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When parents of boys do not enjoy parenthood or do not spend a lot of time playing or talking with them, their sons may be more likely to use guns in adolescence, a US study suggests. 

Among 503 teen boys in Pittsburgh public schools, one in five reported carrying a gun at some point during adolescence, researchers found. 

Parental disengagement — caregivers who did not play with kids, participate in daily activities, discuss things with children or enjoy parenting — was directly linked to teen gun carrying. 

Some of this connection — about 29 per cent — could be explained by related factors like childhood behaviour problems or friendships with delinquent children, the study found. 

“One reason that disengaged parenting in childhood promoted gun carrying in adolescence is that parenting in childhood sets the stage for conduct problems and delinquent peer networks to emerge in early adolescence, and these early adolescent risk factors place youth at risk for gun carrying in later adolescence,” said study leader Jordan Beardslee of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University in Phoenix. 

“However, only some of the effect of parental disengagement was due to the emergence of early externalising problems and early affiliation with delinquent peers,” Beardslee said by e-mail. “The remaining impact of parental disengagement could be due to continuity of parenting practices in later adolescence or to... factors in adolescence.” 

More than 7,000 youth are injured or killed by guns in the US each year, Beardslee and colleagues note in “Paediatrics”. 

Teens who live in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, have behaviour problems or have friends who get into trouble at school or with law enforcement are more likely to carry guns, previous research has found. But less is known about which childhood experiences might contribute to adolescent gun violence. 

Almost all teen gun use involves boys, and the current study focused only on males. 

Starting when boys were about seven and a half, researchers surveyed them every six months for four years and then annually for nine years. The boys reported any gun carrying, as well as exposure to peer violence, theft or drug dealing. 

During the earlier years of the study, researchers also surveyed parents about engagement levels. During adolescence, researchers surveyed teachers about any conduct or behaviour problems they observed. 

The study was not designed to prove whether parenting styles directly impact the risk of teen gun carrying, and it also did not examine whether having weapons on hand might lead to firing these weapons. 

Even so, previous research suggests that childrens’ relationships with their parents can impact their success in school and the odds that they will get into trouble or have friends who are a bad influence and encourage antisocial behaviours, said Alex Piquero, a professor of criminology at the University of Texas at Dallas who was not involved in the study. 

“This study clearly shows that strained parent-child relationships early in life lead to a myriad of negative behaviours that ultimately lead to an increased risk for gun carrying,” Piquero said by e-mail. “It shows the long-term damage that parental disengagement has on their children and others around them.” 

This also means parents can play an outsize role in preventing teen weapon use, Piquero said. 

“The take-home message for parents could not be clearer: monitor your children’s behaviour, develop strong emotional and interpersonal connections with them, and help establish their ability to control their impulses and consider the long-term outcomes of their decisions,” Piquero advised. “The earlier and more frequently that parents can do this, the better for their children and their children’s long-term life success.” 

Children who see young social media influencers promote junk food may consume more unhealthy calories, a new study suggests. 

Advertising aimed at children has long been linked to an increased risk that children will make unhealthy food choices and press their parents to buy them more processed, sugary and calorie-loaded foods. Studies also suggest children can be easily swayed to try junk food endorsed by celebrities and cartoon characters. Less clear, however, is how their eating habits are impacted by social media influencers. 

For the current study, researchers in the UK recruited 176 children, ages nine to 11, and showed them Instagram profiles for two of their age group’s most popular YouTube video bloggers. The children were randomly assigned to view three types of Instagram profiles: healthy food marketing, junk food promotions or endorsements unrelated to food. 

After children saw the Instagram profiles, researchers served four snacks — jelly candy, chocolate buttons, carrots and seedless white grapes — and let kids eat as much as they wanted for 10 minutes. None of these foods were the same items kids saw on Instagram. 

On average, children who saw junk food promotions consumed 448 calories, compared with 389 calories for children who saw healthy food marketing and 357 for those who did not see any food promotions, the study found. 

While all of the children ate much more candy than carrots or grapes, kids who saw junk food promotions consumed more sweets than the other children: An average of 385 calories compared with 320 calories for kids who saw healthy food marketing and 292 calories for those who did not see food promotions. 

“Children look to social media for role models, and are likely to imitate the behaviour of media characters that they look up to and admire,” said lead study author Anna Coates of the University of Liverpool in the UK. 

“Unlike adults, children are more impulsive and are less motivated to resist food marketing as they are not driven by long term health goals,” Coates said by e-mail. 

One of the YouTube stars shown to children in the study was a 26-year-old female with about 12.1 million subscribers on YouTube; the other was a 23-year-old male with about 4.1 million subscribers. 

There was not a meaningful difference in the total calories consumed or the amount of candy eaten by children who saw healthy food promotions or no food marketing at all, researchers report in “Paediatrics”.

One limitation of the study is that many of the children were already familiar with the two video bloggers featured in the experiment, and it is possible that their food choices were impacted by how much they liked or disliked these “vloggers” before they joined the study, researchers note. 

Another drawback is that the experiment did not look at how children may actually engage with social media content, the study authors note. It didn’t assess how children might be influenced by content “liked” or shared by their friends in the real world.

Even so, the results offer fresh evidence of how social media can negatively impact childrens’ eating habits, said Jennifer Harris of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.

“We already knew that food companies spend a lot of money to popular social media influencers to appeal to teens and increase the ‘cool’ factor for their products,” Harris, who was not involved in the study, said by e-mail. “But this is the first study to show that this type of marketing increases children’s consumption of any available junk food — not just the advertised products.”

I’m sure we all like to unwind after a long day by watching our preferred action drama series. Whether it’s the romantic entanglements between the characters, the fight sequences or the mystery solving, one gets a dose of entertainment and escape.

But add a school for assassins in to the mix and you have a perfect setting that intensifies the experience. Which brings me to a new series released and still running called “Deadly Class”. Based on the comic book series of the same name, created by Miles Orion Feldsott and Rick Remender, and aired on the SYFY channel, it is one of the most promising series presented this year. 

The story takes place during the 1980s in San Francisco where an orphaned homeless young teen Marcus Lopez, played by relative newcomer Benjamin Wadsworth (“Teen Wolf”), disillusioned by the state of the world gets recruited by the mysterious Master Lin, played by Benedict Wong (“Doctor Strange”, “Avengers: Infinity Wars”), to go to a school for the deadly arts called Kings Dominion. 

He quickly finds out that it is not easy to hold on to his moral code while being targeted by the schools different factions and learning the violent curriculum required. Marcus joins a group of fellow misfits and social rejects in the school that band together to survive the trials ahead. At every turn he must fight to survive and defend the people he cares for the most.

Saya Kuroki, played by the talented Lana Condor (“X-Men: Apocalypse”, “Alita: Battle Angel”), both a trainee for the Japanese criminal organisation, the Yakuza, and part of the merry band of outsiders, keeps a distant eye on Marcus as he navigates through the schools social structure while keeping her growing feelings for him a secret due to the schools dominant politics. 

Each character is well formed and has an interesting backstory which is explored in every episode which makes you feel and empathise for each character, and understand the complex and colourful histories that put them on the path to Kings Dominion. 

The interactions between these wonderful characters feels natural and drizzled with instances of comedy that mix well with the serious, dark and gruesome moments.

The show’s costumes bring the punk rock anti-establishment rebel fashion back in style along with other diverse attires of the era while the set designs bring the Reagan 80s back to life, with the still-ongoing Cold War which makes its presence known in Kings Dominion. Nothing seems out of place or out of time as the show fully commits to the authenticity of the period that only manages to complement the amazing story.

The series is filled with the right mix of drama, action and romance expected from a young adult series. It does not bore you by lingering in a moment too long, but is choreographed in such a way that keeps you interested in the characters and focused on the story being told. Most importantly, I think, the story of “Deadly Class” is a fresh idea and concept that has not been explored to death yet, which makes it stand alone among other series. 

The first season has not ended yet so you still have time to catch up, but in my opinion, from what I have seen, I would say there is a high chance that it will gain lots of fans by the time the season is over. So if you are looking for a new show to add to your list of good entertainment, I suggest you consider “Deadly Class” as one of them.

The old stereotype of a heart attack patient being a middle-aged man no longer applies. Young women are now joining those unwanted ranks.

American women are increasingly susceptible to heart disease at a younger age — and they are getting inferior care compared to men, a recent study shows.

A report in the American Heart Association’s journal “Circulation” revealed the rate of patients ages 35-54 who were hospitalised with heart attacks in the US increased from 27 per cent in 1995-1999 to 32 per cent between 2010-2014.

Among those, the incidence for women rose from 21 per cent to 31 per cent, compared with men going up from 30 to 33 per cent.

Just as strikingly, women are less likely to receive guidance-based treatment when they suffer these life-threatening incidents because they often do not fit the profile of a patient in cardiac distress.

“The ever-deteriorating lifestyle of the American populace, with obesity and diabetes, is changing the face of medicine,’’ said Joseph A. Hill, a University of Texas professor of medicine and editor-in-chief of “Circulation”. “We’re seeing lifestyle deterioration in younger women starting in college. The face of cardiovascular disease in our society is changing.’’

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, every year about 735,000 people in the US have a heart attack — an episode where the heart muscle does not get enough blood flow. Heart disease is the nation’s number one  killer, claiming about 635,000 lives a year and accounting for one of every four deaths for both men and women.

But while women typically develop heart disease 10 years later, and are believed to get a protective benefit from hormones released during the menstrual cycle, the latest study indicates they are now at risk at a younger age.

The CDC says only about half the women realise heart disease is their most likely cause of death, 10 times more so than breast cancer.

“We have to recognise that, now in 2019, women in their 30s have heart disease, whereas 20-30 years ago that was quite rare,’’ Hill said. “The changes that have occurred in the last 20 years are astonishing.’’

The study looked at nearly 29,000 hospitalisations for heart attacks from 1995-2014 at four spots in the nation, in Washington County, Maryland; Jackson, Mississippi; Forsyth County, North Carolina and the Minneapolis suburbs.

The patients ranged in age from 35-74 and the group considered young — 35-54 — made up 8,737 of the total hospitalisations, or 30 per cent.

Harlan Krumholz, professor of cardiology at Yale University, said the study has some limitations in part because its last data point was gathered more than four years ago, but it provides an important warning nonetheless.

“This study is a signal flare that we need to double down on promoting healthy heart lifestyles and preventive strategies — and, in particular, focus on younger women,’’ Krumholz said. “We may be in danger of losing the substantial gains we have made in earlier decades.’’

Researchers also found young women were less likely to receive treatments to open clogged arteries or to be recommended blood-thinners and cholesterol medication to prevent a future heart attack.

Hill and Krumholz emphasised the disparities in treatment were not due to intentional discrimination, but rather the occasional differences in symptoms between men and women experiencing what is known as an acute myocardial infarction or, more likely, different expectations from health providers.

Krumholz pointed out that when he was in med school and the lesson was about heart attacks, the images used to illustrate them always showed men.

“When doctors see young women with risk factors, they are not necessarily thinking of them as being at high risk for heart disease. In general, that is not the typical profile,’’ Krumholz said.

“We have to get it out of our minds that there is a typical profile. In a society where obesity is getting more common and many of these risk factors are returning, if we continue to gain weight, that is going to complicate our risk for heart disease.’’

A seminal comeback car for American luxury car maker Lincoln, the re-born Continental first debuted in 2017 touting a “quiet luxury” approach to the premium automotive segment with an emphasis on comfort, interior appointment and meticulous attention to detail.

Harking back to the Continental nameplate’s service as a car fit for presidents and kings, and a long line of Lincoln US presidential state cars from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George H.W. Bush, the current Lincoln Continental Presidential is the model’s and brand’s flagship offering with top spec refinement, materials, design, equipment, technology, safety and drivetrain.

A modern interpretation of the American luxury car, the yet stately looking Continental ostensibly competes against the likes of the handsome yet anonymous Cadillac CT6 and fashionably unconventional electric Tesla Model S. Its tastefully opulent and seemingly well-constructed cabin and superb refinement — especially in Presidential guise, as test — are more reminiscent of a European luxury saloon. Given its particular emphasis of a classy yet contemporary cabin, transverse turbocharged engine, front-drive derived four-wheel-drive and confident driving dynamic, the Continental Presidential seems to better resemble a distinctly American flavoured take on an Audi or Volvo.

Sleek and swift

Styled with a sleek and aerodynamically yet unapologetic saloon car body with a level waistline and big grille treatment taking centre stage — like they do at Audi too — the production Continental may seem slightly taller and conventional, but closely interprets the low, wide and stylishly modern Continental concept circa 2015. Designed with smooth flowing lines featuring subtly muscular rear haunches, full-length ridge across its flank and tapered in rear quarter and descending boot, the Continental well reconciles a conservative saloon design with contemporary elements, and features huge standard multi-spoke 20-inch wheels in Presidential guise.

Featuring slim full-length rear and browed front lights, the Continental Presidential is powered by punchy twin-turbocharged 3-litre direct injection V6 engine positioned behind its wide chrome honeycomb grille. An efficient and effective power unit in place of yesteryear Continentals’ big displacement V8s, the Presidential’s range-topping V6 develops and even 400BHP at 5750rpm and 400lb/ft torque at 2750rpm, driving all four wheels through a 6-speed push-button operated automatic gearbox. Responsive and quick from standstill, with short gasflow turbo piping and tenacious traction, the Continental Presidential blitzes through 0-100km/h in an estimated 5.5-seconds despite a hefty 2,062kg mass.

Thrusts and peaks

Regardless of Lincoln’s overt emphasis on “quiet luxury” being its chief selling point over performance, the Continental Presidential is nevertheless an effortlessly rapid and confident mover. Its 3-litre V6 is a gem among modern turbo engines, with particularly good low-end response and broad rich torque-rich mid-range complemented by a sense of urgent and punchy delivery afforded by having torque peak at a specific point rather than over a flat wide band. Similarly athletic, intense and seemingly relentless as it reaches for its relatively low-revving peak power point with a subdued snarl, its delivery is otherwise smooth and quiet. 

Quick and confident accumulating pace and settled, stable and refined at speed, its generous thrust works well with its smooth and slick shifting 6-speed gearbox, and doesn’t seem to quite need a more closely spaced 10-speed gearbox like its in-line engine Navigator stable-mate, despite the latter being smoother shifting and having a broader range of ratios for performance and efficiency benefits. Effectively putting power to ground through all four wheels, the Continental Presidential generates plenty of traction for all-weather driving and seeming bolts away from standstill without torque-steer and eagerly pounces out of corners.

Control and commitment

Developing a very high level of lateral grip through fast sweeping corners and tighter bends owing to its four-wheel-drive, sticky 245/40R20 tyres and long wheelbase, the Continental Presidential also proved to be unexpectedly nimble during test drive on mostly smooth straights and fast curved roads. With light, quick and direct steering mated with taut front grip and good body control from its adaptive MacPherson strut front and integral-link rear suspension, it well reconciles lateral body control with ride comfort, it remains settled and stable over imperfections and only feels slightly firm over jagged low speed bumps, where it would benefit from high profile tyres.

A surprisingly but pleasantly agile car that seems to shrink around the driver in most circumstances, the Continental’s size, length and weight are, however, more clearly evident through very tight, narrow and slower corners where under-steer can elicit electronic stability intervention, and where it is not designed to easily shift weight like a smaller, lighter and nimbler sports car that it doesn’t seek to emulate. Thoroughly insulated and refined from harshness, noise and vibration inside like a true luxury car, the Continental provides a solid and stately feel, but remains a more direct and connected drive than can be expected of such a car, and doesn’t feel disconnected.

Indulgent interior

Refined, spacious and comfortable for front and rear passengers alike, the Presidential puts particular emphasis on the rear seat experience than garden variety Continentals, and features standard 40/20/40 split massaging, reclining, heated and ventilated rear seats with 4-way lumbar support, inflatable seat belts and fold-down centre armrest with various controls. Front occupants meanwhile benefit from Lincoln’s 30-way adjustable massaging seats with split backrest adjustability. Supportive, comfortable and ensconcing, the Continental’s good driving position is complemented by good visibility for a car of this size owing to a level waistline and slightly descending, yet generously sized boot. 

Indulgently luxurious yet elegantly classy, the Presidential is offered in three interior themes from luscious and rich old school to a fresh, cool and modern styling, and incorporates high grade leathers, wood and metals, including a suede-like roof lining. Sensibly styled with user-friendly minimalism and subtle harmonisation, the Presidential is probably the classiest contemporary American car inside, and features seemingly through build quality and soft textures and materials in prominent places. Thoroughly well-equipped with convenience, comfort, safety and driver assistance systems including voice-activated infotainment, heads-up display, 360 degree reversing camera and 19-speaker sound system, it also includes pedestrian detection, active park assist, lane-keeping, adaptive cruise control, and blindspot warning systems.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: 3-litre, all-aluminium, twin-turbocharged, in-line V6-cylinders
• Bore x stroke: 85.4 x 86mm
• Compression ratio: 9.5:1
• Valve-train: 24-valve, DOHC, variable valve timing, direct injection
• Gearbox: 6-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive
• Ratios: 1st 4.48; 2nd 2.87; 3rd 1.84; 4th 1.41; 5th 1.0; 6th 0.74
• Reverse/final drive: 2.88/3.39
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 400 (405) [298] @5,750rpm
• Specific power: 135.3BHP/litre
• Power-to-weight: 194BHP/tonne
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 400 (542) @2,750rpm
• Specific torque: 183.3Nm/litre
• Torque-to-weight: 262.8Nm/tonne
• 0-100km/h: 5.5-seconds (estimate)
• Length: 5,115mm
• Width, including mirrors: 2,090mm
• Height: 1,938mm
• Wheelbase: 2,994mm
• Track, F/R: 1,605/1,628mm 
• Legroom, F/R: 1,127/1,049mm
• Luggage volume: 500-litres
• Fuel capacity: 68-litres
• Kerb weight: 2,062kg
• Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion
• Turning circle: 12.73-metres
• Suspension, F/R: MacPherson struts/integral-link, anti-roll bars, adaptive dampers
• Brakes: Ventilated discs, 350mm/discs, 345
• Brake calipers, F/R; Twin/single
• Tyres: 245/40R20

By Ayah Murad

Clinical Dietician

Many people who set out on a diet automatically feel like they are depriving themselves and their bodies of food they want. This is why two out of every five people on a diet quit in the first seven days. Here is how to avoid being one of them!

People tend to quit early on because they concentrate too much on making diet mistakes and forget about the lifestyle changes. Creating healthier habits instead of jumping from one diet or dietician to another is a better way to get rid of that belly around your waist.

The scale is not your key to weight loss success

Our body is composed of bones, muscles, fat and water. When you lose weight, your body composition should be the main focus of weight loss. One study of 200 dieters showed that those who exercised lost less weight than those who dieted without exercise but those who dieted alone could not maintain the weight loss for more than a month while those who dieted with exercise maintained their weight loss for more than three months. That was all linked to the body composition of higher water percentage and muscle mass to fat percentage. 

Do not hesitate in taking the decision

Many people say that they will start their diet on a Monday or after the holidays. That is stalling. If it is really important to you, you would start in a heartbeat. No need to even wait until you buy certain ingredients — see what is available in your fridge and pantry and start now!

Eating habits do not change overnight

Make incremental changes and find suitable substitutions. Small changes over time can yield huge positive results. For example, eating yoghurt three times a day can help you reduce half a kilo of fat per month (it helps increase body fat breakdown and preserve your metabolism).

Weight loss can take time and that is okay!

It is totally okay not to lose weight immediately. Setting some realistic goals means not looking at the bulk number of your weight (do not even weigh yourself more than once a week). Your weight is just a number on the scale that can change according to the atmospheric pressure and differs with the type of scale and many countless other reasons. Bottom line? Do not judge the success of your diet plan on a number. 

Losing unreasonable amount of weight in a short time is dangerous

This will only end up frustrating you. If you do not see results within the time frame of your tight schedule, you will likely end up unconsciously sabotaging your weight loss efforts. Make short-term commitments like losing half a kilogramme per week, then 10 within a month.

Go easy on yourself!

Do not make your new diet too strict and restrictive. Try to find substitutions and compromise between your wants and needs, do’s and don’ts. If your favourite treat is ice cream, try to bring your own frozen fruits and mix them in a blender with a bit of yoghurt — it does not have added gelatine or unnecessary sugars. Plus, enjoy your favourite ice cream from time to time as deprivation is synonymous to failure. Tip: go out for the ice cream instead of bringing it home as you are likely to have a more reasonable portion size that way!

Making one poor choice is not end of the world

It will not ruin your entire diet if you eat that cookie or that piece of chocolate. Your goal should be to make better choices, not perfect ones. Focus on the positive changes you are making in your eating habits and give yourself credit for making changes that ensure better health. 

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

Belt and Road: A Chinese World Order

Bruno Macaes

London: Hurst & Co., 2018

Pp. 203

By explaining the Chinese mega-project called Belt and Road, scholar Bruno Macaes touches on the vast, fast-paced changes that are sweeping the world today. These changes are not only technology-driven, though technology certainly plays a crucial role, but the big shift is in the centre of gravity of world power, economic and eventually political.

With the US seemingly in decline, “new powers have been emerging in Asia that can no longer be seen as pale or imperfect copies of Western society. With the disappearance of the old ideological battle lines and the establishment of new economic links, a new geographic entity started to emerge: Eurasia, the supercontinent extending from Lisbon to Shanghai or even Jakarta”. (p. 2)

China’s growing economic power is an essential part of the engine driving this new reality, and its Belt and Road plan seeks to capitalise on it. Already, “Eurasian trade in goods is now close to $2 trillion each year, consistently more than double the volume of Transatlantic trade and significantly more than Transpacific trade.” (p. 3)

The author was previously Portugal’s Europe minister and is now attached to several US think tanks and Renmin University in China, as well as being a frequent commentator for major international media. His previous book was “The Dawn of Eurasia”, so one can see that this is a subject in which he has great interest and, presumably, expertise. This time he tackles it from the Chinese vantage point.

While Belt and Road has been dubbed the modern Silk Road, it is so much more. While the latter was basically a trade route, Belt and Road sets the parameters for building major industrial zones (belts), connecting them by rail, road and sea with new transportation routes, and providing other infrastructure that will make this system fast and productive.

By developing previously remote areas and linking them to the global market, this plan would change the lives of millions of people previously on the margins or left out of globalisation. In fact, one of the attractions of Belt and Road for developing countries is China’s success in pulling hundreds of millions out of poverty as the country swiftly modernised. Central Asia in particular will be radically transformed if the Chinese plans are implemented.

In the author’s view, “The best image of the Belt and Road is not the trains crossing the Eurasian supercontinent, or the ports and industrial parks opening up along the way. It’s the cities being built up from scratch. These are what will change the physical and human landscape of the planet, creating new ways of life, new ideas, new adventures.” (p. 151)

Macaes examines Belt and Road from many angles, such as how it embodies the Chinese philosophy of Tianxia, which stresses interdependence, cooperation and shared destiny, as opposed to what the Chinese view as the chaos and conflict of today’s world under Western leadership. Belt and Road can also be seen as the next stage of China’s trajectory from originally wanting to foment revolution, to learning from developed countries in order to modernize, to integration into the global economy and the adoption of a more active foreign policy strategy. 

There are many examples of how Belt and Road would benefit China’s economy, as well as the reservations of other countries — India, the US, EU and others. Some of the reservations are related to the fact that Belt and Road will mainly be financed by Chinese loans to the countries concerned, which raises fears of saddling developing countries with an unwieldy debt burden. Other negative reactions come from countries that simply don’t want to cede to Chinese power, for it is clear that: “Whoever is able to build and control the infrastructure linking the two ends of Eurasia will rule the word”. (p. 3)

Less self-serving would be objections to the security system planned for Belt and Road. Macaes reports that “Frontier Services Group, the security services firm founded by Erik Prince, former Blackwater chief… is actively working with China on Belt and Road projects”, perhaps hoping for a rebirth after Blackwater’s fiascos in Iraq, but more likely just to make money. (p. 128)

Another concern might be the environmental effects of such a huge undertaking, which the author says little about.

Despite reservations, the project is definitely expanding as seen in the fact that about one hundred countries have signed agreements with China on projects related to Belt and Road.

This book is interesting to read because the author has an engaging, animated writing style. Though Belt and Road is essentially an economic project, the book is written so that non-experts can understand it. It is recommended reading for those who are curious about who will rule the world when the US empire recedes.

Yet another benefit of eating a diet containing high amounts of wholegrains may be a reduced risk of liver cancer, a new US study suggests. 

The analysis of data on more than 125,000 men and women followed for an average of 24 years found that those who ate the most wholegrains had nearly 40 per cent lower odds of developing liver cancer compared with those who ate the least. 

There were just 141 cases of liver cancer in the study group, though, so more research is needed to determine why wholegrains might be protective, the researchers note in “JAMA Network Open”. 

Although deadly, liver cancer is relatively rare in the US, said senior study author Xuehong Zhang of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. 

“The low number of cases is primarily because of the very low incidence of liver cancer in the United States [less than 5 per 100,000 individuals] although the incidence has been rapidly increasing in the past decades,” Zhang told Reuters Health. “As expected, we have documented no more than 200 [liver cancer] cases, despite the large sample size and long-term follow-up periods.” 

The researchers suspected that wholegrains might be protective against liver cancer because grains have been found to improve a number of well-known risk factors for the disease, Zhang said in an e-mail. 

“Consumption of wholegrains and dietary fibre, especially cereal fibre, have been associated with lower risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which are known predisposing factors for [liver cancer],” Zhang said. “Besides improving insulin sensitivity, metabolic regulation and decreasing systemic inflammation, intake of wholegrains and dietary fibre may improve gut integrity, and alter gut microbiota composition, thereby leading to increased production of microbiota-related metabolites including short-chain fatty acids, particularly butyrate.” 

To look at the possible impact of wholegrains, Zhang’s team examined data gathered in two long-term studies of nurses and other health professionals. Along with a host of other health measurements, the 125,455 participants had filled-out detailed descriptions of their diets approximately once every four years. 

When it came to wholegrains, even those who ate the most consumed only about 33.28 grammes per day, Zhang’s team found. The researchers divided participants into five groups based on their average intake of wholegrains, as well as components of whole grain, bran and germ. They also looked at total dietary fibre from cereal grains, fruits and vegetables. 

After accounting for factors such as age, BMI, physical activity, smoking, type 2 diabetes, alcohol consumption and aspirin use, the researchers found that those who consumed the most wholegrains were 37 per cent less likely to develop liver cancer compared with those who consumed the least. 

Liver cancer risk was also reduced among those who ate the most bran, but not those who had the highest germ consumption. The same was true for the highest cereal grain intake, but not for fruit and vegetable fibre.

Outside experts said that with such a small number of cancers it is hard to have a lot of confidence in the association found by the researchers. 

Moreover, those who consumed the most wholegrains were also the healthiest study participants overall, said Robert Brown of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Centre in New York City. 

They “had lower BMI, engaged in more physical activity, consumed less alcohol, were less likely to be smokers, were more likely to use aspirin and tended to have higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, total folate, multivitamin and dietary vitamin, but less fat, compared to participants who took in the least”, Brown said in an e-mail. 

Beyond that, Mariana Lazo of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore noted, “it’s important to be very cautious in singling out particular food items”. 

While the study is not strong enough to spark new recommendations with respect to liver cancer and wholegrains, “given the overall benefits of wholegrains relative to refined grains, shifting your diet away from processed grains is likely helpful to all people, including those at risk for liver cancer”, Brown said. 

Parents who are very controlling when interacting with their infants may increase the likelihood that their babies tune in to angry voices, a new study shows. 

When babies heard recordings of angry voices, an area of the brain involved in processing emotional vocalisations responded more sharply in infants with mothers and fathers who practiced more “directive” parenting, according to the study published in “PLoS ONE”. 

“The take-home message from this study is that strength of a six-month-old baby’s brain response to angry voices may be shaped by early parenting experiences, namely of ‘directive’ parenting”, said the study’s lead author Chen Zhao, who was a researcher at the University of Manchester in the UK when the study was conducted. 

“By ‘directive’ we mean it in a very specific sense, that is, the extent to which a parent tends to behave and/or comment in ways that control or restrict their baby’s involvement in play or communication. In the way we measured it in our study, such behaviours can be a subtle yet consistent pattern and may or may not involve the voice,” Zhao said in an e-mail. “For example, small but repeated intrusions by holding a toy close to the baby’s face or repeatedly calling for the baby’s attention.” 

It comes down to how often people go with this type of parenting style Zhao said. “We may infer that parents who habitually use directive style [as compared to those who don’t] may in everyday life also be quicker to express negative vocal emotions in order to elicit what they view as ‘desired’ behaviour from their baby.” 

Zhao and her colleagues studied the effects of parenting in 29 mother-child pairs. Mothers and six-month old infants were watched during play sessions and the mothers were rated on how often demands, intrusions and/or critical comments occurred. “Babies who experience what we call a directive style of parenting are likely to feel limited or restricted in what they can do, express and/or contribute to play.” 

Next, the researchers asked mothers to hold their babies on their laps while pre-recorded, non-speech vocalisations that were angry, happy or neutral were played. 

Since MRIs are loud and intrusive, the researchers turned to another technology to peer into the babies’ brains. Known as functional ‘Near Infrared Spectroscopy’, the technique measures blood flow to cortical areas of the brain. It involves a device that is “safe and portable and looks like a little cap placed on the baby’s head”, Zhao explained. 

The research shows that baby brains react more strongly to angry voices when their parents are more “intrusive and demanding”, Zhao said. Other research has shown that more sensitive parenting that is responsive to the baby’s needs and interests has a positive influence on language development, but it may also have an impact on how the baby processes emotional tones, she added. 

The new study is “really cool”, said Nathalie Maitre, a specialist in child brain development at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “It’s really critical that researchers start looking at the ways that babies’ brains respond not just to sound, but also to the emotional envelope that surrounds that sound,” Maitre said. 

“These researchers were able to measure in real time how these babies were perceiving angry, happy or neutral sounds — that’s something that is needed in the field of developmental neuroscience in infants.” 

The impact of the Internet on our lives is such that it cannot be exactly estimated, measured or defined; this much is understood. There is another side of it that is as important as, if not more than, the Internet infrastructure itself – it is the mobile Internet. And this one is growing at incredible speed, with new applications and functionalities added, practically on a daily basis. A tangible proof of this world-changing, massive, global trend, is the Mobile World Congress (MWC) that was held this week in Barcelona, Spain, and that ended on Thursday.

Long gone are the days when mobile devices were used just to make phone calls. The number of applications on the Android operating system alone has crossed the 2.6 million landmark. It is overwhelming, by any measure. Even if you consider that a given batch of about 100 apps do more or the less the same thing, this still leaves about 250,000 different applications covering anything your imagination can think of.

The MWC in Spain has attracted more than 100,000 visitors. This is huge, by any standards, especially when you know that attendance was only possible on invitation, or upon buying a business pass at prices ranging from 800 to 5,000 euros apiece! Indeed, this is a highly professional, international gathering, not the kind of open exhibition where you go with kids and family to have fun, drink a soda, collect some colourful brochures and try to grab give-away gifts.

Whereas the term “mobile” would first make you think of smartphones and tablets, the concept has now extended well beyond these devices. At the MWC you could understandably see the impressive booths of Samsung, Huawei and the like, but also those of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other carmakers, for instance. This in no way means that the celebrated German car manufacturers are changing their plans and are now designing smartphones, but simply that mobile applications are everywhere, in virtually any manufactured machine, device or appliance.

Actually the automotive world is a prime place where countless, highly critical mobile applications are being implemented. This ranges from integrated GPS and mapping, to engine management and remote troubleshooting (and eventually repair…) of any problem or malfunction that could affect your car.

Intelligent Connectivity, 5G mobile networking, AI (Artificial Intelligence), Amazon Entertainment, Humanoid Robots, Mind Hygiene and Economic Gaming are only some of the fascinating, avant-garde topics that were the subject of lectures and conferences during the congress.

The number of exhibitors was in the hundreds, with all the big names in the IT industry participating, as well as many from most other industries too, since there is now hardly any sector that is not using mobile networking or that is involved one way or another in the matter.

Among the Jordanian participants, the presence of ProgressSoft Corporation was particularly remarkable. The leading, innovative and pioneering Jordanian company is “a global provider of real-time payment solutions serving 370 banks, central banks, mobile network operators and financial institutions in 24 countries across the globe”. ProgressSoft was there with an impressive group of its top management and its business development staff, to showcase its know-how and top mobile payment products.

Whereas the core infrastructure of the Internet is mainly cabled, with fibre-optic technology essentially, actual usage by the consumer is going mobile everywhere, especially at the individual level, with the trend continuing, unabated.