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PubMed1999

Vegetarian food guide pyramid: a conceptual framework.

The purpose of this article and the accompanying vegetarian food guide pyramid graphic is to provide the conceptual framework for the development of a new and unique food guide. Food guides for vegetarians have tended to be adaptations of guides developed for the general nonvegetarian population instead of being designed to emphasize the healthy components of vegetarian dietary patterns. A subcommittee of the organizers of the Third International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition began a process that led to the development of a pyramid-shaped graphic illustration and a supporting document, both of which were introduced at the congress. The 5 major plant-based food groups (whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds) form the trapezoid-shaped lower portion of the pyramid. Optional food groups, which may be avoided by some vegetarians (vegetable oils, dairy, eggs, and sweets), form the smaller, separate, triangle-shaped top portion of the pyramid. The supporting document discusses the concepts that affect vegetarian food guidance and the rationale for selecting the food groups. It is hoped that this framework will provide the impetus for further research and discussion and will lead to the development of a guide that is nutritionally adequate, is conducive to good health, and can be adopted by vegetarians of diverse eating practices.

Diet, Vegetarian↗
PubMed2000

Rare Jatropha multifida intoxication in two children.

Two children were admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) after ingesting a large amount of fruit of a plant identified as Jatropha multifida. They were mildly obtunded, had intractable vomiting, and seemed dehydrated. Intravenous fluid replacement and urine alkalinization were initiated. After stabilization, their 5-day hospital stays were uneventful except for a subclinical rise of liver enzymes. Jatropha species contain the toxalbumin ricin, which causes severe vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration, shock, and renal and hepatic impairment. Ricin also has cardiotoxic and hemolytic effects and several deaths have been documented. Children are attracted by the shape and the color of the Jatropha fruits. Mortality can be prevented by immediate fluid and electrolyte replacement.

Child↗
PubMed2002

Developmental issues in attitudes to food and diet.

As a rule, children and most adults eat what they like and leave the rest. They like and consume foods high in fat and sugar. Parental behaviour shapes food acceptance, and early exposure to fruit and vegetables or to foods high in energy, sugar and fat is related to children's liking for, and consumption of, these foods. Some parents are imposing child-feeding practices that control what and how much children eat. However, over-control can be counter-productive, teaching children to dislike the very foods we want them to consume, and generally undermining self-regulation abilities. The external environment is also important, with concerns expressed about food advertising to children and girls dieting for an ideal thin body shape. Up to one-quarter of young adolescent girls report dieting to lose weight, their motivation driven by weight and shape dissatisfaction. For some, dieting and vegetarianism are intertwined and both legitimised as healthy eating. For others, striving for nutritional autonomy, the choice of less-healthy foods is not just because of their taste, but an act of parental defiance and peer solidarity. The determinants of what children choose to eat are complex, and the balance changes as children get older. A better understanding is crucial to informing how we might modify nutritional behaviour. Adults occupy a central position in this process, suggesting that children should be neither the only focus of nutritional interventions nor expected to solve the nutritional problems with which adults around them are continuing to fail.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Frugivory in polychrotid lizards: effects of body size.

As more data have become available on lizard diets in the past few decades, researchers have stressed the importance of lizards as pollinators and seed dispersers. Whereas large body size has been traditionally put forward as a major biological factor "allowing" herbivory and frugivory in lizards, a recent review of frugivory and seed dispersal by lizards showed that frugivory might be considered to be a typical island phenomenon, independent of body size. Here we show that frugivory is correlated with lizard body size among a group of syntopic Anolis species in Jamaica, with larger species eating more fruit. Additionally, the size of the fruits consumed is significantly related to lizard body size. Multiple regression analyses show that this is largely a pure body size effect as head shape or residual bite force are uncorrelated to overall fruit size. Moreover, we demonstrate that among polychrotid (Anolis-like) lizards in general, those that consume fruit are on average larger than those that do not. Lizards from the mainland were not significantly different in body size from island species. We thus suggest that fruit consumption in polychrotid lizards is mediated by large body size whether living on islands or not.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Preparation and promotion of fruit growth in kiwifruit of fluorinated N-phenyl-N'-1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl ureas.

Seventeen phenyl-fluorinated analogues of thidiazuron [N-phenyl-N'-(1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl)urea, TDZ] have been prepared and characterized. The effects of each fluorinated urea on growth and quality of kiwifruits (Actinidia deliciosa) were evaluated by comparison with untreated (control) and TDZ-treated fruits. The results obtained showed a clear dependence of the growth-promoting activity of these fluorinated ureas on the pattern and degree of fluorine substitution in the phenyl ring. The most effective for promoting fruit growth was N-(2,3,5,6-tetrafluorophenyl)-N'-(1',2',3'-thiadiazol-5'-yl)urea at 25 ppm (at harvest, treated fruits were 58% heavier than untreated ones) followed by N-(3,5-difluorophenyl)-N'-(1',2',3'-thiadiazol-5'-yl)urea at 10 ppm (50%). Comparatively, TDZ-treated fruits were 31% (10 ppm) and 38% (25 ppm) heavier than untreated ones. The results also indicate that the effects of the more active phenyl-fluorinated ureas on some standard quality parameters of fruits, for example, percent of fruit dry matter content, soluble solids contents, total titratable acids, shape, and internal structure, are similar to those of TDZ. Quantitative structure-activity relationships have been derived for the fruit growth promoting activity of the phenyl-fluorinated analogues of TDZ.

Actinidia↗
PubMed2006

Comparative population structure of Cynopterus fruit bats in peninsular Malaysia and southern Thailand.

The extent to which response to environmental change is mediated by species-specific ecology is an important aspect of the population histories of tropical taxa. During the Pleistocene glacial cycles and associated sea level fluctuations, the Sunda region in Southeast Asia experienced concurrent changes in landmass area and the ratio of forest to open habitat, providing an ideal setting to test the expectation that habitat associations played an important role in determining species' response to the opportunity for geographic expansion. We used mitochondrial control region sequences and six microsatellite loci to compare the phylogeographic structure and demographic histories of four broadly sympatric species of Old World fruit bats in the genus, Cynopterus. Two forest-associated species and two open-habitat generalists were sampled along a latitudinal transect in Singapore, peninsular Malaysia, and southern Thailand. Contrary to expectations based on habitat associations, the geographic scale of population structure was not concordant across ecologically similar species. We found evidence for long and relatively stable demographic history in one forest and one open-habitat species, and inferred non-coincident demographic expansions in the second forest and open-habitat species. Thus, while these results indicate that Pleistocene climate change did not have a single effect on population structure across species, a correlation between habitat association and response to environmental change was supported in only two of four species. We conclude that interactions between multiple factors, including historical and contemporary environmental change, species-specific ecology and interspecific interactions, have shaped the recent evolutionary histories of Cynopterus fruit bats in Southeast Asia.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Gamma-irradiated dry fruits. An example of a wide variety of long-time dependent EPR spectra.

EPR spectra of dry, sugar containing fruits--raisins, sultanas, figs, dates, peaches, blue plums and chokeberry recorded before and after irradiation with gamma-rays, are reported. It is shown that weak singlet EPR line with 2.0031+/-0.0005 can be recorded before irradiation of seeds, stones or skin of chokeberry, figs and raisins as well as flesh of blue plum, raisins and peaches. EPR signals of various shape are distinguished after irradiation in different parts of the fruits, as well as in randomly cut pieces of them: As a result, randomly cut pieces of dry fruits suitable for EPR studies, containing various constituents, exhibit different in shape and intensity EPR spectra. Kinetic studies followed for 1 year on the time stability of all reported EPR signals indicate that intensity ratio between the simultaneously appearing EPR signals in particular fruit varies from 1:20 immediately after irradiation to 1:0.5 at the end of the period. These observations open a new possibility for identification of irradiated fruits - using the magnitude of the intensity ratio to find the approximate date of radiation processing in the first ca. 30-100 days.

Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation↗
PubMed2005

External ultrastructure of fruit body initiation in Morchella.

The external morphological changes occurring during initiation and early stages of fruit body development of a Morchella sp., before the development of asci, were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Four stages of primordial development were distinguished. First, disk-shaped knots of 0.5-1.5 mm were observed on the surface of the substrate. Next, the knot inflated and a primordial stem emerged from its centre. Afterward, the stem lengthened, oriented upward, and two types of hyphal elements developed: long, straight and smooth basal hairy hyphae and short stem hyphae, some of which were inflated and projected out of a cohesive layer of tightly packed hyphal elements. Finally, when the stem was 2-3 mm long, pre-apothecia emerged in the apical end, with ridges and pits having distinguished types of paraphyses. Extracelluar mucilage covered the ridge layer and helped give the tissue its shape and rigidity.

Ascomycota↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Visualization of fruit scent using photoluminescence].

Photoluminescence with visible emission spectrum was observed and visualized at the surface of certain fruits. This photoluminescence is associated with vapors of natural organic volatiles (odorants) emitted from the fruit surface. The photoluminescence spectra of various fruits (apple, pear, kiwi, and strawberry) were measured in vivo using a number of fluorimetric methods. Fruit aging was found to be accompanied by modification of the photoluminescence spectrum shape and a noticeable increase in the photoluminescence intensity. Laser photoluminescence microscopy in vapors of fruit extracts and artificial compounds was used to assess the contribution of various substances to natural odor emission of fruits. The results of the study show that fluorimetry of odors is a promising method for studying fruits and other objects.

Fruit↗
PubMed2003

Molecular biodiversity. Case study: Porifera (sponges).

Biological diversity--or biodiversity--is the term given to the variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it forms. The biodiversity we see today is the fruit of billions of years of evolution, shaped by natural processes and, increasingly, by the influence of humans. It forms the web of life of which we are an integral part and upon which we so fully depend. The research on molecular biodiversity tries to lay the scientific foundation of a rational conservation policy that has its roots in various disciplines including systematics/taxonomy (species richness), present day ecology (diversity of ecological systems), and functional genetics (genetic diversity). The results of ongoing genome analyses (genome projects and expressed sequence tag projects) and the achievements of molecular evolution may allow us not only to quantitate the diversity of the present biota but also to extrapolate to their diversification in the future. A link between biodiversity and genomics/molecular evolution will create a platform which we hope may facilitate a sustainable management of organismic life and ensure its exploitation for human benefit. In the present review we outline possible strategies, using the Porifera (sponges) as a prominent example. On the basis of solid taxonomy and ecological data, the high value of this phylum for human application becomes obvious, especially with regard to the field of chemical ecology and the desire to find novel potential drugs for clinical use. In addition, the benefit of trying to make sense of molecular biodiversity using sponges as an example can be seen in the fact that the study of these animals, which are "living fossils", gives us a good insight into the history of our planet, especially with respect to the evolution of Metazoa.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2006

Locomotor behavior and long bone morphology in individual free-ranging chimpanzees.

We combine structural limb data and behavioral data for free-ranging chimpanzees from Taï (Ivory Coast) and Mahale National Parks (Tanzania) to begin to consider the relationship between individual variation in locomotor activity and morphology. Femoral and humeral cross sections of ten individuals were acquired via computed tomography. Locomotor profiles of seven individuals were constructed from 3387 instantaneous time-point observations (87.4 hours). Within the limited number of suitable chimpanzees, individual variation in locomotor profiles displayed neither clear nor consistent trends with diaphyseal cross-sectional shapes. The percentages of specific locomotor modes did not relate well to diaphyseal shapes since neither infrequent nor frequent locomotor modes varied consistently with shapes. The percentage of arboreal locomotion, rather than estimated body mass, apparently had comparatively greater biological relevance to variation in diaphyseal shape. The mechanical consequences of locomotor modes on femoral and humeral diaphyseal shapes (e.g., orientation of bending strains) may overlap between naturalistic modes more than currently is recognized. Alternatively, diaphyseal shape may be unresponsive to mechanical demands of these specific locomotor modes. More data are needed in order to discern between these possibilities. Increasing the sample to include additional free-ranging chimpanzees, or primates in general, as well as devoting more attention to the mechanics of a greater variety of naturalistic locomotor modes would be fruitful to understanding the behavioral basis of diaphyseal shapes.

Anatomy, Cross-Sectional↗
PubMed1991

Children's communicative abilities revisited: verbal versus perceptual disambiguating strategies in referential communication.

The way seven- and nine-year-old French children and adults interpret ambiguous object descriptions was studied in four experiments. All four experiments followed the same basic procedure and consisted of two phases. During the training phase, plastic blocks varying in shape, colour and size were associated with fruit names. Some objects were always given just one label, the generic term, whereas others could be given either the generic or the specific label. For example, large circles were referred to as 'pommes' ('apples'), and large blue circles as 'reinettes' (a kind of apple). Still others were given no name at all. During the test phase of the experiment, subjects were presented with referentially ambiguous messages and asked to point to a given object (Experiments 1, 2 and 3) or to draw an object (Experiment 4). The messages consisted of either a generic term preceded by an article (e.g. '(la pomme'-'the apple') or a verbal description based on a colour adjective (e.g. 'le bleu'-'the blue one'). When presented with the generic term, older children and adults persistently chose the object for which no specific term had been given during the training phase. When presented with an adjective description, they chose the referent for which no fruit name had been given during the training phase. Younger children's choices depended on whether the article preceding the description was definite or indefinite. These results are consistent with the Gricean approach to referential communication proposed by Jackson & Jacobs (1982) and with an extended version of the principle of contrast proposed by Clark (1987, 1988).

Child↗
PubMed1998

On a shared intergenerational experience--a short-term intervention with a Holocaust survivor as part of a lengthy course of therapy.

The article describes a short-term therapeutic relationship between a Holocaust survivor and a younger therapist, whose family members experienced the Holocaust themselves. It took place against the background of the patient's complex relationships with her parents and brother in the past, with her husband, daughters and grandchildren in the present, as well as of traumatic experiences during the Holocaust. The author relates in particular to the force and place of the thoughts, fantasies, memories and physical sensations that assailed him throughout the process in which he formulated the verbal interventions he found himself making. The purpose of this article is to emphasize the relational aspects of this therapeutic relationship and the fruitful intergenerational encounter and its role in shaping the nature of the therapeutic interaction.

Concentration Camps↗
PubMed2004

Intragenic spatial patterns of codon usage bias in prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes.

To study the roles of translational accuracy, translational efficiency, and the Hill-Robertson effect in codon usage bias, we studied the intragenic spatial distribution of synonymous codon usage bias in four prokaryotic (Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Sulfolobus tokodaii, and Thermotoga maritima) and two eukaryotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Drosophila melanogaster) genomes. We generated supersequences at each codon position across genes in a genome and computed the overall bias at each codon position. By quantitatively evaluating the trend of spatial patterns using isotonic regression, we show that in yeast and prokaryotic genomes, codon usage bias increases along translational direction, which is consistent with purifying selection against nonsense errors. Fruit fly genes show a nearly symmetric M-shaped spatial pattern of codon usage bias, with less bias in the middle and both ends. The low codon usage bias in the middle region is best explained by interference (the Hill-Robertson effect) between selections at different codon positions. In both yeast and fruit fly, spatial patterns of codon usage bias are characteristically different from patterns of GC-content variations. Effect of expression level on the strength of codon usage bias is more conspicuous than its effect on the shape of the spatial distribution.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Symmetry perception: a novel approach for biological shapes.

The majority of quantitative studies on symmetry perception have employed random dot patterns, yet symmetrical random patterns are not common in nature. Here we explore symmetry perception utilizing sums of radial frequency (RF) patterns to define complex shapes. When a pair of RF patterns with different frequencies are added, the relative phase of the two components provides a precise measure of the degree of deviation from bilateral symmetry. Sums of RF2-RF7 define such diverse biological shapes as human heads, animal heads, torsos, and many fruit, so discrimination of symmetries defined by these patterns is highly relevant to biological vision. Here we show that symmetry discrimination during brief presentations is best for RF2+RF3 but becomes impossible for RF2+RF7. Further experiments demonstrate that the underlying neural mechanisms differ from those involved in random dot symmetry detection. These results were used to predict symmetry thresholds for deviations from bilateral symmetry of head shapes based on a principal components analysis of 30 female heads. Human V4 is hypothesized to be the site for symmetry discrimination of RF patterns but not of random dot patterns.

Computer Graphics↗
PubMed2000

Social relationships and cardiovascular disease risk factors: findings from the third national health and nutrition examination survey.

Objective. Our aim was to study the associations between social relationships and several health behaviors in a national sample of the U.S. population. Methods. Using data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, which was conducted from 1988 to 1994, we examined the associations between the frequencies of organizational and individual relationships (derived from factor analysis) and cigarette smoking, not having had a blood pressure check during the preceding 12 months, not having had a cholesterol check, not engaging in physical activity, and eating fruits and vegetables fewer than five times per day among men and women aged 18 years and older. Results. After adjusting for age, sex, race, educational attainment, marital status, and employment status, increases in organizational relationships were associated with decreases in all five behaviors: significant inverse linear trends were noted only for smoking and physical activity. For individual relationships, significant inverse linear trends were noted for not having a blood pressure check within the previous 12 months, not having had a cholesterol check, and inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption. For physical inactivity, the shape of the relationship approximated a threshold response. For smoking, a significant positive linear trend was present. Conclusions. These results support findings from previous studies and indicate that social relationships have a beneficial effect on several behaviors that directly or indirectly affect the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Stressors and problem-solving: the individual as psychological activist.

Sociological researchers have tended to deemphasize the degree to which people are conscious, active agents in their own lives, focusing instead on factors which promote vulnerability to stress. But people are often motivated to act deliberately to resolve both acute and chronic role-related stressors. Thus, the relationship between stress experiences and negative psychological outcomes may be attributable primarily to stressors which individuals are unable to resolve. Using panel data on 532 married and divorced respondents in Indianapolis, I illustrate the effects of solved and unsolved problems (in the domains of work and love/marriage) on changes in psychological distress and substance use. People who failed to solve their job or love problems had more psychological symptoms, while the symptoms of successful problem-solvers did not differ from those of individuals whose situations were nonproblematic. Further exploratory analyses showed that the personality characteristics of mastery and self-esteem served to select individuals into--and out of--stressful circumstances, and that individuals were affected by the outcomes of problem-solving efforts in the work domain, or by attempts to solve problems in the love/marriage domain. These illustrative findings suggest that it can be theoretically and empirically fruitful to view individuals as agents making and shaping their lives, rather than primarily as passive subjects overwhelmed by situational stress.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

Manipulation of strawberry fruit softening by antisense expression of a pectate lyase gene.

Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa, Duch., cv Chandler) is a soft fruit with a short postharvest life, mainly due to a rapid lost of firm texture. To control the strawberry fruit softening, we obtained transgenic plants that incorporate an antisense sequence of a strawberry pectate lyase gene under the control of the 35S promoter. Forty-one independent transgenic lines (Apel lines) were obtained, propagated in the greenhouse for agronomical analysis, and compared with control plants, non-transformed plants, and transgenic lines transformed with the pGUSINT plasmid. Total yield was significantly reduced in 33 of the 41 Apel lines. At the stage of full ripen, no differences in color, size, shape, and weight were observed between Apel and control fruit. However, in most of the Apel lines, ripened fruits were significantly firmer than controls. Six Apel lines were selected for further analysis. In all these lines, the pectate lyase gene expression in ripened fruit was 30% lower than in control, being totally suppressed in three of them. Cell wall material isolated from ripened Apel fruit showed a lower degree of in vitro swelling and a lower amount of ionically bound pectins than control fruit. An analysis of firmness at three different stages of fruit development (green, white, and red) showed that the highest reduction of softening in Apel fruit occurred during the transition from the white to the red stage. The postharvest softening of Apel fruit was also diminished. Our results indicate that pectate lyase gene is an excellent candidate for biotechnological improvement of fruit softening in strawberry.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens↗