Public Health

People who experience trauma in childhood are more likely to pick up dangerous habits like smoking and contract lung cancer later in life as a result, say the authors of a new study in BMC Public Health. The researchers note, however, that the link is only partly explained by raised rates of cigarette smoking in victims of childhood trauma, suggesting that other factors may also be to blame. Adverse event information was collected from 17,337 people between 1995 and 1997. Brown and his colleagues followed up on the medical records of these same people to study lung cancer rates in 2005.…

Based on the considerable developments in biotechnology, plant breeders developed more efficient selection systems to replace traditional phenotypic-pedigree-based selection systems. Conventional breeding is time consuming and much dependent on the environmental conditions. Breeding a new variety takes between eight to twelve years and even then the release of an improved variety cannot be guaranteed. Hence, breeders are extremely interested in new technologies that could make this procedure more efficient. Molecular marker technology offers such a possibility by adopting a wide range of…

Children have a reputation for driving their parents crazy, so chances are that most people don't become parents for the health benefits. But maybe they should. According to a study conducted by researchers at Brigham Young University, raising children is associated with lower blood pressure, particularly so among women. The study, published in Annals of Behavioral Medicine, involved 198 adults who wore portable blood pressure monitors, mostly concealed by their clothes, for 24 hours. The monitors took measurements at random intervals throughout the day – even while participants slept. This…

Zanthoxylum armatum DC. syn. Z. alatum Roxb. and its var.planispinum (Sieb. & Zucc.) Rehd. & E. H. Wils.; Z. planispinum Sieb. & Zucc.) ( I agree with Dr. Komatsu that Z. armatum and Z alatum are separate species and not synonym Kumar) Family Rutaceae Used Part Fruits. Distribution Area Found in the hot valleys of the Himalayas from Jammu to Bhutan at altitudes of 1,000-2,100 m. Common Uses . The bark, fruits and seeds are extensively used in indigenous system of medicine as a carminative, stomachic and anthelmintic. The stem has exhibited hypoglycaemic activity…

Phragmites karka Trin. ex Steud. ( Syn  P. karka Retz. , P. roxburghii(Kunth)   Steud.; P. maxima Blatter&McCann in part. Gramineae    Root   Distribution: A tall reed, with thick creeping rhizome, found in marshy places and    along banks of lakes and streams throughout India, ascending up to   1,300 m. in the Himalayas.   Common uses: The plant is sweet, acrid; cooling, aphrodisiac; useful in biliousness, urinary troubles, vaginal and uterine complaints, erysipealas, heart diseases. The root of this reed is…

Scientific Name Entada phaseoloides (Linn.) Merr. syn. E. scandens Benth. (Ref no.9 page 59 names this as E.pursaetha DC and puts E. scandens Benth.) Family Fabaceae Used Part Fruits. Distribution Area The plant occurs throughout the sub-Himalayan tract, from Nepal eastwards ascending to 4,000 ft. in Sikkim, in Assam, Bihar and Orissa, and in the monsoon forest of western and eastern ghats; it is abundant in Andaman Islands. Common Uses . The seeds are considered tonic, emetic, antiperiodic and anthelmintic. A paste prepared from the seeds is applied locally for inflammatory…

Scientific Name Vanda tessellata (Roxb.) Hook ex Don (=V.roxburghii R.BR.) Family Orchidaceaae Used Part Root. Distribution Area An epiphytic orchid, 30-60 cm. high, found from Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal, extending southwards to Kerala. . Common Uses . The root is a bitter heating alexiteric, antipyretic, useful in dyspepsia, bronchitis in lammations, rheumatic pains, diseases of the abdomen, hiccough, tremors. In Yunani system root is used as tonic to the liver and brain ; good for bronchitis, piles, lumbago toothache, boils of the scalp; lessens inflammation; heals fractures. The…

The rate of smoking among nursing students is twice that of the general population, indicates a survey of over 800 new nursing students published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing. Busy bodies in the health community argue the results indicate that smoking cessation programs should be incorporated into nursing studies. They say that smoking among healthcare professionals undermines the credibility of anti-smoking campaigns aimed at the general public. The Italian study surveyed 812 students who were just starting their University course. They found that 44% of them were still smoking – twice…

While much concern has been generated by the obesity epidemic in the United States in recent years, with about one-third of adults obese in 2007-2008, new data suggest that the rate of increase for obesity may be slowing, say the authors of a study appearing in the January 20 issue of JAMA. "Data from 1988-1994 showed that the prevalence of obesity in adults had increased by approximately 8 percentage points in the United States since 1976-1980, after being relatively stable over the period 1960-1980. Analyses of data from 1999-2000 showed further increases in obesity for both men and women…

It's conventional thinking that the recent years, in which affective mental illnesses such as depression have been routinely considered alongside non-mental ("physiological") illness, instead of as a character defect, have helped to reduce stigma. A very interesting article in this Sunday's NY Times Magazine ("The Americanization of Mental Illness"), raises the uncomfortable supposition that the reverse is true, and cites several studies that seem to show a decrease in the percentage of the U.S. population who'd feel comfortable associating with somebody who is mentally ill (in this case,…