both humans and animal models. It has been reported that vitamin D deficiency may predispose to glucose intolerance, altered insulin secretion and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Vitamin D replenishment improves glycaemia and insulin secretion in patients with type 2 diabetes with established hypovitaminosis D, thereby suggesting a role for vitamin D in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

A new (March 24th) report in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, shows that Omega-3 fatty acids appear protective against advanced prostate cancer. Dr. John S. Witte, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco, says that previous research has shown protection against prostate cancer, but that this is one of the first studies to show protection against advanced prostate cancer.

Why is it that vitamin D deficiency can manifest in so many different ways in different people? One big reason is something called vitamin D receptor (VDR) genotypes, the variation in the receptor for vitamin D. Why is it that the dose of vitamin D necessary to reach a specific level differs so widely from one person to the next? VDR genotype, again. Variation in blood levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D from a specific dose of vitamin D can vary three-fold, as shown by a University of Toronto study. In other words, a dose of 4000 units per day may yield a 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood level of 30 ng/ml in Mary, 60 ng/ml in Paul, and 90 ng/ml in Pete--same dose, different blood levels

Review and meta-analysis on vitamin D receptor polymorphisms and cancer risk. Raimondi S, Johansson H, Maisonneuve P, Gandini S. Carcinogenesis. 2009 Jul;30(7):1170-80. Epub 2009 Apr 29. Review. PMID: 19403841

A Role of DNA-PK for the Metabolic Gene Regulation in Response to Insulin Roger H.F. Wong, Inhwan Chang, Carolyn S.S. Hudak, Suzanne Hyun, Hiu-Yee Kwan, Hei Sook Sul Cell 20 March, 2009 Volume 136, Issue 6, p1056 doi:10.1016/j.cell.2008.12.040    

Plasma selenium, manganese superoxide dismutase, and intermediate- or high-risk prostate cancer. Chan JM, Oh WK, Xie W, Regan MM, Stampfer MJ, King IB, Abe M, Kantoff PW. J Clin Oncol. 2009 Aug 1;27(22):3577-83. Epub 2009 Jun 15. PMID: 19528373 DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2008.18.8938 Conclusion: These data suggest that the relationship between circulating selenium levels at diagnosis and prognostic risk of prostate cancer is modified by SOD2 genotype and indicate caution against broad use of selenium supplementation for men with prostate cancer.

"MedWire News: High levels of selenium in the blood may worsen prostate cancer in some men who already have the disease, results of a US study suggest. In recent years, selenium supplements have been promoted as a means of preventing prostate cancer, largely based on observational studies that found higher prostate cancer incidence and mortality in geographical areas that are naturally low in selenium, compared with in those that are naturally high in the mineral. However, the current research findings suggest that "if you already have prostate cancer, it may be a bad thing to take selenium," said study researcher Dr Philip Kantoff, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, USA."

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that accelerates the rate at which your skin cells grow. An effective method to treat psoriasis is phototherapy or light therapy.

Psoriasis is an auto-immune illness that affects almost three percent of the world's population. People who suffer from psoriasis experience a great deal of skin irritation and discomfort.